It certainly wasn't a boring route to NFC Championship weekend, but it's a traditional, 1-vs.-2 match-up this coming Sunday between the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers to see who will face either the Baltimore Ravens or New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVII. This is part two of our preview of the first game on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST. Part one of our NFC Championship Preview is here.
The Previous Playoff Match-Up
The last time these teams battled in the playoffs, the Dirty Bird Dance was in style. Jamaal Anderson rushed for two touchdowns as the Falcons topped the 49ers 20-18 in the 1999 Divisional Round. That same season, Dan Reeves' squad made its only Super Bowl appearance, a 34-19 drubbing by the Denver Broncos in John Elway's last career game.
Since Then...
San Francisco
-The 49ers have had four winning seasons: 2001, 2002, 2011 and 2012.
-The year after their loss to the Falcons, the Niners went 4-12.
-San Francisco had two seasons of 6-10 records, both followed by a playoff campaign the next year (2000 & 2010 troubles before 2001 & 2011 berths).
-For three seasons in a row, 1996-1998, the red and gold lost to the NFC's Super Bowl participant each time (the Green Bay Packers twice, then the Falcons), and lost to the eventual NFL champ in 1997 (Packers), 2002 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and 2011 (New York Giants).
-The gold rushers and their fans suffered through six losing seasons in a row from 2003 through 2008, the longest stretch of futility in team history by two years.
-During that time, San Francisco's dearth of wins included two wins in 2004, four in 2005 and 5 in 2007.
-The 49ers won the division on three occasions: 2002 and each of the last two years. -They also took home the NFC West Crown in 1997, the year before that last playoff date with Atlanta.
Atlanta
-The Falcons have notched six winning seasons: 2002, 2004 and each of the last five years.
-The season after topping the Niners but losing in the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos, Atlanta went 5-11.
-The Falcons had a pair of 11-5 seasons after especially tough losing years (five and four wins respectively in 2003 and 2007).
-In each of their last four playoff trips, the Falcons have lost to the NFC participant in the Super Bowl: 2004 (Eagles), 2008 (Arizona Cardinals), 2010 (Packers), 2011 (Giants), with the last two foes eventually capturing the Lombardi Trophy.
-Atlanta had four seasons with five or fewer wins, with a 4-12 mark coming just before the recent winning season streak in 2007.
-The Georgia Dome squad notched first place finishes with the division in 2004, 2010 and 2012.
-The year before beating San Francisco for a berth in the NFC Championship Game, the Falcons had a 7-9 record.