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NFL Network to air classic 1981 NFC title game

Montana-to-Clark scoring pass with 51 seconds left propels 49ers to first Super Bowl in club history

Classic matchup airs Thursday, Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. ET

2001 AFC Divisional playoff with "Tuck Rule" airs on NFL Classic Games on Christmas Day at 12:30 p.m. ET

On Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network will televise, for the first time since the original airing, one of the most historic playoff games in league history, as NFL Classic Games encores the 1981 NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

In a matchup of teams with the best regular-season records in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship Game on Jan. 10, 1982. In one of the most iconic plays in NFL history, San Francisco receiver Dwight Clark caught the game-winning, six-yard scoring pass from Joe Montana with 51 seconds remaining as the 49ers won 28-27. It was the sixth and final lead change in this back-and-forth game.

The 49ers won Super Bowl XVI two weeks later. It was the first of San Francisco's four Super Bowl titles in the 1980s.

This NFL Classic Games telecast features the complete CBS broadcast with announcers Vin Scully and Hank Stram calling the action along with all of the network's original graphics.

On Christmas Day at 12:30 p.m. ET, NFL Classic Games encores the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff between the Oakland Raiders and New England Raiders.

NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log onto www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive internet home of NFL Network.

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