Once again, the San Francisco 49ers are Super Bowl favorites, and they're looking for another win to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
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The 49ers clinched both the NFC West and the conference's top seed before the last week of the season even kicked off, and they should be well rested as they attempt to make it back through the conference.
The question is whether Kyle Shanahan's team can finally get over the hump, after injuries got in their way last season. The team is third in the league in scoring defense, and it's third in scoring offense as well with a balanced, multifaceted attack full of superstars.
So would a Super Bowl win be new territory for the 49ers? Not really.
How Many Super Bowls Have the 49ers Won?
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The 49ers are one of the league's most successful teams. Their five Super Bowl wins have them tied with the Dallas Cowboys for most of any NFC team, and a title this year would pull San Francisco into a tie with the top AFC powers — the Steelers and Patriots — for the most Super Bowls won by any franchise.
That being said, it's been a while since the 49ers made it all the way to the top of the NFL. They did come close with Super Bowl losses at the end of the 2012 and 2019 seasons in Super Bowls XLVII and LIV, respectively. They lost to the Ravens and Chiefs, respectively — and they could have a chance to get revenge for one of those two defeats, as those two franchises are still among the AFC's best this postseason.
The 49ers won their first four Super Bowls with the legendary quarterback Joe Montana. His first Super Bowl victory was in Super Bowl XVI, in a hard-fought battle over the Bengals at the end of the 1981 season. Montana next got to the top in Super Bowl XIX against Dan Marino and the 1984 Dolphins.
This is when things got really interesting for the 49ers, who drafted star wideout Jerry Rice shortly after that championship. The Niners won Super Bowl XXIII in another victory over the Bengals, capping off the 1988 season. However, iconic coach Bill Walsh stepped away after that victory. George Seifert took over and immediately won a ring the next year in Super Bowl XXIV, a thrashing of the Denver Broncos.
Seifert won another Super Bowl with the Niners in Super Bowl XXIX to cap off the 1994 season. This time, Steve Young was at the helm of the offense, and he put up a historic performance in the big game en route to another rout.
Having won each of their first five Super Bowl appearances, the 49ers have lost their last two, but this year could be different. We'll stay tuned to see if they can get a historic sixth ring with Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and more stars leading the way.
