With “The Catch” that sent the San Francisco 49ers to their first Super Bowl and “The Blown Call” that kept the New Orleans Saints from moving on to the big game, NFC championship matchups have two seminal moments that rank with just about any in NFL postseason history.
There’s plenty to remember from the 37 years separating those plays, and don’t forget one other thing about the 49ers: They are the team that has played in the most NFC title games, with the 16th appearance coming Sunday as they host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday as the NFL’s 100th season nears completion.
San Francisco played for the first two conference titles after the merger, losing both times to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970 and ’71 seasons before facing them three straight times in the 1990s in arguably the best NFC championship game rivalry.
And that’s not even counting the 1981 season, when Joe Montana’s famous throw was improbably caught by a leaping Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone in the final minute of the 49ers’ 28-27 victory over Dallas.
“Start of a dynasty. I don’t let myself go down the road of, ‘What would have happened if he doesn’t make that catch?'” former 49ers executive Carmen Policy said on the day the club paid tribute to Clark after he died in 2018 at age 61.