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1991 San Francisco 49ers season

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1991 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General managerCarmen Policy
Head coachGeorge Seifert
Offensive coordinatorMike Holmgren
Defensive coordinatorBill McPherson
Home fieldCandlestick Park
Results
Record10–6
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG Guy McIntyre
WR Jerry Rice
OLB Charles Haley

The 1991 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 46th overall. The franchise did not qualify for the postseason for the first time since the strike-shortened 1982 season. Joe Montana would miss the entire season with an elbow injury, paving the way for Steve Young to take over as the team's starting quarterback.

In Week 17, the 49ers found themselves not controlling their destiny. The Atlanta Falcons had already swept the 49ers in 2 very close games in the regular season, and therefore held the tiebreaker in the wild card. The New Orleans Saints had a 10–5 record entering the week, and defeated the Phoenix Cardinals, winning the division.

Offseason

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Following the 1990 season, the 49ers left team stalwarts Roger Craig and Ronnie Lott unprotected and allowed them go to the Los Angeles Raiders via Plan B free agency.

In 1991, the 49ers announced a prototype for a new logo and helmet design. Instead of the traditional "SF" oval, this new logo featured a stylized "49ers" in white with black and red shadows. However, fan reaction was so overwhelmingly negative that the idea was scrapped six days later.[1] The only change to the uniform would be the switching from red socks with three white stripes to plain solid red socks.

NFL draft

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Main article: 1991 NFL draft
1991 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 25 Ted Washington *  Nose tackle Louisville
2 45 Ricky Watters *  Running back Notre Dame began play with 49ers in 1992.
2 53 John Johnson  Linebacker Clemson
4 95 Mitch Donahue  Linebacker Wyoming
5 122 Merton Hanks *  Defensive back Iowa
5 137 Harry Boatswain  Guard New Haven began play with 49ers in 1992.
6 165 Scott Bowles  Tackle North Texas
7 193 Sheldon Canley  Running back San Jose State
8 221 Tony Hargain  Wide receiver Oregon
9 248 Louis Riddick  Defensive back Pittsburgh
10 276 Byron Holdbrooks  Defensive tackle Alabama
11 304 Bobby Slaughter  Wide receiver Louisiana Tech
12 332 Cliff Confer  Defensive end Michigan State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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1991 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Lynn Stiles

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway


Roster

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1991 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

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
47 active, 11 reserve, 3 practice squad

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 July 27 at Los Angeles Raiders W 24–17 1–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 45,365
2 August 3 vs. Chicago Bears W 21–7 2–0 Olympiastadion (Berlin) 66,876
3 August 7 Denver Broncos W 24–6 3–0 Candlestick Park 54,170
4 August 19 San Diego Chargers W 24–13 4–0 Candlestick Park 53,453
5 August 23 at Seattle Seahawks W 28–16 5–0 Kingdome 54,111

[3]

Regular season

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With Joe Montana out for the season with an elbow injury, Steve Young became the starting quarterback. The season opener, a rematch of the previous year's NFC Championship with the New York Giants, was the first road loss suffered by the 49ers since losing at Phoenix in 1988. The loss ended a still-standing NFL record 18 consecutive regular season road game victories spanning the 1988–90 seasons. The first month of the season saw the team inconsistent with alternating home wins and road losses. In week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons, Young suffered a knee injury, causing him to miss five games. With Young out and with the 49ers record at 4–5, Steve Bono led the 49ers to five wins in 6 games. However, Young returned for the final game; a 52–14 victory over the Chicago Bears. Although the 49ers finished the regular season at 10–6, they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982 (losing on a tie-breaker to the Atlanta Falcons due to having lost both meetings). Young would however win the first of four passing titles.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 at New York Giants L 14–16 0–1 Giants Stadium 76,319
2 September 8 San Diego Chargers W 34–14 1–1 Candlestick Park 60,753
3 September 15 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–17 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,148
4 September 22 Los Angeles Rams W 27–10 2–2 Candlestick Park 63,871
5 September 29 at Los Angeles Raiders L 6–12 2–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 91,494
6 Bye
7 October 13 Atlanta Falcons L 34–39 2–4 Candlestick Park 57,343
8 October 20 Detroit Lions W 35–3 3–4 Candlestick Park 61,240
9 October 27 at Philadelphia Eagles W 23–7 4–4 Veterans Stadium 65,796
10 November 3 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–17 4–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,259
11 November 10 at New Orleans Saints L 3–10 4–6 Louisiana Superdome 68,591
12 November 17 Phoenix Cardinals W 14–10 5–6 Candlestick Park 50,180
13 November 25 at Los Angeles Rams W 33–10 6–6 Anaheim Stadium 61,881
14 December 1 New Orleans Saints W 38–24 7–6 Candlestick Park 62,092
15 December 8 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–22 8–6 Kingdome 56,711
16 December 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–14 9–6 Candlestick Park 62,672
17 December 23 Chicago Bears W 52–14 10–6 Candlestick Park 60,419
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) New Orleans Saints 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 341 211 W2
(6) Atlanta Falcons 10 6 0 .625 5–1 7–5 361 338 L1
San Francisco 49ers 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 393 239 W6
Los Angeles Rams 3 13 0 .188 0–6 2–10 234 390 L10

Awards and records

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  • Steve Young, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 101.8 Rating [4]

References

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  1. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (February 18, 2016). "When the 49ers changed their logo, and fans revolted". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "1991 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "1991 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
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