49ers Playoff History: How Has San Francisco Performed in NFL Postseason?

This year's NFC Championship Game features two franchises with about as wide-ranging degrees of playoff success as possible.

The Detroit Lions are making just their second NFC Championship Game appearance and seeking their first trip to Super Bowl Sunday. But the San Francisco 49ers? All this is nothing new. When the Niners host the Lions at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, it will mark the franchise's third consecutive conference title game appearance and fourth in the last five seasons. This time, a trip to Super Bowl LVIII against either the Kansas City Chiefs or Baltimore Ravens is on the line.

"The stakes and everything ... there's nothing guaranteed after it if you don't handle business," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of the NFC title game at a press conference Wednesday. "You've got to do exactly what you believe in, which is spend every minute to give you the best chance to perform your best in those three hours when it matters."

Before the Super Bowl matchup is determined, here's a rundown of San Francisco's triumphant playoff history.

What Is San Francisco's Postseason Record?

Ahead of their NFC Championship Game matchup with the Lions, the Niners have played in 62 playoff games in their franchise's history, according to Pro Football Reference, and have a 38-24 postseason record.

All but three of those contests have come in the Super Bowl era. San Francisco is 6-2 all-time on Wild Card Weekend, which the top-seeded 49ers were able to avoid this year, and 20-8 in the Divisional Round. The latter record got one win better when the Niners orchestrated a late go-ahead drive and defeated the Green Bay Packers, 24-21, a week ago to advance in the postseason.

The 49ers are 7-3 in 10 playoff games under Shanahan, who is in his seventh year leading the franchise. Two of those losses came in NFC title games, while the other was in Super Bowl LIV.

How Many NFC Championships Do the 49ers Have?

And speaking of the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers are more than familiar with this round of the playoffs. Not necessarily in a good way—at least lately.

This will be a whopping 19th appearance in the NFC's conference championship for San Francisco, a league record. The 49ers are 7-11 in those contests, including 5-5 at home, but have lost their last two. Both of those losses were played on the road. Two years ago, the Niners fell to the Los Angeles Rams by three points, and last year they were pummeled by the Eagles in Philadelphia and did not have a healthy quarterback for most of the game.

How Many Super Bowls Have the 49ers Won?

The 49ers boast a 5-2 record in their seven Super Bowl appearances. San Francisco's five Lombardi Trophies are tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the second-most among all NFL franchises, right behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots (six apiece).

All of the organization's championships were won between the 1981 and 1994 seasons.

San Francisco went five-for-five on Super Bowl Sunday during that stretch, resulting in one of the most dominant dynasties in NFL history. Joe Montanta was the starter under center for the first four, leading the Niners to wins in Super Bowls XVI (26-21 over the Cincinnati Bengals), XIX (38-16 over the Miami Dolphins), XXIII (20-16 over the Bengals, again) and XXIV (55-10 over the Denver Broncos). The first of those back-to-back wins required a game-winning drive out of "Joe Cool," and also ended up being Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh's final game leading the 49ers.

George Seifert took over the next season, led San Fran to a blowout Super Bowl win over the Broncos in his first year, then won another (XXIX, 49-26 over the Chargers) five years later with Steve Young at quarterback.

The 49ers weren't back in the big game until the 2012 season, when former coach Jim Harbaugh lost to his older brother's Baltimore Ravens, 34-31, in a lights-out (literally) Super Bowl XLVII. Most recently, the Niners fell to the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV despite leading by 10 points in the second half.

Going into the championship game weekend, that is the franchise's only Super Bowl trip under Shanahan. The Niners will attempt to change that on Sunday.