2000 San Francisco 49ers season

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2000 San Francisco 49ers season
San Francisco 49ers Saloon Wordmark.svg
Owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General manager Bill Walsh
Head coach Steve Mariucci
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg
Defensive coordinator Jim L. Mora
Home field 3Com Park
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers QB Jeff Garcia [1]
WR Terrell Owens [1]
RB Charlie Garner [1]
AP All-Pros Terrell Owens (1st team)

The 2000 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 51st season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 55th overall. Jerry Rice entered the 2000 season as the oldest player in the league at the wide receiver position. [2] At the end of the year, however, with the emergence of Terrell Owens, Rice decided to leave the team after sixteen seasons to join the Raiders. Running back Charlie Garner would join Rice in Oakland.

Contents

The 49ers improved from 4–12 in 1999 to 6–10, but still suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since their four consecutive losing seasons from 1977 to 1980.

This for first time since 1986 Steve Young was not on the opening day roster who retired after the 1999 season, the 49ers fully relied on second-year quarterback Jeff Garcia, who enjoyed his best year and was named to the Pro Bowl at the end of this season.

Offseason

AdditionsSubtractions
QB Rick Mirer (Jets)QB Steve Young (retirement)
WR Kevin Williams (Bills)LB Lee Woodall (Panthers)
DE Anthony Pleasant (Jets)DE Charles Haley (retirement)
T Scott Gragg (Giants)LB Chris Draft (Falcons)
S Tim McDonald (retirement)
CB R. W. McQuarters (Bears)

NFL draft

2000 San Francisco 49ers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
116 Julian Peterson  *  Linebacker Michigan State
124 Ahmed Plummer   Cornerback Ohio State
235 John Engelberger   Defensive end Virginia Tech
248 Jason Webster  Cornerback Texas A&M
365 Giovanni Carmazzi   Quarterback Hofstra
386 Jeff Ulbrich  Linebacker Hawaii
4108 John Keith   Safety Furman
5132 Paul Smith   Fullback UTEP
5150 John Milem  Defensive end Lenoir–Rhyne
7212 Tim Rattay  Quarterback Louisiana Tech
7230 Brian Jennings   Long snapper Arizona State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source: [3]

Undrafted free agents

2000 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Mikki AllenSafety Tennessee
Jermaine ArringtonWide receiver Maryland
Nathaniel BellDefensive end Southern
Dwight CarterWide receiver Hawaii
Eric ChewWide receiver McNeese State
Terrence DupreeTight end Duke
Jim EmanuelLinebacker Hofstra
Chafie Fields Wide receiver Penn State
Dan Goodspeed Tackle Kent State
Ricky HallWide receiver Virginia Tech
Ronnie Heard Safety Ole Miss
Marcus HillSafety Angelo State
Tyronn JohnsonDefensive tackle Florida A&M
Cedric Killings Defensive tackle Carson–Newman
Jason Lamar Linebacker Toledo
Jonas Lewis Running back San Diego State
Dyral McMillanRunning back South Florida
Tommy ParksPunter Mississippi State
Greg PayneDefensive Back Arizona
Trey PenningtonTight end South Carolina
Danny ScottDefensive end Louisiana–Lafayette
Josh WhiteFullback California
Antonio WilliamsDefensive Line South Carolina State
Griff YatesRunning back Southern Oregon

Personnel

Staff

2000 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway

Roster

2000 San Francisco 49ers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 7 inactive, 2 practice squad

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
HOF July 31vs. New England Patriots L 0–200–1 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio)
1August 5 San Diego Chargers L 20–230–2 3Com Park
2August 13at Kansas City Chiefs W 33–101–2 Arrowhead Stadium
3August 20at Seattle Seahawks L 21–251–3 Husky Stadium
4August 25 Denver Broncos L 24–281–43Com Park

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 3at Atlanta Falcons L 28–360–1 Georgia Dome 54,626
2September 10 Carolina Panthers L 22–380–2 3Com Park 66,879
3September 17at St. Louis Rams L 24–410–3 Trans World Dome 65,945
4September 24at Dallas Cowboys W 41–241–3 Texas Stadium 64,127
5October 1 Arizona Cardinals W 27–202–33Com Park66,985
6October 8 Oakland Raiders L 28–34 (OT)2–43Com Park68,344
7October 15at Green Bay Packers L 28–312–5 Lambeau Field 59,870
8October 22at Carolina Panthers L 16–342–6 Ericcson Stadium 61,350
9October 29 St. Louis Rams L 24–342–73Com Park68,109
10November 5at New Orleans Saints L 15–312–8 Louisiana Superdome 64,900
11November 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–73–83Com Park68,002
12November 19 Atlanta Falcons W 16–64–83Com Park67,447
13 Bye
14December 3at San Diego Chargers W 45–175–8 Qualcomm Stadium 57,255
15December 10 New Orleans Saints L 27–315–93Com Park67,892
16December 17 Chicago Bears W 17–06–93Com Park68,306
17December 23at Denver Broncos L 9–386–10 Mile High Stadium 76,098
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons

Jeff Garcia opened scoring on a four-yard touchdown to Fred Beasley but after four consecutive Morten Anderson field goals the Falcons got touchdown catches from Terance Mathis and Shawn Jefferson while Ashley Ambrose picked off Garcia and scored. Beasley and Terrell Owens caught additional San Francisco touchdowns in the 36–28 loss.

Week 2: vs. Carolina Panthers

San Francisco's home opener was a disaster as four straight Panthers touchdowns ultimately led to a 38–22 Niners loss. With the game out of reach Garcia was benched and former Seahawks washout Rick Mirer completed a touchdown to J. J. Stokes and a two-point conversion throw to Owens on a subsequent Fred Beasley score.

Week 3: at St. Louis Rams

The Niners led 10–3 and closed to 27–24 but the defending Super Bowl champs put the game away 41–24. Garcia was intercepted twice, the second time at the Rams goal line with 47 seconds to go.

Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

1234Total
49ers314101441
Cowboys01001424

[4]

This was the game famous for Terrell Owens posing on the Cowboys mid-field star after his first touchdown of the game. This led to a more emphatic gesture by Emmitt Smith when he scored as he slammed the ball securely to the star. When Owens scored again he repeated his gesture then was hammered by George Teague in response.

Though the Niners won 41–24 it was a costly affair for coach Steve Mariucci; not only was Owens suspended for their following game (creating a rift between the two) but Mariucci clashed with an enraged Jerry Rice during the game, Rice angry after coming into the game with only eleven catches – in a bigger irony Rice would catch two touchdowns.

Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Niners led wire to wire in winning 27–20. Jerry Rice led Niners receivers with seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders

The two Bay Area NFL teams met for only the ninth time and first since the Raiders returned to Oakland. After two Sebastian Janikowski field goals the Niners took a 14–6 lead on scores to Owens and Rice. In the third after a Tyrone Wheatley score and two pointer tied the game the Raiders forced a fumble, completed a deep strike to Andre Rison, then Tim Brown caught a 30-yard score. The Raiders next scored on a Rich Gannon run. Garcia then completed a touchdown to Owens where he outmaneuvered five Raiders defenders. A missed Janikowski attempt led to the tying Niners score. In overtime Janikowski missed again but Wade Richey’s kick was blocked and in the ensuing Raiders drive Brown caught the game-winning touchdown (34–28 final).

Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

San Francisco’s perennial struggle against the Packers continued in a competitive game as Jeff Garcia threw four touchdowns in erasing a 21–7 gap then tying the game at 28 in the final five minutes. The Packers faced third down only once on their final field goal drive and Garcia’s final pass to Charlie Garner reached the Packers 28.

Week 8: at Carolina Panthers

The Niners in a 34–16 loss were swept for the second straight season, second time by their former coach, and third time in the six seasons of the Panthers’ existence. Steve Beuerlein had three touchdown throws while Garcia had two scores and also a pick six by the Panthers' Mike Minter.

Week 9: vs. St. Louis Rams

With Trent Green forced to start in Kurt Warner's stead the Rams at Candlestick Park had themselves a battle as the Niners led four different times and Terrell Owens caught two scores. Green's score to Marshall Faulk in the third tied the game then after an exchange of punts Faulk caught another score. A Pete Stoyanovich field goal made for a 34–24 Niners loss.

Week 10: at New Orleans Saints

Former Bengals washout Jeff Blake threw three touchdowns and led five scoring drives to a 31–0 Saints lead, enough to absorb 15 points by the Niners who fell to 2–8 while the long-luckless Saints reached 6–3.

Week 11: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Niners ended their five-game slide and a two-game slide against Kansas City by scoring three times on the ground (by Charlie Garner and Jeff Garcia) in the second quarter, limiting the Chiefs to one touchdown while intercepting former 49ers quarterback Elvis Grbac once.

Week 12: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Jason Webster’s 70-yard pick six was the lone touchdown amid five field goals by both teams as the Niners ground out a 16–6 win. San Francisco sacked Chris Chandler four times.

Week 14: at San Diego Chargers

Off their bye week the Niners had an easy time of it, winning 45–17 as they intercepted Ryan Leaf four times. Watching from the sidelines was Leaf’s backup and a future Niners head coach, while Jerry Rice, embroiled in a salary cap dispute with the Niners front office, caught what would be his final two scores with the team that drafted him.

Week 15: vs. New Orleans Saints

The Saints were on their way to their best season in nearly a decade and took an important step in a 31–27 comeback win at San Francisco. Following a 69-yard Garcia touchdown to Terrell Owens the Saints mounted two touchdown drives and Garcia was intercepted with 23 seconds remaining.

Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears

Rumor of a Jerry Rice divorce from the Niners would come true subsequently as San Francisco’s last home game of the season saw a ceremony honoring Rice and Flash 80 caught seven passes for 76 yards. But it would be Terrell Owens who made history with twenty catches, setting a new NFL single-game record previously held by Tom Fears in 1950.

Week 17: at Denver Broncos

The Niners’ disappointing season ended in ugly fashion as the playoff-bound Broncos erupted to lead 38–0. The Niners ended their season and a 38–9 loss on a Garcia touchdown to J. J. Stokes in the final minute.

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(3) New Orleans Saints 1060.625354305L1
(6) St. Louis Rams 1060.625540471W1
Carolina Panthers 790.438310310L1
San Francisco 49ers 6100.375388422L1
Atlanta Falcons 4120.250252413W1

Awards and records

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References

  1. 1 2 3 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 362
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 249
  3. "2000 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  4. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Nov-10.
  5. 1 2 3 4 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 142