Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. The Bills next drive resulted in Ferguson's 4th consecutive interception, this one thrown to Jerry Holmes, but the Jets were forced to punt, and Lou Piccone returned Chuck Ramsey's 29-yard punt 5 yards to the New York 45-yard line. The team had . But it was later discovered that only once did the 49ers play short-handed -- and that occurred on the fourth-and-one from the 5. The game was played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Or write about sports? Cincinnati then drove 48 yards in eight plays, including Isaac Curtis' 22-yard reception on second and 17, to score with fullback Pete Johnson's 1-yard run, giving them a 140 lead before Buffalo had gained a single first down or completed a pass. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. The Bills defense managed to force a punt with under a minute left, but Ferguson threw four consecutive incompletions as time expired in the game. The 49ers jumped to a 247 lead in the second quarter, and scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to secure the victory. "I think Joe was thinking of the Gipper when we won. : Norb Hecker (Linebackers), Milt Jackson (Wide Receivers/ST), Billie Matthews (Running Backs), Bill McPherson (Defensive Line), Ray Rhodes (Asst. The 49ers got another chance to score before halftime when they recovered a fumbled punt on the Dallas 42. Johnson hit center for two yards and then left guard, where he was stopped by John Harty for no gain. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. won the Super Bowl 5 times, in 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994. Facing third down and 3 on the Cowboys 6 with 58 seconds left, Montana threw a high pass that Clark just managed to break ahead of Walls and reach in the air for the game-winning touchdown reception. Harris caught six passes for 106 yards. 1982. In 1973, the division-champion Bengals were beaten by the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs. Take a look at all the action as the 2023 Combine gets underway in Indianapolis. Do you have a blog? (AP Photo/Al Golub), San Francisco Linebacker Keena Turner (58) recovers Dallas Cowboys Running Back Tony Dorsett (33) fumble. Then after forcing a punt, the Giants drove 74 yards, including an 11-yard scramble by Brunner on 3rd and 11, to score on his 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Mistler. of the National Football Conference, aka the Following an incomplete pass, Strock's next throw was intercepted by Willie Buchanon, but as he made the diving catch, he fumbled the ball back to Miami when he hit the ground. Clark added 5 receptions for 104 yards. Later on, Lott returned his second interception of the game 20 yards to the end zone to give San Francisco a 3817 lead and clinch the game. Or write about sports? NBA. 1963 San Francisco 49ers Bunz had to hit him perfectly to stop him. Within each conference, the three division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The 49ers are one of the NFL's most popular teams largely because they've had more success than most in the league. Walsh, a graduate of San Jose State -- where he also earned a master's degree in education -- was without professional playing experience. 49ers running back Amos Lawrence returned the following kickoff 47 yards to the Giants 48-yard line. The use of any team names, words, trademarks, logos or photos have been used for descriptive purposes only. The key play of the drive was a 21-yard run by Rob Carpenter on 2nd and 8 from the 40 with 2:04 left on the clock. But once again this amounted to nothing as Fouts was intercepted in the end zone by rookie safety Bobby Kemp. (AP Photo/Al Golub), Dallas Cowboys Running Back Tony Dorsett (33) make run in open field during the NFC Championship game at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco on January 10, 1982. (AP Photo/Al Golub), Dallas Cowboys Defensive Back Everson Walls (24) on sidelines during the NFC Championship game at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco on January 10, 1982. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1982_San_Francisco_49ers_season&oldid=1132463114, Director of College Scouting Tony Razzano, LA Marcus Allen 4 receptions, 64 yards, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 00:39. Dallas defensive back Everson Walls intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble, though he had the misfortune of being assigned to cover Clark on "the catch" play. Aided by an 18-yard completion from Anderson to tight end Dan Ross, Cincinnati scored first with a 31-yard field goal from kicker Jim Breech. All three division winners from each conference then received a bye in the first round. Find out more. the The 49ers and Eagles don't have a rich playoff history, with Philadelphia and San Francisco meeting only one time in the postseason (49ers won 14-0 in 1996 NFC Wild Card round). Dallas managed to pick up a few first downs, but was forced to punt, and White's kick gave San Francisco the ball at their own 11 with 4:54 left in the game.[7]. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball hit the ground and bounced back in the Chargers direction, enabling them to recover it and eventually score on running back Chuck Muncie's 1-yard rushing touchdown. Miami's defense subsequently recovered a fumble from Fouts, giving their offense the ball on the Chargers 39-yard line, and Strock took advantage, leading them to score on his 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Rose. was the 2019 San Francisco 49ers, who at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California. straight losses. While Bill Walsh regarded the fourth-down stop of Johnson as "the play that won the game for us," Chuck Studley considered Bunz' tackle of Alexander more significant. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Moments after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo broke his left foot in a Dec. 4 win against the Miami Dolphins, general manager John Lynch's phone pinged. The Chargers defense quickly gave the offense another scoring opportunity, forcing a punt from Pat McInally that went just 32 yards to the Bengals 45. He also was without extraordinary optimism. On San Diego's opening drive, Dan Fouts' 47-yard completion to Wes Chandler set up Benirschke's 32-yard field goal. [2], at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The third worst starts to a 49ers NHL. Meanwhile, the Bengals lost two of their first five games, then bowed only to New Orleans, 17-7, and San Francisco the rest of the way. Strock turned in the best game of his life, completing 29 of 43 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns, while Fouts put on one of the best performances of his Hall of Fame career, completing 33 of 53 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns. Free shipping for many products! It just didn't work. Then Miami was forced to punt and Chandler returned the ball 56 yards for a touchdown. New York then drove 52 yards in 13 plays to score on 48-yard field goal by Joe Danelo, making it 2410. ", SF - Montana 1 run (Wersching kick) (9:08), SF - Cooper 11 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) (8:07), CIN - Anderson 5 run (Breech kick) (3:35), CIN - Ross 4 pass from Anderson (Breech kick) (4:54), CIN - Ross 3 pass from Anderson (Breech kick) (14:44), This site is neither endorsed, nor sponsored by, nor affiliated with San Francisco 49ers or NFL Enterprises LLC. "The only thing we could do was run the ball and hope we could get it out and punt.". While the 49ers were foundering with 2-14 records in 1978 and '79, the Bengals were posting 4-12 records and finishing at the bottom of the AFC Central Division. Maybe if it had been 24-0, the Bengals might have caved in, but not with the score 20-0.". Philadelphia Eagles running back Boston Scott, center, runs for a touchdown during the first half of the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Jan. 29 . Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. When Brown retired as coach, Walsh moved on to the San Diego Chargers, serving as assistant to Tommy Prothro and tutoring Dan Fouts in the same fashion as he had Anderson. In the first quarter, Eagles kick/punt returner Wally Henry fumbled a punt due to a hit from Lawrence Taylor and Beasley Reece recovered the ball for the Giants at the Philadelphia 26-yard line. Do you have a sports website? Have the San Francisco 49ers gone by any other names? NFC West Division The 49ers won the game 28-27. NCAAM. During their nonproductive years, the 49ers finished last six times, including the 1978 season when they won only two games and lost 14 under the split leadership of Pete McCulley and Fred O'Connor. Cowboys kicker Rafael Septin later added a 32-yard field goal to give the Cowboys a 100 halftime lead. San Francisco Defensive End Jim Stuckey (79) blocks Dallas Cowboy Quarterback Danny White (11) from passing. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, 2621, on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Despite playing without starting quarterback Phil Simms and linebacker Brad Van Pelt, the Giants jumped to a 200 lead in the first quarter and withstood an Eagles comeback at the end to hold on to a 2721 win. After 15 games in warm weather climates, the 1982 championship contest was played in the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome, 25 miles from Detroit. Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3 p . We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Bills coach Chuck Knox later explained this was an attempt to prevent the defense from adjusting to new personnel, an attempt that would have paid off if the ball had been snapped on time, as Piccone did make a first down catch on the ensuing play.[6]. ", Griffin, who said he was surprised that the Niners would try a squib kick, revealed that "I used to have a theory on that kind of kick, that the first two bounces would be funny and the next bounce would be high. Three plays later from the 40-yard line, Strock took the snap and threw a pass intended for Harris at the 20-yard line. Two possessions later, the Bengals were at midfield with 6:53 remaining in the third period. San Francisco 49ers Franchise Encyclopedia. Mark Haynes recovered the ball in the end zone to give New York a 200 lead. "This was for the world championship and there was no way I was going to miss it," explained Solomon, who caught four passes for 52 yards during the game. Cribbs was injured and knocked out of the game on the first play, but his replacement Roland Hooks rushed five times for 24 yards and caught a pass for 6, while Ferguson finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Butler, tying the game back up at 21 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Simpson and Buttle each had two interceptions. (AP Photo/Paul Spinelli), San Francisco 49ers running back Bill Ring (30) runs behind a block by 49ers Randy Cross (51) during the NFL football game NFC Championship between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, California on January 10, 1982. Their .333 winning percentage was the worst ever for any defending NFL or AFL champion until the 2022 Los Angeles Rams, who only managed to get a .294 winning percentage. In 10 plays, seven of them rushes, the Niners advanced 50 yards and, with 5:25 remaining, Wersching kicked his third field goal, a 40-yarder that raised the NFC club's lead to 23-14. What they didn't know was that we worked our tails off all week on that play, too.". San Francisco 49ers 252K subscribers Subscribe 44K views 3 years ago #TheCatch #49ers #49ers #TheCatch #DwightClark Take a trip down memory lane of the play that launched the 49ers. Aided by two receptions from Charlie Joiner for 49 yards, the Chargers then drove 74 yards to the Miami 10-yard line, where Benirschke eventually kicked the winning field goal. Montana, selected the game's most valuable player, completed 14 of 22 passes, ran for 18 yards in six carries and scored a touchdown. But this time the Jets could not take advantage, as Simpson put an end to the next drive with an interception of his own. Join our linker program. Ray Wersching's Super Bowl record-tying 4 field goals and Joe Montana's controlled passing helped lift the San Francisco 49ers to their first NFL championship with a 26-21 victory over Cincinnati. Later on, Benirschke missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, giving Miami the ball with good field position. Tell the fellows they really did win one for the Gipper.". Gastineau got to the ball before anyone else, but wound up accidentally knocking the ball forward twice while trying to pick it up, and Buffalo lineman Ken Jones ended up recovering it. the . Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. and ", The Bengals' second-down play from the one-yard line did not surprise Studley. Chargers placekicker Rolf Benirschke kicked the winning 29-yard field goal after 13:52 of overtime, ending a game that became known in National Football League lore as the Epic in Miami. For the third time in four years, the San Francisco 49ers have found themselves in the NFC Championship game. NFC Championship Game (2) San Francisco 49ers at (1) Philadelphia Eagles. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. (AP Photo/Paul Spinelli), San Francisco 49ers free safety Dwight Hicks (22) raises his arms on a goal line stand during the NFL football game NFC Championship between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, California on January 10, 1982. Thurman had two interceptions and 50 return yards. So when the Bengals defeated Buffalo, 28-21, and San Diego, 27-7, in the AFC playoffs, Gregg became the first ex-player to coach in the Super Bowl. In the third quarter, Miami drove 74 yards and tied it at 24, with Strock's 15-yard touchdown completion to Rose. The improvement was noticeable immediately after Wersching's second-half kickoff. Super Bowl XVI was played to an improbable script. 49ers is a registered trademark of the Forty Niners Football Company LLC. (AP Photo/Al Golub), San Francisco Running Back Johnny Davis (38) makes touchdown during the NFC Championship game at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco on January 10, 1982. We held and they punted to us. But after a 15-yard illegal block penalty on Clark, Montana lost a fumble while being sacked by Harvey Martin. This would also turn out to be the final NFL playoff game at Shea Stadium, as the Jets moved to Giants Stadium three years later. Search through thousands of plays from pro football history using our Event Finder tool. With 10:39 left in the game, Anderson threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Cris Collinsworth, giving the Bengals a 2821 lead at the end of a 9-play, 79-yard drive that saw him burn the Bills with a 42-yard completion on a short pass to Steve Kreider on third and 1 from the Bengals 42-yard line. Then Walls recovered a fumble from running back Walt Easley at midfield to set up White's 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Doug Cosbie, giving Dallas a 2721 advantage. Their defense would shift as late as possible before the snap of the ball and we often didn't know who or where a guy would come into the gap. . Get a summary of the San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams football game. "He told us we would have to score at least two more times," reported the left guard. at Shea Stadium, Flushing, Queens, New York. The San Francisco 49ers have played a total of 73 Early in the third quarter, the Bills advanced 69 yards in five plays, starting with Ferguson's 15-yard pass to Frank Lewis and ending with a 44-yard touchdown run by Cribbs to tie the game. (Won 0 Rounds), Lost Divisional Round (AP Photo/Al Golub), 49er fans mock effigy of Dallas Quarterback Danny White during the NFC Championship game at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco on January 10, 1982. 1982. Past 10 Seasons (2013 - 2022) Championship Years 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994 San Francisco 49ers History Overview The San Francisco 49ers have played a total of 73 seasons. The Catch was the game-winning touchdown reception in the 1981 NFC Championship Game played between the Dallas Cowboys and the eventual Super Bowl XVI champion San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on January 10, 1982, as part of the 1981-82 NFL playoffs. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the fourth seed wild card hosted the fifth seed. (AP Photo/Paul Spinelli), Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett (33) scores a touchdown while San Francisco 49ers safety Dwight Hicks (22) gives chase during the NFL football game NFC Championship between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, California on January 10, 1982. San Francisco 1982 San Francisco 49ers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees Previous Season Next Season Record: 3-6-0, 3rd in NFC West Division ( Schedule and Results ) Coach: Bill Walsh (3-6-0) Points For: 209 (23.2/g) 7th of 28 Points Against: 206 (22.9/g) 23rd of 28 Expected W-L: 4.6-4.4 SRS: -2.43 (18th of 28), SOS: -2.77 Following a Bengals punt, Ferguson's 54-yard completion to Jerry Butler set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Joe Cribbs, cutting the score to 147 by halftime. started the season with 6 Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Then Ferguson threw his third consecutive interception on the next drive, which Donald Dykes picked off and returned 22 yards, giving New York a first down on the Buffalo 35. San Francisco 49ers Philadelphia Eagles The stage is set for a thrilling NFC championship game on Sunday, as the Eagles host the 49ers, on their home turf at Lincoln Financial Field.. Fellow linebacker Craig Puki later said that he thought Turner had missed two plays, but he was in his stance and evidently did not see Turner race onto the field at the last instance for the first-down play from the 3. His teams also won postseason games in the Sun and Bluebonnet Bowls. The second round, the divisional playoffs, had a restriction where two teams from the same division cannot meet: the surviving wild card team visited the division champion outside its own division that had the higher seed, and the remaining two teams from that conference played each other. I kept asking myself, 'Who's missing?' Then we scored to make it 20-14.". ", On the other end of the line, President Ronald Reagan said, "I wanted to congratulate you. Take a look at the photographs that served as the artistic blueprint for Super Bowl LVII, and see how they were incorporated into the numerous event spaces throughout the state. Had Bunz tackled him low, Alexander's momentum would have carried him into the end zone. This was the first postseason meeting between the Bills and Jets. All four AFC playoff games were between teams who had never faced each other in the postseason before. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Refresh your browser window to try again. For that, San Francisco has an amazing run in the 1980s, plus an extra. This season was the only one in an 18-season span in which the 49ers did not win at least ten games. Dallas responded with Danny White's 20-yard pass to Butch Johnson setting up a 44-yard field goal by Rafael Septin. (AP Photo/Paul Spinelli), Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White (11) throws a pass during the NFL football game NFC Championship between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, California on January 10, 1982.