While the San Francisco 49ers fell short of their Super Bowl goal this season, they did have another deep playoff run on their path to their ultimate destination, and it was not easy.
After obtaining the NFC’s top seed, the 49ers found themselves in a pickle in the NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers, behind throughout much of the third quarter.
However, a Jordan Love interception turned the tide for San Francisco, who rallied for a 24-17 come-from-behind victory and advanced to face the Detroit Lions.
In the NFC Championship Game, however, San Francisco dug themselves an even deeper hole, behind 24-7 at halftime and appearing to have little to no vitality.
A really exciting incident occurred in the team’s locker room at halftime, when general manager John Lynch went down there for the first time.
At the time, the general manager admitted that his confidence was low after Detroit had beaten San Francisco in the first half, forcing him to try something fresh.
“I was not optimistic right then,” Lynch said at the team’s State of the Franchise event. “It didn’t feel like it was our game. And I’ll tell you, that was the first time in my career that I went down to the locker room at halftime. I’m not sure why I felt obliged to go down, but I felt so much better afterwards. “I felt the energy in that locker room.
He had an unusual meeting with 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel, who was sitting down shaking before requesting the general manager to inform head coach Kyle Shanahan of more opportunities.
“I was sitting in with the equipment man, and I’m just listening,” said Lynch. “I could see Deebo over there.” And I noticed Deebo breathing heavily. Deebo glanced at me and said, ‘Tell him to get me the ball.'”
Samuel caught the first two passes coming out of the half, which sparked a drive for the 49ers that finished with a field goal, beginning a streak of five straight scoring drives.
In the second half, the wideout had six catches for 68 receiving yards, and he finished with eight catches for 89 yards overall.
Ultimately, the squad rallied in the second half, scoring on five straight drives to complete the remarkable comeback, defeating their opponents 34-31 to advance to the Super Bowl.
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