1988 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1988 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 39th in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall, and their tenth and final season under head coach Bill Walsh. The 49ers won their third Super Bowl victory after a challenging regular season, with the team slipping to a 6–5 record in week 11. In danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1982, they defeated the Washington Redskins on a Monday night and won four of their last five regular season games, finishing the season 10–6 as NFC West champions. In the divisional round of the playoffs, they thrashed the Minnesota Vikings 34–9, gaining revenge over the team that had upset the #1-seeded 49ers at the same point in the previous season. They then defeated the Chicago Bears 28–3 in the NFC Championship game, braving a wind-chill factor of 26 degrees below zero.

Super Bowl XXIII marked the 49ers first Super Bowl appearance since they defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. They had made the playoffs in the three intervening seasons, but were eliminated each time in the first round, primarily because of the poor performances by their offensive stars in those games; quarterback Joe Montana, receiver Jerry Rice and running back Roger Craig all failed to produce a single touchdown.

The 49ers alternated quarterbacks, as Montana and Steve Young both started at various points of the season. The broadcast booth of the 49ers radio network also saw change, as Joe Starkey substituted for longtime 49ers play by play announcer Lon Simmons during several games, mostly in October when Simmons called the Oakland Athletics' 1988 American League Championship Series and 1988 World Series games for the Oakland A's flagship station, KSFO. The 1988 season was the last for Simmons as 49ers broadcaster. Across the regular season and postseason, the 49ers won just 13 games, then a record-low for Super Bowl champions. The number was matched in 2011 by the New York Giants, who also finished with a worse record: 13–7 (.650 win percentage), compared to the 49ers’ 13–6 (.684).

NFL Films produced a documentary about the team's season entitled State of the Art; it was narrated by Jeff Kaye. On March 8, 2007, NFL Network aired an episode of America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions about the 1988 49ers, with team commentary from Bill Walsh, Harris Barton and Roger Craig, and narrated by Ed Harris.

Offseason

Draft

1988 San Francisco 49ers draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 25 Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders2 33 Danny Stubbs DE Miami (FL) from Raiders 39Pierce Holt DE Angelo State from Eagles via Buccaneers 53 Traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 80Bill Romanowski LB Boston College 4 102 Barry Helton P Colorado from Bears via Raiders 107 Traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers5 131 Traded to the New York Jets 135 Traded to the Buffalo Bills 6 163 Traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 191 Kevin Bryant LB Delaware State 8 219 Larry Clarkson OT Montana 9 247 Brian Bonner LB Minnesota 10 275 Tim Foley K Georgia Southern 11 303 Chet Brooks DB Texas A&M 12 331 George Mira Jr. LB Miami (FL)

Training Camp The 1988 San Francisco 49ers season held training camp at Sierra College in Rocklin, California.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

1988 Team Starters

Offense

Defense

Kicking Team

Preseason

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 July 31 Miami Dolphins L 21–27 0–1 Wembley Stadium 70,535Recap 2 Los Angeles Raiders W 24–10 1–1 Candlestick Park 64,457Recap 3 at Denver Broncos L 24–34 1–2 Mile High Stadium 75,067 Recap 4 at San Diego Chargers W 34–27 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 39,044 Recap 5 Seattle Seahawks W 27–21 3–2 Candlestick Park 53,357 Recap

Preseason Game summaries

Week P1 (Sunday, July 31, 1988): vs. Miami Dolphins

Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:

DolphinsGame statistics49ers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession

Week P2 (Saturday, August 6, 1988): vs. Los Angeles Raiders

Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:

RaidersGame statistics49ers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession

Week P3 (Saturday, August 13, 1988): at Denver Broncos

Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:

49ersGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession

Week P4 (Saturday, August 20, 1988): at San Diego Chargers

Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:

49ersGame statisticsChargers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession

Week P5 (Friday, August 26, 1988): vs. Seattle Seahawks

Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:

SeahawksGame statistics49ers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession

Regular season In the 1988 season, San Francisco won the NFC West with a 10–6 regular season record, but it was a long uphill battle; the 49ers, Rams, and Saints all finished 10–6 with the 49ers winning the division on tiebreakers. The team had a quarterback controversy with Montana and Steve Young each starting at quarterback during the season. But after a 6–5 start, Montana led the 49ers to win 4 of their final 5 regular season games.

Montana finished the regular season with 238 completions for 2,981 yards and 18 touchdowns, and also added 132 rushing yards. His favorite target was Rice, who recorded 64 receptions for 1,306 yards (a 20.4 yards per catch average) and 9 touchdowns. Craig was also a key contributor with a total of 2,036 combined rushing and receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Fullback Tom Rathman also made a big impact, rushing for 427 yards and catching 42 passes for 387 yards. The 49ers defense was led by defensive backs Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, Jeff Fuller, and Tim McKyer, who recorded a combined total of 18 interceptions. McKyer led the team with 7, while Lott recorded 5. Linebacker Charles Haley was also a big contributor with 11.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries.

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 4 at New Orleans Saints W 34–33 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 66,357 Recap 2 September 11 at New York Giants W 20–17 2–0 Giants Stadium 75,943 Recap 3 September 18 Atlanta Falcons L 17–34 2–1 Candlestick Park 60,168 Recap 4 September 25 at Seattle Seahawks W 38–7 3–1 Kingdome 62,382 Recap 5 October 2 Detroit Lions W 20–13 4–1 Candlestick Park 58,285 Recap 6 October 9 Denver Broncos L 13–16 4–2 Candlestick Park 61,711 Recap 7 October 16 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–21 5–2 Anaheim Stadium 65,450 Recap 8 at Chicago Bears L 9–10 5–3 Soldier Field 65,293 Recap 9 October 30 Minnesota Vikings W 24–21 6–3 Candlestick Park 60,738 Recap 10 November 6 at Phoenix Cardinals L 23–24 6–4 Sun Devil Stadium 64,544 Recap 11 November 13 Los Angeles Raiders L 3–9 6–5 Candlestick Park 54,448 Recap 12 Washington Redskins W 37–21 7–5 Candlestick Park 59,268 Recap 13 November 27 at San Diego Chargers W 48–10 8–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,484Recap 14 December 4 at Atlanta Falcons W 13–3 9–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 44,048 Recap 15 December 11 New Orleans Saints W 30–17 10–5 Candlestick Park 62,977 Recap 16 December 18 Los Angeles Rams L 16–38 10–6 Candlestick Park 62,444 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Regular season game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday, September 4, 1988): at New Orleans Saints The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-May-17.

Point spread: 49ers Pick'em Over/under: 43.0 (over) Time of game: 3 hours, 7 minutes

49ersGame statisticsSaints21 First downs 2332–124 Rushes–yards 31–147165 Passing yards 24514–26–1 22–31–20–0 Sacked–yards 5–48165 Net passing yards 197289 Total yards 344128 Return yards 3101–24.0 3–40.01–1 Fumbles–lost 2–12–12 Penalties–yards 10–7723:50 Time of possession 36:10

Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups – Week 1: at New Orleans Offense QB #16 Joe Montana RB #33 Roger Craig FB #44 Tom Rathman WR #80 Jerry Rice WR #89 Wes Chandler TE #86 John Frank LT #74 Steve Wallace LG #61 Jesse Sapolu C #51 Randy Cross RG #62 Guy McIntyre RT #79 Harris Barton Defense LDE #91 Larry Roberts NT #95 Michael Carter RDE #75 Kevin Fagan LOLB #94 Charles Haley LILB #50 Riki Ellison RILB #99 Mike Walter ROLB #53 Bill Romanowski LCB #22 Tim McKyer RCB #29 Don Griffin SS #49 Jeff Fuller FS #42 Ronnie Lott

Individual stats 49ers Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateMontana13/2316131002999.8Young1/340000442.4

49ers Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Craig1867110Rice229029Montana320010Rathman81005Young1–20–2

49ers ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Frank559217Craig543014Rice241029Wilson117117Rathman1505

49ers Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuBose410526.300

49ers Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngGriffin2189.000

49ers PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckRunager12424.0241

49ers KickingXPM–XPAFGM–FGACofer4–42–2

49ers SacksSacksCarter2.0Fagan1.0Haley1.0Roberts1.0

49ers InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDLott1110110Carter10000

The Saints, fresh off the first winning season in franchise history, clawed to a 17–10 halftime lead in the second quarter, but Joe Montana erupted in the third with three touchdown throws. Head coach Bill Walsh, wanting to get playing time for backup Steve Young, put Young in for the fourth quarter; Young was sacked in the endzone for a safety and the Saints scored seven more points after that, nonetheless coming up short 34–33 to the 49ers.

Week 2 (Sunday, September 11, 1988): at New York Giants The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-May-17.

Point spread: 49ers +2 Over/under: 44.0 (under) Time of game: 3 hours, 13 minutes

49ersGame statisticsGiants25 First downs 1733–181 Rushes–yards 29–112263 Passing yards 22721–37–0 21–37–03–14 Sacked–yards 3–30249 Net passing yards 197430 Total yards 30963 Return yards 1334–39.0 5–39.24–2 Fumbles–lost 2–09–97 Penalties–yards 4–3030:46 Time of possession 29:14

Individual stats Passing: Montana – 10/18, 148 YDS, 1 TD; Young – 11/18, 115 YDS; Rice – 0/1, 0 YDS Rushing: Craig – 18 CAR, 110 YDS; Young – 5 CAR, 48 YDS; – Rathman – 6 CAR, 21 YDS; DuBose – 3 CAR, 2 YDS, 1 TD; Montana – 1 CAR, 0 YDS Receiving: Craig – 9 REC, 69 YDS; Rice – 4 REC, 109 YDS, 1 TD; Rathman – 3 REC, 27 YDS; Wilson – 2 REC, 25 YDS; Heller – 2 REC, 24 YDS; Chandler – 1 REC, 9 YDS Kickoff returns: DuBose – 3 KR, 49 YDS Punt returns: Chandler – 2 PR, 14 YDS Punting: Helton – 4 PUNTS, 156 YDS Kicking: Cofer – 2/2 PAT, 2/4 FG Sacks: Fagan – 1.0; Haley – 1.0; Roberts – 1.0 49ers Missed Field Goals: Cofer 62, 35

Concerned over Montana's health, coach Walsh started Steve Young in his place against the Giants; Young's rawness to the Niners offensive system showed as he was limited to 115 yards passing and the Niners trailed 17–13 in the fourth. Montana came in and fired a 77-yard touchdown in the final minutes to Jerry Rice and a 20–17 Niners win (the play, 76 All Go, had only bern installed that week).

Week 3 (Sunday, September 18, 1988): vs. Atlanta Falcons The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-May-17.

Point spread: 49ers –14 Over/under: 44.0 (over) Time of game: 3 hours, 5 minutes

FalconsGame statistics49ers19 First downs 2241–196 Rushes–yards 19–104175 Passing yards 34312–24–2 32–49–41–4 Sacked–yards 3–21171 Net passing yards 322367 Total yards 426101 Return yards 604–40.0 4–41.50–0 Fumbles–lost 0–05–35 Penalties–yards 4–5030:44 Time of possession 29:16

Individual stats Passing: Montana – 32/48, 343 YDS, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; Rice – 0/1, 0 YDS, 1 INT Rushing: Craig – 13 CAR, 57 YDS; Rathman – 2 CAR, 23 YDS; Rice – 2 CAR; 20 YDS; Montana – 2 CAR; 4 YDS