It’s official: The San Francisco 49ers are in the playoffs.
The Red & Gold punched their ticket on Sunday in a game we’ll be talking about for decades. After falling behind 17-0 in the first half, San Francisco made a furious comeback and eventually beat the Rams in overtime, 27-24. Because the Saints also won on Sunday, the 49ers would not have made the postseason had they lost the game.
With the victory, San Francisco earned the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture, in the first season where seven teams from each conference earn a trip to the postseason. The 49ers will rekindle what was the best rivalry in football during the 1990s, heading to Dallas for a matchup with the No. 3 seeded Cowboys in the wild-card round.
The “Super Wild-Card Round” will feature games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday next week. It is unclear at the time of writing on which day the 49ers will play.
In addition to the San Francisco-Dallas matchup, the No. 2 seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the No. 7 seeded Philadelphia Eagles, and the No. 4 seeded Rams will host the No. 5 seeded Cardinals for the third time this season. The Packers are the lone team with a first-round bye.
In the AFC, the matchups are will not be determined until the conclusion of Sunday Night Football.
The 49ers-Cowboys rivalry was at it’s peak in the early 90s, when the two teams faced each other three-straight times in the NFC Championship. After losing the first two during the 1992 and 1993 season, the 49ers won in 1994, en route to their last Super Bowl title.
The two teams have not met in the postseason since.