The two teams that squared off in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game had much different histories with this stage of the playoffs.
On one side, there were the San Francisco 49ers, a team that ruled the NFC in the 1980s and has made a habit of reaching the conference title game in the 2020s. Kyle Shanahan’s squad rolled to the NFC’s No. 1 seed in 2023 and escaped the No. 7 Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. With the win, San Francisco reached its fourth NFC title game in the last five years.
Standing in their way were the rising Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell’s team landed the NFC’s No. 3 seed and won the franchise’s first playoff game in 32 years with a wild card victory over the No. 6 Los Angeles Rams. They then punched their ticket to their first NFC Championship Game in 32 years with a divisional round triumph over the No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the 49ers completing an improbable comeback against the Lions and punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII, here’s a look at the teams with the most wins, losses and appearances in NFC Championship Games:
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Which team has won the most NFC Championship Games?
The 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have the most NFC Championship Game victories with eight.
San Francisco won four NFC championship games from 1981 to 1989. It got another conference title in 1994 but then would wait 18 years before getting back to the Super Bowl. The team has now won the NFC in two of the last five seasons.
NFL
Dallas’ eight wins came in two dominant stints. The first came from 1970, the first year with an NFC Championship Game following the NFL-AFL merger, to 1978 and featured five NFC title game wins. The second stretch came from 1992 to 1995, when Dallas made four straight appearances and picked up three victories.
After the 49ers and Cowboys, the Rams, New York Giants and Washington Commanders are tied for the third-most victories with five apiece.
Which team has lost the most NFC Championship Games?
While San Francisco is tied for the most NFC Championship Game wins, it also has the most NFC Championship Game losses. The 49ers lost the game in 2021 and 2022, bringing their total number of defeats to 11.
The Cowboys, Rams, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are second on the list with six NFC Championship Game losses apiece.
Which team has the most NFC Championship Game appearances?
The 49ers made a record 19th NFC Championship Game appearance this year. It is their seventh time reaching the game since 2011, and they are 2-4 in that span.
The Cowboys are second on the list with 14 appearances, the Rams are in third with 11 and the Packers and Vikings are tied for fourth with nine each.
Every team in the current NFC has reached at least two conference title games, and the Lions are the only team that has failed to represent the conference in a Super Bowl. Here is each team listed by NFC Championship Game appearances:
1. San Francisco 49ers: 19 (8-11)
2. Dallas Cowboys: 14 (8-6)
3. Los Angeles Rams: 11 (5-6)
T-4. Green Bay Packers: 9 (3-6)
T-4. Minnesota Vikings: 9 (3-6)
6. Philadelphia Eagles: 8 (3-4)
7. Washington Commanders: 6 (5-1)
T-8. New York Giants: 5 (5-0)
T-8. Chicago Bears: 5 (2-3)
T-10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4 (2-2)
T-10. Carolina Panthers: 4 (2-2)
T-10. Atlanta Falcons: 4 (2-2)
T-13. Seattle Seahawks: 3 (3-0)
T-13. New Orleans Saints: 3 (1-2)
T-15. Arizona Cardinals: 2 (1-1)
T-15. Detroit Lions: 2 (0-2)
