The San Francisco 49ers are one of the great franchises in NFL history. They are one of five franchises to play in seven or more Super Bowls (New England with 11, and Pittsburgh, Dallas and Denver each with eight).
The San Francisco 49ers have lost the NFC title game 11 times
But think about this: The 49ers have lost the NFC Championship Game 11 times, including their recent loss to Philadelphia, most in the NFL. That is 11 more times they could have been in the Super Bowl.
Since the 1970 NFC-AFC merger, San Francisco has played in a league-high 18 conference title games. They are 7-11 in those contests. The Pittsburgh Steelers have played in the most AFC Conference Championship Games with 16.
Here is a look at the franchises that have played in the most conference title games since 1970.
Most appearances in the AFC and NFC Championship Games
National Football Conference
18-San Francisco
14-Dallas
11-Rams
9-Green Bay, Minnesota
8-Philadelphia
6-Washington
American Football Conference
16-Pittsburgh
15-New England
11-Raiders
10-Denver
7-Miami, Colts
6-Buffalo, Kansas City
Seventeen different franchises have lost at least three times in a conference title game. As mentioned above, the 49ers top this list with 11 defeats in the game prior to the Super Bowl. Here are those 17 teams with the most losses in a conference championship game:
Most losses in the conference title games
11-San Francisco
8-Pittsburgh
7-Raiders
6-Dallas, Rams, Minnesota, Green Bay
4-Philadelphia, New England, Colts, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, NY Jets
3-Chicago, Kansas City, Chargers, Jacksonville, Cleveland
The Houston Texans are the lone NFL franchise to have never played in a conference title game. Of those teams that have played in at least one conference championship game, the Cleveland Browns have the longest drought; they have not played in an AFC title game since 1989. Four other NFL teams have not played in a conference championship game this century: Washington (last in 1991), Detroit (last in 1991), Miami (last in 1992) and Dallas (last in 1995).
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