San Francisco quarterback 49ers Colin Kaepernick, left, speaks with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan during the second half of the NFL football NFC Championship game today in Atlanta. The 49ers won 28-24 to advance to Superbowl XLVII. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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.