The 2013 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 64th in the National Football League (NFL), their 68th overall and their third under the head coach/general manager tandem of Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke.

The 49ers' defeated the Green Bay Packers 23–20 in the wild-card round and the Carolina Panthers 23–10 in the Divisional round, but lost to their division rival and eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship by a score of 23–17, failing to join the 1985 New England Patriots, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2007 New York Giants, and 2010 Green Bay Packers as the only teams to win 3 straight road games in the playoffs.

Anquan Boldin, making his debut as a 49er, racked up 208 yards receiving on 13 receptions, and scored a touchdown.

Seattle comfortably beat the 49ers for the second consecutive season at home, with the Seahawks defense proving far too strong.

The Colts' running game and defensive strength proved too strong in Kaepernick's first home defeat as a starter.

The 49ers season got back on track with a heavy Thursday Night Football victory over divisional opponent St Louis.

Both the passing and running offense were effective in the victory, a positive sign of things to come, while the defense was its usual strong.

The 49ers improved to 3–2, just one game off the 4–1 Seattle Seahawks in the battle for NFC West, who had lost to the Indianapolis Colts.

Frank Gore and Colin Kaepernick each ran for two touchdowns in the 49ers comfortable victory over the 0–7 Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, the eighth NFL match the venue has hosted, to improve to 6–2.

The Panthers' defense was too strong, limiting Colin Kaepernick to 91 yards and an interception as the 49ers could only score three field goals.

The mid-game loss of tight end Vernon Davis and safety Eric Reid to concussions did not aid the 49ers cause as they fell to 6–3.

The 49ers led 20–17 with less than five minutes to go in the final quarter, before two Garrett Hartley field goals won it for the Saints, the second as time expired.

Anquan Boldin was very impressive, catching nine passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in his first game back in Arizona after the Cardinals traded him to Baltimore prior to the 2010 season.

The 49ers finished the season with an impressive 12–4 record, half a win better than the previous season, to give them second place in NFC West and the 5th seed in the playoffs (the 49ers won the NFC West and had the #2 seed in 2012), securing them a trip to Green Bay in the wild-card round.

In one of the coldest games in NFL playoff history, Colin Kaepernick threw for 227 yards and ran for a game-high 98 as the 49ers beat the Packers 23–20.

The 49ers advanced to their third consecutive NFC Championship game by beating a red hot Carolina Panthers team, 23–10.

With Seattle leading 20–17 in the fourth quarter, Colin Kaepernick attempted to rally his team, but fumbled once and threw two interceptions in the final three 49ers possessions of the game.

The contest between the two elite defenses led many to consider the game a quasi-Super Bowl, as popular opinion was that the 49ers and Seahawks were the two best teams in the NFL.