Everything to know about the San Francisco 49ers before Super Bowl 2024
After an epic conference championship game where the San Francisco 49ers staged an impressive 34-31 comeback win over the Detroit Lions, they now have their sights set on getting past the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The San Francisco 49ers are set to make their eighth appearance in the Super Bowl and will face off against the defending champions in Super Bowl LVIII. The Chiefs themselves are aiming for back-to-back titles.
Both teams have previously met on the grandest stage, and this upcoming game will be a rematch of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, when the 49ers lost 31-20. The last time the 49ers lifted the Super Bowl trophy was during the 1994 season when they defeated the Chargers 49-26.
Here is everything you need to know about the San Francisco 49ers heading into Super Bowl LVIII.
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How do the San Francisco 49ers offense, defense stack up?
San Francisco's quarterback Brock Purdy has been leading the 49ers throughout the season, and his teammates have praised him for his leadership. Purdy is a highly efficient and reliable playmaker who has silenced critics by proving to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. In the 2023 season, Purdy recorded 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Purdy isn’t the only big hitter on the 49ers roster, filled with tons of playmakers on both offensive and defense. Nick Bosa was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season and totaled 10.5 sacks this season.
Running back Christian McCaffrey has been one of the most solid players on the 49ers, finding the end zone in any way possible. In the championship game against the Lions, McCaffrey ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk isn’t only the best dressed player on the 49ers but takes his job of protecting Purdy or making a way for Christian McCaffrey very seriously and is good at it.
Passing leader: QB Brock Purdy (4,280 yards, 31 TD, 11 int. 64.5% completion percentage)
Rushing leaders: RB Christian McCaffrey (272 carries, 1,459 yards, 5.4 avg., 14 TD), QB Brock Purdy (39 carries, 144 yards, 3.7 avg., 2 TD), RB Elijah Mitchell (75 carries, 281 yards, 3.7 avg., 2 TD)
Receiving leaders: WR Deebo Samuel (60 catches, 892 yards, 14.9 avg., 7 TD), TE George Kittle (65 catches, 1,020 yards, 15.7 avg., 6 TD), WR Brandon Aiyuk (75 catches, 1,342 yards, 17.9 avg., 7 TD)
San Francisco 49ers defense:
Sack leaders: DL Nick Bosa (10.5), DL Arik Armstead (5)
Interception leaders: LB Dre Greenlaw (2)
Tackle leaders: LB Fred Warner (70), LB Dre Greenlaw (60), S Tashaun Gipson (35)
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The San Francisco 49ers path to Super Bowl LVIII
The San Francisco 49ers clinched the top seed in the NFC, which gave them a bye in the Wild Card round and home field advantage in the divisional round.
In a closely contested game, San Francisco managed to beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in the divisional round.
In the conference championship, things weren't looking good for the 49ers as they went into halftime down 24-7 against the Detroit Lions. However, the 49ers staged an impressive comeback in the second half and managed to edge past the Lions 34-31, securing a bid in the Super Bowl.
Now, the San Francisco 49ers will play against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Here's how they made it to Vegas:
NFC divisional playoff: Defeated Green Bay Packers 24-21
NFC championship: Defeated Detroit Lions 34-31
San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl history
The San Francisco 49ers have eight Super Bowl appearances, winning the title five times. Their previous results:
Game | Date | Matchup and Score |
XVI | Jan. 24, 1982 | 49ers 26, Bengals 21 |
XIX | Jan. 20, 1985 | 49ers 38, Dolphins 16 |
XXIII | Jan. 22, 1989 | 49ers 20, Bengals 16 |
XXIV | Jan. 28, 1990 | 49ers 55, Broncos 10 |
XXIX | Jan. 29, 1995 | 49ers 49, Chargers 26 |
XLVII | Feb. 3, 2013 | Ravens 34, 49ers 31 |
LIV | Feb. 2, 2020 | Chiefs 31, 49ers 20 |
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San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famers
The San Francisco 49ers franchise boasts 29 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
San Francisco 49ers franchise history
The San Francisco 49ers were formed in 1946 as a member of the All-America Football Conference. Following the collapse of the AAFC, they moved to the NFL in 1950.
In the 70s, the 49ers won three consecutive NFC Western division titles from 1970 to 1972. Later, in 1982, they won their first-ever league championship by defeating Cincinnati 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI. The 49ers went on to win four more Super Bowl titles.
Finally, in 2014, the team moved from Candlestick Park to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
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How did the San Francisco 49ers get the name?
The history of the San Francisco 49ers explains that Allen E. Sorrell, who was Tony Morabito's partner and a part owner of the newly formed All-America Football Conference franchise in 1946, proposed the name "49ers" for the team.
Sorrell suggested this name after the influx of people who rushed to the west for gold. It is believed that this was the only name that the team has been associated with in San Francisco.
The San Francisco 49ers logo history
The original team logo depicted the city's roots and showed a gold miner wearing boots and a lumberjack shirt, wielding a pair of pistols. The design was adopted from the side of railway freight cars.
Since then, the team has used some variation of the logo, but the current version consists of the letters "SF" in white against a red oval. This logo was first introduced in 1962 and has remained in use ever since in some form.
Who is Sourdough Sam, the 49ers mascot?
The San Francisco 49ers had their first mascot in the 1950s, which was a mule named Clementine. Clementine wore a red saddle blanket.
Later, the team changed to a gold rush prospector-themed mascot, which appeared in the 1970's.
In 1994, the San Francisco 49ers adopted Sourdough Sam as their official mascot. It is claimed that Sourdough Sam is the hardest working mascot in the NFL. Sam is a gold miner and loves sourdough. He takes the bread with him for lunch on his long days of digging in the gold mines. This is how he got his nickname, Sourdough Sam.
The San Francisco 49ers all-time statistical information
The San Francisco 49ers franchise has been in existence since 1946 and have played 78 seasons. Here are some of the top stats in club history:
Record (W-L-T): 624-515-16
Playoff Record: 39-24
Super Bowls Won: 5
Championships Won: 5
All-time Passing Leader: Joe Montana 2,929/4,600, 35,124 yds, 244 TD
All-time Rushing Leader: Frank Gore 2,442 att, 11,073 yds, 64 TD
All-time Receiving Leader: Jerry Rice 1,281 rec, 19,247 yds, 176 TD
All-time Scoring Leader: Jerry Rice 1,130 points
All-time AV Leader: Jerry Rice 216 AV
Winningest Coach: George Seifert 98-30-0
All stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com
How to watch Super Bowl LVIII: TV, streaming and schedule for San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
When: Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Cable TV: CBS
Streaming: Paramount+; YouTube TV; Sling; FuboTV
How to watch:Catch the Super Bowl with a Fubo subscription
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As San Francisco 49ers head to Super Bowl, here's a primer on NFC champs
