49ers/Giants Heavyweight Fight

The San Francisco 49ers are back in a very familiar position. This is the 42nd edition of the NFC championship game and this will be the 13th time the 49ers have played in the contest. It is the 8th to take place in San Francisco (1 at Kezar Stadium, 7 at Candlestick). This is also the 8th time the Niners have battled the New York Giants in the playoffs over the last 30 years. There have been some very memorable meetings over those 3 decades between the 2 squads. The 1990 NFC championship game saw the Niners looking to become the first “three peat” super bowl champions until the usually rock solid Roger Craig fumbled away the title as the Niners were simply running out the clock. The Giants ended up winning the game by kicking their 5th field goal. In a 2002 wild card game that also took place at Candlestick, the 49ers exacted a bit of revenge. Ahead 38-14 late in the 3rd quarter, Jeremy Shockey was pelting children in the crowd with ice and Michael Strahan was derisivel...