How the 49ers Showed Their Growth in Their Two Playoff Comeback Wins

Miraculous. Improbable. Unreal.

Those are a few words to describe the San Francisco 49ers' comeback win in the NFC championship against the Detroit Lions. Staring at a 17-point deficit at halftime would've broken most teams, but the 49ers proved their championship mettle.

In fact, they have proven that in back-to-back weeks now. The 49ers were trailing against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoff round last week. And while the Packers didn't hold as heavy of a lead as the Lions did, the 49ers were still facing immense pressure with little momentum. They somehow were able to lock it in and step up to overcome their early woes.

That is something that the 49ers didn't have in the regular season. Look at their losses against, not including their last one, throughout the year. They suffered defeats due to being incapable of mustering any sort of comeback. Their best try was in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns, and even then they failed to complete the comeback. Considering those losses, it is nothing short of stellar that the 49ers were able to not win one, but TWO games in comeback fashion in back-to-back weeks.

The 49ers showed their growth in their two playoff comeback wins. And they also answered the main question about them going into the playoffs. That question was if they had to battle back from being down, could they come back and win? It is why it was imperative for the 49ers to always get out to an early lead. Being in the driver's seat is where they are in full domination. But once they are out of it, they look like a completely different team. Despite winning against the Packers and Lions, the 49ers still looked unusual. They do not like playing from behind and that discomfort is what did them in for almost all of their losses in the regular season.

There was doubt and questions that they could prevail if they ever found themselves in those situations. Well, being in a deficit is exactly what happened and they ended up coming out on top. That wasn't the case two months ago. What we're witnessing is the 49ers growing before our eyes. And now they know that they can come back should that scenario come about again. Their mentality has been tested the last two weeks and it should benefit them with a calmness of a still lake. At least, that should be their takeaway from their playoff run so far.

“I always think when you go through stuff like this it hardens you and prepares you for any situation," said Kyle Shanahan. "You want to be able to go through tons of games and be able to win games any way possible. I always feel we're capable of winning a game any way possible, but it just hasn't gone that way this year totally. We've been able to win a bunch of games pretty easily where that fourth quarter isn't so stressful. The ones that we lost usually you could see that happening earlier before that too. So to get in some games like this, it's just good experience for our players to go through it and to make sure to see how important it is to go through all four quarters win or lose that you're never out of it.”

The 49ers are growing before our very eyes. Plenty of teams remain the same as they were a couple months ago. That is why they either didn't make the playoffs or get bounced from it. For the 49ers, they are clearly not the same. They are an even better team that is now fit to handle being in a hole and knowing how to climb out of it. It should prove useful in the Super Bowl when they face the fierce Kansas City Chiefs.