1991 San Francisco 49ers season

Last updated

1991 San Francisco 49ers season
San Francisco 49ers Saloon Wordmark.svg
Owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General manager Carmen Policy
Head coach George Seifert
Offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren
Defensive coordinator Bill McPherson
Home field Candlestick Park
Results
Record10–6
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers G Guy McIntyre
WR Jerry Rice
OLB Charles Haley

The 1991 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 46th overall. The franchise did not qualify for the postseason for the first time since the strike-shortened 1982 season. Joe Montana would miss the entire season with an elbow injury, paving the way for Steve Young to take over as the team's starting quarterback.

Contents

In Week 17, the 49ers found themselves not controlling their destiny. The Atlanta Falcons had already swept the 49ers in 2 very close games in the regular season, and therefore held the tiebreaker in the wild card. The New Orleans Saints had a 10–5 record entering the week, and defeated the Phoenix Cardinals, winning the division.

Offseason

Following the 1990 season, the 49ers left team stalwarts Roger Craig and Ronnie Lott unprotected and allowed them go to the Los Angeles Raiders via Plan B free agency.

In 1991, the 49ers announced a prototype for a new logo and helmet design. Instead of the traditional "SF" oval, this new logo featured a stylized "49ers" in white with black and red shadows. However, fan reaction was so overwhelmingly negative that the idea was scrapped six days later. [1] The only change to the uniform would be the switching from red socks with three white stripes to plain solid red socks.

NFL draft

1991 San Francisco 49ers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 25 Ted Washington  *  Nose tackle Louisville
245 Ricky Watters  *  Running back Notre Dame began play with 49ers in 1992.
253 John Johnson   Linebacker Clemson
495 Mitch Donahue  Linebacker Wyoming
5122 Merton Hanks  *  Defensive back Iowa
5137 Harry Boatswain   Guard New Haven began play with 49ers in 1992.
6165Scott Bowles  Tackle North Texas
7193 Sheldon Canley   Running back San Jose State
8221 Tony Hargain   Wide receiver Oregon
9248 Louis Riddick  Defensive back Pittsburgh
10276Byron Holdbrooks  Defensive tackle Alabama
11304Bobby Slaughter Wide receiver Louisiana Tech
12332Cliff Confer Defensive end Michigan State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source: [2]

Personnel

Staff

1991 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Lynn Stiles

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway


Roster

1991 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
47 active, 11 reserve, 3 practice squad

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1July 27at Los Angeles Raiders W 24–171–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 45,365
2August 3vs. Chicago Bears W 21–72–0 Olympiastadion (Berlin) 66,876
3August 7 Denver Broncos W 24–63–0 Candlestick Park 54,170
4August 19 San Diego Chargers W 24–134–0Candlestick Park53,453
5August 23at Seattle Seahawks W 28–165–0 Kingdome 54,111

[3]

Regular season

With Joe Montana out for the season with an elbow injury, Steve Young became the starting quarterback. The season opener, a rematch of the previous year's NFC Championship with the New York Giants, was the first road loss suffered by the 49ers since losing at Phoenix in 1988. The loss ended a still-standing NFL record 18 consecutive regular season road game victories spanning the 1988–90 seasons. The first month of the season saw the team inconsistent with alternating home wins and road losses. In week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons, Young suffered a knee injury, causing him to miss five games. With Young out and with the 49ers record at 4–5, Steve Bono led the 49ers to five wins in 6 games. However, Young returned for the final game; a 52–14 victory over the Chicago Bears. Although the 49ers finished the regular season at 10–6, they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982 (losing on a tie-breaker to the Atlanta Falcons due to having lost both meetings). Young would however win the first of four passing titles.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 2at New York Giants L 14–160–1 Giants Stadium 76,319
2September 8 San Diego Chargers W 34–141–1 Candlestick Park 60,753
3September 15at Minnesota Vikings L 14–171–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,148
4September 22 Los Angeles Rams W 27–102–2Candlestick Park63,871
5September 29at Los Angeles Raiders L 6–122–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 91,494
6 Bye
7October 13 Atlanta Falcons L 34–392–4Candlestick Park57,343
8October 20 Detroit Lions W 35–33–4Candlestick Park61,240
9October 27at Philadelphia Eagles W 23–74–4 Veterans Stadium 65,796
10November 3at Atlanta FalconsL 14–174–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,259
11November 10at New Orleans Saints L 3–104–6 Louisiana Superdome 68,591
12November 17 Phoenix Cardinals W 14–105–6Candlestick Park50,180
13November 25at Los Angeles RamsW 33–106–6 Anaheim Stadium 61,881
14December 1New Orleans SaintsW 38–247–6Candlestick Park62,092
15December 8at Seattle Seahawks W 24–228–6 Kingdome 56,711
16December 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–149–6Candlestick Park62,672
17December 23 Chicago Bears W 52–1410–6Candlestick Park60,419
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(3) New Orleans Saints 1150.6884–28–4341211W2
(6) Atlanta Falcons 1060.6255–17–5361338L1
San Francisco 49ers 1060.6253–37–5393239W6
Los Angeles Rams 3130.1880–62–10234390L10

Awards and records

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References

  1. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter (February 18, 2016). "When the 49ers changed their logo, and fans revolted". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ "1991 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  3. ↑ "1991 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
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