# 1986 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1986 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League and their 41st overall. The team returned to the top of the NFC West after a one-year absence, and lost in the divisional playoffs to the Giants, by a score of 49-3, possibly the biggest playoff loss suffered by the 49ers in the history of their franchise. This was the first of five consecutive NFC West titles for the 49ers.
Joe Montana suffered a back injury in Week 1 and was lost for two months after surgery. Because the injury was so severe, Montana's doctors suggested that Montana retire. However, Montana returned for Week 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he passed for 270 yards and three touchdown passes in a 43–17 49er victory. Montana appeared in just eight games this season, and threw more interceptions than touchdown passes for the only time in his career. Montana shared Comeback Player of the Year honors with Minnesota's Tommy Kramer at the end of the season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1986 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 2 | 39 | Larry Roberts | Defensive end | Alabama | |
| 3 | 56 | Tom Rathman | Running back | Nebraska | |
| 3 | 64 | Tim McKyer | Defensive back | UT Arlington | |
| 3 | 76 | John Taylor * | Wide receiver | Delaware State | began play with 49ers in 1987. |
| 4 | 96 | Charles Haley * $^†$ | Defensive end | James Madison | |
| 4 | 101 | Steve Wallace * | Tackle | Auburn | |
| 4 | 102 | Kevin Fagan | Defensive end | Miami (FL) | began play with 49ers in 1987. |
| 5 | 131 | Patrick Miller | Linebacker | Florida | |
| 6 | 162 | Don Griffin | Defensive back | Middle Tennessee | |
| 8 | 203 | Jim Popp | Tight end | Vanderbilt | |
| 9 | 240 | Tony Cherry | Running back | Oregon | |
| 10 | 267 | Elliston Stinson | Wide receiver | Rice | |
| 10 | 270 | Harold Hallman | Linebacker | Auburn | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
Source:

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–7 | 1–0 | Tampa Stadium | 50,780 |
| 2 | September 14 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–16 | 1–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 65,195 |
| 3 | September 21 | New Orleans Saints | W 26–17 | 2–1 | Candlestick Park | 58,297 |
| 4 | September 28 | at Miami Dolphins | W 31–16 | 3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,264 |
| 5 | October 5 | Indianapolis Colts | W 35–15 | 4–1 | Candlestick Park | 57,252 |
| 6 | October 12 | Minnesota Vikings | L 24–27 (OT) | 4–2 | Candlestick Park | 58,637 |
| 7 | October 19 | at Atlanta Falcons | T 10–10 (OT) | 4–2–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,306 |
| 8 | October 26 | at Green Bay Packers | W 31–17 | 5–2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 50,557 |
| 9 | November 2 | at New Orleans Saints | L 10–23 | 5–3–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 53,234 |
| 10 | November 9 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 43–17 | 6–3–1 | Candlestick Park | 59,172 |
| 11 | November 17 | at Washington Redskins | L 6–14 | 6–4–1 | RFK Stadium | 54,774 |
| 12 | November 23 | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–0 | 7–4–1 | Candlestick Park | 58,747 |
| 13 | December 1 | New York Giants | L 17–21 | 7–5–1 | Candlestick Park | 59,777 |
| 14 | December 7 | New York Jets | W 24–10 | 8–5–1 | Candlestick Park | 58,091 |
| 15 | December 14 | at New England Patriots | W 29–24 | 9–5–1 | Sullivan Stadium | 60,787 |
| 16 | December 19 | Los Angeles Rams | W 24–14 | 10–5–1 | Candlestick Park | 60,366 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 3–2–1 | 6–5–1 | 374 | 247 | W3 |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(5)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 8–4 | 309 | 267 | L2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 8 | 1 | .469 | 2–3–1 | 6–5–1 | 280 | 280 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 288 | 287 | L1 |

## Postseason
### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue |
| Divisional | January 28 | New York Giants (1) | L 3–49 | 0–1 | Giants Stadium |

### Game summaries
#### 1986 NFC Divisional Playoff: San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants

* San Francisco 49ers 3, New York Giants 49
January 4, 1987, at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 76,034

## Awards and records

* Ronnie Lott, Franchise Record, Most Interceptions in One Season, 10 interceptions
* Joe Montana, NFL Comeback Player of the Year
* Jerry Rice, Led NFC, Receptions, 86 receptions
* Jerry Rice, led NFL with 1,570 receiving yards
* Jerry Rice, led NFL with 15 touchdowns.