The1988 season was theSan Francisco 49ers' 39th in theNational Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall, and their tenth and final season underhead coachBill Walsh. The 49ers won their third Super Bowl victory after a challenging regular season, with the team slipping to a 6–5 record in week 11. In danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since1982, they defeated the Washington Redskins on a Monday night and won four of their last five regular season games, finishing the season 10-6 as NFC West champions. In thedivisional round of the playoffs, they thrashed the Minnesota Vikings 34–9, gaining revenge over the side that had upset the #1-seeded 49ers at the same point in the previous season. They then defeated the Chicago Bears 28–3 in the NFC Championship game, braving a wind-chill factor of 26 degrees below zero.
Super Bowl XXIII marked the 49ers first Super Bowl appearance since they defeated theMiami Dolphins inSuper Bowl XIX. They had made the playoffs in the three intervening seasons, but were eliminated each time in the first round, primarily because of the poor performances by their offensive stars in those games; quarterbackJoe Montana, receiverJerry Rice and running backRoger Craig all failed to produce a single touchdown.
The 49ers alternated quarterbacks, as Montana andSteve Young both started at various points of the season. The broadcast booth of the 49ers radio network also saw change, asJoe Starkey substituted for longtime 49ers play by play announcerLon Simmons during several games, mostly in October when Simmons called theOakland Athletics1988 American League Championship Series and1988 World Series games for the Oakland A's flagship station,KSFO. The 1988 season was the last for Simmons as 49ers broadcaster. Across the regular season andpostseason, the 49ers won just 13 games, then a record-low forSuper Bowl champions. The number was matched in 2011 by the New York Giants, who also finished with a worse record: 13–7 (.650 win percentage), compared to the 49ers’ 13–6 (.684).
In the 1988 season, San Francisco won theNFC West with a 10–6 regular season record, but it was a long uphill battle; the 49ers,Rams, andSaints all finished 10–6 with the 49ers winning the division on tiebreakers. The team had a quarterback controversy with Montana andSteve Young each starting at quarterback during the season. But after a 6–5 start, Montana led the 49ers to win 4 of their final 5 regular season games.
Montana finished the regular season with 238 completions for 2,981 yards and 18 touchdowns, and also added 132 rushing yards. His favorite target was Rice, who recorded 64 receptions for 1,306 yards (a 20.4 yards per catch average) and 9 touchdowns. Craig was also a key contributor with a total of 2,036 combined rushing and receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him theNFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. FullbackTom Rathman also made a big impact, rushing for 427 yards and catching 42 passes for 387 yards. The 49ers defense was led by defensive backsRonnie Lott,Eric Wright,Jeff Fuller, andTim McKyer, who recorded a combined total of 18 interceptions. McKyer led the team with 7, while Lott recorded 5. LinebackerCharles Haley was also a big contributor with 11.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries.
The Saints, fresh off the first winning season in franchise history, clawed to a 17–10 halftime lead in the second quarter, butJoe Montana erupted in the third with three touchdown throws. Head coachBill Walsh, wanting to get playing time for backupSteve Young, put Young in for the fourth quarter; Young was sacked in the endzone for a safety and the Saints scored seven more points after that, nonetheless coming up short 34–33 to the 49ers.
Concerned over Montana's health, coach Walsh started Steve Young in his place against the Giants; Young's rawness to the Niners offensive system showed as he was limited to 115 yards passing and the Niners trailed 17–13 in the fourth. Montana came in and fired a 77-yard touchdown in the final minutes toJerry Rice and a 20–17 Niners win (the play, 76 All Go, had only bern installed that week).
The 49ers lost to the Falcons for only the fourth time since1981 as Joe Montana was intercepted three times and sacked three times in a 34–17 rout.Gerald Riggs of the Falcons rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Niners rebounded by putting up 580 yards of offense in a 38–7 rout of the Seahawks. Joe Montana threw four touchdowns and Steve Young added a fifth whileRoger Craig andTom Rathman accounted for 186 rushing yards. The Seahawks'Jeff Kemp was intercepted three times andKelly Stouffer added a fourth pick.
Joe Montana ran in a six-yard touchdown and threw for 191 yards and an interception; he was sacked three times and replaced by Young asJohn Elway tied the game 13–13 on a touchdown toVance Johnson. Wind gusts up to 40 mph suddenly hitCandlestick Park and made passing more difficult; in overtime a Steve Young pass was intercepted (Young's second pick of the game), setting upRich Karlis' winning field goal (16–13 final for the Broncos).
Roger Craig had one of his greatest games in a 190-yard stampede where he scored three touchdowns, highlighted by a dramatic 46-yard score in the first quarter. Despite threeJim Everett touchdowns the Rams fell to San Francisco 24–21, the tenth 49ers win in the rivalry's previous 14 games.
The Niners struggled to a 10–9 loss to theBears onMonday Night Football. The Niners incurred ten penalties for 57 yards andJoe Montana was sacked four times.
The Vikings' playoff win at San Francisco the previous season hung overCandlestick Park as Coach Walsh started Steve Young in Joe Montana's stead. Young struggled and was booed repeatedly by the crowd ("They were running him out of town", linemanHarris Barton said). Just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter the Vikings led 21–17 with the Niners at Minnesota's 49-yard line; Young escaped a sack and ran in the game-winning touchdown, earning applause from the same audience that had been booing him; theNFL Films clip withLon Simmons' call of the score is among the most replayed in retrospectives on Young's career.[23]
With Young still starting, the 49ers raced to a 23–0 lead in the third quarter, and Coach Bill Walsh felt it was the sharpest the offense had looked all season. The Cardinals, however, began clawing back asNeil Lomax rifled a pair of touchdowns; making matters worse for San Francisco was a whopping 14 penalties for 106 yards. On a kick return Walsh was blindsided by a runner and suffered two cracked ribs; he then had to watch as the Cardinals raced down field in the final minute and scored on a nine-yard Lomax score toRoy Green. It turned out to be the last road loss for the 49ers until Week One ofthe 1991 season.
The low point for the 49ers season came against the Raiders asJoe Montana started despite continuing concern by Walsh over his health; Montana had lost eight pounds and was coming off a stomach illness. Montana was held to 160 passing yards as the Raiders clawed out a 9–3 win. The 49ers’ final drive stalled when officials did not call a pass interference penalty on the Raiders over a play toJerry Rice inside the 10-yard line.
As a result, it was the second game of the season they didn't score a touchdown. Following the loss, amid chatter from players interpreted as them giving up on the season,Ronnie Lott called a players-only meeting;Harris Barton called it "a ‘screw the coaches’ meeting" and said that it worked to refocus the players on playing better ("They usually don't work, but this one did.")
The refocused Niners erupted on thedefending champion Redskins, racing to a 23–7 halftime lead and winning 37–21. Joe Montana threw two touchdowns (including an 80-yarder toJerry Rice) and ran in a third. Super Bowl MVPDoug Williams of the Redskins threw three touchdowns whileTimmy Smith was held to just six rushing yards.
The Niners' scoring explosion continued atJack Murphy Stadium asJoe Montana threw three touchdowns (the first a 96-yarder toJerry Rice) andRoger Craig had two rushing scores and a touchdown catch, whileDoug DuBose added a rushing score. Four Niners backs plus both quarterbacks (Montana andSteve Young) rushed for 203 yards, crushing the Chargers 48–10.
The Niners hosted the Saints with both teams at 9–5 but going in opposite directions following two straight Saints losses. Led byRoger Craig's 115 yards, the Niners rushed for 152 yards and two scores whileJoe Montana threw for 233 yards and a score in San Francisco's 30–17 win. At halftime, the 49ers retired number 87, which was worn byDwight Clark from 1979 to 1987.
The Niners clinched the NFC West despite a three-way tie with the Rams and New Orleans (all finishing 10–6) and despite a 38–16 slaughter by the Rams that put them into the playoffs.Jim Everett threw four touchdowns while Montana and Young combined for 291 yards but no scores. San Francisco won the division on tiebreakers and the Rams were the wild card, while the 10–6 Saints were eliminated from playoff contention on the conference record tiebreaker.
For the third time in some 365 days the 49ers hosted theVikings, and for the second time in that span it was in the playoffs. Minnesota entered having shot down the Rams 28–17 and boasting an offense fourth in scoring with a defense second in fewest points allowed with a plus-23 turnover differential – and none of it made any difference asJoe Montana threw three touchdowns in the first half andJerry Rice caught all three.Wade Wilson was picked off twice as the Niners won 34–9, their first playoff win sinceSuper Bowl XIX.
1988 NFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 8, 1989): at (1)Chicago Bears
The Niners traveled to frigidSoldier Field a week after the Bears succeeded in theFog Bowl against the Eagles and less than three months after San Francisco's ugly Monday Night loss in that same venue. The Niners put the game away in the third quarter followingJoe Montana's third touchdown of the game as the Niners limited the Bears' sluggish offense (18th in scoring) to just oneKevin Butler field goal. The win was doubly personal for Walsh between returning to theSuper Bowl and also quieting hecklers in the Soldier Field crowd, including one in particular who'd persisted in what Walsh delicately described as "remarks about my body parts and my preferences in life", but who was reduced to futile stuttering as the game got out of hand.
The game is remembered for the 49ers' fourth-quarter game-winning drive. Down 16–13, San Francisco got the ball on their own eight-yard line with 3:10 on the clock and marched 92 yards down the field in under three minutes. They then scored the winning touchdown on a Joe Montana pass to John Taylor with just 34 seconds left in the game.
49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice was named the Super Bowl MVP. He caught 11 passes for a Super Bowl record 215 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing once for 5 yards.
This was also the final NFL game coached by the 49ers' Bill Walsh. This was also the final Super Bowl thatPete Rozelle presided over as NFL Commissioner.
Wembley Stadium(London)