The San Francisco 49ers are one of the most successful franchises in NFL history, but top-level success has been hard to come by in recent years. San Francisco’s last Super Bowl came nearly three decades ago, a drought it hopes to end this season after heading into the playoffs as the NFC’s top-seeded team and one of the favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
When Was the 49ers’ Last Super Bowl?
San Francisco has a history as storied as nearly any of its fellow NFL teams, particularly stemming from an unprecedented run of success during the 1980s.
The 49ers won four Super Bowl championships in the decade as legendary quarterback Joe Montana and head coach Bill Walsh teamed up to jump-start one of the league’s premier dynasties.
The pair won their first title to cap off the 1981 season as Montana threw for 157 yards and one touchdown while rushing for another score in a 26-21 triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Following the strike-shortened 1982 season, San Francisco fell in the 1983 NFC Championship Game before again hoisting the Lombardi Trophy to cap off the 1994 campaign. Montana threw for 331 yards and three scores to outduel Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in a 38-16 win for the 49ers.
Three years of early postseason exits later, San Francisco won back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989.
The 49ers pulled out a narrow 20-16 win over the Bengals in 1988 as Montana threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score on a 10-yard pass to John Taylor. San Francisco trounced the Denver Broncos in a 55-10 rout the next year, with Montana throwing for 297 yards and five scores to cap off a stellar run of success.
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The 49ers won one more Super Bowl in 1994 with Steve Young at quarterback as the southpaw slinger threw for 325 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-26 demolition of the then-San Diego Chargers.
That gave San Francisco five Super Bowl championships in all, which ranks tied for third place with the Dallas Cowboys among teams with the most titles. The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the league lead with six titles apiece.
The 49ers have had two more chances at adding another ring to their collection in recent years. The Jim Harbaugh-led squad lost to the Baltimore Ravens in 2012, then Kyle Shanahan’s bunch fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
The 49ers are among the favorites to win it all this year behind productive seasons from Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, and others. They could snap a nearly 30-year drought of Super Bowl titles for the historic franchise in the process.
San Francisco’s pursuit of that ultimate goal begins Sunday when it squares off with the Green Bay Packers.
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