Niners Notes

Last Sunday, both the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots, the two franchises with the most ‘offs wins, added to their leads with victories.

S.F. has 39 such wins (though I respect the old All American Football Conference–after all it produced the great Cleveland Browns, who split in 6 consecutive NFL title tilts upon entering the league in 1950, I do not count the Niners’ 1949 special ‘offs win in the AAFC) while N.E. has 38.

It has been 31 years since the last San Francisco Super Bowl win. They had won 4 crowns in 9 seasons per their nickname (check out the fine narrator of old NFL tilts, Jim Lemming calling them “The Prospectors”) and that was the number of years from S.F. NFL entry in 1950 until their first title, coached by Bill Walsh, achieved in 1981.

Since a slot 3 loss at Tampa Bay (Buccaneers) (national radio: Bob “Wide open is Tyree” Papa yet…) in ’02, S.F. has won 9 consecutive “slots”/”div” round games, by definition making the title game/semis all 9 and advancing, but losing the subsequent Supe thrice (they won in their first 5 such games and are (5-3) in Supes/NFL final round games, very similar to the NHL Edmonton Oilers, who are (5-4) in final round entities, also once having won 5 straight such, those after a loss. Subsequent to the non Gretzky crown in ’90, Edmonton has lost twice in 7 and once in 6 in final round series).

Seattle (Seahawks), who “title tilted” S.F. , en route to their lone title in ’13, and won 2 weeks ago, also in a Saturday night game, to clinch ‘el’ NFC ‘1,’ are TD plus faves vs S.F.

The Niners will be in their 27th “slots” game (18-8) in previous), and a nineteenth Saturday such game.

Bill Walsh, who guided S.F. to three crowns, (George Seifert guided the other two such wins), is pictured above.