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When an NFL team reaches the Conference Championship in the playoffs, their season can be chalked up as extremely successful. Winning the AFC or NFC title game means representing your conference in the Super Bowl, and even losing the game can still be a positive takeaway.
San Francisco 49ers have the most NFL Conference Championship appearances and losses
Some teams just have no luck when it comes to the NFL Conference Championships. The Green Bay Packers recently went to two straight NFC title games and lost both, taking their losing streak to four straight games. The Pittsburgh Steelers have eight all-time losses in AFC Championship games, but that's not the most in NFL history.
Ironically, a current NFC Championship participant has the most losses in the Conference Championship Round: the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers also lead the NFL in most Conference Championship appearances with 17. The Steelers are second with 16, which leads the AFC all-time.
San Francisco played in the first NFC Championship game post-merger in a losing effort. Their first win was in 1981 against the Dallas Cowboys, which led to them winning their first Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, this season marks the 40-year anniversary of Super Bowl XVI. Both the Bengals and the 49ers are playing in the Conference Championship Round as the underdogs.
Despite a long-time success in reaching the NFC title game, the 49ers have a losing record of 7-9 (.438). At least they converted five of their seven wins into Super Bowl championships, although their last was in 1994.
The Steve Young-Joe Montana era was fruitful, resulting in four trips to the NFC Conference Championship in five seasons. After a lull through the 2000s, the Colin Kaepernick-era was controversial but resulted in three straight NFC title games from 2011-2013, with just one win in 2012.
After another stretch without much playoff success, San Francisco returned in 2019 with Jimmy Garappolo as their quarterback and made it to Super Bowl LIV. They would have won if they hadn't allowed the Chiefs to score 21 unanswered points in a 31-20 loss.
Beating the Los Angeles Rams this weekend would give the 49ers eight total wins in the NFC Championship, tying them with the Dallas Cowboys with the most.
