Steve Kroner

Exactly 21 years ago today, the 49ers knocked off the Giants 38-24 at Candlestick Park in their first playoff meeting. On Sunday at the 'Stick, the 49ers will face New York for the seventh time in the postseason.

The teams have split the previous six games. In that 1982 matchup, Joe Montana threw for 304 yards and two scores, Freddie Solomon (107) and Dwight Clark (104) each had more than 100 receiving yards and rookie Ronnie Lott picked off two passes, including one he returned 20 yards for the clinching touchdown. Three weeks later, the 49ers won their first Super Bowl title.

Sunday's game will come exactly four months to the day that the 49ers opened the 2002 season by beating the Giants 16-13 in the Meadowlands. Jeff Garcia's 33-yard pass to Terrell Owens with less than two minutes remaining set up Jose Cortez's 36-yard game-winning field goal with six seconds left.

KTVU (Channel 2) will carry the Fox telecast that begins at 1:30 p.m. The network's No. 1 broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth will be in the booth. Lott, by the way, will be on the field again, this time as an analyst for KTVU's "Point After" postgame show.

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