The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up a playoff berth Monday evening with a 34-24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. It was a wild game as the 49ers struggled to put the Falcons away early. The offense struggled to get anything going consistently until the second half. The team struggled with some stupid penalties, and it took a bit of a lucky bounce of sorts to put this thing away.
And yet, for now, none of that matters. As Frank Gore put it after the game, the 49ers are back in the tournament. Once January gets here, the 49ers get their shot at rectifying the end of last season. The 49ers are currently the No. 5 seed, but they could still end up the No. 1, No. 2 or even No. 6 seed after next week. There's a lot of football left to be played, but the 49ers have punched their ticket for the postseason.
It might surprise you to note that tonight was likely the final game at Candlestick Park. I know, shocking news! The 49ers could conceivably host a playoff game, but for now, Monday was treated as the send-off for the Stick. There were numerous celebrations, and they closed things out with fireworks and Boyz II Men. I'm not entirely sure how Boyz II Men became the go-to 49ers music source after Huey Lewis, but they put on a post-game show.
We got a little "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday"
And we got a little End of the Road
It was odd, but still fitting.
They finished the night with fireworks, and this awesome picture came out on Twitter:
One of the best pictures I've ever taken. Farewell #Candlestick. pic.twitter.com/7R1DTGzT2t
— Cole Kuiper (@guacacoley) December 24, 2013