The 1994 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), their 49th overall, and their sixth under head coach George Seifert. This season was highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XXIX. The championship made San Francisco the first team to win five Super Bowls. After losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the previous two conference championship games, the 49ers made significant acquisitions in the 1994 free agent market. This included the signing of two-sport star Deion Sanders and Cowboys linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. Sanders had a major impact on the team's success, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award and recording six interceptions. The 49ers won their division, the NFC West, for the eighth time in nine seasons.

Quarterback Steve Young had his best NFL season and won his second MVP award. Young set what was, at the time, the NFL record for highest passer rating in a season – 112.8.The record was eclipsed by Peyton Manning in 2004. Cold Hard Football Facts states that Young's 1994 season is the second greatest passing season in NFL history, behind only Joe Montana's 1989 season. The team set a franchise record for most points scored in the regular season with 505 total. The team also set the NFL playoff record for most points scored in a postseason with 131.

For the third consecutive season, the 49ers met the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. From the mid-1980s until the latter 1990s, the AFC was widely regarded as the NFL's weaker conference. At the time of this conference championship game, AFC teams had lost the previous 10 Super Bowls in a row, starting with Super Bowl XIX after the 1984 season. All but two of those losses were by at least 10 points; five of them were by more than 20 points. As a result, the NFC Championship meeting between the Niners and Cowboys was dubbed by many as "the real Super Bowl.""The Real Super Bowl". Sports Illustrated cover, January 16, 1995 issue. The magazine cover shows a blown-up image of a ticket to the 1994 NFC Championship game, and photos of 49ers quarterback Steve Young and Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, all beneath the caption "The Real Super Bowl". The contest was one of the highest rated non-Super Bowl games in NFL history.

The 49ers beat the two-time defending champion Cowboys 38–28, ending their hopes of becoming the first NFL team to three-peat. San Francisco went on to defeat the San Diego Chargers 49–26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Young was named the game's MVP after throwing a record six touchdown passes. The game also set the record for most points scored by both teams in a Super Bowl with 75 total, a record that stands to this day.

The 1994 49ers ranked #19 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary. As of the 2025 NFL season, this is the last Super Bowl the 49ers have won.

Offseason

NFL draft

Training camp The 49ers held training camp at Sierra College in Rocklin, California.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Schedule WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap 1 at Arizona Cardinals L 7–17 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium Recap 2 Denver Broncos W 20–3 1–1 Candlestick Park Recap 3 at San Diego Chargers W 30–24 2–1 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap 4 Seattle Seahawks W 13–9 3–1 Candlestick Park Recap

Regular season In 1994, after the retirements and departures of several stalwarts from the late 1980s and early 1990s teams, the 49ers spent large amounts of money on the addition of several star free agent veterans. The revamp focused mainly on defense, where six new starters including Ken Norton, Jr., Gary Plummer, Rickey Jackson, and Deion Sanders were implemented, all with the ultimate goal in mind of dethroning the Dallas Cowboys. Said safety Merton Hanks, "Those players came in on one and two-year deals and they understood, 'if we do not get it done this year this organization is going to blow itself up.'" Additionally, several rookie players made key contributions to the team, some becoming season-long starters. This included defensive tackle Bryant Young, fullback William Floyd, and linebacker Lee Woodall. The 49ers started slowly early in the season. They defeated the Raiders in a game where Jerry Rice broke the NFL record for career touchdowns, but followed with a 24–17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, led by former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

Despite victories over the Rams and Saints, the 49ers offensive line was struggling, having lost four starters to injury, and in Week 5 the Niners were crushed 40–8 by the Eagles. Following the Eagles game, a poll conducted on local sports radio station KNBR showed that an overwhelming majority of 49er fans wanted head coach George Seifert fired.

The game against the Eagles was a turning point for the 49ers despite being a lopsided loss. Steve Young was benched for Elvis Grbac abruptly during a series in the 3rd quarter. Soon after, Young was livid on the sidelines, shouting profanities at head coach George Seifert. Young later admitted "I was looking for a fistfight," and would later say that this incident caused his teammates to respond better to his leadership, as they saw how much he cared about winning ("It galvanized the guys behind Steve," said Brent Jones).

The following week in Detroit, the 49ers trailed the Lions 7–0. After throwing a pass, Young was hit, picked up, and driven into the ground by three Lions defenders. After the hit, Young was screaming with his face dark red in color. He crawled most of the way off of the field before refusing help from the trainers as he limped the remaining way off the field. He miraculously returned to the field two plays later (NFL rules state that after trainers attend to an injured player, that player must leave the field for at least one play (Elvis Grbac came in for that one play and threw an incompletion) to lead the 49ers to a 27–21 victory.

The team rallied around Young to win 10 straight games, including a 21–14 victory over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys. During that span, the 49ers' average margin of victory was nearly 20 points per game; they broke 35+ points scored eleven times, breaking 40 points four of those times.

Throwback uniforms During the 1994 season, many NFL teams wore "throwback uniforms" for occasional games (after Week 2 of the season) to celebrate the NFL's 75th anniversary (a corresponding diamond 75th Anniversary patch was also worn by all teams). The 49ers chose to wear a version of their 1955 uniforms as throwbacks. This design featured sans-serif block numerals that were outlined and shadowed in black. White pants with thinner red-black-red striping were also worn, along with the old striped red socks (the team later reverted to their regular solid red socks after receiving permission from the NFL to wear the uniforms starting from Week 10 until Super Bowl XXIX). The team's regular 1989–95 gold helmet was worn with this uniform, as there was no logo on the 1955 helmet.

The team first donned the 1955 throwback uniforms during a week 3 match against the Los Angeles Rams and the following week at home versus the Saints. Both games ended in victory (coincidentally, these were also the first two games Deion Sanders played with the 49ers after signing as a free-agent after week 2). The team then suffered an embarrassing 40–8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at home wearing their regular red uniforms with gold pants. (Football statistics site Football Outsiders calculates this 49ers loss to be the second-most lopsided football game they'd tracked from 1994 to 2008.)

For the subsequent three games until their bye week, the team again was scheduled to play games wearing the throwback uniforms with white pants and blockshadow numerals, and all three games resulted in wins. During the following weeks the 49ers embarked on a 10-game winning streak. The team, prompted both by the superstition of coach George Seifert, and the preference of players, petitioned the NFL to wear the throwback uniforms for the rest of the season. The league granted the request and the switch to solid red socks after the bye week marked this occurrence. In all, the team went 15–1 (including the playoffs) wearing the 1955/1994 throwback uniforms. The only loss occurred during the regular season finale at Minnesota, with the team wearing white jerseys and resting most of their starters for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the 49ers went undefeated wearing the red jerseys of the throwback uniform. After winning Super Bowl XXIX however, the team was compelled to revert to wearing its regular 1964-style uniforms (1991 revised design) for the following 1995 season. One year later, the throwback design strongly influenced the 49ers to redesign their uniform set. In 1996, the team revealed a new helmet and uniform design featuring a darker red, shadowed numbers, black accents, and white pants. In 1998, the team changed the pants to a gold color and wore these uniforms through the 2008 season. The 49ers brought back the 1994 white throwback uniform design as an alternate set for the 2018 season. The 1994 red throwback jerseys were brought back by the team as an alternate uniform for the 2021 season, the 49ers franchise's 75th anniversary.

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Los Angeles Raiders W 44–14 1–0 Candlestick Park Recap 2 September 11 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–24 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 3 September 18 at Los Angeles Rams W 34–19 2–1 Anaheim Stadium Recap 4 September 25 New Orleans Saints W 24–13 3–1 Candlestick Park Recap 5 October 2 Philadelphia Eagles L 8–40 3–2 Candlestick Park Recap 6 October 9 at Detroit Lions W 27–21 4–2 Pontiac Silverdome Recap 7 October 16 at Atlanta Falcons W 42–3 5–2 Georgia Dome Recap 8 October 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 41–16 6–2 Candlestick Park Recap 9Bye 10 November 6 at Washington Redskins W 37–22 7–2 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 11 November 13 Dallas Cowboys W 21–14 8–2 Candlestick Park Recap 12 November 20 Los Angeles Rams W 31–27 9–2 Candlestick Park Recap 13 at New Orleans Saints W 35–14 10–2 Louisiana Superdome Recap 14 December 4 Atlanta Falcons W 50–14 11–2 Candlestick Park Recap 15 December 11 at San Diego Chargers W 38–15 12–2 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap 16 Denver Broncos W 42–19 13–2 Candlestick Park Recap 17 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–21 13–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 vs. Los Angeles Raiders

The Niners led wire to wire as Steve Young opened with two touchdowns. Jerry Rice’s 69-yard score set an NFL record for career touchdowns.

Week 2 at Kansas City Chiefs

This was the much-hyped match between Steve Young and Joe Montana, Young's predecessor as the 49ers' quarterback. Montana threw two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Young clawed the Niners to a 14–7 lead but was then sacked for a safety; the Niners also fumbled twice while Young threw two picks. San Francisco sports bars airing the game saw viewers overwhelmingly cheer for Montana's Chiefs over Young and the Niners.

Week 3 at Los Angeles Rams

This became the final game between the 49ers and Rams in Los Angeles until 2016.

Week 4 vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 5 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Steve Young was benched after going 11 of 23 with two interceptions and getting sacked for a safety by William Fuller; Elvis Grbac completed four of eight passes and was sacked twice. The Eagles outgained the Niners in yardage 437 to 189. This was the second worst loss by an eventual Super Bowl champion in NFL history.

Week 6 at Detroit Lions

The Lions jumped to a 14–0 lead on a Brett Perriman touchdown catch and a nine-yard score from Barry Sanders. Young was knocked out for one play with a pinched nerve in his leg; he came back in despite heavy pain and rallied the Niners to 27 unanswered points.

Week 7 at Atlanta Falcons