San Francisco 49ers join list of top championship comebacks - ESPN

The San Francisco 49ers made history on Sunday night.

After falling behind 24-7 to the Detroit Lions at halftime of the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers became the first team to overcome a seemingly insurmountable second half deficit.

San Francisco opened the second half with 27 consecutive points to take a 34-24 lead, en route to the 31-34 victory. Their 17-point comeback is the largest halftime deficit overcome in a conference title game. It is also tied for third-largest comeback victory in conference championship history.

The 49ers join a list of legendary athletes and teams who refused to give up and triumphed when the odds were against them. Here are some of the most memorable since the turn of the century.

The New York Yankees held a 3-0 series edge against their hated rivals and brought in Mariano Rivera to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning of Game 4. Kevin Millar worked a walk against Rivera in the ninth, Dave Roberts came in to pinch run and just barely stole second base, and Bill Mueller singled Roberts home to tie it all up. David Ortiz hit one of his many walk-off home runs in extra innings, and the comeback was on. Ortiz did it again in Game 5, this time knocking in Johnny Damon for the winning run in the 14th inning. Curt Schilling got a win with a bloody sock in Game 6, and the Red Sox ended things by blowing out the Yankees 10-3 in Game 7. Boston crushed the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series and snap its 86-year championship drought.

This was the first of a few curse-breaking or drought-ending runs. The 2016 Chicago Cubs did it in the World Series and won their first title since 1908. The 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers trailed 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS before rallying. L.A.