1981 San Francisco 49ers season The San Francisco 49ers 1981 season was their 32nd season in the National Football League . The season was highlighted by their first Super Bowl victory . A big turning point for the franchise was the drafting of Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California . Quarterback Joe Montana began the 1981 season as San Francisco ' s starting quarterback . The season would be one of the franchise ' s most successful seasons to that point . Montana was influential as he helped San Francisco win two of those games with fourth - quarter comebacks . One of the most famous moments of his career was part of the winning drive in the NFC Championship Game . Under the tutelage of Bill Walsh , the team finished the regular season with a 13 – 3 record . Regular season . With the offense in good shape , Walsh and the 49ers focused on overhauling the defense in 1981 . Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players , bringing on board Ronnie Lott , Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson and giving Dwight Hicks a prominent role . He also acquired veteran linebacker Jack " Hacksaw " Reynolds and veteran defensive lineman and sack specialist Fred Dean . These new additions , when added to existing defensive mainstays like Keena Turner , turned the 49ers into a dominant team . After a 1 - 2 start , the 49ers won all but one of their final games to finish with a 13 - 3 record , easily the best record in the team ' s history . Additionally , the 49ers defense yielded more than 20 points in only three games . Dean made the Pro Bowl , as did Lott , in his rookie season , and Hicks . Led by Montana , the unusual offense was centered around the short passing game , which Walsh used as ball control . Both Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon had excellent years receiving ; Clark as the possession receiver , and Solomon as more of a deep threat . The 49ers running game , however , was among the weakest for any champion in NFL history . Ricky Patton led the 49ers with only 543 yards rushing . The 49ers ' most valuable running back , however , might have been Earl Cooper , whose strength was as a pass - catching back ( he had 51 catches during the season ) . Postseason . NFC Divisional Playoff . The Giants were making their first appearance in the postseason since 1963 . First year starting quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers to victory in his first ever playoff game , completing 20 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns , with 1 interception . His top target in the game was receiver Dwight Clark , who caught 5 passes for 104 yards . Scoring Summary 1st Quarter SF - Charlie Young 8 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 7 - 0 NYG - Earnest Gray 72 yard pass from Scott Brunner ( Joe Danelo kick ) TIED 7 - 7 2nd Quarter SF - Ray Wersching 22 yard field goal SF 10 - 7 SF - Freddie Solomon 58 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 17 - 7 SF - Ricky Patton 25 yard rush ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 24 - 7 NYG - Joe Danelo 48 yard field goal SF 24 - 10 3rd Quarter NYG - Johnny Perkins 59 yard pass from Scott Brunner ( Joe Danelo kick ) SF 24 - 17 4th Quarter SF - Bill Ring 3 yard rush ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 31 - 17 SF - Ronnie Lott 20 yard interception return ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 38 - 17 NYG - Johnny Perkins 17 yard pass from Scott Brunner ( Joe Danelo kick ) SF 38 - 24 NFC Championship Game . The 49ers were making their third appearance in the NFC Championship Game . Their opponent was their opponent for the two previous NFC Championship Games - the Dallas Cowboys . In both previous matches , the 49ers had lost the game . The game is remembered for " The Catch " . The play , remembered in 49er lore as " Red Right Tight - - Sprint Right Option " had called for both the primary receiver , Solomon , and Dwight Clark to line up on the right . Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon . Clark ' s pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone , stop , and immediately reverse his path to the right . If Solomon were covered , it would be up to Montana to find Clark . Due to the pressure , Montana ' s pass was high , but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab . Future New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who grew up in the Bay Area , attended the game as a four year old . A photograph of the catch , with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball , was featured on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " the following week . Scoring Summary 1st Quarter SF - Freddie Solomon 8 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 7 - 0 DAL - Rafael Septien 44 yard field goal SF 7 - 3 DAL - Tony Hill 26 yard pass from Danny White ( Rafael Septien kick ) DAL 10 - 7 2nd Quarter SF - Dwight Clark 20 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 14 - 10 DAL - Tony Dorsett 5 yard rush ( Rafael Septien kick ) DAL 17 - 14 3rd Quarter SF - Johnny Davis 2 yard rush ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 21 - 17 4th Quarter DAL - Rafael Septien 22 yard field goal SF 21 - 20 DAL - Doug Cosbie 21 yard pass from Danny White ( Rafael Septien kick ) DAL 27 - 21 SF - Dwight Clark 6 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Ray Wersching kick ) SF 28 - 27 Super Bowl XVI . Scoring summary : 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter