This article is a list of seasons completed by the San Francisco 49ers, an American football franchise representing the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers are members of the West division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The list documents the season-by-season records of the 49ers' franchise from 1946 to present, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches. The San Francisco 49ers began play in 1946 as charter members of the All-America Football Conference. When the 49ers joined the NFL after the AAFC-NFL merger in 1950, they never won a division or conference title, and only finished as high as second once from 1950 to 1969. After winning three consecutive division titles from 1970 to 1972, they would return to losing in 1973 and achieved only one winning season for the rest of the decade. From 1981 to 1998, the 49ers had one of the most successful stretches of dominance in NFL history. Armed with Bill Walsh's innovative West Coast offense, Hall of Fame level quarterback play in Joe Montana and later Steve Young, and a dominant defense, the 49ers would win five Super Bowls in 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, and 1994, and made the playoffs every year but 1982 and 1991 during their run of dominance.
Another playoff drought lasted from 2003–2010, a stretch of eight non-winning seasons. This drought came to end under rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh when the 49ers won their division with a 13–3 record in 2011. From 2011 to 2013, they earned three straight berths in the NFC Championship Game, which included a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. They would have another stretch of non-winning seasons from 2014–2018 before a 13–3 turnaround season in 2019 saw them win the NFC, but lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. Since losing Super Bowl LIV, the 49ers have been to two NFC Conference Championship Games and another Super Bowl in the last three seasons, losing both NFCCGs on the road and Super Bowl LVIII once again to the Chiefs.
NFL champions (1920–1969)§ | Super Bowl champions (1966–present)† | Conference champions * | Division champions ^ | Wild Card berth # | One-game playoff berth + |
Statistics above are current as of February 11, 2024.
Statistic | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|
All-America Football Conference regular season record | 38 | 14 | 2 | .722 |
AAFC postseason record | 1 | 1 | — | .500 |
National Football League regular season record | 586 | 500 | 14 | .539 |
NFL postseason record | 38 | 24 | — | .613 |
AAFC and NFL regular and postseason record | 663 | 539 | 16 | .551 |
1 Due to a strike-shortened season in 1982, all teams were ranked by conference instead of division.
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 38 miles (61 km) southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush.
The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game has been played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the eponymous coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Because the NFL restricts use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is played is often referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday".
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts.
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the NFC postseason's first two rounds. The NFC champion then advances to face the winner of the AFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1971 season began on December 25, 1971. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24–3, on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks.
The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Commanders.
The 1997 Green Bay Packers season was their 79th season overall and their 77th in the National Football League (NFL). The season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing 31–24 to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. The heavily favored team narrowly missed its opportunity to post back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
The San Francisco 49ers are the first major league professional sports franchise to be based in San Francisco, and one of the first professional sports teams based on the West Coast of the United States.
The 49ers–Rams rivalry is a rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). The rivalry began in 1950 and became one of the most intense in the NFL in the 1970s as the two California based teams regularly competed for the NFC West Division title. During the 2020s, the rivalry regained intensity following the Rams’ return to Los Angeles and subsequent playoff success. The intensity of the rivalry is also due to the fact that Northern California and Southern California have long been competitors in the economic, cultural, and political arenas. Similarly to the Dodgers-Giants rivalry equivalent in baseball, the Kings-Sharks rivalry equivalent in hockey, the Lakers-Warriors rivalry equivalent in basketball, and the California Clásico equivalent in soccer, the intensity of the rivalry has fueled numerous incidents between fans as well.
As with all sports leagues, there are several significant rivalries between teams and notable players in the National Football League (NFL). Rivalries are occasionally created due to a particular event that causes bad blood between teams, players, coaches, or owners, but for the most part, they arise simply due to the frequency with which some teams play each other and sometimes exist for geographic reasons.
The Cowboys–Steelers rivalry is a rivalry in the NFL. The Cowboys currently lead the all-time series 17–16. The two teams met in the Super Bowl three times, the most of any two teams. CBS Sports ranked this rivalry No. 2 of the best NFL rivalries of the 1970s. As the Cowboys are in the NFC and the Steelers are in the AFC, they usually only meet at least once every four years and at least once every eight seasons at each team's home stadium, sometimes more often if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions in the year they do not play one another but met two years prior, or meet in the playoffs.
The Big Blue Wrecking Crew was the defense for the New York Giants during the 1980s that won two Super Bowl championships and three NFC East titles, the first in Super Bowl XXI in 1986 and the other in Super Bowl XXV in 1990. A 3-4 defense, it was among the greatest NFL defenses of all time, and featured Lawrence Taylor as its star, considered by many to be the greatest defensive player in NFL history.
The 49ers–Giants rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. It is one of the great inter-division rivalry games in the National Football League (NFL). The two teams do not play each other every year; instead, they play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium, sometimes more often if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions or meet in the playoffs. Since 1982, the 49ers and Giants have met eight times in the postseason, tied for the most times two teams have met in the playoffs in the NFL since that time.
The 49ers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League (NFL). While the teams first met in 1976, the rivalry did not develop until the early 2000s, specifically in 2002, when the Seahawks were placed with the 49ers in the NFC West, allowing for two annual meetings between the teams. The Seahawks lead the series 30–22. The teams have met twice in the playoffs, a 23–17 Seahawks victory in the 2013 NFC Championship Game and a 41–23 49ers triumph in the 2022 NFC Wild Card round.
The 49ers–Packers rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. The two teams do not play every year; instead, they play once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's rotating division schedules during which their divisions are paired up. Additionally, not only both teams could meet in the playoffs, but also if they finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play the ensuing season. The rivalry became prominent during the 1990s, as the Brett Favre-led Packers defeated the Steve Young-led 49ers in three of four playoff meetings. In the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected Alex Smith with the first overall selection, passing on northern California native Aaron Rodgers; Green Bay later selected Rodgers with the 24th pick. Since Rodgers became the Packers' starter in 2008, the Packers and 49ers met in the playoffs five times, four with Rodgers, though the 49ers have won all five of these meetings.