1982 San Francisco 49ers season

NFL team season

The 1982 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League and their 37th overall. The team was coming off a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. However, 1982 was strike-shortened, and only nine games were played. The 49ers finished 3–6, thus missing the playoffs despite the expanded sixteen team format. Their .333 winning percentage was the worst ever for any defending NFL or AFL champion until the 2022 Los Angeles Rams, who only managed to get a .294 winning percentage. This season was the only one in an 18-season span in which the 49ers did not win at least ten games. This 49ers team was also the only team in history to win more than half its road games while losing all its home games.[1] The 49ers were the fifth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.[2] This also marked the first, and as of 2023, only time in NFL history that the defending Super Bowl champion missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.

The worst running game in the league alongside a defense that went from second overall and points in 1981 to twenty-first and twenty-third respectively were the main culprits for the losing season.

Offseason

NFL draft

1982 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 29 Bubba Paris  Tackle Michigan began play with 49ers in 1983
5 139 Newton Williams  Running back Arizona State
6 151 Vince Williams  Running back Oregon
7 195 Ron Ferrari  Linebacker Illinois
9 251 Bryan Clark  Quarterback Michigan State
10 269 Dana McLemore  Defensive back Hawaii
10 279 Tim Barbian  Defensive tackle Western Illinois
11 306 Gary Gibson  Linebacker Arizona
12 334 Tim Washington  Defensive back Fresno State
      Made roster  

Source:[3]

Personnel

Staff

1982 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

  • Owner and President – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
  • General manager – Bill Walsh
  • Director of Football Operations – John McVay
  • Director of College Scouting – Tony Razzano

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

  • Quarterbacks – Sam Wyche
  • Running Backs – Billie Matthews
  • Receivers – Milt Jackson
  • Offensive line – Bobb McKittrick
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Milt Jackson

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil

Roster

1982 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • -- Bryan Clark QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 14 Los Angeles Raiders L 14–17 0–1 Candlestick Park 61,065
2 August 21 St. Louis Cardinals W 16–13 1–1 Candlestick Park 51,931
3 August 28 at San Diego Chargers L 9–23 1–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 48,697
4 September 3 at Seattle Seahawks W 17–13 2–2 Kingdome 57,839

[4]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 Los Angeles Raiders L 17–23 0–1 Candlestick Park 59,748
2 September 19 at Denver Broncos L 21–24 0–2 Mile High Stadium 73,899
September 26 Chicago Bears Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike
October 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
October 10 at New Orleans Saints
October 17 Los Angeles Rams Rescheduled to January 2
October 24 at Atlanta Falcons Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike
October 31 at Washington Redskins
November 7 Minnesota Vikings
November 14 Dallas Cowboys
3 November 21 at St. Louis Cardinals W 31–20 1–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 38,064
4 November 28 New Orleans Saints L 20–23 1–3 Candlestick Park 51,611
5 December 2 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–24 2–3 Anaheim Stadium 58,574
6 December 11 San Diego Chargers L 37–41 2–4 Candlestick Park 55,988
7 December 19 Atlanta Falcons L 7–17 2–5 Candlestick Park 53,234
8 December 26 at Kansas City Chiefs W 26–13 3–5 Arrowhead Stadium 24,319
9 January 2, 1983 Los Angeles Rams L 20–21 3–6 Candlestick Park 54,256
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

Week One: Los Angeles Raiders (0–0) at San Francisco 49ers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 3 10 01023
49ers 0 14 3017

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: September 12, 1982
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 65 °F or 18.3 °C
  • Game attendance: 59,748
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

First quarter

  • LA – Chris Bahr 41-yard field goal. Raiders 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

  • SF – Freddie Solomon 18-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–3. Drive:
  • LA – Chris Bahr 42-yard field goal. 49ers 7–6. Drive:
  • SF – Dwight Clark 41-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 14–6. Drive:
  • LA – Marcus Allen 3-yard run (Chris Bahr kick). 49ers 14–13. Drive:

Third quarter

  • SF – Ray Wersching 22 yard field goal. 49ers 17–13. Drive:

Fourth quarter

  • LA – Todd Christensen 3-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick). Raiders 20–17. Drive:
  • LA – Chris Bahr 43-yard field goal. 'Raiders 23–17. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
  • LA – Marcus Allen – 23 rushes, 116 yards, TD
  • SF – Jeff Moore – 7 rushes, 30 yards
Top receivers
  • LA – Marcus Allen – 4 receptions, 64 yards
  • SF – Dwight Clark – 6 receptions, 106 yards, TD

Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

1 234Total
• 49ers 3 7714 31
Cardinals 0 767 20
  • Date: November 21
  • Location: Busch Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 38,064
  • Game weather: 53 °F or 11.7 °C; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
Scoring summary
Q1SFWersching 36 yard field goalSF 3–0
Q2SFMoore 1 yard run (Wersching kick)SF 10–0
Q2STLGreen 17 yard pass from Lomax (O'Donoghue kick)SF 10–7
Q3STLO'Donoghue 30 yard field goalTie 10–10
Q3STLO'Donoghue 32 yard field goalSTL 13–10
Q3SFFrancis 6 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 17–13
Q4SFClark 33 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 24–13
Q4SFCooper 17 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)SF 31–13
Q4STLAnderson 2 yard run (O'Donoghue kick)SF 31–20

[5]

Standings

NFC West
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Atlanta Falcons(5) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 4–3 183 199 L2
New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 2–1 3–5 129 160 W1
San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 1–3 2–3 209 206 L1
Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 1–2 1–5 200 250 W1
NFC
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# Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1 Washington Redskins 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
2 Dallas Cowboys 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
3 Green Bay Packers 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
4[a] Minnesota Vikings 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
5[a] Atlanta Falcons 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
6[a] St. Louis Cardinals 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
7[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
8[b] Detroit Lions 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9[b] New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
10[b] New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
11[c] San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
12[c] Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
13[c] Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
14 Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1
Tiebreakers
  1. ^ a b c d Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games.
  2. ^ a b c Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5).
  3. ^ a b c San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5).

References

  1. ^ 1982 San Francisco 49ers
  2. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256
  3. ^ "1982 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "1982 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-May-22.
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San Francisco 49ers
  • Founded in 1946
  • Based and headquartered in Santa Clara, California
Franchise
Stadiums
Culture
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Key figures
Division championships (22)
Conference championships (8)
League championships (5)
Current league affiliations
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