Niner Noise
FanSided

Ranking the top 10 playoff moments in San Francisco 49ers history

By Peter Panacy

24 Sep 2000: Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers get congradulated on his touchdown by teammate Jeff Garcia #5 during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 41-24.Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport
24 Sep 2000: Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers get congradulated on his touchdown by teammate Jeff Garcia #5 during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 41-24.Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 11
Next

No. 6: The Goal-Line Stand

When: January 24, 1982

San Francisco’s first Super Bowl run is usually remembered by a particular play in the NFC Championship game that got them there.

More on that in a moment.

But fans tend to forget Super Bowl XVI, when the Niners were facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals. Head coach Bill Walsh got off to a hot start, leading Cincy 20-0 at halftime.

The Bengals began to answer back, though, making it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter.

The situation would have been much worse for San Francisco had it not been for a valiant goal-line defensive stand, as the Bengals ran five straight plays from within the Niners’ 5-yard line.

Cincinnati failed.

49ers linebacker Dan Bunz and defensive lineman Archie Reese came up with huge tackles on key runs by Bengals running back Pete Johnson.

San Francisco secured its first Super Bowl crown, winning 26-21.