"The Falcons renew a rivalry against their old NFC West foes when they travel to The Bay for a date against the San Francisco 49ers. Geographically, it didn't make much sense, but the Falcons and 49ers used to duke it out twice a year (and sometimes thrice) from 1967 until realignment moved the Birds to the NFC South in 2002. As a result, there have been many matchups, and plenty of 49er triumphs, with San Francisco owning a 48-33-1 all time record."
"These old rivals met in the playoffs twice, sharing the spoils in two seasons where each one went to the Super Bowl. The "Dirty Birds" beat Steve Young 20-18 in the 1998 NFC Divisional Round before upsetting the Minnesota Vikings the next week, while San Fran wrote a gruesome chapter in the big book of Atlanta heartbreak lore behind Colin Kaepernick's 17-point comeback to beat Matt Ryan and company in the 2012 NFC Championship."
The Falcons and 49ers contested a regular rivalry from 1967 until the Falcons shifted to the NFC South in 2002, producing frequent meetings and a dominant San Francisco edge. San Francisco leads the all-time series 48-33-1. Atlanta enjoyed peak success with Steve Bartkowski, winning six of seven from 1978–1981, while the 49ers responded by going 12-1-1 from 1984 through the rest of the decade behind Joe Montana. Since realignment, Atlanta has a 7-4 record against San Francisco, including three wins in the last four meetings. The rivalry includes two memorable playoff clashes in 1998 and 2012.
Read at The Falcoholic
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