1983 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1983 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League and their 38th overall. The team attempted to improve on its 3–6 record from 1982. The 49ers would start the season with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 22–17. However, the 49ers would continue to impress, as they throttled the Vikings the next week 48-17 and then the Cardinals the following week 42–27. They would end the first half of the season 6-2 before splitting their last eight games to finish the season 10-6 and clinching the NFC West. In the playoffs, the 49ers would come back to beat the Lions 24-23 after Joe Montana found Freddie Solomon in the end zone with 1:23 remaining. However, in the NFC Championship game, they were not able to outlast the top-seeded Redskins, as they lost 24-21 after Washington took the lead on a field goal.

1983 San Francisco 49ers season
Head coach	Bill Walsh
Home field	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Lions) 24–23 Lost NFC Championship (at Redskins) 21–24

Offseason

NFL Draft

1983 San Francisco 49ers Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	5	Traded to the Chargers
	22	Traded to the Chargers
2	49	Roger Craig	Runningback	Nebraska
3	59	Blanchard Montgomery	Linebacker	UCLA
4	90	Tom Holmoe	Defensive Back	BYU
5	117	Riki Ellison	Linebacker	USC
7	175	Gary Moten	Linebacker	SMU
9	229	Mike Mularkey	Tight End	Florida
10	259	Jeff Merrell	Defensive tackle	Nebraska
11	289	Jesse Sapolu	Center	Hawaii

Personnel

Staff

1983 San Francisco 49ers staff

	Front office Owner – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. President – Bill Walsh Vice President/General Counsel – Carmen Policy General Manager – John McVay Director of College Scouting – Tony Razzano Director of Pro Personnel – Allan Webb Head coaches Head Coach – Bill Walsh Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Paul Hackett Running Backs – Sherman Lewis Offensive Line – Bobb McKittrick Assistant Offensive Line/Tight Ends – Fred von Appen			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – George Seifert Defensive Line – Bill McPherson Linebackers – Norb Hecker Defensive Backs – Ray Rhodes Defensive Assistant – Tommy Hart Special teams coaches Special Teams – Fred von Appen Strength and conditioning Physical Development Coordinator – Jerry Attaway

Roster

1983 San Francisco 49ers roster

	Quarterbacks 6 Matt Cavanaugh  7 Guy Benjamin 16 Joe Montana Running backs 33 Roger Craig 32 Carl Monroe 25 Jeff Moore 30 Bill Ring FB 26 Wendell Tyler Wide receivers 87 Dwight Clark 88 Freddie Solomon 85 Mike Wilson 83 Renaldo Nehemiah Tight ends 80 Eason Ramson 81 Russ Francis 89 Earl Cooper		Offensive linemen 68 John Ayers T 60 John Choma T 51 Randy Cross G 62 Walt Downing G 71 Keith Fahnhorst T 66 Allan Kennedy 77 Bubba Paris T 56 Fred Quillan C 61 Jesse Sapolu C Defensive linemen 76 Dwaine Board DE 74 Fred Dean DE 75 John Harty NT 67 Pete Kugler NT 65 Lawrence Pillers DE 72 Jeff Stover DE 79 Jim Stuckey DE		Linebackers 57 Dan Bunz OLB 50 Riki Ellison ILB 59 Willie Harper OLB 45 Bobby Leopold ILB 53 Milt McColl OLB 38 Blanchard Montgomery 53 Gary Moten OLB 64 Jack Reynolds ILB 58 Keena Turner OLB Defensive backs 44 Richard Blackmore 47 Tim Collier 24 Rick Gervais 22 Dwight Hicks CB 28 Tom Holmoe 42 Ronnie Lott FS 43 Dana McLemore CB 27 Carlton Williamson SS 21 Eric Wright CB Special teams 3 Tom Orosz P 14 Ray Wersching K		Reserve lists {{{reserve_lists}}} Practice squad {{{practice_squad}}} Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1983 (Sat)	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–22	55,775
2	September 8, 1983 (Thu)	at Minnesota Vikings	W 48–17	58,167
3	September 18, 1983	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 42–27	38,132
4	September 25, 1983	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–20	57,814
5	October 2, 1983	at New England Patriots	W 33–13	54,293
6	October 9, 1983	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–10	59,118
7	October 16, 1983	at New Orleans Saints	W 32–13	68,154
8	October 23, 1983	at Los Angeles Rams	W 45–35	66,070
9	October 30, 1983	New York Jets	L 13–27	54,796
10	November 6, 1983	Miami Dolphins	L 17–20	57,832
11	November 13, 1983	New Orleans Saints	W 27–0	40,022
12	November 20, 1983	at Atlanta Falcons	L 24–28	39,782
13	November 27, 1983	at Chicago Bears	L 3–13	40,483
14	December 4, 1983	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 35–21	49,773
15	December 11, 1983	at Buffalo Bills	W 23–10	38,039
16	December 19, 1983 (Mon)	Dallas Cowboys	W 42–17	59,957

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 13 28 0 7 48 Vikings 7 3 7 0 17 Date: September 8 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 58,167 Game weather: Indoors (dome) Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and O.J. Simpson

Scoring summary Q1 SF Wersching 38 yard field goal SF 3–0 Q1 SF Clark 21 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 10–0 Q1 MIN Brown 1 yard run (Ricardo kick) SF 10–7 Q1 SF Wersching 32 yard field goal SF 13–7 Q2 SF Cooper 2 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 20–7 Q2 SF Wright 60 yard interception return (Wersching kick) SF 27–7 Q2 SF Solomon 14 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 34–7 Q2 SF Tyler 6 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 41–7 Q2 MIN Ricardo 32 yard field goal SF 41–10 Q3 MIN LeCount 30 yard pass from Kramer (Ricardo kick) SF 41–17 Q4 SF Craig 1 yard run (Wersching kick) SF 48–17

[1]

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers^(2)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	432	293	W3
Los Angeles Rams^(5)	9	7	0	.563	5–1	8–4	361	344	W1
New Orleans Saints	8	8	0	.500	2–4	7–5	319	337	L1
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	370	389	W1

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	6	0	14	23
49ers	7	7	3	7	24

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 59,979
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil

Game information
Scoring DET – field goal Murray 37 DET 3–0 SF – Craig 1 run (Wersching kick) SF 7–3 SF – Tyler 2 run (Wersching kick) SF 14–3 DET – field goal Murray 21 SF 14–6 DET – field goal Murray 54 SF 14–9 SF – field goal Wersching 19 SF 17–9 DET – Sims 11 run (Murray kick) SF 17–16 DET – Sims 3 run (Murray kick) DET 23–17 SF – Solomon 14 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 24–23

Quarterback Joe Montana hits Freddie Solomon with a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left in the game as the 49ers hold off the Lions 24–23. Lions kicker Eddie Murray misses a 43-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the game, one of two misses by him in the 4th quarter. Five interceptions of Lions Quarterback Gary Danielson played a major role in the 49ers win.

NFC Championship Game

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	0	0	21	21
Redskins	0	7	14	3	24

at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), mostly cloudy
• Game attendance: 55,363
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Game information
Scoring WAS – Riggins 4 run (Moseley kick) WAS 7–0 WAS – Riggins 1 run (Moseley kick) WAS 14–0 WAS – Brown 70 pass from Theismann (Moseley kick) WAS 21–0 SF – Wilson 5 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) WAS 21–7 SF – Solomon 76 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) WAS 21–14 SF – Wilson 12 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) 21–21 WAS – field goal Moseley 25 WAS 24–21

The 49ers overcome a 21-point 4th quarter deficit to tie the game. But two controversial calls against the 49ers set up a 25-yard field by Mark Moseley with 40 seconds remaining. Joe Montana was then intercepted on the last play of the game to seal the win for Washington.

Awards and records

• Ray Wersching, Franchise Record, Most Field Goals in One Game, 6 Field Goals (October 16, 1983)[2]

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Sep-20.
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 142

External links

• 49ers on Pro Football Reference
• 49ers Schedule on jt-sw.com