# 1979 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1979 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League and their 34th overall. The season is noted as running back O. J. Simpson's final year, quarterback Joe Montana's rookie season, and Bill Walsh's first year as head coach.
The 1979 49ers remain the only team in NFL history to lose twelve games in which they held a lead.
They are also the first team in NFL history to attempt 600 or more passes, attempting 602.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1979 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 29 | James Owens | Running back | UCLA |
| 3 | 82 | Joe Montana * $^†$ | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 111 | Tom Seabron | Linebacker | Michigan |
| 5 | 119 | Jerry Aldridge | Running back | Angelo State |
| 6 | 138 | Ruben Vaughan | Defensive tackle | Colorado |
| 7 | 166 | Phil Francis | Running back | Stanford |
| 9 | 221 | Steve Hamilton | Defensive tackle | Missouri |
| 10 | 249 | Dwight Clark * | Wide receiver | Clemson |
| 10 | 252 | Howard Ballage | Defensive back | Colorado |
| 11 | 276 | Billy McBride | Defensive back | Tennessee State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 4 | San Diego Chargers | W 13–10 | 1–0 | Candlestick Park | 32,275 |
| 2 | August 11 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–41 | 1–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,503 |
| 3 | August 19 | Denver Broncos | L 0–21 | 1–2 | Candlestick Park | 34,133 |
| 4 | August 24 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 20–55 | 1–3 | Kingdome | 59,941 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 2 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 22–28 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,539 |
| 2 | September 9 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–21 | 0–2 | Candlestick Park | 56,728 |
| 3 | September 16 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 24–27 | 0–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 44,303 |
| 4 | September 23 | New Orleans Saints | L 21–30 | 0–4 | Candlestick Park | 39,727 |
| 5 | September 30 | at San Diego Chargers | L 9–31 | 0–5 | San Diego Stadium | 50,893 |
| 6 | October 7 | Seattle Seahawks | L 24–35 | 0–6 | Candlestick Park | 44,592 |
| 7 | October 14 | at New York Giants | L 16–32 | 0–7 | Giants Stadium | 70,352 |
| 8 | October 21 | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–15 | 1–7 | Candlestick Park | 33,952 |
| 9 | October 28 | Chicago Bears | L 27–28 | 1–8 | Candlestick Park | 42,773 |
| 10 | November 4 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–23 | 1–9 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,764 |
| 11 | November 11 | at New Orleans Saints | L 20–31 | 1–10 | Louisiana Superdome | 65,551 |
| 12 | November 18 | Denver Broncos | L 28–38 | 1–11 | Candlestick Park | 42,910 |
| 13 | November 25 | Los Angeles Rams | L 20–26 | 1–12 | Candlestick Park | 49,282 |
| 14 | December 2 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–13 | 1–13 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,593 |
| 15 | December 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–7 | 2–13 | Candlestick Park | 44,506 |
| 16 | December 16 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 21–31 | 2–14 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 37,211 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| • 49ers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |

#### Week 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 49ers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
* Date: December 9, 1979
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
* Game attendance: 44,506
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
SF – Mike Shumann 19-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–0.
SF – Ray Wersching 39-yard field goal. 49ers 10–0.
Second quarter
TB – Jimmie Giles 19-yard pass from Doug Williams (Neil O'Donoghue kick). 49ers 10–7.
SF – Ray Wersching 27-yard field goal. 49ers 13–7.
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
SF – Lenvil Elliott 1-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 20–7.
SF – Ray Wersching 45-yard field goal. 49ers 27–7.
Top passers
TB – Doug Williams – 10/24, 167 yards, TD, 5 INT
SF – Steve DeBerg – 22/30, 186 yards, TD
Top rushers
TB – Ricky Bell – 10 rushes, 36 yards
SF – Wilbur Jackson – 10 rushes, 35 yards
Top receivers
TB – Isaac Hagins – 3 receptions, 90 yards
SF – Mike Shumann – 4 receptions, 61 yards, TD :
49ers' players carried Bill Walsh off the field and fans tore down the goal posts.

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 7–5 | 323 | 309 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 370 | 360 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 300 | 388 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 308 | 416 | L1 |