| 1983 San Francisco 49ers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. |
| President | Bill Walsh |
| General manager | John McVay |
| Head coach | Bill Walsh |
| Defensive coordinator | George Seifert |
| Home stadium | Candlestick Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 1stNFC West |
| Playoffs | WonDivisional Playoffs (vs.Lions) 24–23 LostNFC Championship (atRedskins) 21–24 |
| Pro Bowlers | QBJoe Montana DEFred Dean CBRonnie Lott FSDwight Hicks |
The1983 San Francisco 49ers season was thefranchise's 34thseason in theNational Football League and their 38th overall. The team attempted to improve on its 3–6 record from 1982. The 49ers started the season with a loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles, 22–17. However, the 49ers throttled the Vikings the next week 48–17 and then the Cardinals the following week 42–27. They ended the first half of the season 6–2 before splitting their last eight games to finish the season 10–6 and clinching the NFC West and the #2 seed in the playoffs. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the 49ers came back to beat the Lions 24–23 afterJoe Montana foundFreddie Solomon in the end zone with 1:23 remaining, and Lions kicker Eddie Murray missed a 41-yard field goal as time expired. However, in the NFC Championship game, the 49ers were not able to outlast the top-seeded Redskins, as after coming back to tie a game in which they trailed 21–0 at the start of the 4th quarter, they lost 24–21 after Washington took the lead on a field goal with 40 seconds left in the game.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Traded to theChargers | |||
| 22 | Traded to theChargers | ||||
| 2 | 49 | Roger Craig | RB | Nebraska | |
| 3 | 59 | Blanchard Montgomery | LB | UCLA | |
| 4 | 90 | Tom Holmoe | DB | BYU | |
| 5 | 117 | Riki Ellison | LB | USC | |
| 7 | 175 | Gary Moten | LB | SMU | |
| 9 | 229 | Mike Mularkey | TE | Florida | |
| 10 | 259 | Jeff Merrell | DT | Nebraska | |
| 11 | 289 | Jesse Sapolu | C | Hawaii | |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 6 | atLos Angeles Raiders | L 23–26(OT) | 0–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 41,337 |
| 2 | August 14 | New England Patriots | W 17–15 | 1–1 | Candlestick Park | 50,043 |
| 3 | August 20 | atSan Diego Chargers | L 7–24 | 1–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 43,939 |
| 4 | August 27 | Seattle Seahawks | L 6–20 | 1–3 | Candlestick Park | 47,074 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–22 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park | 55,775 | |
| 2 | September 8 | atMinnesota Vikings | W 48–17 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,167 | |
| 3 | September 18 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | W 42–27 | 2–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 38,132 | |
| 4 | September 25 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–20 | 3–1 | Candlestick Park | 57,814 | |
| 5 | October 2 | atNew England Patriots | W 33–13 | 4–1 | Sullivan Stadium | 54,293 | |
| 6 | October 9 | Los Angeles Rams | L 7–10 | 4–2 | Candlestick Park | 59,118 | |
| 7 | October 16 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 32–13 | 5–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,154 | |
| 8 | October 23 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 45–35 | 6–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 66,070 | |
| 9 | October 30 | New York Jets | L 13–27 | 6–3 | Candlestick Park | 54,796 | |
| 10 | November 6 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–20 | 6–4 | Candlestick Park | 57,832 | |
| 11 | November 13 | New Orleans Saints | W 27–0 | 7–4 | Candlestick Park | 40,022 | |
| 12 | November 20 | atAtlanta Falcons | L 24–28 | 7–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 39,782 | |
| 13 | November 27 | atChicago Bears | L 3–13 | 7–6 | Soldier Field | 40,483 | |
| 14 | December 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 35–21 | 8–6 | Candlestick Park | 49,773 | |
| 15 | December 11 | atBuffalo Bills | W 23–10 | 9–6 | Rich Stadium | 38,039 | |
| 16 | December 19 | Dallas Cowboys | W 42–17 | 10–6 | Candlestick Park | 59,957 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • 49ers | 13 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 48 |
| Vikings | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Q1 | SF | Wersching 38 yard field goal | SF 3–0 | |
| Q1 | SF | Clark 21 yard pass fromMontana (Wersching kick) | SF 10–0 | |
| Q1 | MIN | Brown 1 yard run (Ricardo kick) | SF 10–7 | |
| Q1 | SF | Wersching 32 yard field goal | SF 13–7 | |
| Q2 | SF | Cooper 2 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) | SF 20–7 | |
| Q2 | SF | Wright 60 yard interception return (Wersching kick) | SF 27–7 | |
| Q2 | SF | Solomon 14 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) | SF 34–7 | |
| Q2 | SF | Tyler 6 yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick) | SF 41–7 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Ricardo 32 yard field goal | SF 41–10 | |
| Q3 | MIN | LeCount 30 yard pass fromKramer (Ricardo kick) | SF 41–17 | |
| Q4 | SF | Craig 1 yard run (Wersching kick) | SF 48–17 | |
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| San Francisco 49ers(2) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 432 | 293 | W3 |
| Los Angeles Rams(5) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 361 | 344 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 7–5 | 319 | 337 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 370 | 389 | W1 |
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 31 | Detroit Lions (3) | W 24–23 | Candlestick Park |
| NFC Championship | January 8, 1984 | atWashington Redskins (1) | L 21–24 | RFK Stadium |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 23 |
| 49ers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
atCandlestick Park, San Francisco
| Game information |
|---|
|
QuarterbackJoe Montana hitFreddie Solomon with a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left in the game as the 49ers held off the Lions 24–23. Lions kickerEddie Murray missed a 43-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the game, one of his two misses in the 4th quarter. Five interceptions of Lions quarterbackGary Danielson played a major role in the 49ers' win.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 |
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
atRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
| Game information |
|---|
|
The 49ers overcame a 21-point 4th-quarter deficit to tie the game. But two controversial calls against the 49ers set up a 25-yard field goal byMark Moseley with 40 seconds remaining.Joe Montana was then intercepted on the last play of the game to seal the win for Washington.
