After 18 19 weeks of football, we're down to the final four and our beloved San Francisco 49ers are in the party. More importantly, they get to host the NFC Championship Game thanks to the New York Giants rout of the Green Bay Packers. The game was tight early on, but the Giants blew this one up and never looked back, winning 37-20. Aaron Rodgers never looked comfortable and the Packers offense was too inconsistent on a day when the Giants brought their A-game.
Now, we get a renewal of one of the classic NFL rivalries. It is of course a huge rematch of a great Week 10 matchup that saw the 49ers edge out the Giants 27-20. Alex Smith made some big plays in the passing game and Justin Smith had a huge deflection to stop the Giants short of a potential tying touchdown late.
While that is of great significance, it is particularly cool that this is a sort of historical rubber match. The 49ers and Giants have a strong playoff history, but two of their last three games are in the pantheon of all-time great games. The Giants won the 1991 NFC Championship Game in arguably the most heart-breaking 49ers loss ever. The 49ers returned the favor in a 2003 wild card game when they staged the greatest comeback in postseason history.
I've posted some highlights after the jump. We'll have so much more about this matchup as the week moves along, as well as some more content about yesterday's classic game.
49ers vs. Giants, 1991 NFC Championship Game
49ers vs. Giants, 2003 NFC Wild Card Game