1986 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1986 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League and their 41st overall. The team returned to the top of the NFC West after a one-year absence, and lost in the divisional playoffs to the Giants, by a score of 49-3, possibly the biggest playoff loss suffered by the 49ers in the history of their franchise. This was the first of five consecutive NFC West titles for the 49ers.

1986 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General managerJohn McVay
Head coachBill Walsh
Defensive coordinatorGeorge Seifert
Home fieldCandlestick Park
Results
Record10–5–1
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Giants) 3–49
Pro BowlersWR Jerry Rice
FS Ronnie Lott

Joe Montana suffered a back injury in Week 1 and was lost for two months after surgery. Because the injury was so severe, Montana's doctors suggested that Montana retire. However, Montana returned for Week 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he passed for 270 yards and three touchdown passes in a 43–17 49er victory. Montana appeared in just eight games this season, and threw more interceptions than touchdown passes for the only time in his career. Montana shared Comeback Player of the Year honors with Minnesota's Tommy Kramer at the end of the season.

Offseason edit

NFL draft edit

1986 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 39 Larry Roberts  Defensive end Alabama
3 56 Tom Rathman  Running back Nebraska
3 64 Tim McKyer  Defensive back UT Arlington
3 76 John Taylor *  Wide receiver Delaware State began play with 49ers in 1987.
4 96 Charles Haley *   Defensive end James Madison
4 101 Steve Wallace *  Tackle Auburn
4 102 Kevin Fagan  Defensive end Miami (FL) began play with 49ers in 1987.
5 131 Patrick Miller  Linebacker Florida
6 162 Don Griffin  Defensive back Middle Tennessee
8 203 Jim Popp  Tight end Vanderbilt
9 240 Tony Cherry  Running back Oregon
10 267 Elliston Stinson  Wide receiver Rice
10 270 Harold Hallman  Linebacker Auburn
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:[1]

Personnel edit

Staff edit

1986 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical Development Coordinator – Jerry Attaway

Roster edit

1986 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season edit

Schedule edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–7 1–0 Tampa Stadium 50,780
2 September 14 at Los Angeles Rams L 13–16 1–1 Anaheim Stadium 65,195
3 September 21 New Orleans Saints W 26–17 2–1 Candlestick Park 58,297
4 September 28 at Miami Dolphins W 31–16 3–1 Miami Orange Bowl 70,264
5 October 5 Indianapolis Colts W 35–15 4–1 Candlestick Park 57,252
6 October 12 Minnesota Vikings L 24–27 (OT) 4–2 Candlestick Park 58,637
7 October 19 at Atlanta Falcons T 10–10 (OT) 4–2–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,306
8 October 26 at Green Bay Packers W 31–17 5–2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 50,557
9 November 2 at New Orleans Saints L 10–23 5–3–1 Louisiana Superdome 53,234
10 November 9 St. Louis Cardinals W 43–17 6–3–1 Candlestick Park 59,172
11 November 17 at Washington Redskins L 6–14 6–4–1 RFK Stadium 54,774
12 November 23 Atlanta Falcons W 20–0 7–4–1 Candlestick Park 58,747
13 December 1 New York Giants L 17–21 7–5–1 Candlestick Park 59,777
14 December 7 New York Jets W 24–10 8–5–1 Candlestick Park 58,091
15 December 14 at New England Patriots W 29–24 9–5–1 Sullivan Stadium 60,787
16 December 19 Los Angeles Rams W 24–14 10–5–1 Candlestick Park 60,366
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings edit

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers(3) 10 5 1 .656 3–2–1 6–5–1 374 247 W3
Los Angeles Rams(5) 10 6 0 .625 3–3 8–4 309 267 L2
Atlanta Falcons 7 8 1 .469 2–3–1 6–5–1 280 280 W1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 288 287 L1

Postseason edit

Schedule edit

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Divisional January 28 New York Giants (1) L 3–49 0–1 Giants Stadium

Game summaries edit

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) New York Giants edit

  • San Francisco 49ers 3, New York Giants 49

January 4, 1987, at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 76,034

Awards and records edit

References edit

  1. ^ "1986 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 142
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
  4. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.

External links edit