The Rams were only one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance, and had dominated the series with the 49ers for nearly a decade.

With the loss, the Patriots ended the year at 18 – 1, becoming only one of three teams to go 18 – 1 along with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears.

For example, in 1997, against the San Francisco 49ers, the team wore midnight green jerseys and pants for the first of only two occasions in team history.

Dean would win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year ( while playing in only 11 games ) that same year en route to a Super Bowl victory and help the 49ers to another Super Bowl title two years later.

In the 1994 season, the Chargers made their first and, so far, only Super Bowl appearance, against the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys marched to the Super Bowl with playoff wins over the Minnesota Vikings, 20 – 12 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, and the San Francisco 49ers, 14 – 3 in the NFC Championship Game, only giving up one touchdown in the two games.

This seemed to fire up Cincinnati's defense, who limited the 49ers to only 8 plays and 4 offensive yards for the entire third quarter.

On that play, the 49ers only had 10 players on the field because LB Keena Turner, who was seriously ill with the chicken pox during Super Bowl week, missed a call to enter the game.

The 49ers only gained 8 yards on their ensuing drive, and Bengals got the ball back after receiving Jim Miller's 44 yard punt at their own 47-yard line.

Thus, the 49ers may be considered the only team to have won the Super Bowl at home.

The 49ers defense only allowed 25 rushing yards and 16 Dolphins points.

Meanwhile, the Giants went on to only allow a combined total of 3 points in their playoff victories over the San Francisco 49ers, 49-3, and the Washington Redskins, 17-0, respectively.

The 49ers are also the only team in a Super Bowl to score at eight touchdowns in a Super Bowl, and at least two touchdowns in each quarter ( the only mistake was a missed extra point attempt ).

Kicker Mike Cofer missed the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 13 – 3, but it turned out to be the only miscue the 49ers would make for the rest of the game.

Therefore, the 49ers entered the game favored to win by more than 18 points, exceeded only by the 19 point spread in which the Baltimore Colts were favored over the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.

( Full House was set in San Francisco, and this was the only time during the show's run that the 49ers advanced to a Super Bowl aired on ABC ).

The only Super Bowl featuring a better matchup record wise was Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers had a 17 – 1 record and the Miami Dolphins had a 16 – 2 record.

* Renaldo Nehemiah ( born 1959 ), track star who set world record in the 110 meter hurdles, NFL wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and the only four time winner of ABC's Superstar competition.

Romanowski played in Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV, XXXII, and XXXIII ; the Raiders ' loss prevented Romanowski from joining Charles Haley as the only NFL player to earn 5 Super Bowl rings ( Haley was also with the 49ers for Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV, and later earned rings when the Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX ).

Bill Romanowski, a business major, holds the defensive record as an NFL player for most consecutive games played at 243, is the only linebacker in history to start in 5 Super Bowls, and also shares a record as one of only three players in NFL history to win back to back Super Bowls with two different organizations, the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.

Their wide receiver / kick returner Roell Preston ( who previously played for the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans ) held the distinction of being the only former Pro Bowler ( 1998 as a Packer ) to play in the XFL.

Despite the fact that Montana appeared in just eight games, and, though he threw more interceptions than touchdown passes for the only time in his career, the 49ers finished the season with a record of 10 – 5 – 1.

On the first play second half, 49ers defensive end Dwaine Board tackled Nathan for a 1-yard loss.

The 49ers were forced to punt on their next drive, but San Diego ended up turning the ball over on downs when Means was tackled for a 4-yard loss on a fourth down and 1 from their own 37-yard line.

Ironically, the 49ers, the previous Super Bowl champion, also suffered a blow out loss at home the prior season ( 40-8 to the Philadelphia Eagles ).

But they lost each one, including a 55-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV.

After a loss in that game and the next, Bono led the 49ers to five consecutive victories, playing so well that coach George Seifert decided to keep him in the starting lineup after Young had recovered.

After a loss in a much anticipated game to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers won their next two games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 40 – 8 at Candlestick Park, a game in which Young was eventually benched in the middle of an offensive series.

Warner passed for a career-high 484 yards against the 49ers in a 37 – 31 loss on November 25, but had a fumble in the end zone in overtime that was recovered by Tully Banta-Cain to lose the game.

The Colts briefly rebounded, winning two games, but then lost 7 of their last 9, including a 40 – 21 home loss to the 49ers.

The defeat was the 49ers fourth NFC title loss of the 1990s, following losses to the New York Giants in 1990 and the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993.

In the Vikings ' postseason divisional playoff game, a 13-41 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings used all three quarterbacks ( Wilson, Kramer, and Gannon ), and Gannon was 13-for-18 passing for 144 yards and 1 interception.

The Bengals ' misfortunes continued throughout the season and a week 15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers ensured that the team would finish the season with a losing record for the first time since he had been their starting quarterback.

Jefferson was tackled by the 49ers ' Cedrick Hardman for a 13-yard loss on the play, a game the Redskins ended up losing.

Jennings sustained a high ankle sprain in the second quarter of the 49ers ' loss to the Giants on October 21 and missed the subsequent two games.

He threw seven interceptions in the next two games-both losses-including a home loss to the 49ers on Monday Night Football, where Beuerlein replaced Collins after his third interception and the 49ers up 27-7.

On November 25, 2001, after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers that dropped the Colts to 4 – 6, Mora made his famous " Playoffs?

The most notable loss was a shocking 39-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2002 postseason, in which they blew a 38-14 third quarter lead.

In a 35-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Barron's poor play resulted him being benched by the Rams staff.

However in 2009, the Colts would storm back to win their 6th division championship in Week 12 of the season with a win over the Houston Texans and a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the San Francisco 49ers.

Three of the most lopsided Super Bowl losses in history came at the hands of quarterbacks from the Class of ' 83: Elway, a 55-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV ; Eason, a 46-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX ; and Kelly, a 52-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII.