The San Francisco 49ers have a storied history of succeeding on the NFL’s biggest stage, with more Super Bowl rings than many of the league’s franchises. From some rough early years to dominance in the 1980s and some more recent success, San Francisco has been among the most impactful franchises in the NFL with its fingerprints all over the league’s history.
A Look At the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl History
The 49ers’ run in the modern-day NFL following the 1966 AFL-NFL merger started a bit rough.
San Francisco made two NFC Championship Games in the 1970 and 1971 seasons before reaching the playoffs again in 1972 but missed out on the postseason for each of the next eight years.
Success came quickly in 1981, though, with the 49ers advancing to their first Super Bowl appearance in the game’s 16th edition, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 behind a Super Bowl MVP performance from legendary quarterback Joe Montana and four field goals by Ray Wersching.
Three years later, after missing the playoffs once and falling in the conference title bout, San Francisco made its way back to the big game for Super Bowl 19. The 49ers’ prolific offense was too much for the Miami Dolphins to slow down as San Francisco rolled to a 38-16 win with Montana throwing for 331 yards and three scores.
Then came back-to-back Super Bowl appearances to cap off the 1988 and 1989 seasons.
The 49ers beat Cincinnati once again in Super Bowl 23, this time by a 20-16 margin as Montana hit John Taylor for the game-winning score in the fourth quarter, while Jerry Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and one score. San Francisco then rolled past the Denver Broncos in a 55-10 Super Bowl 24 romp featuring five touchdown passes from Montana.
MORE: List of Most Super Bowl Wins by Team
Steve Young led the 49ers to the promised land for a fifth time a few years later as he threw for 325 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-26 Super Bowl 29 victory over the then-San Diego Chargers.
Those five Super Bowl wins have San Francisco tied for third in NFL history, trailing only the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers’ tallies of six apiece.
The 49ers have reached two more Super Bowls since their strong run of success but fell each time. Jim Harbaugh’s group fell to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl 47 before Kyle Shanahan and Co. lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 54.
All in all, San Francisco has reached seven Super Bowls and boasts a 5-2 record in the big game.
Time will tell whether Shanahan’s group can make it six Super Bowl titles this season and avenge their previous defeat to the Chiefs or whether Patrick Mahomes will lead Kansas City to yet another championship.
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