" Its state-of-the-art design minimizes wind-chill, it is well served by mass transit, and it has spectacular views of the bay and the city skyline, a trait that had been missing from Candlestick Park since its redesign in the early 1970s to accommodate the 49ers.

In a spectacular finish, the Saints and 49ers traded the lead 4 times in the last 4 minutes, but fell 32 to 36 with a 49er touchtown strike to Vernon Davis with 7 seconds left to end the Saints ' 2011 season.

But following this Super Bowl the rivalry cooled as first the Cowboys and then the 49ers went through lengthy performance slumps.

Although Elway's performance in the AFC Championship Game was widely considered his best ever, many sports writers and fans believed that the Broncos ' best effort would not be good enough to beat the 49ers.

Aided in part by Montana's performance at quarterback, the 49ers advanced to the NFL Playoffs again in 1985 ; however, they lost in the NFC Wild card game to the New York Giants.

On the strength of a six touchdown performance that surpassed the previous Super Bowl record of five, owned by the man Young replaced, Joe Montana, Steve Young was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49-26.

The 49ers athletic performance overall has averaged 149th over the past five years, as shown in the NACDA Directors ' Cup Standings 2006 – 2010.

The Bengals lost Super Bowl XVI 26-21 against the San Francisco 49ers, but Anderson had a solid performance, especially in the second half, despite his team trailing 20-0 at the end of the first half.

His performance helped the Giants clinch a playoff berth, but the team fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.

In frigid temperatures, the San Francisco 49ers came into Lambeau Field and stood toe-to-toe with the Green Bay Packers for most of the afternoon until being put away by a superb second half performance from Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

Although Phillips stayed out of trouble off the field, his on-field performance was of greater concern to the 49ers.

In the Giants ' march to the Lombardi Trophy, Morris rushed for 313 yards in three playoff games including a 159 yard, two touchdown performance against the San Francisco 49ers.

The two conference title games led to a hot bidding war between the clubs for players ; the Niners signed cornerback Deion Sanders from the Atlanta Falcons and also signed linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. from the Cowboys ; they defeated the Cowboys 21-14 in the 1994 regular season and then hosted the Cowboys in that year's Conference title game, with the Cowboys now coached by Barry Switzer ; the 49ers raced to a 21-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the first quarter and won 38-28 en route to Super Bowl XXIX.

Despite those two close triumphs ( 22 – 21 against the Dolphins in the Divisional Round, and 17 – 13 against the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game ), the Chargers lost Super Bowl XXIX to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 49 – 26, who were led by quarterback Steve Young ( Super Bowl MVP ) and wide receiver Jerry Rice.

From there, quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers offense to the Cincinnati 47-yard line with 3 consecutive completions.

Although they did not get as much media attention as the offense, the 49ers defense led the league in fewest points allowed during the regular season ( 227 ).

The 49ers ( now led by Steve Young ) tried to run out the clock on their ensuing possession, but San Francisco running back Roger Craig had the ball dislodged by nosetackle Erik Howard, and Lawrence Taylor recovered the fumble in mid-air with 2: 36 remaining.

The San Francisco 49ers had led the Cincinnati Bengals 20 – 0 at halftime in Super Bowl XVI.

The 49ers came into the game with the league's best regular season record at 14 – 2 and led the league in scoring with 431 points.

The 49ers offense was led by quarterback Steve Young, who replaced future hall of famer Joe Montana as the starter in 1991 and 1992 due to injuries.

With Young at the helm, the 49ers led the league in total points scored ( 505 ) and helped them earn a league best 13-3 regular season record.

* The San Francisco 49ers won four Super Bowls (' 81 ,' 84 ,' 88, and ' 89 ), led by Joe Montana.

In what many people thought could be McMahon's finest hour, it was his opposite number, Joe Montana who shined, as he led the 49ers to a 28 – 3 victory over the Bears as they went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 20 – 16 in the twenty-third Super Bowl.

The Redskins led 21 – 0 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Montana helped lead the 49ers back.

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.

However, Young recovered and led the 49ers on a five game winning streak, capped off by a 56-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Young passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns.

Parcells, whose stifling 3 – 4 defense ( known as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew ) led by Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Harry Carson, and Leonard Marshall, and an offense under the direction of Phil Simms, knocked off the San Francisco 49ers 49 – 3, and the Washington Redskins 17 – 0, in the playoffs before routing the Denver Broncos, 39 – 20, in Super Bowl XXI.

After recording an 8 – 8 record in 1988, Elway once again led his team to the Super Bowl after the 1989 season, with yet another win over the Browns in the AFC championship game, going on to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV.

The 2001 49ers managed to compile a 12-4 record but were defeated by the Packers led by Brett Favre in a wild-card playoff game.

In 2012, Johnson signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers, the team currently led by Harbaugh, the 49ers ' head coach.

That legal battle led to another, and as part of a settlement, DeBartolo gave up control of the 49ers in 2000, ceding control of the team to his sister Marie Denise DeBartolo York.

Free of any major injuries during the 2006 season, Woodson ( tied with Walt Harris of the San Francisco 49ers ) led the National Football Conference with eight interceptions.

In his rookie year, Stubblefield led the 49ers with 10. 5 sacks ( making himself The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year ), and recorded 8. 5 the following year.

In the 1970 NFC title game, Renfro had a key interception that led to the Cowboys ' game-winning touchdown over the San Francisco 49ers that helped them get to Super Bowl V, where they lost to the Baltimore Colts.

In a game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 23, he led the team with a career-high 21 tackles, 15 solo.

Walsh would later write that the 49ers ' two wins over the Rams showed a shift of power in their division, while the wins over the Cowboys showed a shift of power in the conference.

These coaches in turn have their own disciples who have utilized Walsh's West Coast system such as Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak first a quarterback coach with the 49ers, then offensive coordinator for Shanahan at the Denver Broncos.

The Browns had few worthy rivals among the AAFC's eight teams, but the New York Yankees and San Francisco 49ers were their closest competition.

Nine years later the two teams met at The Stick again in the NFC Championship Game ; in their third season together 49ers coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana authored a history-making moment on Montana's last-minute touchdown to Dwight Clark and a 28-27 San Francisco win.

Starting in week 13 of the 2006 season, the Saints wore black pants with the black jerseys against the San Francisco 49ers, and in a Week 16 game in The Meadowlands against the New York Giants ( a 30 – 7 Saints win ), the Saints wore the black pants with their road white jerseys.

The Giants defeated the 49ers 49 – 3 in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs and the Redskins 17 – 0 in the NFC championship game, advancing to their first Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXI, against the Denver Broncos at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

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

On December 6, 2009, the Seahawks wore their Seahawks blue jersey with the new dark navy blue pants for the first time, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite this, they still finished the 1973 season giving up fewer points ( 150 ) than in 1972, and recorded a 12-2 record, including their opening game victory over the San Francisco 49ers that tied an NFL record with 18 consecutive wins.

The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26 – 21 to win their first Super Bowl.

After recovering the fumble, the 49ers drove for a Super Bowl record 92 yards, scoring on an 10-yard pass from Montana to fullback Earl Cooper, increasing their lead to 14 – 0.

But then Montana threw 2 straight incompletions, forcing the 49ers to settle for kicker Ray Wersching's 22-yard field goal to increase their lead to 17-0.

According to the NFL's highlight film for the game, the 49ers had discovered Wersching's ability to effectively use the squib during their 1981 season opener when a leg injury kept him from fully powering into the football.

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.

The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by the score of 38 – 16, to win their second Super Bowl.

The 49ers were making their second Super Bowl appearance after becoming the first team ever to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

The 49ers advanced to their second Super Bowl in team history after becoming the first team ever to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

The 49ers were 17-1 and the Dolphins 16-2 including their playoff games.

The Dolphins ' 3-0 lead did not last long, as the 49ers stormed down the field on their next possession.

After a 5-yard rush by Nathan, the Dolphins went into a no-huddle offense, preventing the 49ers from making substitutions and keeping their run defense on the field.

Miami then had to punt again on their ensuing possession, and San Francisco defensive back Dana McLemore returned the ball 28 yards to the 49ers ' 45-yard line.

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 defeated the Broncos by the score of 55 – 10, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl, and tying the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl victories.

The 49ers entered the game seeking to win their second straight Super Bowl.