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2013 NFC Championship final score: 49ers vs. Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers put on a show at the Georgia Dome. We breakdown the results from the NFC Championship game.

By Dylan DeSimone
USA TODAY Sports

This weekend's round of championship games started off with a bang when the San Francisco 49ers went on the road to face the Atlanta Falcons.

Matt Ryan and the Falcons exploded early in the game, dropping 17 points on the 49ers, and digging them a deep hole. San Francisco eventually responded by putting up 14 of their own, but the Niners went into the locker room at halftime down two scores.

It was a struggle throughout, but the Falcons maintained momentum for a good part of the game. They were able to get a lead on the Niners early and hold it for three-and-a-half quarters. Ryan had Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez all rolling -- they didn't drop anything.

And even though the 49ers made them one-dimensional, the Falcons still executed so well through the air.

It was unfortunate, however, that they lost Michael Turner halfway through with an ankle injury. Even the receiver, Jones, had his knee looked at on the sideline. That's what the 49ers were going to do no matter what; play physical. San Francisco was able to be efficient by hitting and blocking with tenacity.

They found success running the ball, as both backs, Frank Gore and LaMichael James, scored touchdowns on the day. But the Falcons did a great job limiting the 49ers' newest playmaker, Colin Kaepernick.

The 49ers' QB only scored one touchdown for himself.

Mike Nolan had his defense spy Kaepernick, and they did a great job containing him. It was clear that Atlanta was going to make him win it with his arm and play downhill with the Niners' running game. But San Francisco was able to fight through and pull out a win by picking it up on defense and moving the chains.

The 49ers got past the Falcons at Atlanta, advancing to their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history with a 28-24 victory. It was a tremendous effort by both teams. The NFC will be well-represented in this year's championship game.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.