The San Francisco 49ers’ last playoff victory came almost exactly two years ago.
On Jan. 28, 2024, San Francisco pulled off a 34-31 NFC Championship Game comeback over the Detroit Lions at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers trailed 24-7 at halftime before ripping off 27 unanswered points to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII. They lost that Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime and haven’t won a playoff game since, as they endured a 6-11 disaster in 2024.
That drought could end later today when the 49ers visit the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. Let’s revisit the Niners’ last postseason win and break down today’s matchup.
The NFC Championship Comeback That Sent the 49ers to the Super Bowl
The Lions dominated the first half of that January 2024 showdown. Jameson Williams ripped off a 42-yard end-around touchdown on their first possession. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs gashed San Francisco’s front seven for 148 rushing yards before halftime. Detroit’s 17-point lead at the break tied for the second-largest road advantage in conference championship history.
Then, everything flipped. Gibbs fumbled early in the third quarter. Brock Purdy scrambled 21 yards to set up one score, then watched Brandon Aiyuk haul in a 51-yard catch — the ball deflecting off a Lions defender’s facemask — to set up another. Christian McCaffrey punched in two touchdowns. Elijah Mitchell’s 3-yard score with 3:02 remaining sealed the eighth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
The 49ers mounted the fourth comeback ever from 17 points down or more in a conference title game, matching the 2012 49ers, who staged the same rally against Atlanta to reach Super Bowl XLVII.
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McCaffrey finished with 132 total yards and two touchdowns. Purdy completed 20 of 31 passes for 267 yards. Fred Warner led the defense with 13 tackles. Nick Bosa contributed two sacks. The 49ers outscored Detroit 27-7 in the second half.
That win remains their last postseason victory. The Super Bowl loss to Kansas City was followed by a wretched six-win 2024 season, their worst record since 2020.
What the 49ers Need to Do to Defeat the Eagles
The 2025 squad looks different. Deebo Samuel was traded to Washington. Dre Greenlaw, Aaron Banks, Talanoa Hufanga, and Charvarius Ward departed in free agency. Bosa tore his ACL again in September, ending his season before October. Warner suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 and won’t return until at least the conference championship round, if San Francisco advances that far. Aiyuk hasn’t played this season while recovering from a torn ACL and MCL.
Yet here they are, 12-5 and back in the postseason. Purdy only played in nine games due to turf toe, but has been electric since returning in Week 11. San Francisco averaged 35.7 points per game during their six-game winning streak (Week 11-17), leading the NFL over that span. Purdy finished the season at the No. 1 QB in PFSN’s QB Impact metric with a 92.1 grade. McCaffrey remains one of the league’s most complete backs. George Kittle continues to dominate the middle of the field.
The path forward requires three consecutive road wins to reach Super Bowl LX, which will be played at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco on Feb. 8. Shanahan is embracing the challenge after San Francisco’s Week 18 loss to Seattle cost them the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
“We’ll embrace the s**t out of doing it the hard way,” Shanahan said. “Right now, you can’t get picky about who you play, whether it’s the defending champs or whether it’s the seventh seed. This is the playoffs. Everyone’s earned the right to be here. If you want to reach your ultimate goal, you’ve got to be good enough to beat anybody.”
Two years is a long time in the NFL. Rosters turn over. Coaching staffs change. The 49ers who beat Detroit that January night aren’t the same team taking the field in Philadelphia today. But this is a franchise with five Super Bowl victories, so the expectation is that their playoff-win drought will end soon — potentially on Sunday afternoon against Philly.
