For the San Francisco 49ers, facing the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons on the road in the NFC title game is one thing. Facing history is another.
On NFL Network
"NFL Replay" will re-air the
49ers' 45-31 divisional playoff win over the
Packers on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
The San Francisco Chronicle reminds us the 49ers will attempt to win their first road playoff game in 24 years on Sunday in the Georgia Dome. The team's last postseason win outside of Candlestick Park dates all the way back to Jan. 1989, when Joe Montana guided San Francisco to a 28-3 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
(Sidenote: The backup quarterback for the Bears that day? Noneother than Jim Harbaugh, who told reporters Monday he recalls the game, which took place in subfreezing temperatures.)
The 49ers haven't been involved in a road playoff game since dropping a divisional-round tilt to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Jan. 2003. That was the latest in five straight road playoff losses for the franchise.
This year's 49ers are 5-3 on the road, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick was just 2 years old when Montana knocked off the Bears in the late '80s. We'd imagine this historical nugget means little to the team.
It's this year's Super Bowl -- not stories of yesteryear -- the 49ers are zeroed in on.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
