The San Francisco 49ers are 6-2 all-time in the Wild Card round. That’s impressive. Kyle Shanahan’s teams have been so good when they’ve made the playoffs that they’ve avoided the first round of the playoffs altogether. In two Wild Card appearances with Shanahan as the head coach, the 49ers won both games. Let’s revisit those ahead of this weekend’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
2021 NFL playoffs: 49ers 23, Cowboys 17
The 49ers scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Deebo Samuel, in the wideback days, had the first two carries of the game. Jimmy Garoppolo’s first pass went to Travis Benjamin for 17 yards. Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo had first-down receptions on the drive, and Elijah Mitchell had a 13-yard gain before a four-yard touchdown.
On the Cowboys’ first drive, Dre Greenlaw had a tackle for loss, and Nick Bosa sacked Dak Prescott on third down. Remember those days?
The Niners had a chance to score another touchdown on the next drive, but Mitchell lost 11 yards on a screen pass. No worries, as Robbie Gould nailed a 53-yarder. Garoppolo had six completions to six different receivers through two drives.
Prescott completed a 32-yard pass to CeeDee Lamb on 3rd & 6 on the ensuing drive, but the play came back after Arden Key drew a holding penalty. The 49ers were generating pressure with four.
Re-watching this game, and jet sweeps to Deebo and Aiyuk are the kinds of easy yards the 49ers don’t have. Samuel took a slant for 19 yards on 3rd & 3. Jimmy scrambled and found Aiyuk for a 3rd & 9 completion to move the sticks. But Deebo was stuffed on third and short, leading to another Gould field goal.
Dallas finally answered after trailing 13-0. Amari Cooper beat K’Wuan Williams on a slot fade to draw the Cowboys within six.
The big-play threat of Aiyuk came through on a 37-yarder, beating Trevon Diggs. But a batted pass on third down meant the Niners would once again settle for a 52-yard field goal from Gould.
In the third quarter, Arik Armstead had a sack. Bosa was injured earlier in the game and was questionable to return. He came back and would leave again with a head injury. Bosa’s replacement, Jordan Willis, hit Dak on 3rd & 7 to force an errant pass and a punt.
The 49ers had six second-half drives. They punted on four of them, threw an interception on one, and scored on a Deebo Samuel run, one play after K’Wuan picked off Prescott.
The story of the game was the defense holding the Cowboys scoreless for two quarters. Their touchdown came after Jimmy’s interception. Dallas only needed to go 28 yards. Everybody remembers Prescott spiking the ball with no time remaining, but the 49ers had five sacks and controlled the game.
2022 playoffs: 49ers 41, Seahawks 23
This was Brock Purdy’s coming-out party on the national stage. The 49ers had a good record, but few knew how much was due to the rookie quarterback.
It was also one of the most underrated defenses of the past five years. Arik Armstead kicked things off with a sack. After a field goal on the first drive, Christian McCaffrey ran for 68 yards to begin the second drive, highlighted by Aiyuk’s downfield blocking. Those explosive plays are what’s missing from the 2025 version of the 49ers.
Seattle was impressive in the first half. They scored 17 points against said underrated defense, going 71 and 78 yards on both scoring drives. They matched the Niners’ explosive plays, including a 50-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to DK Metcalf to give Seattle a 14-13 lead.
But it was the type of play you live with. Metcalf beat Charvarius Ward. Those are not the type of plays where you are going to get over on against an elite defense consistently.
With just over a minute to go in the first half, Purdy found Aiyuk for a 31-yard gain and Deebo for 18 yards. Gould made his third field goal of the half, bringing the 49ers within one point at halftime. That would be the last time Seattle had the lead.
Kittle and Deebo were recipients of big plays on the ensuing drive that was capped off by a Purdy sneak for a touchdown. Seattle got into San Francisco territory, and actually the red zone, before Bosa recovered Charles Omenihu’s sack fumble on 3rd & 14. That felt like ballgame.
Shanahan schemed Jauan Jennings open on a 30+ yard pass, before Purdy had one of those video-game type of plays, spinning out of a tackle and finding Elijah Mitchell for a touchdown pass. Kittle converted the two-point conversion, and the 49ers had a commanding 31-17 lead.
After a quick three-and-out, Deebo caught an intermediate pass and navigated his way down the sideline while Aiyuk blocked two Seahawks defenders to give the 49ers a three-touchdown lead.
On the next defensive drive, Deomodore Lenoir, wearing No. 38, intercepted Geno Smith. A field goal made it 41-17 before Seattle added on a garbage-time touchdown.
The 49ers aren’t expected to beat the Eagles. They’ve gone from 2.5-point underdogs all the way up to 5.5 as of writing. Oddsmakers are expecting a game similar to the one we saw in Week 18. But if there is anybody who has proven they can excel in the Wild Card round, it’s Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff.
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