49ers beat Falcons, advancing to Super Bowl XLVII

(CNN) -- The San Francisco 49ers came from behind to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in the NFC Championship game, leaving open the possibility that two brothers could face off on the sidelines of next month's Super Bowl.

Atlanta lost a big advantage against the 49ers, and despite several chances in the waning minutes, ended up losing 28-24. On January 13, Atlanta surrendered a 20-0 lead, only to squeak through into the next round on a last-second field goal.

After the game Sunday, San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis said the 49ers prevailed because they refused to give up and stuck together as a team, just as they have all season long.

"One thing about our team all year long is that we continue to fight," Willis told Fox, which broadcast the game. "We have an unbelievable team."

The 49ers will play the winner of Sunday evening's AFC Championship game, between the Baltimore Ravens and the host New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.

If the Ravens win, then one thing will be a certainty at the Super Bowl: The winning head coach will be named Harbaugh, as will the losing coach.

John Harbaugh coaches the Ravens, and Jim Harbaugh leads the 49ers.

It would be the first matchup in a major U.S. professional sports championship where the opposing coaches were brothers.

49ers rally, hold on for 28-24 win

Led by quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young, San Francisco was one of the NFL's top franchises through much of the 1980s and 1990s.

But the 49ers haven't been in the Super Bowl in 1995, and their 2000s were marred by mostly losing regular seasons.

The team's fortunes, however, have turned since the 2011 hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself who'd been coaching at nearby Stanford. The next season, they made it to the NFC Championship, only to fall to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants.

But Sunday, trailing 17-0 midway through the second quarter, San Francisco rallied for two quick touchdowns -- one on a LaMichael James 11-yard run, the other on a 4-yard reception by tight end Vernon Davis.

Still, Atlanta maintained its advantage -- in part thanks to a missed field goal and a fumble by the 49ers Michael Crabtree just inches from the end zone -- into the fourth quarter. But then, running back Frank Gore scored from 9 yards out to put San Francisco ahead 28-24.

At this point, there were still just over 8 minutes left in the game.

Atlanta -- paced by quarterback Matt Ryan, known as "Matty Ice" for his strong play in the waning minutes of games -- made a run. With just over a minute to go, the Falcons got within striking distance of the goal line. But San Francisco defenders broke up two straight passes, effectively sealing the win.