49ers 28 Falcons 24

For the second week in a row, the Atlanta Falcons build a huge early lead and then watched it slip away. This week they couldn’t get the lead back. The San Francisco 49ers won the NFC Championship Game 28-24 coming back from a 17-0 first quarter deficit.

The Falcons built their first quarter lead with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones making plays all over the field. At 17-0, it looked like the 49ers would have no answer to the Falcons passing game. In the second quarter, the 49ers cut the lead to 3 with back to back touchdowns by Lamichael James and Vernon Davis. Before halftime, the Falcons extended their lead to 10 with a touchdown by the retiring Tony Gonzalez.

In the second half, the Falcons turned the ball over twice and failed to score a point. The 49ers cut the Falcons lead to 3 with a Frank Gore touchdown and then took their first lead of the day on Gore’s second touchdown of the second half. The 49ers erasing a 17 point Falcons lead is the biggest comeback in NFC Championship Game history.

The Falcons drove the ball into the red zone late in the fourth quarter but the 49ers defense held on a fourth and four play in the last minute.

In two weeks, the 49ers will travel to New Orleans to play in Super Bowl XLVII.