1992 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1992 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and their 47th overall. The 49ers appeared in the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons. This would be the last season the Niners would have with Joe Montana. His last game as a 49er was on the December 28 MNF game against the Lions.
| 1992 San Francisco 49ers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Seifert |
| Home field | Candlestick Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 14–2 |
| Division place | 1st NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 20–13 Lost NFC Championship (Cowboys) 20–30 |
Offseason
Personnel
With the departure of Mike Holmgren to Green Bay, the 49ers hired Denver Broncos offensive assistant Mike Shanahan to run the offense. Jeff Fisher joined the coaching staff as defensive backs coach.
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | TV Time(PT) | TV Announcers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6, 1992 | at New York Giants | W 31–14 | CBS 1:00pm | Verne Lundquist & John Madden | |
| 2 | September 13, 1992 | Buffalo Bills | L 31–34 | NBC 1:00pm | Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy | |
| 3 | September 20, 1992 | at New York Jets | W 31–14 | CBS 10:00am | Verne Lundquist & Dan Fouts | |
| 4 | September 27, 1992 | at New Orleans Saints | W 16–10 | TNT 5:00pm | Gary Bender & Pat Haden | |
| 5 | October 4, 1992 | Los Angeles Rams | W 27–24 | CBS 1:00pm | Pat Summerall & John Madden | |
| 6 | October 11, 1992 | at New England Patriots | W 24–12 | CBS 10:00am | James Brown & John Robinson | |
| 7 | October 18, 1992 | Atlanta Falcons | W 56–17 | CBS 1:00pm | Dick Stockton & Randy Cross | |
| 8 | Bye | |||||
| 9 | November 1, 1992 | at Phoenix Cardinals | L 14–24 | CBS 1:00pm | Jim Nantz & Hank Stram | <>47,642 |
| 10 | November 9, 1992 (Mon) | at Atlanta Falcons | W 41–3 | ABC 6:00pm | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf | |
| 11 | November 15, 1992 | New Orleans Saints | W 21–20 | CBS 1:00pm | Dick Stockton & Randy Cross | |
| 12 | November 22, 1992 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 27–10 | CBS 1:00pm | Pat Summerall & John Madden | |
| 13 | November 29, 1992 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–14 | CBS 1:00pm | Pat Summerall & John Madden | |
| 14 | December 6, 1992 | Miami Dolphins | W 27–3 | NBC 1:00pm | Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy | |
| 15 | December 13, 1992 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–17 | CBS 10:00am | Dick Stockton & Randy Cross | |
| 16 | December 19, 1992 (Sat) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–14 | CBS 1:00pm | Tim Ryan & Matt Millen | |
| 17 | December 28, 1992 (Mon) | Detroit Lions | W 24–6 | ABC 6:00pm | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf | |
Week One at New York Giants
Steve Young completed four of six passes for 27 yards and a touchdown but was knocked out of the game; Steve Bono threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns while Ricky Watters rushed for 100 yards. Phil Simms was intercepted in the fourth quarter and the Niners scored on the pick.
Week Two vs. Buffalo Bills
In the first NFL game ever to go without a single punt, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, and two of the most famous offenses in league history – San Francisco's West Coast offense and Buffalo's K-Gun offense – combined for 1,086 yards and 65 points as a late Niners field goal attempt missed for a 34-31 Bills win. Jerry Rice was knocked out of the game after three catches for 26 yards; Mike Sherrard led the Niners receiving attack with 159 yards. |Weather= 84 °F (Sunny)
Week Three at New York Jets
The Niners returned to Giants Stadium and won 31-14 generating 335 yards of offense. Young threw for 163 yards and also rushed for fifty, nearly matching Ricky Watters' 55 yards. The Jets didn't score until the fourth quarter.
Week Four at New Orleans Saints
The Saints held the Niners to 333 yards of offense but fumbled twice and Bobby Hebert threw three picks. Steve Young and Ricky Watters accounted for 141 rushing yards as the Niners clawed out a 16–10 win.
Week Five vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Niners returned to The Stick and saw a 10-7 grinder explode in the fourth quarter as Robert Bailey picked off Steve Young and scored; Young followed with two rushing scores (and 60 rushing yards total, once again coming close to matching Ricky Watters' game total, here 83 yards) before Jim Everett's nine-yard score to Flipper Anderson tied the game; Mike Cofer then won it (27-24) on a late 21-yard field goal. |Weather= 82 °F (Sunny)
Week Six at New England Patriots
Despite two fumbles and a Steve Young pick the Niners manhandled the faltering Patriots 24–12, intercepting Hugh Millen twice and limiting the Patriots to 227 yards of offense. Young and Ricky Watters again were a two-pronged rushing attack with 173 combined yards on the ground.
Week Seven vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Niners scored five rushing touchdowns, three of them by Watters, and put up 191 rushing yards to go with 399 passing yards from Steve Young in a 56-17 massacre of the Falcons. |Weather= 67 °F (Cloudy)
Week Nine at Phoenix Cardinals
Four years after one of the most frustrating losses of the Bill Walsh era, the Niners again fell to the Cardinals, this time 24–14. Chris Chandler threw three touchdowns and the Cards swallowed four Niners turnovers. The biggest highlight for San Francisco is when Mike Sherrard scored a touchdown after he grabbed the ball from Eric Hill who recovered a fumble from Brent Jones.
Week Ten Monday Night Football at Atlanta Falcons
The Niners responded to the Phoenix loss by unleashing three Steve Young touchdowns and a Merton Hanks punt return score while picking off Billy Joe Tolliver three times and swallowing three Falcons fumbles in a 41-3 massacre. Deion Sanders had four kick returns for 81 yards for Atlanta.
Week Eleven vs. New Orleans Saints
The Saints picked off Steve Young once and raced to a 20–7 lead, but in the fourth Young and Brent Jones erased New Orleans' lead on two touchdowns, winning 21–20. |Weather= 64 °F (Drizzle)
Week Twelve at Los Angeles Rams
The Niners assault through 1992 continued as they limited the Rams to 245 yards and won 27–10. Ricky Watters erupted to 163 rushing yards and two scores.
Week Thirteen vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Despite two Randall Cunningham touchdowns the Eagles fell 20–14 at San Francisco. Steve Young threw for 342 yards and posted the most rushing yards of the game at 26. |Weather= 62 °F (Sunny)
Week Fourteen vs. Miami Dolphins
Dan Marino was routed once again by the 49ers as they limited him to 192 passing yards and won 27–3. With Watters sidelined Amp Lee led the rushing attack with 58 yards and a score. |Weather= 55 °F (Rain)
Week Fifteen at Minnesota Vikings
Both teams combined for just 472 yards of offense as a late Terry Allen score could get the Vikings no closer than a 20-17 Niners win. Amp Lee exploded to 134 rushing yards.
Week Sixteen vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Steve Young facing his former team, the game lead tied or changed five times as Jerry Rice's 30-yard touchdown won the game for the Niners 21–14. The game was a clean affair with just five total penalties. |Weather= 51 °F (Sunny)
Week Seventeen Monday Night Football vs. Detroit Lions
Steve Young threw for 153 yards as the Niners clawed to a 7-6 halftime lead; from there Joe Montana came into the game and threw for 126 yards and two touchdowns. |Weather= 51 °F (Light rain)
Standings
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 6–0 | 11–1 | 431 | 236 | W8 |
| (4) New Orleans Saints | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 330 | 202 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 327 | 414 | L2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 313 | 383 | W1 |
Best performances
- Second Most Total Yards in One 49ers Game, 590 Total Yards (vs. Atlanta Falcons on October 18, 1992) [1]
Playoffs
NFC Divisional Playoff vs. Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| 49ers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
at Candlestick Park
- Date: January 9, 1993
- Game time: 1 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 51°F (Cloudy), relative humidity 86%, wind 11 mph
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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In a rain-plagued, muddy, and sloppily played game, the 49ers defeated the Redskins 20–13. The entire field was covered in mud with resulting play affected. The 49ers took a 17–3 lead at halftime, but trailed off in the 2nd half and the Redskins kept it close. Steve Young was 20 for 30, throwing for 227 yards, but he fumbled three times (following one fumble 49ers radio analyst Wayne Walker criticized Young's run-heavy playing style, unfavorably contrasting it with erstwhile Niners starter Joe Montana) and threw an interception. Late in the game, the Redskins were at the San Francisco 28 and looking to take their first lead of the game when a hand off by Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien to running back Brian Mitchell was fumbled and recovered by the 49ers. Both teams committed 4 turnovers each.
NFC Championship Game vs. Dallas Cowboys
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 3 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| 49ers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
at Candlestick Park
- Date: January 17, 1993
- Game time: 1 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 52°F (Light Rain), relative humidity 88%, wind 7 mph
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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In the first game of what would become one of the fiercest rivalries in the 90s, the Cowboys knocked off the 49ers. The 49ers, who struggled the previous week, did not look much better in this game as they had four turnovers, while the Cowboys had none. Even with the turnovers the Niners clawed to within 24–20 on a five-yard Jerry Rice touchdown catch, but on the ensuing Cowboys possession a 70-yard catch and run by Alvin Harper set up Troy Aikman's winning score to Kelvin Martin. In all, the 49ers would have eight turnovers in two playoff games and Young finished the playoffs with a passer rating of 91.0.
Awards and records
- Franchise Record, Most Points in One Game, 56 Points (vs. Atlanta Falcons on October 18, 1992) [2]
- Franchise Record, Most Total Yards in One Game, 598 Total Yards (vs. Buffalo Bills on September 13, 1992) [1]
- Led NFL, Points Scored, 431 Points [3]
- Steve Young, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 107.0 Rating [4]
- Steve Young, Led NFL, Touchdown Passes, 25 Passes [4]
- Steve Young, Bert Bell Award[5]
- Steve Young, Miller Lite Player of the Year [6]
- Steve Young, NFL MVP [6]
References
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 248
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 247
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 455
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2012-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400