The Falcons went on to defeat the 15–1 Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game but lost to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
In Week 3 of the following season, Young suffered a concussion on a violent sack by Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams which ultimately ended his 15-year NFL career.
The two teams traded punts in overtime; the Niners had to start at their four-yard line and coach Steve Mariucci called "90 O", a run play intended to get away from their endzone.
Garrison Hearst burst through a hole and raced 96 yards straddling the sideline, getting key blocks from Dave Fiore despite an injured leg, and from Terrell Owens for the touchdown and a 36–30 Niners win.
|Weather= 62 °F or 16.7 °C (Light Rain) The Niners traveled to Rich Stadium to face the Bills and crashed hard 26–21 despite 21 fourth-quarter points.
The Colts immediately served notice for the future as they raced to a 21–0 lead behind two Manning scores to Marvin Harrison and a 65-yard score from future Ram Marshall Faulk; Manning would add another touchdown to Harrison in the third quarter and the Colts added a field goal following a Garrison Hearst fumble and subsequent personal foul penalty.
|Weather=68 °F or 20 °C (Sunny) Hitting the TWA Dome, the Niners cruised to a 28–10 win over the Rams as Steve Young overcame two picks with three touchdowns and budding superstar Terrell Owens ran in a 21-yard score.
A Gary Brown rushing score in the opening six minutes of the first quarter was the only time the Giants were in contention as Steve Young answered with a 79-yard touchdown to Terrell Owens.
Notably, this was the first game in which former Arena Football quarterback, Kurt Warner, saw playing time in the NFL, completing four of eleven passes for 39 yards.
After a late Packers touchdown, the Niners trailed 27–23 and a continuing issue during the game was dropped passes by the receiver Terrell Owens.
In the final ten seconds, Steve Young dropped back in the Packers' RedZone, stumbled but stayed on his feet, then heaved the ball to the endzone where Owens caught it and landed in the endzone with four seconds left, holding on to the ball despite hits by two Packers defensive backs.
The 49ers had one more chance to win with the ball deep in their territory but Young threw a desperation pass that was picked off by the Falcons' William White.