2002 San Francisco 49ers season

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2002 San Francisco 49ers season
San Francisco 49ers Saloon Wordmark.svg
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
Record10–6
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon 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)

The 2002 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 57th season, and 53rd in the National Football League (NFL) and the sixth and final under head coach Steve Mariucci.

Contents

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

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

NFL Draft

2002 San Francisco 49ers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
127 Mike Rumph   CB Miami (FL)
369 Saleem Rasheed   LB Alabama From Buffalo
3Forfeited due to aSalary CapViolation
4102 Jeff Chandler   K Florida From Buffalo
4127 Kevin Curtis   S Texas Tech
5163 Brandon Doman   QB BYU
5172 Josh Shaw   DT Michigan State compensatory selection
6201 Mark Anelli   TE Wisconsin
7239 Eric Heitmann   C Stanford
7248 Kyle Kosier   T Arizona State
7256Teddy 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

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway
  • Strength development coordinator – Terrell Jones

Roster

2002 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, 8 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1 September 5 at New York Giants W 16–131–0 Giants Stadium 78,748
2September 15 Denver Broncos L 14–241–1 3Com Park 67,685
3September 22 Washington Redskins W 20–102–1 3Com Park 67,541
4 Bye
5October 6 St. Louis Rams W 37–133–1 3Com Park 67,853
6October 14at Seattle Seahawks W 28–214–1 Seahawks Stadium 66,420
7October 20at New Orleans Saints L 27–354–2 Louisiana Superdome 67,903
8October 27 Arizona Cardinals W 38–285–2 3Com Park 67,173
9November 3at Oakland Raiders W 23–20 (OT)6–2 Network Associates Coliseum 62,660
10November 10 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–137–2 3Com Park 67,881
11November 17at San Diego Chargers L 17–20 (OT)7–3 Qualcomm Stadium 67,161
12November 25 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–387–4 3Com Park 67,919
13December 1 Seattle Seahawks W 31–248–4 3Com Park 67,594
14December 8at Dallas Cowboys W 31–279–4 Texas Stadium 64,097
15December 15 Green Bay Packers L 14–209–5 3Com Park 67,947
16December 21at Arizona Cardinals W 17–1410–5 Sun Devil Stadium 44,051
17December 30at St. Louis Rams L 20–3110–6 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
Quarter1234Total
49ers1037828
Seahawks777021

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
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
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs370313
49ers3140017

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

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
Quarter1234Total
Packers3014320
49ers068014

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

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
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(4) San Francisco 49ers 1060.6255–18–4367351L1
St. Louis Rams 790.4384–25–7316369W1
Seattle Seahawks 790.4382–45–7355369W3
Arizona Cardinals 5110.3131–55–7262417L3

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOV
Division leaders
1 [lower-alpha 1] Philadelphia Eagles East1240.7505–111–1.469.432
2 [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South1240.7504–29–3.482.432
3 [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] Green Bay Packers North1240.7505–19–3.451.414
4 San Francisco 49ers West1060.6255–18–4.504.450
Wild Cards
5 New York Giants East1060.6255–18–4.482.450
6 Atlanta Falcons South961.5944–27–5.494.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 New Orleans Saints South970.5633–37–5.498.566
8 [lower-alpha 3] St. Louis Rams West790.4384–25–7.508.446
9 [lower-alpha 3] Seattle Seahawks West790.4382–45–7.506.433
10 [lower-alpha 4] Washington Redskins East790.4381–54–8.527.438
11 [lower-alpha 4] Carolina Panthers South790.4381–54–8.486.357
12 Minnesota Vikings North6100.3754–25–7.498.417
13 [lower-alpha 5] Arizona Cardinals West5110.3131–55–7.500.400
14 [lower-alpha 5] Dallas Cowboys East5110.3131–53–9.500.475
15 Chicago Bears North4120.2502–43–9.521.430
16 Detroit Lions North3130.1881–53–9.494.375
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 6]
  1. 1 2 3 Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3).
  2. 1 2 Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory.
  3. 1 2 St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  4. 1 2 Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4)
  5. 1 2 Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory.
  6. 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

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueNFL.com
recap
Wild Card January 5, 2003 New York Giants (5)W 39–381–0 3Com Park Recap
Divisional January 12, 2003at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)L 6–311–1 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
Quarter1234Total
Giants72110038
49ers7781739

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
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 41–14. 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
Quarter1234Total
49ers33006
Buccaneers7213031

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
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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 San Francisco 49ers season</span> NFL team season

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References