NFC Championship

It was the 3rd consecutive NFC Championship game involving the top football rivalry of the 1990s. The 49ers had been the team of the 1980s, winning four Super Bowl titles. The Cowboys, coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories– and who had eliminated the 49ers the previous two years for the conference title – were the team of the 90s. Late in the afternoon of January 15, 1995, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, they again met for the NFC Championship. But this time, it was all 49ers. San Francisco, behind the league’s MVP, Steve Young, surged to a 21-0 first quarter lead – and led 31-14 at halftime after a touchdown reception by Jerry Rice. A third quarter touchdown by the Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith, his second, cut the 49er lead to 31-21. But the 49ers held on, 38-28, and won Super Bowl XXIX in a rout, 49-26, over the Chargers. The Cowboys, meanwhile, re-emerged the next year to capture Super Bowl XXX. ― NFL 100

Box Score: Football Reference

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