Thirty years after ‘The Catch’, San Franciscans have another grab to celebrate. With mere seconds left in the game, Alex Smith made a name for himself and his team after nine playoff-less years. Now, the 49ers are preparing to face either their next opponent; either the New York Giants or the Green Bay Packers.

This week’s playoff battle was tight, ending in a 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left in the game.

“This is huge for us,” Davis said. “It’s history, legendary, anything you can describe.”

The tension escalated in the last few minutes of the game, beginning when Smith ran for a 28-yard td with 2:11 left. Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees then completed a 66-yard touchdown pass with 1:37 in what seemed to be the game-deciding play. 9ers fans were thrilled, however, when Smith got the job done and connected with Davis to seal their victory.

“You’ve got to call it ‘The Grab’,” Davis said. “We were down. I had to make it happen to take my teammates where we want to go.”

Drew Brees, who threw 462 yards and four touchdowns, said after the game: “It stings right now because of the expectation level that we had coming into this tournament and understanding that if we win here we’re into the NFC championship game and anything can happen. That’s tough. Tough to swallow at this point.”

Sean Payton, Saints’ coach, said “Kind of an unbelievable game, the way it went back and forth. It’s obviously a difficult game to lose.”