As the San Francisco 49ers await to see who their next opponent will be, fans of the team are gearing up for another run at a sixth Super Bowl championship. The team has the NFC's top seed, which comes with a bye week, home-field advantage, and one less game you have to play to make it to the Super Bowl. But that doesn't guarantee a team to move on. In 2021, neither of the number-one seeds made it to the Super Bowl. In 2022, both top seeds made it to the big game.
There have been some heartbreaking postseason moments for the 49ers. And the 2023 team is hoping not to add another painful moment to the team's history. Here are my top five worst postseason moments in 49ers history:
1. There will be no three-peat
The 49ers had a chance to do what no NFL team had ever done—win the Super Bowl three consecutive seasons. The 1990 NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants had been a close one. The winner would advance to the Super Bowl, which meant a shot at history for the 49ers. Not only the three-peat, but they had the chance to be the first team to win five Super Bowls. And while they would do that a few years later, this January day in 1991 wouldn't go their way.
With time running down in the fourth quarter, the 49ers had the ball and the lead. All San Francisco had to do was keep moving the ball, force the Giants to use their timeouts, and run out the clock.
Then on 3rd and 10, from their 23-yard line, Joe Montana rolled to his right. He evaded one defender but was hit hard in the back by Giants defensive lineman, Leonard Marshall. It was a brutal hit that forced Montana from the game and gave the ball back to New York. The Giants were able to move the ball and score, making it a 13-12 game.
Steve Young entered the game at quarterback in place of the injured Montana and began moving the ball down the field. It looked like the 49ers were going to win the game. And then it happened.
On first down from the Giants 40-yard line, Roger Craig fumbled the ball. Lawrence Taylor recovered. And the Giants moved down the field to kick the game-winning field goal. The final score was 15-13.
Pat Summerall, calling the game for CBS, famously said, "There will be no three-peat." That still hurts to this day, and that fumble is part of the reason (unfairly) Craig is not yet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2. Oh, Kyle Williams
Mention the 2011 NFC Championship Game, and fans automatically think of two words: Kyle Williams.
It is probably unfair, but that's what most remember. Williams' first blunder was a 4th quarter fumble on a punt that was bouncing on the ground. Williams failed to get out of the way, and the ball touched the side of his leg. The Giants recovered the ball and scored a touchdown just seven plays later.
Then in overtime, a muffed punt by Williams would ultimately cost the 49ers the game, setting up the game-winning field goal by Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes.
One of the things I remember most about the second fumble is that my wife needed my help with something late in the game. I know, it was terrible timing. While I was helping her, I felt my phone vibrate. It was a Twitter notification for a tweet from 49ers reporter, Matt Maiocco. The post simply read, "Oh, Kyle Williams."
I didn't know what that meant. Was it good? Bad? I started saying (aloud), "What does that mean? Come on, Matt. Give me more than that." When I got back to the game, I found out. It was bad.
This is why fans think of Williams. But what many seem to forget is that the 49ers' offense, especially its passing game, was anemic, at best that night. Tight end Vernon Davis had 101 yards receiving, but the 49ers' wide receivers were invisible in the season's biggest game. Michael Crabtree had the only catch from a wide receiver, for a pitiful three yards. But it was Williams who made two huge late-game mistakes, and as a result, that's what we remember.
3. Just give Frank the ball
At the close of the 2012 season, the 49ers were back in the Super Bowl, after an 18-year drought, and were facing the Baltimore Ravens. Up to this point, the 49ers were 5-0 in Super Bowls. Surely they wouldn't lose this game.
But the first half didn't go the 49ers way. And when Jacoby Jones returned the second-half opening kickoff for a touchdown, to give the Ravens a 28-6 lead, it not only looked like the 49ers would lose a Super Bowl for the first time, they were going to be blown out.
But then something changed. With all the momentum going Baltimore's way, the power in the New Orleans Superdome went out. It took 30 minutes for the power to be restored. And when play resumed, the 49ers looked like a different team.
San Francisco mounted a noble comeback, scoring 17 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter to close the gap to 28-23. After the Ravens took a 31-23 lead with a 4th-quarter field goal, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 31-29.
But another Ravens field goal extended Baltimore's lead to 34-29. The 49ers needed a touchdown to win it.
With just under three minutes remaining, 49ers running back Frank Gore took a handoff and ran it 33 yards, all the way to Baltimore's seven-yard line. After the big gain, the veteran running back needed a breather, and the 49ers ran the ball with LaMichael James on first and goal. He gained two yards.
But three straight incomplete passes to Michael Crabtree would ultimately lead to the 49ers coming up short, leaving many fans wondering why the 49ers didn't go back to Gore. They were a better rushing offense than a passing offense. And Gore was a dynamic back. He had a better shot at scoring than Crabtree did.
4. Third and 15
We all know what happened. It was Super Bowl LIV, and the 49ers had a 10-point lead with 7:13 left in the game. And then the tide turned on a 44-yard pass play to Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 15. The 49ers gave up a double-digit fourth-quarter lead, allowing the Kansas City Chiefs to score three touchdowns in the final 6:13.
The defense had been really good all game, holding Patrick Mahomes in check. But the 49ers offense had gone cold, failing to add to the lead. And when the defense finally collapsed, the offense was never able to get the lead back.
For many 49ers fans, this is one of the more painful moments in postseason history. That's partly because it's more recent. And it's partly due to the setting—a Super Bowl.
5. The time Joe Montana was benched
The 1987 NFC season was shortened by one game due to a player's strike. There were three games played by replacement players, and still, the 49ers finished the season at 13-2. San Francisco was easily the best team in the league that season, boasting the NFL's number one offense and the number one defense. San Francisco looked poised to win its third Super Bowl in seven years.
Then came the Divisional Playoff Game against the Minnesota Vikings. The 49ers were 11-point favorites and should have won the game without much of a problem. Instead, it was a massive upset, with the Vikings winning 36-24.
The defense couldn't cover Vikings WR Anthony Carter, who burned the league's best defense with 10 catches for 227 yards. But the NFL's top offense wasn't much better. Montana had only 109 yards passing, one interception, and a QB rating of 42.0 into the third quarter. Then, to everyone's amazement, Walsh pulled Montana from the game. It was the first and only time Montana was benched as an NFL quarterback.
Young entered the game and gave the offense a spark, but it was too little, too late, and the 49ers suffered a terrible loss to a team they should have easily handled. And fans of the 49ers were left to wonder what the situation at quarterback would look like moving forward.
Former team president, Carmen Policy, recalls, "I'll never forget Eddie [DeBartolo] telling Bill [Walsh] that night, 'Bill, I don't want you to lose another playoff game. This is the last one you lose with the 49ers.'" DeBartolo was correct. It was the last postseason game Walsh would ever lose, as he would lead the 49ers to another Super Bowl win the following season before retiring.
Those are my votes for the top five worst postseason moments. What are yours? Was there one I left out?
Maybe the Jaquiski Tartt dropped interception in the 2021 NFC Championship Game? Or the 1986 postseason game in which Jerry Rice fumbled the ball away when it looked as if he was about to score a touchdown? Maybe it was Guy McIntyre's holding penalty in the 1992 NFC Championship Game that wiped out a Rice touchdown or the two bogus calls that went against the 49ers' defense at the end of the 1983 NFC Championship Game.
For a franchise with this many postseason appearances, it's not surprising that there are plenty of bad moments. Let's hope this 49ers team gives us only great moments this postseason.
- Marc Adams
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Written by:Speaker. Writer. Covering the San Francisco 49ers. Host of the 49ers Camelot show.
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