What are the worst moments in the history of the San Francisco 49ers? Last week, I gave my 5 greatest (non-Super Bowl) moments in 49ers history. This week, I'm flipping the script and going the other way and adding one, to make it my six worst (non-Super Bowl) moments in 49ers history.
I took some heat last week because I didn't include "The Catch" in my top five. That's because my list only included moments I witnessed. I wasn't a fan of the team in 1981. I was pretty young, and don't really remember it. But, yes, I realize it is the most iconic play in NFL history and number one on the 49ers' greatest list. But I didn't include it because I didn't see it.
The rules are the same this week. Here are the criteria for helping me narrow the list down to the top six, or in this case, the worst six.
- I only selected on-the-field moments. For example, I could have chosen the firing of Jim Harbaugh or the hiring of Jim Tomsula, but I'm only including games.
- I didn't include Super Bowl losses, because those would be automatics, and quite frankly, too simple and lazy. But make no mistake, the two Super Bowl losses were two of the five worst moments. I just decided to go in a different direction, and not include the Super Bowl (wins or losses). Plus, if I included Super Bowls, I'd have to change my title.
- As mentioned above, I only selected moments I remember happening. So I didn't choose postseason losses from the 1970s, even though I hear they were as painful as any.
Alright, let's jump in. Here are my six worst (non-Super Bowl) moments in 49ers' history:
6. "They're running our offense better than us"
NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Green Bay Packers, January 6, 1996.
The 1995 season was up and down for the 49ers. There were highs for the defending Super Bowl Champions, like beating the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium to kick off a 6-game winning streak. And there were lows, like losing in back-to-back weeks to the New Orleans Saints and expansion Carolina Panthers.
But it's the way the season ended that really didn't sit well with the organization, or its fans.
The 49ers hosted the Green Bay Packers in a Divisional Round Playoff Game. Mike Holmgren was a few years removed from being the offensive coordinator in San Francisco, and Brett Favre was just coming into his own.
The 49ers were heavily favored, but from the moment Packers defensive back, Craig Newsome, returned an Adam Walker fumble for a touchdown, it was clear that this game was not going to go the way George Seifert and his team expected it to go.
San Francisco outgained Green Bay in yardage, but the 49ers threw the ball an astonishing 65 times. They also turned the ball over twice.
The great 49ers' offense lacked any balance, as they were forced to pass a lot after falling behind 21-0. They went into halftime trailing 21-3, and spent the second half trying to play catch up. They never did, and lost 27-17.
But perhaps the biggest disappointment from this game was how the 49ers struggled to run its offense, while the Packers, and former Bill Walsh assistant, Holmgren, ran Walsh's West Coast offense to perfection.
The 49ers defense couldn't stop Favre and the Green Bay offense. And the 49ers offense couldn't get out of its own way. After the game, Young talked about how hard it was, watching the Packers run the 49ers offense better than the 49ers did.
5. Joe Montana gets benched...in a postseason game
NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Minnesota Vikings, January 9, 1988.
The 1987 season was shortened by a strike. There were only 15 games played, and some of those games were played by replacement players. Which makes Jerry Rice's incredible 22 receiving touchdowns (in only 12 games) all the more impressive.
The 49ers finished the season 13-2, and headed into the playoffs with a first-round bye, and homefield advantage. They had the NFL's top-ranked offense and top-ranked defense. It was one of the best team's in 49ers' history.
And then came the divisional round of the playoffs.
The 49ers hosted the Minnesota Vikings. San Francisco was double-digit favorites. This should have been a convincing win for the two-time Super Bowl Champions. Instead, it became one of the worst losses in franchise history.
Other than a pick-six by Jeff Fuller, the defense struggled to do much. Wade Wilson, a mediocre quarterback at best, passed for 298 yards and two touchdowns. 227 of those yards went to Anthony Carter, who had 10 catches. Carter also added 30 yards on the ground.
I remember feeling like the defense was chasing Carter all day, and never could catch him. It was terrible to have to watch the league's top-ranked defense get "Jerry Riced" by a wide receiver who was good, but not this good.
As for the 49ers offense, they weren't much better. Until late in the third quarter, the 49ers defense had outscored the 49ers offense. Yes, the offense with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Dwight Clark and John Taylor. It wasn't their best outing.
Montana finished the game 12-26 for 109 yards. He had no touchdown passes, threw one interception, and was sacked four times. While he was in the game, the 49ers managed to score only three offensive points.
And then the unthinkable happened. With the 49ers down 27-10, Walsh made the decision to bench Montana. That had never happened in a postseason game, but it did on this day.
Young came in and immediately led the team down for a touchdown to bring the 49ers to within 10 points. Young, in the second half, was 12-17 for 158 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also ran for 72 yards and a touchdown.
After a couple of Minnesota field goals, Young hit tight end John Frank for a touchdown to bring the 49ers to within nine. But the defense couldn't hold and the Vikings scored another field goal to upset the 49ers 36-24.
This loss stirred some controversy in the Bay Area, as some fans questioned why Walsh waited so long to replace Montana with Young. It's kind of ironic. People wanted Montana benched, and then a few years later, hated Young because he wasn't Montana.
4. "When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree..."
NFC Championship Game at the Seattle Seahawks, January 19, 2014.
I hate the Seattle Seahawks. And this game is one of the reasons why.
When Harbaugh's 49ers traveled to Seattle to play in the stadium that had become a house of horrors for the 49ers, we all knew it would be really tough to win a game on the road in front of that crowd, and whatever noise they pump in.
But the 49ers held their own, and even had a 17-13 lead going into the 4th quarter. Colin Kaepernick was incredible as a runner, rushing for 130 yards on 11 carries. But he also had lost a fumble and thrown two interceptions, with all three of those turnovers coming in the fourth quarter.
Still, the 49ers had the lead until Russell Wilson did what he often did, throwing up a 4th and 7 prayer that turned into a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse to give the Seahawks a 20-17 lead.
Seattle would later add another field goal, and despite the Kaepernick turnovers, the 49ers still had the ball late in the game with a chance to win it. But then Kaepernick, with the ball at the 18-yard line, went for it all, but underthrew Michael Crabtree. The ball was tipped by Richard Sherman and intercepted by Malcolm Smith.
The 49ers had lost another heartbreaker.
But watching Sherman taunt Crabtree and Kaepernick after the play, and then hearing him postgame, made me hate the Seahawks even more. Sherman told Erin Andrews, "Well, I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree," Sherman continued, "that's the result you're going to get. Don't you ever talk about me."
When Andrews asked Sherman who had been talking about him, he answered, "Crabtree. Don't you talk about the best, or I'm going to shut it for you real quick."
As much as I disliked him for that, he was right. Sherman was the best at the time. And Crabtree was a sorry receiver.
3. How 'bout them Cowboys
NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, January 17, 1993
It was Steve Young's first postseason run as the 49ers' starting QB. And it was against an up-and-coming Dallas Cowboys team, on a muddy Candlestick field, with Joe Montana suited up and on the sideline. What could possibly go wrong?
As it turned out, everything.
It looked like the 49ers would take control early when Young hit Rice for a long touchdown pass. But a penalty nullified the touchdown, and things never went the 49ers' way after that. The game was close until Dallas scored a late touchdown to go up 30-20.
This was a terrible moment in 49ers' history, primarily because the 49ers were better than the Cowboys that year. Even Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson admitted as much.
But it also hurt because Montana never played...in that game, or for the 49ers again. I'm not suggesting San Francisco would have won if he played instead of Young. Young did everything he could to win. He passed for over 300 yards to go along with one touchdown through the air and one on the ground. But he also had two interceptions and was sacked three times. I remember hearing Cowboys players say they were relieved Montana didn't enter the game.
Perhaps things would have been differently had Seifert put Montana in the game. Nonetheless, it was sad to see the 49ers go down, with Montana on the bench, knowing that would be his last game with the 49ers.
But it wasn't all on Young or the 49ers offense. Troy Aikman passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns. And Emmitt Smith rushed for 114 yards, plus another 59 yards receiving. He had two touchdowns. And the 49ers defense couldn't seem to figure out how to guard Alvin Harper on one play that turned into a 70 yard touchdown catch and run.
The young Cowboys stunned the 49ers, and after the game, Johnson delivered his irritating "How 'bout them Cowboys" postgame locker room speech.
That still makes me want to throw up.
2. The Kyle Williams game
NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants, January 22, 2012
Mention the 2011 NFC Championship Game, and fans automatically think two words: Kyle Williams.
It is probably unfair to call this "the Kyle Williams game", but that's what most remember. Williams committed a 4th quarter fumble on a punt that was bouncing on the ground. He failed to get out of the way, and the ball touched him on the side of the leg. The Giants recovered and scored a touchdown just seven plays later.
Then in overtime, a muffed punt by Williams would ultimately cost the 49ers the game, setting up the game-winning field goal by Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes. Coming off of a classic win against the New Orleans Saints, it seemed like the 2011 49ers were destined to win it all, but it wasn't to be.
It's not entirely on Kyle Williams, though. The 49ers' offense, especially its passing game, was not very effective. If you take away Vernon Davis' first-quarter 73-yard touchdown reception from Alex Smith, the 49ers only had 105 yards passing. And 28 of those yards came on a second Davis touchdown reception.
The 49ers' receivers were invisible that game. Crabtree, the sorry receiver mentioned earlier, had the only catch from a wide receiver, for an astonishing three yards. One catch for three yards. That's horrible. If your wide receivers can't do better than that in the NFC Championship Game, you don't deserve to win.
Which is a shame, because the 49ers' defense was amazing that day. Remembers Giants quarterback Eli Manning getting up after one play, with his helmet twisted in the wrong direction? The 49ers defensive front terrorized Manning that day.
It'll be remembered for the two Williams mistakes, but the offense (namely the wide receivers) weren't much help.
1. "There will be no three-peat"
NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants, January 20, 1991
This was a really good 49ers team. They were back-to-back Super Bowl Champs, finishing the season 14-2, and going for a three-peat, something that had never been done—win the Super Bowl three consecutive seasons.
It was a close game against a familiar foe, the New York Giants. These two teams had met in the playoffs in the 80's four times, with each team knocking the other team out of the postseason twice. But this was in a conference championship game, for a chance to play in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers took a 13-9 lead into the 4th quarter and had the ball later in the game. All they had to do was keep moving the ball, force the Giants to use their timeouts, and run out the clock.
Then on 3rd and 10, from their 23-yard line, Montana was flushed to his right, and stopped to throw, when he was hit in the back by Giants defensive lineman, Leonard Marshall. It was a brutal hit that forced Montana from the game and gave the ball back to New York.
Following a fake punt, that picked up the first down and moved the Giants into field goal range, New York was able to move even closer, bringing the score to 13-12.
Young, who was the first one off the bench to check on Montana, would come into the game at quarterback. And with around four minutes left in the game, Young hit tight end Brent Jones with a 25-yard gain to midfield. Two runs by Craig had things looking as though the 49ers were going to advance to the Super Bowl.
But then it happened. On first down from the 40-yard line, Craig fumbled the ball. Lawrence Taylor recovered. And the Giants moved down the field to kick the game-winning field goal, crushing our dream of a three-peat, 15-13.
It was probably my most heart-breaking loss as a fan. I still remember hearing Pat Summerall say, "There will be no three-peat."
Pain.