1vs2-seed CCs & 1vs1-seed SBs we're okay to have missed

[BD Sullivan]

Take away the 3-0 scab record, '87 Niners are still 10-2. Hard to undermine a squad that was #1 in both O & D. Steelers did beat them in the opener - which would turn out to be the 'rubberband' match between Noll & Walsh - but, like '84, it was just an upset. Barely beating weak Cincy the following game was just an example of Wyche being rather familiar with Walsh for obvious reasons (enter SBXXIII the following year and, don't forget, their '84 match).

The 49ers obviously would have been better served to not have a bye to start the postseason. They absolutely dominated in their final three regular season games, outscoring opponents by a 124-7 score, then came out flat against Minnesota.

[JWL]

I'm guessing that much of the talk of the '87 49ers being virtually penciled in as appearing in the Super Bowl stemmed from the final three games of the season where they beat Chicago, Atlanta, and the Rams by a score of 41-0, 35-7, and, 48-0.

Say if the Vikings didn't beat the the Saints and New Orleans went on to play the 49ers in Candlestick. The Saints would have won ten straight and split with the 49ers (winning one game by 2 and losing the other game by 2. The Saints likely would have had a good chance at beating the '9ers as well. If that would have happened would the '87 49ers be remembered a lot differently? Because as of now they are simply a great what if as people see them losing to an 8-7 team and view that as a great team that simply choked.

Was it really a choke or were they simply beaten by a better team?

An argument could be made that the two best teams in 1987 combined to win 0 playoff games. The 49ers and Saints may have been the two best teams that season, certainly when discussing the regular season. The Vikings were only 8-7 and outscored the opposition by a single point in those 15 games. However, they weren't chopped liver. The team went 0-3 in scab games. The Vikings were otherwise 8-4 and the point differential was +38 in those dozen games.

I don't view the 1987 49ers as chokers. Their opponent had a good game plan and was a pretty good team and they played better that day.