ATLANTA - Down 17-0 in the second quarter, the San Francisco 49ers delivered the biggest comeback in NFC title game history to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 late this afternoon at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons appeared to be engineering one of their patented last-second comebacks inside the final two minutes, but a third-down throw from the 49ers 10-yard-line was knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
Then Matt Ryan's fourth-down throw to Roddy White was incomplete.
Atlanta concludes its season with a 14-4 record. San Francisco improves to 13-4-1 and returns to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1994 season. The Niners _ who will face the New England-Baltimore winner in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 _ are 5-0 all-time on pro football's biggest stage.