San Francisco 49er fans believed 1994 was a make-or-break season because the team was embarrassed by the young Dallas Cowboys in two NFC Championship games.
Going into the offseason, the 49ers focused on beating the dreaded Cowboys by signing key free agents, such as former Superbowl XX MVP, defensive end Richard Dent, linebackers Ken Norton, Rickey Jackson, and Gary Plumber, cornerback Toi Cook, defensive end Charles Mann, and the crown jewel of NFL free agency, cornerback Deion Sanders.
Sanders, who was drafted fifth overall in 1989 by the Atlanta Falcons, made an immediate impact on his first punt return against the Los Angeles Rams. He recovered his muffed kick, broke three tackles, and took it back 68 yards for a Falcons touchdown.
In his five seasons with Falcons, "Neon Deion" had 24 interceptions, three interception returns, was a threat as a punt returner, a three-time All-Pro, and one of the top corners in the NFL.
On the way to their fifth Super Bowl championship, the 49ers had two important games on their schedule—a Week 2 game against former 49ers great Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs and a Week 11 matchup against the Super Bowl champion Cowboys.
After an impressive 44-14 Monday night win over the Los Angeles Raiders, the Niners lost 24-17 to Montana and the Chiefs.
The 49ers signed Sanders on a one-year deal after that game, before a Week 3 contest against the Los Angeles Rams.
Primetime made an instant impact in his Candlestick Park debut against the New Orlean Saints a week later. With the 49ers leading the Saints 17-13 with under 1:16 left in the game, the Saints started their potential game-winning drive at San Francisco's 42-yard line.
Sanders picked off a Jim Everett pass intended for wide receiver Michael Haynes on fourth-and-eight and returned it 74 yards to put away the Saints for a 24-13 49ers victory.
After an embarrassing 40-8 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the 49ers bounced back in a hard-fought 27-21 win over the Detroit Lions, leading to an October 16 Week 7 matchup for the division lead against the Atlanta Falcons.
Both teams came into this game with a 4-2 record but had more on the line than a lead in the division. Outside of their win against the Raiders and Rams, the 49ers had not lived up to their potential of being a dominant force in the NFC. The Falcons were hoping to be taken seriously with a win over a team who had won their division three times in a row. However, Atlanta had beaten San Francisco the previous year, a 27-24 win on December 11, 1993.
The only difference in this matchup is number 21 would be on the opposite sideline to match up against the Falcons' top receiver, Andre Rison, who lit up the 49er secondary with six receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns in Atlanta's previous surprising win.
During the week leading up to the Falcons game, Deion Sanders spoke to reporters about his return to Atlanta and lining up against his old friend, "Bad Moon" Rison.
"I mean, if it was possible, I would love for everyone to get off the field so we can go at it one on one," Sanders said during a press conference in the week leading up to the matchup with the Falcons. "I mean, I'm that kind of guy."
"If he wants to go one-on-one, we can go one-on-one all (explicative) day," Rison told a reporter in response to a question about Sanders' return to Atlanta.
On a Sunday afternoon, Falcons fans greeted the 49ers with an unwelcome reception, complete with "Deion Who" signs and shirts in the crowd.
After winning the toss, the 49ers received the Falcons' kick and started their drive on the 49ers' 32-yard line, where they marched down the field and scored on a 10-yard touchdown from Steve Young to Ricky Watters for a 7-0 lead.
The Falcons' first drive was the start of a long afternoon when "Ironhead" Craig Heyward fumbled the ball on third-and-one, and strong safety Tim McDonald returned it from 49 yards out for a 14-0 49ers lead.
The Falcons marched down the field on their next possession, but their drive stalled at the 49ers' 39 on fourth-and-five when quarterback Jeff George missed wide receiver Ricky Sanders and turned the ball over on downs.
It took the 49ers eight plays to walk down the field to score on a Young one-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice. San Francisco led 21-0 early in the second quarter.
The Falcons' third possession was better. George picked the 49ers defense apart and got the ball to San Francisco's 25-yard line. On first-and-10, the Falcons ran a simple dive play for no yards, but the fans cheered as if it was a Goldberg vs. Hogan WCW match because Rison and Sanders had a skirmish on the field.
Despite the festivities, no one was ejected, and the Falcons got on the scoreboard with a Norm Johnson 34-yard field goal to make the score 21-3.
After going three-and-out, 49ers punter Klaus Wilmsmeyer pinned the Falcons at their 16-yard line. The Falcons had a chance to cut into the 18-point deficit, but George made a bad decision by throwing a pass to Ricky Sanders. It was picked off by the former Falcons cornerback, who high-stepped his way from 93 yards out to increase the 49ers' lead 28-3.
The game went from bad to terrible for the Falcons on the next drive. They got to the 49ers' 34-yard line, but Johnson missed from 53 yards out and the team went into halftime down by 25 points to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
George continued to have a bad day as Merton Hanks intercepted a pass from the 1990 first-overall pick and returned it to the Falcons' 8-yard line.
Two plays later, Young threw his third touchdown pass to tight end Brent Jones from seven yards out, giving San Francisco a 35-3 lead.
The Falcons kick returner, Clarence Verdin, returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to the 50-yard line. However, George fumbled the ball on the second play of the series, and Rickey Jackson, another key free-agent signing for the 49ers, recovered it.
Young directed another 49ers touchdown drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Watters to increase the lead 42-3.
Falcons head coach June Jones changed quarterbacks to Bobby Hebert, but nothing improved as he could not get the offense in a rhythm and got picked off two times by 49ers safety Dana Hall.
The 49ers won the game 42-3, taking sole possession of the NFC West, and put a staple as a true powerhouse of the NFC, if not the NFL, by dominating the majority of their opponents during the regular season.
After the game, Primetime had to remind everyone who he was and whose house the Georgia Dome belonged to.
"I got one thing to say, this is my house, " Primetime said after the game. "I built this, and this is my house. I don't care if I am with the Falcons or not. This is my house, and this will always be my house."
The 49ers destroyed the Falcons 50-14. Sanders and the 49ers secondary held Rison to two catches for 16 yards in the blowout.
Once considered one of the top corners next to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Rod Woodson, the '94 season elevated Sanders as one of the greatest cornerbacks to play the game by taking away. He was able to take away an opponent's top receiver. Opposing quarterbacks shied away from throwing the ball to his side of the field. Sanders had three long interception returns and won the 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Primetime became the equalizer, helping the 49ers get over the hump and pass the dreaded Cowboys in the Week 11 matchup and the NFC Championship Game. He helped the 49ers dominate the San Diego Chargers in a 49-26 Super Bowl XXIX victory.
Unfortunately, Sanders did not return to the 49ers the next season, signing with the rival Dallas Cowboys and helping them win Super Bowl XXX against the Steelers.
Sanders and Rison sat down in a recent interview where they talked about the "fight," everything that led up to the incident, and how they resolved their differences.
"What that was really about was my boy was mad that I left," Sanders said as he sat close to Rison. "I didn't know what to tell him, and it hurt him. I know it did, so he said some things, and I was mad at my dawg because he knows what will hurt me, and that's what caused the whole ruckus."
After the fight, Sanders and Rison were good.
"What people don't realize, right after that, we got that out, we was cool," Sanders said. "Right after that, it was not 'I am going to kill you.' It was, 'We good.' Right on the field, we was good."
All stats were provided by Pro Football Reference and this YouTube video.