49ers rally to beat Falcons, advance to Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 28-24, Sunday in the Georgia Dome. The 49ers took their first lead of the game with 8:23 remaining in the 4th quarter after running back Frank Gore rushed into the end zone.

Gore finished with 90 yards and had two touchdowns against the Falcons' defense.

49ers tight end Vernon Davis had five catches for 106 yards and one touchdown against the Falcons' pass defense.

Quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense were unsuccessful in the final two drives of the fourth quarter, after leading the first three and a half quarters of the game.

Ryan led the offense down to the four yard line with a chance to regain the lead but were stopped on fourth down by the 49ers' defense, ending a drive that took more than seven minutes off the game clock.

With less than a minute remaining, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers' offense needed to run out the clock to try and secure the win.

Due some miscommunication, the 49ers were flagged after failing to snap the ball before the play clock expired.

The 49ers had their final offensive drive end with six seconds left on the game clock.

Kaepernick finish the game with 233 passing yards and one passing touchdown.

With six seconds left to win the game and no timeouts remaining, Ryan flung the ball 24 yards down field to wide receiver Julio Jones.

Jones was immediately tackled by Carlos Rogers at the 35-yard line as the clock expired, giving the 49ers the victory.

Ryan finished the game with 396 passing yards for three touchdowns and one inception.

Ryan's 396 passing yard performance set a Falcons' postseason record.

Despite the offense production, the Falcons have lost three of the last four postseason games when a Falcons' quarterback had at least 300 yards passing.

Jones had 11 catches for 182 yards and also caught two of Ryan's three touchdown passes.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez finished the final game of his 16-year career with eight catches for 78 yards and one touchdown.

As for the 49ers, the team will be playing in the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994.

49ers' head coach Jim Harbaugh will be coaching against his brother, John Harbaugh, who is head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Super Bowl will be held on February 3 in the Super Dome in New Orleans.

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