SANTA CLARA >> The 49ers’ six-game win streak over the Rams came to an end when it counted most — with a Super Bowl berth on the line last January.

Bygones.

The 49ers must move forward. This season, not last, matters most. It already could be on the brink Monday night when they host the Rams — the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Win, and the 49ers not only improve to 2-2 overall, but 2-0 in NFC West action which ultimately should dictate their playoff path.

Lose, and coach Kyle Shanahan’s team packs a 1-3 record for an ensuing 10-day road trip, where they’ll face the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons, with a third annual layover in between at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.

See, this is about looking ahead, not to the regular-season win streak over their SoCal rivals, and not to the 20-17 NFC Championship Game loss.

That was eight months ago. Does it feel like an eternity to Jimmy Garoppolo considering his winding road since then?

“It does,” Garoppolo said, “and then you watch the film and it all comes right back to you and you start replaying those things in your head and putting yourself in those situations again, and it’s like riding a bike, you’re right back to it.”

These are the most crucial ways to take the lead and hold it Monday night:

1. COVER COOPER >> The 49ers’ most pleasant surprise this season is their secondary, which is complementing one of the NFL’s fiercest defensive fronts. Cooper Kupp could change that mojo.

Kupp leads the NFL with 28 receptions, a year after winning the receiving triple crown (145 catches, 1,947 yards, 16 touchdowns). He scored the Rams’ two touchdowns as part of a nine-catch, 113-yard effort against the 49ers in the NFC title game.

“It’s the Cooper Kupp show, like no matter how you try to slice it up, whether the guys are doubling, whatever it is, the guy finds a way,” 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said. “The connection and chemistry with him and (Matthew) Stafford is one of the best I’ve seen in the league in a long time. Those guys are always in sync and they’re always on the same page.”

Covering won’t be just the task of outside cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley. The 49ers could dispatch L.A.-native Deommodore Lenoir, who supplanted Sam Womack II as the nickel back last week.

“I love it. I feel like this is where I belong,” Lenoir said. “People used to tell me, ‘you could be a nickel, you could be a nickel’ and I’m like, ‘No, I’m an outside corner.’ But now that I’ve slowed it down and actually learned I can go full throttle and this is where I belong.”

2. STIFLE STAFFORD >> No, we’re not going to bring up the NFC Championship Game again, right? OK, just for a second: Matthew Stafford could have short-circuited their fourth-quarter rally had his pass not been dropped by safety Jaquiski Tartt on a potential interception. The 49ers let Stafford off the hook.

Stafford entered this season’s encore with arm trouble. Three games in, he’s completing 72.5 percent of his passes, with five interceptions against four touchdown passes.

He’s been sacked nine times this season, so consider that an invitation for Nick Bosa to pad his team-high total of four sacks. The 49ers’ pass rush is fun to watch (unless Russell Wilson is slipping past it for a comeback win, as usual). While Bosa draws double-team blocks, the 49ers other defensive linemen need to get to Stafford.

Yes, the 49ers can pressure with a four-man rush, but perhaps they send Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw or Talanoa Hufanga on blitzes to make things spicier.

3. PLAY BALL HOG >> Remember a year (darn it, the past resurfaces!) when Kyle Shanahan requested a 40-carry assault against the Rams at Levi’s Stadium on a Monday night. The 49ers ran 44 times for 156 yards in that 31-10 win on Nov. 15. Do they have that in them again?

“That’s our game plan this week: get back to our identity in running the ball,” McKivitz said.

They’ll have to conquer a five-man defensive front that the Rams, and even the Broncos last game, have used to flummox the 49ers’ rushers.

How might the 49ers mix up their rushers? Jeff Wilson Jr. and Deebo Samuel could be spelled more this game. Shanahan indicated that Jordan Mason and Marlon Mack would have been rotated in more last game if not for short, second-half drives. Tevon Coleman also could get summoned from the practice squad.

The 49ers rank eighth in time of possession (31 minutes, 38 seconds), despite producing the NFL’s 24th-most yards. Of the 49ers’ five touchdown drives, they’ve taken 34 plays, bolstered by 22 runs.

4. HOME-FIELD HEROES >> The 49ers have won five in a row at home, their longest streak since Levi’s Stadium opened in 2014. It took that Nov. 15 win over the Rams to launch this streak.