San Francisco 49ers: How They Got To The Super Bowl
San Francisco Emerges From the NFC Playoff Field To Return to the Super Bowl
After A Pair of Hard-Earned Wins, The 49erd Are The Slight Favorite
It wasn’t easy, but the San Francisco 49ers played their way into the franchise’s eighth Super Bowl. San Francisco was the headliner in the NFC playoff field and delivered with two tough victories.
It has been nearly 30 years since San Francisco won the Super Bowl and the 49ers get a chance to end the drought.
While San Francisco won its seventh straight postseason home game, the 49ers failed to cover for the second straight game when Detroit scored in the final minute. The 49ers did win the game outright, 34-31, against the Lions, as they will meet Kansas City in the Super Bowl.
The NFL betting lines currently list San Francisco as a one-point favorite.
Looking at the NFL schedule, the game is set for Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kickoff will be shortly after 6:30 p.m. ET and will air on CBS. The total is currently at 47.5.
Here’s a look at how the 49ers returned to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2020.
The Road to Las Vegas
Even though San Francisco was tied with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions for the best record among NFC teams, the NFC playoff field had San Francisco playing at home throughout the NFC playoffs.
San Francisco was a 10.5-point favorite against visiting Green Bay after receiving a bye into the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers missed a field goal that would have given them a seven-point lead. San Francisco responded with a 12-play scoring drive with Christian McCaffrey’s touchdown giving the 49ers the lead with just over a minute to play.
Detroit passed on a pair of second-half field goals to go for it on fourth down, and that came back to haunt the Lions in a three-point loss.
A Look At the Numbers
San Francisco did not perform particularly well as a favorite this season, posting a 9-10 record against the spread when favored.
The 49ers were favored in every game this season. There’s a chance that could change by the time the Super Bowl rolls around.
If the Chiefs become the favorite in the Super Bowl, it would be the first time since the 2023 NFC Championship Game that the 49ers are listed as the underdog.
The 49ers are third in the NFL, with 11 of their games landing over the total.
Living Up To the Hype
Coming into the season, only the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles had better NFL odds of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl than the 49ers.
San Francisco had +375 odds to reach the Super Bowl. That was well ahead of the +600 odds for the Lions when looking at the NFC playoff field.
The 49ers were priced at -180 in the odds of winning the NFC West Division title. The 49ers won the division by two NFL games ahead of the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers were 5-1 in the NFC West, and they came through for those who took San Francisco at +135 to go over 4.5 division wins.
Coming into the season, the 49ers had +750 odds to lose in the Super Bowl and were at +1000 to win the Super Bowl.
Those Super Bowl odds were fourth behind Kansas City (+600), Philadelphia (+700) and Buffalo (+900).
Super Bowl History
The last time San Francisco played in the Super Bowl was on Feb. 2, 2020. Kansas City, favored by 1.5 points, won 31-20, with the game finishing just under the 53-point total.
On Feb. 3, 2013, the 49ers were favored by 4.5 points against the Baltimore Ravens, only to lose 34-31. The game finished over the 47.5-point total.
When San Francisco won the last of its five Super Bowl titles, came in Super Bowl XXIX following the 1994 season.
The 49ers blasted the San Diego Chargers 49-26 as 19-point favorites. They haven’t been favored in the playoffs by more points since that game. The 49ers almost went over the 54-point total without any held from the overmatched Chargers.
San Francisco won its first five trips to the Super Bowl before losing the last two.
Last Meeting
The last time that the 49ers and Chiefs squared off, it was Kansas City going on the road and winning 44-23 as a one-point favorite.
Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes in the win for the Chiefs, while George Kittle had one of the two TD passes thrown by Jimmy Garoppolo.
The game went over the 49-point total just 44 seconds into the fourth quarter.
For NFL betting news, NFL score, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
