2002 San Francisco 49ers season

2002 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Denise DeBartolo York and John York
General manager	Terry Donahue
Head coach	Steve Mariucci
Offensive coordinator	Greg Knapp
Defensive coordinator	Jim L. Mora
Home field	3Com Park
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Giants) 39–38 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Buccaneers) 6–31
Pro Bowlers	QB Jeff Garcia WR Terrell Owens G Ron Stone C Jeremy Newberry DT Bryant Young LB Julian Peterson
AP All-Pros	WR Terrell Owens (1st team) RB Fred Beasley (2nd team) LB Julian Peterson (2nd team)
←  2001 49ers seasons 2003  →

The 2002 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 57th season, and 53rd in the National Football League (NFL).

The first season following divisional realignment, the 49ers won the new-look NFC West title with a 10–6 record; they swept their new division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals while splitting with the St. Louis Rams. In the Wild Card round, the 49ers fell behind the New York Giants 38–14 but erupted with 25 unanswered points and survived a chaotic last-second field goal attempt by the Giants; the 39–38 win was the 26th playoff win in the team's history and as of 2019, it is the fourth biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. The 49ers lost the next week in the divisional round to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–6 and head coach Steve Mariucci was fired, the result of a power struggle with owner John York and new general manager Terry Donahue. 2002 was the last winning season for the 49ers until 2011.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
FS Tony Parrish (Bears)	FS Lance Schulters (Titans)
G Ron Stone (Giants)	G Ray Brown (Lions)
	QB Rick Mirer (Raiders)

NFL Draft

Main article: 2002 NFL Draft

2002 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	27	Mike Rumph	CB	Miami (FL)
3	69	Saleem Rasheed	LB	Alabama	From Buffalo
3		Forfeited due	to a	Salary Cap	Violation
4	102	Jeff Chandler	K	Florida	From Buffalo
4	127	Kevin Curtis	S	Texas Tech
5	163	Brandon Doman	QB	BYU
5	172	Josh Shaw	DT	Michigan State	compensatory selection
6	201	Mark Anelli	TE	Wisconsin
7	239	Eric Heitmann	C	Stanford
7	248	Kyle Kosier	T	Arizona State
7	256	Teddy Gaines	CB	Tennessee
Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

2002 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office Owner – Denise DeBartolo York Owner – The DeBartolo Corporation Director/owner's representative – John York President/chief executive officer – Peter L. Harris General manager – Terry Donahue Consultant – Bill Walsh Vice president/director of football operations – John McVay Asst. director of football operations/salary cap – Dominic Corsell Director of pro personnel – Bill McPherson Head coaches Head coach – Steve Mariucci Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Greg Knapp Quarterbacks – Ted Tollner Running backs – Tom Rathman Wide receivers – George Stewart Tight ends – Tom Batta Offensive line – Patrick Morris Offensive assistant – Andy Sugarman Offensive quality control – Jason Tarver

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Mora Defensive line – Dwaine Board Linebackers – Richard Smith Secondary – Brett Maxie Defensive assistant – Chris Beake Defensive quality control – Dan Quinn Special teams coaches Special teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway Strength development coordinator – Terrell Jones

Roster

2002 San Francisco 49ers final roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Brandon Doman  5 Jeff Garcia 13 Tim Rattay Running backs 32 Kevan Barlow 40 Fred Beasley FB 20 Garrison Hearst 27 Paul Smith FB Wide receivers 81 Terrell Owens 83 J. J. Stokes 89 Tai Streets 84 Cedrick Wilson Tight ends 82 Eric Johnson 88 Justin Swift		Offensive linemen 63 Derrick Deese T 78 Scott Gragg T 66 Eric Heitmann G 72 Kyle Kosier G 60 Ben Lynch C 62 Jeremy Newberry C 71 Craig Osika C 65 Ron Stone G 77 Matt Willig G Defensive linemen 96 Andre Carter DE 92 Jerome Davis DT 95 John Engelberger DE 75 Jim Flanigan DT 99 Sean Moran DE 91 Chike Okeafor DE 93 Josh Shaw DT 94 Dana Stubblefield DT 97 Bryant Young DT		Linebackers 57 Cornelius Anthony OLB 56 Brandon Moore OLB 98 Julian Peterson OLB 51 Saleem Rasheed MLB 50 Derek Smith MLB 54 Quincy Stewart OLB 53 Jeff Ulbrich OLB 55 Jamie Winborn OLB Defensive backs 31 Zack Bronson FS 45 Tim Hauck SS 43 Duane Hawthorne CB 38 Ronnie Heard FS 25 Rashad Holman CB 28 John Keith FS 35 Jason Moore SS 33 Tony Parrish SS 29 Ahmed Plummer CB 24 Mike Rumph CB 36 Jason Webster CB Special teams  3 Jeff Chandler K 86 Brian Jennings LS  4 Bill Lafleur P		Reserve lists 30 Kevin Curtis S (IR) 74 Dave Fiore G (IR) 22 Terry Jackson RB (IR)  9 Cade McNown QB (IR) 21 Anthony Parker CB (IR) 25 Jamal Robertson RB (IR) 56 Frank Strong LB (IR) 23 Jimmy Williams CB (IR) Practice squad 85 Mark Anelli TE 41 Jasen Isom FB 18 James Jordan WR 15 Aaron Lockett WR Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 5	at New York Giants	W 16–13	1–0	Giants Stadium	78,748
2	September 15	Denver Broncos	L 14–24	1–1	3Com Park	67,685
3	September 22	Washington Redskins	W 20–10	2–1	3Com Park	67,541
4	Bye
5	October 6	St. Louis Rams	W 37–13	3–1	3Com Park	67,853
6	October 14	at Seattle Seahawks	W 28–21	4–1	Seahawks Stadium	66,420
7	October 20	at New Orleans Saints	L 27–35	4–2	Louisiana Superdome	67,903
8	October 27	Arizona Cardinals	W 38–28	5–2	3Com Park	67,173
9	November 3	at Oakland Raiders	W 23–20 (OT)	6–2	Network Associates Coliseum	62,660
10	November 10	Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–13	7–2	3Com Park	67,881
11	November 17	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–20 (OT)	7–3	Qualcomm Stadium	67,161
12	November 25	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–38	7–4	3Com Park	67,919
13	December 1	Seattle Seahawks	W 31–24	8–4	3Com Park	67,594
14	December 8	at Dallas Cowboys	W 31–27	9–4	Texas Stadium	64,097
15	December 15	Green Bay Packers	L 14–20	9–5	3Com Park	67,947
16	December 21	at Arizona Cardinals	W 17–14	10–5	Sun Devil Stadium	44,051
17	December 30	at St. Louis Rams	L 20–31	10–6	Edward Jones Dome	66,118
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at New York Giants

At Giants Stadium the 49ers clawed to a 13–6 lead on three Kerry Collins interceptions, but a late Tiki Barber score tied the game 13–13. Two Jeff Garcia passes for 45 yards and three Garrison Hearst runs for seven yards set up Jose Cortez's 36-yard field goal with ten seconds left and the 16–13 49ers win.

Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos

Despite an eight-yard touchdown to Terrell Owens (suffering from a season-long groin issue), Jeff Garcia struggled in San Francisco's home opener, fumbling in the third quarter then throwing an interception to Deltha O'Neal in the fourth. A late rushing score by Garcia made the final score 24–14 for the Broncos. |Weather= 68 °F (20 °C) (Sunny)

Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins

Jeff Garcia and Tim Rattay combined for just 125 passing yards as the Niners defeated the Redskins 20–10. Food poisoning forced Garcia out of the game. "I just didn't feel real crisp," Garcia said in the postgame press conference. |Weather= 71 °F (22 °C) (Sunny)

Week 5: vs. St. Louis Rams

The Rams' collapse following their loss in Super Bowl XXXVI continued as Jamie Martin started and was intercepted twice. Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow rushed for 166 yards as the Niners pummeled the Rams 37–13. |Weather= 84 °F (29 °C) (Sunny)

Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 6: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	10	3	7	8	28
Seahawks	7	7	7	0	21

at Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, WA

• Date: October 14
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
• Game attendance: 66,420
• Referee: Bill Leavy
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels & John Madden

Game information

First Quarter SF – Jose Cortez 37 yard field goal, 10:06. 49ers 3–0. SF – Terrell Owens 6 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jose Cortez kick), 6:50. 49ers 10–0. SEA – Mack Strong 5 yard pass from Trent Dilfer (Rian Lindell kick), 1:45. 49ers 10–7. Second Quarter SEA – Bobby Engram 61 yard punt return (Rian Lindell kick), 5:41. Seahawks 14–10. SF – Jose Cortez 29 yard field goal, 2:09. Seahawks 14–13. SF – Kevan Barlow 6 yard run (Jose Cortez kick), 5:29. 49ers 20–14. Third Quarter SEA – Shaun Alexander 1 yard run (Rian Lindell kick), 1:11. Seahawks 21–20. Fourth Quarter SF – Terrell Owens 37 yard pass from Garcia (Garrison Hearst pass from Jeff Garcia), 7:46. 49ers 28–21.

On Monday Night Football Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns, including what turned out to be the game-winner in the final eight minutes. After one touchdown Owens took out a magic marker and autographed the football before giving it to one of his assistants in the endzone grandstands, a maneuver that caused a stir in football circles. The win was only the second for the Niners over their former offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren as a head coach.

Week 7: at New Orleans Saints

The 4–1 49ers faced the 5–1 Saints for the first time since divisional realignment split the two clubs out of the NFC West and formed the new NFC South. The two clubs put up a combined 840 yards of offense; the Niners led 24–13 after three quarters but the Saints outscored San Francisco 22–3 in the fourth quarter; Jeff Garcia was intercepted with 2:30 to go and Aaron Brooks ran in a one-yard touchdown for the 35–27 Saints win.

Week 8: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Four rushing touchdowns (two of them from Marcel Shipp) were not enough for the Cardinals against the Niners as Jeff Garcia tossed four touchdowns and Jake Plummer was intercepted three times in a 38–28 San Francisco win. |Weather= 67 °F (19 °C) (Sunny)

Week 9: at Oakland Raiders

The two Bay Area teams clashed in an overtime grinder as Rich Gannon threw for 164 yards and a one-yard touchdown to Jerry Porter. Garcia threw for 282 yards and two scores and rushed for 46 yards, 21 of them in overtime following a missed 27-yard Jose Cortez field goal attempt at the end of regulation. Cortez nailed the 23-yard kick in overtime for the 23–20 49ers win.

Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	3	7	0	3	13
49ers	3	14	0	0	17

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: November 10
• Game time: 1:15 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Cloudy, 61 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 67,881
• Referee: Ron Blum
• TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter SF – José Cortez 42-yard field goal, 7:06. 49ers 3–0. Drive: 15 plays, 56 yards, 7:54. KC – Morten Andersen 33-yard field goal, 2:13. Tied 3–3. Drive: 10 plays, 48 yards, 4:53. Second quarter SF – Garrison Hearst 5-yard run (José Cortez kick), 11:13. 49ers 10–3. Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 6:00. KC – Priest Holmes 12-yard run (Morten Andersen kick), 9:06. Tied 10–10. Drive: 4 plays, 50 yards, 2:07. SF – Kevan Barlow 6-yard run (José Cortez kick), 2:40. 49ers 17–10. Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 6:26. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter KC – Morten Andersen 43-yard field goal, 14:21. 49ers 17–13. Drive: 10 plays, 38 yards, 5:09. Top passers KC – Trent Green – 15/27, 193 yards SF – Jeff Garcia – 25/35, 175 yards, INT Top rushers KC – Priest Holmes – 11 rushes, 51 yards, TD SF – Garrison Hearst – 15 rushes, 69 yards, TD Top receivers KC – Eddie Kennison – 8 receptions, 134 yards SF – Terrell Owens – 7 receptions, 51 yards

The Niners faced former Rams coach Dick Vermeil, whose Chiefs had scored at least 34 points five times to that point of the season; they were held to 13 points and 256 yards of offense as the Niners ground out the 17–13 win.

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers

At San Diego Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns, one a 76-yard bomb, but the Niners blew a 17–7 lead to the Chargers as Drew Brees' touchdown to Fred McCrary with 31 seconds to go tied the game, and former Buffalo Bill Steve Christie won it with 4:11 to go in overtime on a 40-yard field goal. The two teams combined for 908 yards of offense.

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Despite putting up 409 yards of offense the Niners were pounded by the Eagles 38–17 as Koy Detmer and A. J. Feeley combined for three touchdown throws; Detmer added a rushing score and Brian Mitchell ran back a 76-yard punt for a touchdown. Future Eagle Terrell Owens caught two touchdown passes from Jeff Garcia. |Weather= 68 °F (20 °C) (Clear)

Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks

The Niners raced to a 31–10 lead behind three Garrison Hearst touchdown runs and a punt return score. In the fourth quarter Matt Hasselbeck (who had 427 passing yards in all) scored twice on passes to Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson but was intercepted with 1:31 to go, ensuring the 31–24 Niners win. |Weather= 60 °F (16 °C) (Sunny)

Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys

Though the championship rivalry of a decade past had cooled off with the fall of the Cowboys to sub-mediocrity, the game at Texas Stadium nonetheless resembled Cowboy-49er clashes of yore. Despite intercepting Chad Hutchinson twice, the 49ers saw the lead change four times before the Cowboys surged to a 27–17 lead in the fourth quarter. Jeff Garcia then stormed the 49ers to the win on touchdowns to Tai Streets and a bobbling eight-yard catch by Terrell Owens with fifteen seconds remaining. In the 31–27 49ers win the two teams combined for 35 fourth-quarter points.

Week 15: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 15: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	3	0	14	3	20
49ers	0	6	8	0	14

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: December 15, 2002
• Game time: 4:15 p.m.
• Game weather: Light Rain, 58 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 67,947
• Referee: Tony Corrente (99)
• TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth & Pam Oliver
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 48-yard field goao, 2:12. Packers 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 16 yards, 4:37. Second quarter SF – Jeff Chandler 47-yard field goal, 9:34. Tied 3–3. Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards, 1:46. SF – Jeff Chandler 42-yard field goal, 0:07. 49ers 6–3. Drive: 13 plays, 44 yards, 3:52. Third quarter GB – Ahman Green 9-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 11:02. Packers 10–6. Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 3:58. GB – Donald Driver 5-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 5:35. Packers 17–6. Drive: 6 plays, 29 yards, 3:19. SF – Terrell Owens 45-yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jeff Garcia run), 1:04. Packers 17–14. Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 4:31. Fourth quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 28-yard field goal, 4:41. Packers 20–14. Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 4:59. Top passers GB – Brett Favre – 25/33, 201 yards, TD SF – Jeff Garcia – 19/34, 156 yards, TD, INT Top rushers GB – Ahman Green – 24 rushes, 90 yards, TD SF – Garrison Hearst – 12 rushes, 51 yards Top receivers GB – Terry Glenn – 3 receptions, 46 yards SF – Terrell Owens – 8 receptions, 75 yards, TD

The Niners’ perennial struggles against the Packers since Green Bay's 1995 playoff win continued with San Francisco's tenth loss in eleven meetings. Terrell Owens caught a pass and bulled off a defender into the end zone; after scoring he took the pom poms of a Niners cheerleader and celebrated. On the Niners final drive Garcia drove to the Packers 14 (gaining a first down on a run and despite running into a Packers assistant coach on the sideline) but was stopped on fourth down.

Week 16: at Arizona Cardinals

The Niners held the Cardinals to just 184 yards of offense in a 17–14 Niners win. Terrell Owens did not play.

Week 17: at St. Louis Rams

Having clinched the NFC West, the Niners rested many starters against the Rams as Jeff Garcia threw only three passes and Tim Rattay threw a pair of touchdowns to Tai Streets. The Rams played to salvage a win in their disappointing season and exploded for 28 fourth-quarter points to win 31–20; the Rams thus finished 7–9 while the Niners were 10–6.

Standings

Division

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) San Francisco 49ers	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	367	351	L1
St. Louis Rams	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	316	369	W1
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	355	369	W3
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	262	417	L3

Conference

NFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV
Division leaders
1 [lower-alpha 1]	Philadelphia Eagles	East	12	4	0	.750	5–1	11–1	.469	.432
2 [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.482	.432
3 [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2]	Green Bay Packers	North	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	.451	.414
4	San Francisco 49ers	West	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.504	.450
Wild Cards
5	New York Giants	East	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.482	.450
6	Atlanta Falcons	South	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	.494	.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	New Orleans Saints	South	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.498	.566
8 [lower-alpha 3]	St. Louis Rams	West	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	.508	.446
9 [lower-alpha 3]	Seattle Seahawks	West	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	.506	.433
10 [lower-alpha 4]	Washington Redskins	East	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.527	.438
11 [lower-alpha 4]	Carolina Panthers	South	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.486	.357
12	Minnesota Vikings	North	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	.498	.417
13 [lower-alpha 5]	Arizona Cardinals	West	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	.500	.400
14 [lower-alpha 5]	Dallas Cowboys	East	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	.500	.475
15	Chicago Bears	North	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	.521	.430
16	Detroit Lions	North	3	13	0	.188	1–5	3–9	.494	.375
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 6]
Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3). Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory. St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4) Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Playoffs

Schedule

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	NFL.com recap
Wild Card	January 5, 2003	New York Giants (5)	W 39–38	1–0	3Com Park	Recap
Divisional	January 12, 2003	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)	L 6–31	1–1	Raymond James Stadium	Recap

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. New York Giants

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (#5) New York Giants at (#4) San Francisco 49ers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	21	10	0	38
49ers	7	7	8	17	39

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: January 5, 2003
• Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 66,318
• Referee: Ron Winter
• TV: FOX
• Recap

Game information

First Quarter SF – Terrell Owens 76 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jeff Chandler kick), 10:10. 49ers 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 76 yards, 0:11. NYG – Amani Toomer 12 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 0:22. Tied 7–7. Drive: 11 plays, 55 yards, 4:15. Second Quarter NYG – Jeremy Shockey 2 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 12:24. Giants 14–7. Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards, 2:24. SF – Kevan Barlow 1 yard run (Jeff Chandler kick), 6:58. Tied 14–14. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 6:14. NYG – Amani Toomer 8 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 2:54. Giants 21–14. Drive: 1 play, 8 yards, 0:05. NYG – Amani Toomer 24 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 0:16. Giants 28–14. Drive: 5 plays, 66 yards, 1:43. Third Quarter NYG – Tiki Barber 6 yard run (Matt Bryant kick), 9:57. Giants 35–14. Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 2:16. NYG – Matt Bryant 21 yard field goal, 4:30. Giants 38–14. Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:20. SF – Terrell Owens 26 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jeff Garcia–Terrell Owens pass), 2:10. Giants 38–22. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:24. Fourth Quarter SF – Jeff Garcia 14 yard run (Jeff Garcia–Terrell Owens pass), 15:00. Giants 38–30. Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards, 0:41. SF – Jeff Chandler 25 yard field goal, 7:52. Giants 38–33. Drive: 15 plays, 74 yards, 5:26. SF – Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed), 1:05. 49ers 39–38. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 2:01.

The Steelers' comeback earlier in the day (36–33 over the Cleveland Browns) was matched by San Francisco's similar late drive, overcoming a 38–14 deficit by scoring 25 unanswered points in the second half. A last-minute Giants drive collapsed when Trey Junkin botched a field goal snap, leading to a desperation heave to the endzone that fell short. There were two notable events in this game. The first one was when after the 49ers scored a touchdown, Terrell Owens caught a pass from Jeff Garcia for the two-point conversion. After the catch, Owens did a little showboating. Michael Strahan of the Giants went up to Owens and pointed to the scoreboard and mocked Owens. (At the time, the Giants led 38–22.) This is significant because the 49ers came back to win. After the 49ers scored another touchdown and made the score 38–30, Joe Buck remarked "The scoreboard doesn't look so great to Strahan anymore." The second event in the game was that in the 3rd quarter, Jeremy Shockey dropped a touchdown pass that would have put the Giants up 42–14. Instead, the Giants had to kick a field goal, making the score 38–14. Nobody at the time knew how big of a mistake this dropped pass would be for the Giants, and how big of a blessing for the 49ers. The win was the 26th in a playoff game for the club and the last until the 2011 divisional playoffs.

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – January 12, 2003

NFC Divisional Playoffs: (#4) San Francisco 49ers at (#2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	3	3	0	0	6
Buccaneers	7	21	3	0	31

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

• Date: January 12, 2003
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 65,599
• Referee: Gerald Austin
• TV: FOX
• Recap

Game information

First Quarter TB – Mike Alstott 2 yard run (Martín Gramática kick), 6:41. Buccaneers 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 5:16. SF – Jeff Chandler 24 yard field goal, 0:22. Buccaneers 7–3. Drive: 12 plays, 63 yards, 6:17. Second Quarter TB – Joe Jurevicius 20 yard pass from Brad Johnson (Martín Gramática kick), 9:35. Buccaneers 14–3. Drive: 11 plays, 87 yards, 5:50. SF – Jeff Chandler 40 yard field goal, 8:36. Buccaneers 14–6. Drive: 5 plays, 9 yards, 0:46. TB – Rickey Dudley 12 yard pass from Brad Johnson (Martín Gramática kick), 7:31. Buccaneers 21–6. Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 1:07. TB – Mike Alstott 2 yard run (Martín Gramática kick), 0:55. Buccaneers 28–6. Drive: 4 plays, 26 yards, 1:10. Third Quarter TB – Martín Gramática 19 yard field goal, 8:33. Buccaneers 31–6. Drive: 10 plays, 36 yards, 6:16. Fourth Quarter No scoring plays.

The Buccaneers, with the league's top-ranked defense during the 2002 regular season, forced five turnovers, sacked quarterback Jeff Garcia four times, and limited the 49ers to only two field goals. Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson, who had been sidelined for a month, returned to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Mike Alstott scored two touchdowns, while the Buccaneers held onto the ball for 36:46 and held the 49ers to a season low 228 yards. This was San Francisco's first playoff game without a touchdown since 1986. Despite San Francisco's 10–6 record and their Wild Card playoff win against New York, coach Steve Mariucci was fired three days after this game. The 49ers would not return to the playoffs until 2011.

References

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