The 49ers' NFC West division championship and 10–6 regular-season record earned them the #2 seed in the NFC and a first-round
bye in the playoffs. The
Detroit Lions, the NFC Central division winners, also had a 10–6 regular-season record, but the 49ers had the tie-breaker edge because they defeated the Lions in the regular season. The
Dallas Cowboys, winners of the NFC East with a 12–4 regular-season record, had the #1 seed and a first-round bye of their own.
Schedule NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (4) New York Giants San Francisco 49ers 44, New York Giants 3 Ricky Watters was the story of the game as he rushed for an NFL record 5 touchdowns. He had 118 yards rushing on 24 attempts, along with 5 catches for 46 yards. The Giants were never in the game. The 49ers handed the Giants their worst playoff loss in their history, eclipsing their 37–0 loss to the
Green Bay Packers in
1961.
NFC Championship: at (1) Dallas Cowboys For the second year in a row, the 49ers met the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. And like the year before, the Cowboys were victorious. The 49ers kept it close in the 2nd quarter, as Steve Young tossed a touchdown pass to Tom Rathman to tie the game at 7. But the Cowboys exploded with 21 consecutive points to go up 28–7 at halftime. The game was put out of reach late in the 3rd quarter when a 42-yard touchdown pass from
Bernie Kosar to
Alvin Harper put the Cowboys up 35–14. With the loss, the 49ers finished the year at a disappointing 11–7. == Awards and records ==