# 1982 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1982 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League and their 37th overall. The team was coming off a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. However, 1982 was strike-shortened, and only nine games were played. The 49ers finished 3–6, thus missing the playoffs despite the expanded sixteen team format. 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. This season was the only one in an 18-season span in which the 49ers did not win at least ten games. This 49ers team was also the only team in history to win more than half its road games while losing all its home games. The 49ers were the fifth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs. This also marked the first, and as of 2023, only time in NFL history that the defending Super Bowl champion missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.
The worst running game in the league alongside a defense that went from second overall and points in 1981 to twenty-first and twenty-third respectively were the main culprits for the losing season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1982 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 2 | 29 | Bubba Paris | Tackle | Michigan | began play with 49ers in 1983 |
| 5 | 139 | Newton Williams | Running back | Arizona State | |
| 6 | 151 | Vince Williams | Running back | Oregon | |
| 7 | 195 | Ron Ferrari | Linebacker | Illinois | |
| 9 | 251 | Bryan Clark | Quarterback | Michigan State | |
| 10 | 269 | Dana McLemore | Defensive back | Hawaii | |
| 10 | 279 | Tim Barbian | Defensive tackle | Western Illinois | |
| 11 | 306 | Gary Gibson | Linebacker | Arizona | |
| 12 | 334 | Tim Washington | Defensive back | Fresno State | |
| Made roster ||||||
Source:

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 14 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park | 61,065 |
| 2 | August 21 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 16–13 | 1–1 | Candlestick Park | 51,931 |
| 3 | August 28 | at San Diego Chargers | L 9–23 | 1–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 48,697 |
| 4 | September 3 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 17–13 | 2–2 | Kingdome | 57,839 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 17–23 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park | 59,748 |
| 2 | September 19 | at Denver Broncos | L 21–24 | 0–2 | Mile High Stadium | 73,899 |
| | September 26 | Chicago Bears | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | October 4 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | October 10 | at New Orleans Saints | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | October 17 | Los Angeles Rams | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 |
| | October 24 | at Atlanta Falcons | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | October 31 | at Washington Redskins | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | November 7 | Minnesota Vikings | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| | November 14 | Dallas Cowboys | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike |
| 3 | November 21 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–20 | 1–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 38,064 |
| 4 | November 28 | New Orleans Saints | L 20–23 | 1–3 | Candlestick Park | 51,611 |
| 5 | December 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 30–24 | 2–3 | Anaheim Stadium | 58,574 |
| 6 | December 11 | San Diego Chargers | L 37–41 | 2–4 | Candlestick Park | 55,988 |
| 7 | December 19 | Atlanta Falcons | L 7–17 | 2–5 | Candlestick Park | 53,234 |
| 8 | December 26 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 26–13 | 3–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 24,319 |
| 9 | January 2, 1983 | Los Angeles Rams | L 20–21 | 3–6 | Candlestick Park | 54,256 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| 49ers | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
* Date: September 12, 1982
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 65 °F or 18.3 °C
* Game attendance: 59,748
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
LA – Chris Bahr 41-yard field goal. Raiders 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
SF – Freddie Solomon 18-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 7–3. Drive:
LA – Chris Bahr 42-yard field goal. 49ers 7–6. Drive:
SF – Dwight Clark 41-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick). 49ers 14–6. Drive:
LA – Marcus Allen 3-yard run (Chris Bahr kick). 49ers 14–13. Drive:
Third quarter
SF – Ray Wersching 22 yard field goal. 49ers 17–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
LA – Todd Christensen 3-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick). Raiders 20–17. Drive:
LA – Chris Bahr 43-yard field goal. 'Raiders 23–17. Drive:
Top passers
LA – Jim Plunkett – 12/20, 123 yards, TD, 2 INT
SF – Joe Montana – 21/41, 244 yards, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
LA – Marcus Allen – 23 rushes, 116 yards, TD
SF – Jeff Moore – 7 rushes, 30 yards
Top receivers
LA – Marcus Allen – 4 receptions, 64 yards
SF – Dwight Clark – 6 receptions, 106 yards, TD :

#### Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • 49ers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |

## Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Atlanta Falcons$^{(5)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 2–1 | 3–5 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
NFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 |
| 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5). |||||||||