1994 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1994 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), the 49th overall and their sixth under head coach George Seifert. This season was highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XXIX. The championship made San Francisco the first team to win five Super Bowls. After losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the previous two conference championship games, the 49ers made significant acquisitions in the 1994 free agent market. This included the signing of two-sport star Deion Sanders and Cowboys linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. Sanders had a major impact on the team's success, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award and recording six interceptions. The 49ers won their division, the NFC West, for the eighth time in nine seasons. Quarterback Steve Young had his best NFL season and won his second MVP award. Young set what was, at the time, the NFL record for highest passer rating in a season – 112.8. Cold Hard Football Facts states that Young's 1994 season is the second greatest passing season in NFL history, behind only Joe Montana's 1989 season. For the third consecutive season, the 49ers met the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. From the mid-1980s until the latter 1990s, the AFC was widely regarded as the NFL's weaker conference. At the time of this conference championship game, AFC teams had lost the previous 10 Super Bowls in a row, starting with Super Bowl XIX after the 1984 season. All but two of those losses were by at least 10 points; five of them were by more than 20 points. As a result, the NFC Championship meeting between the Niners and Cowboys was dubbed by many as "the real Super Bowl." The contest was one of the highest rated non-Super Bowl games in NFL history. The 49ers beat the Cowboys and went on to defeat the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. Young was named the game's MVP after throwing a record six touchdown passes.