# 1993 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1993 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 48th overall. The 49ers appeared in the NFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season and for the fifth time in six seasons. For the first time since 1978, Joe Montana was not on their active roster; specifically, the 49ers had traded him away to the Kansas City Chiefs in April.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1993 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 26 | Dana Stubblefield * | Defensive tackle | Kansas | |
| 1 | 27 | Todd Kelly | Linebacker | Tennessee | |
| 2 | 48 | Adrian Hardy | Defensive back | Northwestern State | |
| 5 | 116 | Artie Smith | Defensive end | Louisiana Tech | |
| 6 | 166 | Chris Dalman | Center | Stanford | |
| 7 | 194 | Troy Wilson | Defensive end | Pittsburg State | |
| 8 | 219 | Elvis Grbac * | Quarterback | Michigan | played with 49ers beginning in 1994. |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
Source:

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 5 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–13 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | 57,502 |
| 2 | September 13 | at Cleveland Browns | L 13–23 | 1–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,218 |
| 3 | September 19 | Atlanta Falcons | W 37–30 | 2–1 | Candlestick Park | 63,032 |
| 4 | September 26 | at New Orleans Saints | L 13–16 | 2–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 69,041 |
| 5 | October 3 | Minnesota Vikings | W 38–19 | 3–2 | Candlestick Park | 63,071 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 17 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–26 | 3–3 | Texas Stadium | 65,099 |
| 8 | October 24 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 28–14 | 4–3 | Candlestick Park | 62,020 |
| 9 | October 31 | Los Angeles Rams | W 40–17 | 5–3 | Candlestick Park | 63,417 |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 14 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 45–21 | 6–3 | Tampa Stadium | 43,835 |
| 12 | November 22 | New Orleans Saints | W 42–7 | 7–3 | Candlestick Park | 66,500 |
| 13 | November 28 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 35–10 | 8–3 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,143 |
| 14 | December 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 21–8 | 9–3 | Candlestick Park | 60,039 |
| 15 | December 11 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 24–27 | 9–4 | Georgia Dome | 64,688 |
| 16 | December 19 | at Detroit Lions | W 55–17 | 10–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,052 |
| 17 | December 25 | Houston Oilers | L 7–10 | 10–5 | Candlestick Park | 61,744 |
| 18 | January 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 34–37 (OT) | 10–6 | Candlestick Park | 61,653 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 473 | 295 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 317 | 343 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 316 | 385 | L3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 221 | 367 | W1 |

## Postseason

The 49ers' NFC West division championship and 10–6 regular-season record earned them the #2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Detroit Lions, the NFC Central division winners, also had a 10–6 regular-season record, but the 49ers had the tie-breaker edge because they defeated the Lions in the regular season. The Dallas Cowboys, winners of the NFC East with a 12–4 regular-season record, had the #1 seed and a first-round bye of their own.

### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue |
| Wild Card | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye | First-round bye |
| Divisional | January 15, 1994 | New York Giants (4) | W 44–3 | 1–0 | Candlestick Park |
| NFC Championship | January 23, 1994 | at Dallas Cowboys (1) | L 21–38 | 1–1 | Texas Stadium |

#### NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (4) New York Giants

SAN Francisco 49ers 44, New York Giants 3
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 49ers | 9 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 44 |
at Candlestick Park
* Date: January 15, 1994
* Game time: 1 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: 49 °F or 9.4 °C, relative humidity 85%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
* Referee: Bernie Kukar
Game information :
First quarter
SF - Ricky Watters 1 yard rush (kick failed). 49ers 6–0
SF - Mike Cofer 29 yard field goal. 49ers 9-0
Second quarter
SF - Ricky Watters 2 yard rush (Mike Cofer kick). 49ers 16–0
SF - Ricky Watters 1 yard rush (Mike Cofer kick). 49ers 23–0
NYG - David Treadwell 25 yard field goal. 49ers 23–3
Third quarter
SF - Ricky Watters 6 yard rush (Mike Cofer kick). 49ers 30–3
SF - Ricky Watters 2 yard rush (Mike Cofer kick). 49ers 37–3
Fourth quarter
SF - Marc Logan 2 yard rush (Mike Cofer kick). 49ers 44–3
Giants
Phil Simms. 12-25, 124 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int
49ers
Steve Young. 17-22, 226 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int
Ricky Watters. 24 rush, 118 yards, 5 TD
Turnovers
Giants - 3
49ers - 1 :
Ricky Watters was the story of the game as he rushed for an NFL record 5 touchdowns. He had 118 yards rushing on 24 attempts, along with 5 catches for 46 yards. The Giants were never in the game. The 49ers handed the Giants their worst playoff loss in their history, eclipsing their 37–0 loss to the Green Bay Packers in 1961. The 49ers go to their 2nd straight NFC Championship Game losing to the Cowboys 38-21, And they win Super Bowl XXVIII to the Bills 30-13.

#### NFC Championship: at (1) Dallas Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Cowboys | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
* Date: January 23, 1994
* Game time: 3 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: none (closed dome)
* Referee: Jerry Markbreit
For the second year in a row, the 49ers met the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. And like the year before, the Cowboys were victorious. The 49ers kept it close in the 2nd quarter, as Steve Young tossed a touchdown pass to Tom Rathman to tie the game at 7. But the Cowboys exploded with 21 consecutive points to go up 28–7 at halftime. The game was put out of reach late in the 3rd quarter when a 42-yard touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar to Alvin Harper put the Cowboys up 35–14. With the loss, the 49ers finished the year at a disappointing 11–7. The 49ers knew that those losses were so disappointing . So in 1994 San Francisco won Super Bowl XXIX to the Chargers 49-26.

## Awards and records

* Led NFL, Points Scored, 473 Points
* Led NFL, Total Yards, 6,435 Total Yards
* Jerry Rice, Led NFL, Receiving Yards, 1,503 yards
* Steve Young, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 101.5 Rating
* Steve Young, Led NFL, Touchdown Passes, 29 Passes