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POSTSEASONGAME SUMMARIESGreen Bay Packers 23, 49ers 10NFC ChampionshipJanuary 11 at 3Com Park(San Francisco, CA)RB Dorsey Levens rushed for 114 yards and WRAntonio Freeman caught four passes for 104 yardsand a touchdown to lead visiting Green Bay to a 23-10 win in the NFC Championship Game. The game wasplayed before 68,987 under windy and rainy conditionsat 3Com Park. The Packers opened the scoring latein the first quarter. After San Francisco punted on itsfirst series, QB Brett Favre led Green Bay on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a K Ryan Longwell19-yard field goal. Favre completed three-of-fourpasses for 37 yards in the series. Green Bay continuedits scoring in the second quarter. S Eugene Robinsonintercepted a QB Steve Young pass and returned it 58yards to the San Francisco 28. Two plays later, Favrethrew a 27-yard scoring pass to Freeman to makethe score 10-0. San Francisco then broke the droughtwith a scoring drive beginning with 4:23 remaining inthe second quarter. Following a missed field goal byLongwell, the 49ers took possession at their own 38. Apair of Young completions for 32 yards had the Ninersin Packers territory, but two holding penalties broughtthe ball back to the original line of scrimmage. On akey third down with 26 yards to go, Young completeda 48-yard pass to WR Terrell Owens to the Packers10-yard line. The drive resulted in a 28-yard field goalby K Gary Anderson. Green Bay answered on its nextpossession. Freeman returned the kickoff 18 yards tothe Packers 27. Two plays later, Favre hit Freeman for a40-yard completion to the San Francisco 25. Longwellconnected on a 43-yard field goal to make the halftimescore 13-3. After a scoreless third quarter, Green Bayextended its lead to 16-3 on a 25-yard field goal byLongwell. The Packers added seven more after a fiveyardtouchdown run by Levens to make the score 23-3.San Francisco closed out the game by scoring on theensuing kickoff. Chuck Levy returned Longwell’s kick95 yards for a touchdown. Levy’s return was the secondlongest postseason return for San Francisco, trailingthe 97-yard touchdown return by Vic Washington vs.Dallas in 1972. Young completed 23-of-38 passes for250 yards and one interception. RB Terry Kirby ran fora team-high 21 yards on six carries. WR J.J. Stokescaught six passes for 87 yards, including a long of 43.Defensively, San Francisco was led by S Merton Hankswith eight tackles. LB Ken Norton Jr., LB Lee Woodall,LB Gary Plummer and S Tim McDonald had seventackles each.Packers 3 10 0 10 - 2349ers 0 3 0 7 - 10Packers — Longwell 19 FGPackers — Freeman 27 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)49ers — Anderson 28 FGPackers — Longwell 43 FGPackers — Longwell 25 FGPackers — Levens 5 run (Longwell kick)49ers — Levy 95 kickoff return (Anderson kick)SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS \\199849ers 30, Green Bay Packers 27NFC Wild CardJanuary 3 at 3Com Park(San Francisco, CA)QB Steve Young threw three touchdown passes,including a 25-yard strike to WR Terrell Owens withthree seconds remaining, as San Francisco edged GreenBay, 30-27. On a crystal clear day in the Bay Area, itwas the Packers who opened the scoring on a 23-yardfield goal from K Ryan Longwell midway through thefirst quarter. San Francisco answered with help from abig play on defense. S Merton Hanks forced a fumbleby RB Dorsey Levens and the ball was recovered by DEChris Doleman at the Green Bay 19-yard line. Threeplays later Young connected with TE Greg Clark fromone yard out for the touchdown and a 7-3 lead. Justfour seconds into the second quarter, the Packersregained the lead on a two-yard scoring toss from QBBrett Favre to WR Antonio Freeman. San Francisco tiedthe score on the first of three K Wade Richey field goals,this one from 34 yards out with 6:53 remaining in thehalf. The Packers surged back ahead with 36 secondsremaining when Levens bowled into the end zone fromtwo yards out to take a 17-10 halftime lead. The thirdquarter opened with Favre being pressured into anerrant pass that was intercepted by LB Lee Woodall.Five plays later, the score was tied for a third time whenYoung hit Clark from eight yards out for the score. The49ers reclaimed the lead midway through the quarteron a team postseason record and career-long 48-yard field goal from Richey. In a game that saw fivelead changes and three ties, the fourth quarter becameparticularly dramatic. Longwell answered Richey’s48-yard kick with a 37-yard effort of his own to tiethe game at 20-20 at the beginning of the fourth. Onthe ensuing possession, San Francisco marched 51yards in 10 plays and capped the drive with a 40-yardfield goal by Richey to reclaim the lead at 23-20. With4:19 remaining in the game, Green Bay took over atits own 11-yard line. From there, Favre would leadhis team on a nine-play, 89-yard scoring drive. Thedrive was capped when Favre hit Freeman from 15yards out for the touchdown and a 27-23 lead with1:56 remaining in the game. The Packers touchdownset up one of the most memorable sequences in 49ershistory. San Francisco took possession at its own 24-yard line with 1:50 remaining and three timeouts to itscredit. On the final play, Young dropped back, stumbledand threw a 25-yard touchdown strike to Owens whowas sandwiched in the end zone by S Pat Terrell and SDarren Sharper.Packers 3 14 0 10 - 2749ers 7 3 10 10 - 30Packers — Longwell 23 FG49ers — Clark 1 pass from Young (Richey kick)Packers — Freeman 2 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)49ers — Richey 34 FGPackers — Levens 2 run (Longwell kick)49ers — Clark 8 pass from Young (Richey kick)49ers — Richey 48 FGPackers — Longwell 37 FG49ers — Richey 40 FGPackers — Freeman 15 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)49ers — Owens 25 pass from Young (Richey kick)256// MEDIA GUIDEAtlanta Falcons 20, 49ers 18NFC Divisional PlayoffJanuary 9 at Georgia Dome(Atlanta, GA)With San Francisco’s NFL-leading run game a mereshell of itself, the Atlanta Falcons forced three turnoversand held off the 49ers, 20-18, in the NFC DivisionalPlayoff at the Georgia Dome. San Francisco’s hopeof controlling the game on the ground came to ascreeching halt on the first play of the game when RBGarrison Hearst fractured the tibia in his left leg on aninside run that had gained seven yards. With Hearst outand RB Terry Kirby hobbled with a bruised leg, the 49ersmanaged just 46 yards on the ground. Atlanta’s rushingattack flourished in the first half thanks to the powerrunning of RB Jamal Anderson, who scored on a twoyardrun in the first quarter to give the Falcons a 7-0lead. Atlanta increased its lead to 14-0 when Andersonfinished off a 34-yard run with a spread eagle dive intothe end zone with 3:12 left in the second quarter. Thetouchdown run capped a seven-play, 82-yard drive.San Francisco snatched the momentum from theFalcons by putting together a pair of scoring drives justbefore the half. The 49ers answered Atlanta’s secondtouchdown march with a nine-play, 80-yard drive thatconcluded with the familiar end zone combination ofQB Steve Young to WR Jerry Rice from 17 yards out.It was Rice’s 20th career postseason touchdown. Withjust under one minute to play in the first half, DE CharlesHaley chased QB Chris Chandler and deflected his passinto the waiting arms of DT Junior Bryant, who returnedit four yards to the Atlanta 36-yard line. K Wade Richeymade it a 14-10 game at the half with a 36-yard fieldgoal as time expired. The 49ers carried that momentuminto the third quarter, nearly tripling Atlanta’s offensiveoutput in the second half (187 yards to 68). But turnoversdid not allow them to complete the comeback. TheFalcons thwarted two drives with a pair of interceptions,including one by S Eugene Robinson that was returned77 yards to set up a K Morten Andersen 29-yard fieldgoal. Leading 17-10, Andersen added another 32-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 10-point edge with10:33 remaining. San Francisco responded to Atlanta’sthree pointer with a 13-play, 87-yard drive that Youngfinished himself with an eight-yard touchdown run. Atwo-point pass from QB Ty Detmer to TE Greg Clarkmade it 20-18 with 2:57 left. After Atlanta used up 2:19of the clock, the 49ers got the ball back at their ownfour-yard line but were only able to move to the 26before Young’s hail mary attempt was intercepted astime expired. After rushing for 83 yards on 13 carries inthe first half, Anderson was limited to 30 yards on 16carries in the second half by San Francisco’s defense.LB Winfred Tubbs made a game-high 10 tackles, whileDE Chris Doleman made six stops and one sack.49ers 0 10 0 8 - 18Falcons 7 7 3 3 - 20Falcons — Anderson 2 run (Andersen kick)Falcons — Anderson 34 run (Andersen kick)49ers — Rice 17 pass from Young (Richey kick)49ers — Richey 36 FGFalcons — Andersen 29 FGFalcons — Andersen 32 FG49ers — Young 8 run (Detmer to Clark pass)