1979 San Francisco 49ers season

1979 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
General managerBill Walsh
Head coachBill Walsh
Defensive coordinatorChuck Studley
Home stadiumCandlestick Park
Results
Record2–14
Division place4th NFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlersnone

The 1979 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League and their 34th overall. The season is noted as running back O. J. Simpson's final year, quarterback Joe Montana's rookie season, and Bill Walsh's first year as head coach.

The 1979 49ers remain the only team in NFL history to lose twelve games in which they held a lead.[1]

They are also the first team in NFL history to attempt 600 or more passes, attempting 602.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft
1979 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 29 James Owens  Running back UCLA
3 82 Joe Montana * †  Quarterback Notre Dame
5 111 Tom Seabron  Linebacker Michigan
5 119 Jerry Aldridge  Running back Angelo State
6 138 Ruben Vaughan  Defensive tackle Colorado
7 166 Phil Francis  Running back Stanford
9 221 Steve Hamilton  Defensive tackle Missouri
10 249 Dwight Clark *  Wide receiver Clemson
10 252 Howard Ballage  Defensive back Colorado
11 276 Billy McBride  Defensive back Tennessee State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1979 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Dennis Green

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil

Roster

1979 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 (ST)

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 4 San Diego Chargers W 13–10 1–0 Candlestick Park 32,275
2 August 11 at Oakland Raiders L 10–41 1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,503
3 August 19 Denver Broncos L 0–21 1–2 Candlestick Park 34,133
4 August 24 at Seattle Seahawks L 20–55 1–3 Kingdome 59,941

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 at Minnesota Vikings L 22–28 0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,539
2 September 9 Dallas Cowboys L 13–21 0–2 Candlestick Park 56,728
3 September 16 at Los Angeles Rams L 24–27 0–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 44,303
4 September 23 New Orleans Saints L 21–30 0–4 Candlestick Park 39,727
5 September 30 at San Diego Chargers L 9–31 0–5 San Diego Stadium 50,893
6 October 7 Seattle Seahawks L 24–35 0–6 Candlestick Park 44,592
7 October 14 at New York Giants L 16–32 0–7 Giants Stadium 70,352
8 October 21 Atlanta Falcons W 20–15 1–7 Candlestick Park 33,952
9 October 28 Chicago Bears L 27–28 1–8 Candlestick Park 42,773
10 November 4 at Oakland Raiders L 10–23 1–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,764
11 November 11 at New Orleans Saints L 20–31 1–10 Louisiana Superdome 65,551
12 November 18 Denver Broncos L 28–38 1–11 Candlestick Park 42,910
13 November 25 Los Angeles Rams L 20–26 1–12 Candlestick Park 49,282
14 December 2 at St. Louis Cardinals L 10–13 1–13 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,593
15 December 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–7 2–13 Candlestick Park 44,506
16 December 16 at Atlanta Falcons L 21–31 2–14 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 37,211
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Team 1 234Total
Falcons 0 906 15
• 49ers 7 076 20
Scoring summary
Q1SFSolomon 56 yard run (Wersching kick)SF 7–0
Q2ATLMazzetti 23 yard field goalSF 7–3
Q2ATLJenkins 7 yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed)ATL 9–7
Q3SFHofer 2 yard run (Wersching kick)SF 14–9
Q4ATLLawrence 41 yard blocked punt return (kick failed)ATL 15–14
Q4SFHofer 3 yard run (kick failed)SF 20–15

[4]

Week 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Fifteen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9–5) at San Francisco 49ers (1–13)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 7 007
49ers 10 3 01023

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: December 9, 1979
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 44,506
  • Box Score
Game information

"O.J. Simpson Day" at the stadium as it was his last home game. [5] 49ers' players carried Bill Walsh off the field and fans tore down the goal posts.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(3) 9 7 0 .563 5–1 7–5 323 309 L1
New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 4–2 8–4 370 360 W1
Atlanta Falcons 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 300 388 W1
San Francisco 49ers 2 14 0 .125 1–5 2–10 308 416 L1

References

  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, team lost game, team had a lead at some point in the game, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  2. ^ "1979 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "1979 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers - October 21st, 1979". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ Castañeda, Carlos (April 11, 2024). "Before O.J. Simpson's Hollywood fame, international infamy, he was a San Francisco treat". CBS San Francisco. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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