History of the San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers would end that season with three straight victories and an 8–4 record, tying the Detroit Lions for the NFL Western Division title, and setting up a one-game divisional playoff in San Francisco.
The Lions, led by quarterback Tobin Rote, who earlier in the season had replaced an injured Bobby Layne, would mount one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history and defeat the 49ers, 31–27.
The 49ers sent five players to the Pro Bowl that season, including MVP veteran quarterback John Brodie, wide receiver Gene Washington, and linebacker Dave Wilcox.
Following the 1975 season the 49ers traded for New England Patriots quarterback Jim Plunkett, former Heisman Trophy winner from nearby Stanford University (which was also the alma mater of John Brodie).
Bright spots for the 49ers included defensive linemen Tommy Hart and Cleveland Elam, who made the Pro Bowl, and running backs Wilbur Jackson and Delvin Williams, who combined for over 1,600 yards rushing.
Montana had enjoyed a storied college career, leading the Fighting Irish to the 1977 national title and a number of dramatic comeback victories, the most stunning of all being his final game, at the 1979 Cotton Bowl.
However, feeling that the quarterback position was in excellent long-term shape with Roger Staubach and Danny White, and desperately needing a tight end, the Cowboys went off their strategy and drafted Doug Cosbie.
However, led by Joe Montana, the 49ers made (what was then) the greatest comeback in NFL history, coming back to tie the score in regulation and winning the game in overtime with a field goal by Ray Wersching to give the 49ers an incredible 38–35 victory.
Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players, bringing on board Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson and giving Dwight Hicks a prominent role.
And indeed, on the first play of the next possession, Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson caught a pass from Danny White and got to midfield before he was pulled down by the jersey at the 49ers 44 yard line by Cornerback Eric Wright.
While achieving some local airplay in San Francisco on radio stations like KMEL, it did not catch on nationally the way the Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle would a year later.
During the strike-shortened 1987 season, the 49ers led the league with a 13–2 record, including a 41–0 rout of the Bears in Week 14, because it turned out that the latter's feared defense was vulnerable to Bill Walsh's short passing game.
In 1992, Joe Montana came back after missing almost two full seasons due to an elbow injury in his throwing arm, and started the second half of a Monday night game versus Detroit on December 28, 1992.
Additionally, several rookie players made key contributions to the team, some becoming season-long starters such as defensive tackle Bryant Young, fullback William Floyd, and linebacker Lee Woodall.
Following the Eagles game, a poll conducted on local sports radio station KNBR showed that an overwhelming majority of 49er fans wanted head coach George Seifert fired.
On the field, the 1999 version of the 49ers got off to a 3–1 start, then in a nationally televised Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Steve Young suffered a blindside hit from cornerback Aeneas Williams that would eventually force him to retire.
Young's career-ending injury, and the subsequent losing streak throughout the remainder of 1999 ended a remarkable stretch where San Francisco went 213–75–1 over 289 regular season games dating back to week 12 in 1980; a win percentage of .737.
Following the season, head coach Steve Mariucci—whose published statements about his degree of power in the organization had frayed already-strained relations with management—was fired by John York, despite a winning record.
Tragedy struck the Niners on August 20, 2005, when offensive lineman Thomas Herrion died immediately following a preseason loss to the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High.
At the beginning of the 2006 season, the team made perhaps their most important decision, awarding the top running back spot to second year veteran Frank Gore from Miami.
That raised questions about the future of Alex Smith, whose first three seasons had been plagued by inconsistent play, injuries, and not having had an offensive coordinator remain on the team for consecutive years.
In the second season with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, San Francisco rolled ahead in impressive fashion, beating Green Bay on their home turf in Week 1.
In addition to the unusual ending, the game also saw Alex Smith concussed and his spot taken by backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had been drafted from Nevada in 2010 but had yet to see any regular season action.
Although Alex Smith was subsequently cleared by team doctors to play, Kaepernick's performance caused Jim Harbaugh to name him starting quarterback until further notice.
San Francisco's offense struggled again as they failed to score a single point in the second half against the Rams and a goal-line fumble by Colin Kaepernick all but sealed a loss for the 49ers, dropping them to 4–4.
[27] A week later on March 17, linebacker Chris Borland, Patrick Willis' presumed replacement, announced his retirement from the NFL due to fears of the effects of head trauma.
With Garoppolo back from injury, San Francisco jumped to an 8–0 start and eventually clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 13–3 record, thanks to improved play on both sides of the field.
But a 3rd and 15 completion by Mahomes to Tyreek Hill swung momentum the other direction, and the Chiefs ripped off 21 straight points to win a thriller, 31–20, for their first Super Bowl championship in half a century.
2 seed of the playoffs after gaining running back Christian McCaffrey in a trade with the Carolina Panthers, improving on their 10–7 record from the previous year after a Week 16 win over the Washington Commanders.
However, the 49ers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–7 in the NFC Championship in which injuries to third-stringer Brock Purdy and fourth-stringer Josh Johnson during the game and first-stringer Trey Lance and second-stringer Jimmy Garoppolo previously in the season made the 49ers unable to stay competitive.
