1982 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1982 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League and their 37th overall. The team was coming off a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. However, 1982 was strike-shortened, and only nine games were played. The 49ers finished 3–6, thus missing the playoffs despite the expanded sixteen team format. Their .333 winning percentage was the worst ever for any defending NFL or AFL champion until the 2022 Los Angeles Rams, who only managed to get a .294 winning percentage. This season was the only one in an 18-season span in which the 49ers did not win at least ten games. This 49ers team was also the only team in history to win more than half its road games while losing all its home games.^[1] The 49ers were the fifth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.^[2] This also marked the first, and as of 2023, only time in NFL history that the defending Super Bowl champion missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.

1982 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
General manager	Bill Walsh
Head coach	Bill Walsh
Defensive coordinator	Chuck Studley
Home stadium	Candlestick Park
Results
Record	3–6
Division place	11th NFC (Would have been 3rd in the NFC West)
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G Randy Cross WR Dwight Clark CB Ronnie Lott FS Dwight Hicks
← 1981 49ers seasons 1983 →

The uniform of the San Francisco 49ers, 1976-1983.

The worst running game in the league alongside a defense that went from second overall and points in 1981 to twenty-first and twenty-third respectively were the main culprits for the losing season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1982 NFL draft

1982 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	29	Bubba Paris	Tackle	Michigan	began play with 49ers in 1983
5	139	Newton Williams	Running back	Arizona State
6	151	Vince Williams	Running back	Oregon
7	195	Ron Ferrari	Linebacker	Illinois
9	251	Bryan Clark	Quarterback	Michigan State
10	269	Dana McLemore	Defensive back	Hawaii
10	279	Tim Barbian	Defensive tackle	Western Illinois
11	306	Gary Gibson	Linebacker	Arizona
12	334	Tim Washington	Defensive back	Fresno State
Made roster

Source:^[3]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1982 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office Owner and President – Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. General manager – Bill Walsh Director of Football Operations – John McVay Director of College Scouting – Tony Razzano Head coaches Head coach – Bill Walsh Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Sam Wyche Running Backs – Billie Matthews Receivers – Milt Jackson Offensive line – Bobb McKittrick

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Chuck Studley Defensive line – Bill McPherson Linebackers – Norb Hecker Defensive Backs – George Seifert Assistant Defensive Backs – Ray Rhodes Special teams coaches Special teams – Milt Jackson Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil

Roster

1982 San Francisco 49ers roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  7 Guy Benjamin 15 Bryan Clark 16 Joe Montana Running backs (RB) 49 Earl Cooper 20 Amos Lawrence 25 Jeff Moore 32 Ricky Patton 30 Bill Ring Wide receivers (WR) 87 Dwight Clark 83 Renaldo Nehemiah 88 Freddie Solomon 85 Mike Wilson Tight ends (TE) 81 Russ Francis 80 Eason Ramson 86 Charle Young

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Dan Audick T 68 John Ayers G 60 John Choma G/C 51 Randy Cross G 62 Walt Downing G 71 Keith Fahnhorst T 78 Lindsey Mason T 56 Fred Quillan C Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Mike Clark DE 74 Fred Dean DE 75 John Harty NT/DE 67 Pete Kugler NT 65 Lawrence Pillers DE 72 Jeff Stover DE 79 Jim Stuckey DE

Linebackers (LB) 63 Terry Beeson ILB 54 Ron Ferrari ILB 59 Willie Harper OLB 55 Bob Horn ILB 50 Ed Judie OLB 52 Bobby Leopold OLB 53 Milt McColl OLB 64 Jack Reynolds ILB 58 Keena Turner OLB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Tim Collier CB 24 Rick Gervais SS 22 Dwight Hicks FS 42 Ronnie Lott CB 43 Dana McLemore CB 28 Lynn Thomas CB 27 Carlton Williamson SS 21 Eric Wright CB Special teams (ST)  3 Jim Miller P 14 Ray Wersching K

Reserve 76 Dwaine Board DE (IR) -- Ken Bungarda T (IR) 57 Dan Bunz LB (IR) 66 Allan Kennedy T (IR) 77 Bubba Paris T (IR) 45 Newton Williams RB (IR) 40 Vince Williams RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 14	Los Angeles Raiders	L 14–17	0–1	Candlestick Park	61,065
2	August 21	St. Louis Cardinals	W 16–13	1–1	Candlestick Park	51,931
3	August 28	at San Diego Chargers	L 9–23	1–2	Jack Murphy Stadium	48,697
4	September 3	at Seattle Seahawks	W 17–13	2–2	Kingdome	57,839

^[4]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	Los Angeles Raiders	L 17–23	0–1	Candlestick Park	59,748
2	September 19	at Denver Broncos	L 21–24	0–2	Mile High Stadium	73,899
	September 26	Chicago Bears	Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike
	October 4	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
	October 10	at New Orleans Saints
	October 17	Los Angeles Rams	Rescheduled to January 2
	October 24	at Atlanta Falcons	Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike
	October 31	at Washington Redskins
	November 7	Minnesota Vikings
	November 14	Dallas Cowboys
3	November 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 31–20	1–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	38,064
4	November 28	New Orleans Saints	L 20–23	1–3	Candlestick Park	51,611
5	December 2	at Los Angeles Rams	W 30–24	2–3	Anaheim Stadium	58,574
6	December 11	San Diego Chargers	L 37–41	2–4	Candlestick Park	55,988
7	December 19	Atlanta Falcons	L 7–17	2–5	Candlestick Park	53,234
8	December 26	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 26–13	3–5	Arrowhead Stadium	24,319
9	January 2, 1983	Los Angeles Rams	L 20–21	3–6	Candlestick Park	54,256
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

See also: 49ers–Raiders rivalry

Week One: Los Angeles Raiders (0–0) at San Francisco 49ers (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	3	10	0	10	23
49ers	0	14	3	0	17

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: September 12, 1982
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 65 °F or 18.3 °C
• Game attendance: 59,748
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter LA – Chris Bahr 41-yard field goal. Raiders 3–0. Drive: Second quarter SF – Freddie Solomon 18-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–3. Drive: LA – Chris Bahr 42-yard field goal. 49ers 7–6. Drive: SF – Dwight Clark 41-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 14–6. Drive: LA – Marcus Allen 3-yard run (Chris Bahr kick). 49ers 14–13. Drive: Third quarter SF – Ray Wersching 22 yard field goal. 49ers 17–13. Drive: Fourth quarter LA – Todd Christensen 3-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick). Raiders 20–17. Drive: LA – Chris Bahr 43-yard field goal. 'Raiders 23–17. Drive: Top passers LA – Jim Plunkett – 12/20, 123 yards, TD, 2 INT SF – Joe Montana – 21/41, 244 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers LA – Marcus Allen – 23 rushes, 116 yards, TD SF – Jeff Moore – 7 rushes, 30 yards Top receivers LA – Marcus Allen – 4 receptions, 64 yards SF – Dwight Clark – 6 receptions, 106 yards, TD

Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• 49ers	3	7	7	14	31
Cardinals	0	7	6	7	20

• Date: November 21
• Location: Busch Stadium
• Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 38,064
• Game weather: 53 °F or 11.7 °C; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Referee: Tom Dooley

Scoring summary

Q1		SF	Wersching 36 yard field goal	SF 3–0
Q2		SF	Moore 1 yard run (Wersching kick)	SF 10–0
Q2		STL	Green 17 yard pass from Lomax (O'Donoghue kick)	SF 10–7
Q3		STL	O'Donoghue 30 yard field goal	Tie 10–10
Q3		STL	O'Donoghue 32 yard field goal	STL 13–10
Q3		SF	Francis 6 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)	SF 17–13
Q4		SF	Clark 33 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)	SF 24–13
Q4		SF	Cooper 17 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)	SF 31–13
Q4		STL	Anderson 2 yard run (O'Donoghue kick)	SF 31–20

^[5]

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Atlanta Falcons(5)	5	4	0	.556	3–1	4–3	183	199	L2
New Orleans Saints	4	5	0	.444	2–1	3–5	129	160	W1
San Francisco 49ers	3	6	0	.333	1–3	2–3	209	206	L1
Los Angeles Rams	2	7	0	.222	1–2	1–5	200	250	W1

NFC v t e
#	Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1	Washington Redskins	8	1	0	.889	190	128	W4
2	Dallas Cowboys	6	3	0	.667	226	145	L2
3	Green Bay Packers	5	3	1	.611	226	169	L1
4[a]	Minnesota Vikings	5	4	0	.556	187	198	W1
5[a]	Atlanta Falcons	5	4	0	.556	183	199	L2
6[a]	St. Louis Cardinals	5	4	0	.556	135	170	L1
7[a]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	4	0	.556	158	178	W3
8[b]	Detroit Lions	4	5	0	.444	181	176	W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9[b]	New Orleans Saints	4	5	0	.444	129	160	W1
10[b]	New York Giants	4	5	0	.444	164	160	W1
11[c]	San Francisco 49ers	3	6	0	.333	209	206	L1
12[c]	Chicago Bears	3	6	0	.333	141	174	L1
13[c]	Philadelphia Eagles	3	6	0	.333	191	195	L1
14	Los Angeles Rams	2	7	0	.222	200	250	W1
Tiebreakers
Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5).