Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

49ers can do something no team has done in 30 years in NFC title game

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Nicholas McGee | Last updated Jan 22, 2024 10:48 PM ET

While the merits of the San Francisco 49ers' performance in their divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers are still being debated, their nail-biting victory put them within one victory of a remarkable achievement.

Making the Super Bowl is the only feat the 49ers are focused on, but a victory over the Detroit Lions in Sunday's NFC Championship Game would also see San Francisco do something no team has done for three decades.

With a win, the 49ers would become the first team to beat every other team in their conference's playoff field in the same season since the 1993 Kansas City Chiefs.

On that occasion, 49ers legend Joe Montana led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game, only to then suffer defeat to the Buffalo Bills.

If the #49ers beat the Lions next week, they will be the first team to beat every other playoff team in their conference in regular season or playoffs since the 1993 Chiefs did it
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 22, 2024

Though the 49ers struggled for much of their win over the Packers, top-level competition has tended to bring the best out of them, with the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams the only playoff teams to beat them in the regular season, the latter defeat coming with the caveat that both teams were resting starters ahead of the playoffs.

Eight of San Francisco's 12 regular-season victories came against teams who finished the season with a winning record, with that record testament to just how impressive their season has been.

But, having survived a huge scare against Green Bay, that excellent performance against winning teams will count for nothing if they do not knock off the one standing between them and the Super Bowl. The trend for the 49ers, however, has to been to play to and rise above the standard of the top-tier competition they have faced. They'll be making history on several fronts if they do so this weekend.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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