The San Francisco 49ers have developed some pretty heated rivalries in their 70-plus years of existence. Niner Noise looks at the five biggest ones for the red and gold.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary described a rival as “one of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.”
For the San Francisco 49ers, heated rivalries with other NFL squads are just as much a part of Niners lore as “The Catch,” the 1980s dynasty, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and so much more.
San Francisco has been blessed with some tremendous rivalries over the years.
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Some are based off great moments between storied franchises. Others are regional. And some are based off divisions, such as the NFC West and the number of times each team has to play each other over any given season.
In order to truly be a rival, both teams have to have gone through periods where they were good. Ideally, both teams are good at the same time. A completely one-sided rivalry isn’t much of a rivalry at all.
Thankfully, the Niners have had a share of those. And we’ll break down the five biggest here.
But before we reach that point, let’s look at a few rivalries that didn’t quite make the cut.
Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
All-Time Series Record: 6-7
This rivalry was one based more on geography than anything else. But the 49ers and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders’ rivalry surely had its heated moments.
Growing up in Northern California, one had to be either a Niners or a Raiders fan. There were no other exceptions. And the two fanbases continuously went at each other for regional bragging rights.
Even if most of the games were in the preseason. These two storied franchises have faced off in just 13 regular-season games, which doesn’t exactly constitute a rivalry.
Still, we have to mention it simply because of fans’ passions and the fact NFL greats, such as wide receiver Jerry Rice and safety Ronnie Lott, suited up for both teams.
Any rivalry is likely going to change, especially with the Raiders bound for Las Vegas.
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Chicago Bears
All-Time Series Record: 30-31-1 (not including playoffs)
This might not seem like a huge rivalry, and fans of the Chicago Bears can certainly point to other teams they’d prefer to call rivals.
But the Niners and Bears have squared off against each other 62 times in both franchise’s respective histories — the fifth most out of any current non-divisional opponent. And it’s safe to say the Bears were one of those teams that spoiled the 49ers’ own dominance of the 1980s (remember the Super Bowl Shuffle?), back when Chicago’s defense laid claim to a Super Bowl crown.
Still, San Francisco boasts a perfect 3-0 record against Chicago in the postseason.
So at least that facet of the rivalry is completely in the Niners’ favor.
No. 5: Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams
All-Time Series Record: 67-64-3 (not including playoffs)
Oh, it’s so good to have the Rams back in Los Angeles.
This once-heated NFC West rivalry surely lost some of its luster when the Rams moved from L.A. to St. Louis in 1995. But from 1999 through 2001, when both the Rams and 49ers were good, this clash of NFC West powerhouses remained a major NFL focal point.
It was better in the 1980s though.
Who can forget the NFC Championship game at the tail end of the 1989 season, the one which San Francisco walloped Los Angeles 30-3 en route to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory?
Sure, both teams have fallen on hard times. But with the Rams’ relocation back to Los Angeles, we should hope for even more storybook tales of rivalry between these two West Coast juggernauts in coming decades.
No. 4: Green Bay Packers
All-Time Series Record: 27-31-1 (not including playoffs)
Ah yes, the 1990s. And the 2010s… at least the first part of the decade.
Take your pick between quarterbacks Steve Young and Brett Favre. The two certainly shared some great moments. Still, the Green Bay Packers seemed to have little trouble dominating San Francisco when it mattered most — the playoffs.
From 1995 through 1997, the 49ers could never get past the Packers in the postseason. Favre and Co. had little trouble ending the Niners’ hopes for a sixth Super Bowl.
But the reign of dominance ended at the tail end of 1998, when the two great quarterbacks met again in the Wild Card round.
You know, “The Catch II.”
In the 2010s, this storied rivalry gave way to two other quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick. Only the 49ers had the last laugh in their respective playoff bouts.
Kaepernick dominated his boyhood team in the 2013 divisional game. And the Niners replicated the effort on the frozen turn of Lambeau Field a year later to eventually propel San Francisco to its third consecutive NFC Championship game.
But Rodgers has a Super Bowl ring. San Francisco hasn’t gotten one in a while now.
No. 3: New York Giants
All-Time Series Record: 15-16 (not including playoffs)
Like the Packers of the 1990s, the New York Giants surely have a history of spoiling the 49ers’ playoff dreams.
Only the Giants have done so in two different decades.
These two teams have met in the postseason eight times, and the head-to-head record stands at 4-4. And what 49ers fan can forget the 1991 NFC Championship game when a Roger Craig fumble led to a game-winning New York field goal to send the Giants to the Super Bowl.
Yeah, it ended San Francisco’s chances for a three-peat chance. And Niners fans are still bitter about that one.
It felt just as bad in 2012 too, when 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams fumbled in overtime to set up yet another Giants game-winning field goal.
At least the miraculous 2003 Wild Card comeback is something Niners fans can brag about in this postseason rivalry.
No. 2: Seattle Seahawks
All-Time Series Record: 15-21 (not including playoffs)
This NFC West rivalry is certainly newer than the rest but nonetheless heated.
The 49ers and Seattle Seahawks rivalry doesn’t lack any of the intensity as others seen on this list. Heck, it might even be more heated.
In the early 2010s, both the 49ers and Seahawks had up-and-coming quarterbacks — Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, respectively — expected to transform the NFL insofar as the way the game was played under center.
And it made for some great drama, both in the regular season and in the playoffs.
The 2014 NFC Championship game had everything in the making for a classic postseason bout. It was a back-and-forth contest between two tough defenses and a slew of playmakers on either side.
Only a tipped would-be game-winning touchdown pass by Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman ended up giving Seattle the victory. Oh, and Sherman’s postgame antics surely added fuel to the rivalry’s fire.
Seattle went onto win the Super Bowl, and Wilson is among the best QBs in the league. Kaepernick is no longer with San Francisco.
And the Niners are struggling to rediscover how to make this rivalry heated once more.
No. 1: Dallas Cowboys
All-Time Series Record: 15-12-1 (not including playoffs)
No 49ers rivalry list would be complete without mentioning the Dallas Cowboys. And, for the sake of this argument, this rivalry tops off the list as the greatest in San Francisco history.
The Cowboys ended three 49ers playoff pushes in the 1970s. That alone could give this rivalry an honorable mention. Of course that all changed in 1982 when these two teams met in the NFC Championship game when this happened:
It’s kind of the biggest play in NFL history.
Of course the Cowboys became the team of the 1990s, after the Niners pulled off four Super Bowl championships the decade prior.
Still, so many great moments were carved out of this storied rivalry that it’s impossible to have this lower on any 49ers rivalry list.
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And we can only hope there are more great moments to come between Dallas and San Francisco.