Seven years ago, the 49ers vanquished the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI for San Francisco's sixth Super Bowl title. Or, that's how it should have gone, according to the players themselves.
The 49ers and Patriots did not meet up in Indianapolis on Feb. 5, 2012, as the New York Giants won the NFC Championship two weeks prior. After Kyle Williams' fumbled in overtime -- his second on the night -- Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes drilled a 31-yard field goal to send New York back to the Super Bowl.
The Giants beat the Patriots 21-17 in the title game. A pair of former 49ers think they could have, too.
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"We felt like we had an opportunity to go to that Super Bowl and actually win it," former 49ers safety and current NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner said. "We had guys that knew how to disguise and be able to deceive [Patriots quarterback] Tom Brady into throwing the ball into certain places.
"I think we would have given those guys problems."
The 49ers were in the middle of their best season in a decade. San Francisco finished the regular season 13-3, won the NFC West and boasted one of the NFL's most fearsome defenses in its first season under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
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Led by Frank Gore, the 49ers' rushing attack was also eighth-best in the NFL, averaging 127.8 yards per game on the ground. The Patriots' run defense was middle of the pack, and former 49ers defensive tackle Ian Williams said he thought San Francisco would have taken advantage.
"We were able to run the ball like no other," said Williams, who was a rookie that season and is now an NBC Sports Bay Area analyst. "We would have come in there, made it a great game and won by at least a touchdown or two."
The 49ers ultimately got a shot at the Patriots the following season. Colin Kaepernick led the Niners into Foxboro, and San Francisco escaped New England with a 41-34 win.
For Whitner, that was enough to know what could have been.
"We proved it when we went up to Foxboro and beat them," Whitner said. "We were up [31-10] in that football game when we faced Tom Brady with the same defense we had."
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The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl that season, but fell a yard short of coming from behind to beat the Baltimore Ravens. San Francisco ultimately made it to one more NFC Championship game, before Jim Harbaugh was let go in 2014 and Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract after the 2016 season.
San Francisco never got its shot against New England, and the Patriots went on to win three more Super Bowls, including Sunday's 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
But had the 49ers faced them seven years ago, they think it could have been them.