SAN FRANCISCO — In one emphatic finish, NaVorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers sealed their post-season berth in a celebratory regular-season finale at Candlestick Park.
Bowman returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown with 1:10 remaining, and the 49ers clinched a playoff berth with a wild 34-24 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night that likely was the final game at San Francisco’s longtime home.
Tramaine Brock broke up a pass intended for Harry Douglas and Bowman got his hands on the ball and took off. He was joined in the end zone by his teammates for a jubilant dog pile.
“I always say a lot of plays are made when you run to the ball,” Bowman said. “That’s all I was doing was just running to the ball, trying to make a tackle, and it popped up and I was able to make a play for my team.”
Matt Ryan threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 8:42 remaining and a 2-yard score to Tony Gonzalez with 2:09 left as the Falcons (4-11) made things interesting until the end.
Atlanta’s Jason Snelling recovered the ensuing onside kick as the Falcons got the ball back and were driving for a potential go-ahead score when San Francisco (11-4) capitalized with one of its biggest takeaways yet.
Kaepernick ran for a 4-yard touchdown and threw a 10-yard TD pass to Anquan Boldin, and Frank Gore had a 1-yard touchdown run as the 49ers used a big second half to clinch a third straight playoff season and fifth consecutive victory. They put up 169 yards in the third quarter after managing just 113 in the first half as the sellout crowd fell momentarily quiet.
San Francisco still has a slim chance at winning a third consecutive NFC West crown if St. Louis wins at Seattle and they beat Arizona on the road.
During an evening of fanfare and famous faces for The Stick’s ceremonious farewell, Kaepernick took charge as his team made good on coach Jim Harbaugh’s mantra for the week: “We don’t want to be the guys who screw up the final game in Candlestick.”
“There’s a lot of history in this stadium,” Bowman said. “For this to be the last game, we cannot leave it with an L. So I’m glad we got the W.”
Boldin had a 10-yard touchdown catch that tied it at 10 with 12:03 left in the third, and Kaepernick ran for a score early in the fourth.
This rematch of the NFC championship game featuring teams headed in opposite directions was another thriller. The 49ers won 28-24 last January in Atlanta to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years.
Boldin caught six passes for 72 yards and went over 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth time in his career and first since 2009.
Michael Crabtree adjusted to make a 47-yard catch on an underthrown pass by Kaepernick in the third quarter, and then made a 19-yard reception on the play before Boldin’s score.
Crabtree added five catches for 102 yards on a day tight end Vernon Davis didn’t have a reception for the first time all season.
With the future of the 49ers on display, there were plenty of glimpses to the past — and five Super Bowl titles.
Joe Montana’s winning touchdown pass “The Catch” to Dwight Clark was celebrated at halftime as the No. 1 moment during a top-10 countdown during each home game this year. The special spot in the right corner of the north end zone was marked with a gold dot. That victory in the NFC championship game after the 1981 season sent San Francisco to its first Super Bowl title.
The 49ers are set to move into $1.2 billion Levi’s Stadium at team headquarters in Santa Clara while Candlestick waits out its implosion day, likely in late 2014.
Ryan completed 18 of his first 22 passes and didn’t make the mistakes that have hurt him so often during a 1-7 showing away from the Georgia Dome this year.