1996 San Francisco 49ers season The 1996 San Francisco 49ers season was the team ' s 51st since its inception . In commemoration , the 49ers wore a special 50th anniversary patch . They also wore a new uniform reminiscent of the 1994 throwback uniforms with white pants and shadowed numbers , but with a darker shade of red and an updated logo . The franchise tied for first place in the NFC West with a 12 - 4 record , but lost the division title to the Carolina Panthers on the division - record tiebreaker ( the Panthers had swept the Niners in the season ) . The Niners were 3rd in the league in points scored and 4th in fewest points allowed . Although the team was competitive the entire season , nagging and recurring injuries to offensive players and an inconsistent running game contributed to a what was considered a disappointing season . After a 14 - 0 Wild Card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles , the 49ers were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoffs 35 - 14 . It would be George Seifert ' s final season as the 49ers ' head coach . Regular season . After the 1995 season , concerns about the 49ers ' running game loomed largely for San Francisco . The 49ers were able to sign running back Terry Kirby by the fifth week of the season , but star fullback William Floyd was still recovering from a devastating knee injury suffered the previous season . Also , the loss of cornerback Eric Davis to divisional rival Carolina was a concern . However , with 1995 ' s number one defense and highest scoring offense , San Francisco was picked by many to win their sixth Super Bowl . The 49ers started out the 1996 season fast with dominant wins over the New Orleans Saints ( 27 - 11 ) and St . Louis Rams ( 34 - 0 ) ; against the Rams the 49ers scored two safeties . In the first two games , the 49ers had zero turnovers , but they had yet to throw a touchdown pass . In week 4 , the 49ers faced the upstart 2 - 0 Carolina Panthers . Although favored to win , a groin injury to Steve Young , inconsistent run defense , and an aggressive blitzing scheme by Carolina led to a convincing 23 - 7 victory for the Panthers . San Francisco netted only 48 yards rushing and was only 2 - 11 on third down conversions during the contest , and the budding bitterness of the rivalry spilled into constant jawing between Panthers receivers and the Niners secondary , notably spats between Carolina receiver Willie Green and the Niners ' Merton Hanks . Despite Steve Young ' s absence , the 49ers were able to win 39 - 17 over the Falcons on three interceptions of Bobby Hebert and a team - record six field goals by Jeff Wilkins , then the Niners beat the Rams in St . Louis 28 - 11 . However , in week seven the 49ers faced the team that knocked them out of the playoffs the previous year : the Green Bay Packers . With Steve Young on the bench , the 49ers ran an aggressive offensive and defensive scheme , building a 17 - 6 lead in the second quarter . However , from that point on , conservative play - calling allowed Green Bay to get back in the game . With the game tied at 17 late in the fourth quarter , the 49ers faced a third and short in Green Bay territory . George Seifert opted for quarterback Elvis Grbac to fall on the ball and settle for a lead - changing field goal . However , Brett Favre led the Packers to a tying field goal at the end of regulation , and the Packers were able to win the game in overtime . In hindsight , that game was the turning point for the 49ers season . In a comeback victory over Cincinnati , Steve Young left the game due to injury , but heroically returned to lead the 49ers back from a 21 - 0 deficit ; Young threw two touchdowns ( including the first caught by mercurial rookie Terrell Owens ) and ran in a third . In Houston Young connected with Jerry Rice on a quick slant , but suffered a concussion on the play ; adding insult to the injury , time was out on the play due to a defensive penalty , thus the play didn ' t count . However , with Young and primary backup Elvis Grbac out , the 49ers were able to pull off a close 10 - 9 victory with third - stringer Jeff Brohm . A week later , once again the 49ers won a close game , 24 - 17 over New Orleans . After jumping out to a quick 10 - 0 lead in the first quarter against rival Dallas Cowboys , Young was again injured and finished the game on the sidelines . With the 49ers offense stagnant , the Cowboys came back to win 20 - 17 in overtime . Mounting frustration in the team ' s struggles was perhaps best showcased by a comment from Mayor Willie Brown saying that Elvis Grbac ( who ' d thrown a key interception out of his own endzone ) was " an embarrassment to mankind " after the defeat . However , the 49ers were able to rebound , winning three straight . With many of their stars returning from injury , including Young , William Floyd , and Brent Jones , some analysts believed that the 49ers were a team to be feared again . With a 10 - 3 record and a one - game lead in the division , San Francisco had a chance to clinch the divisional title against the Panthers . However , it was the 49ers who appeared to be a second - year franchise , making costly mistakes and penalties . Despite gaining many more yards than they did the last contest against the Panthers ( 450 yards ) , Carolina was able to win , 30 - 24 . Once again the Panthers jumped out to an early lead , 17 - 7 , and scored 27 points by halftime . Although San Francisco was able to hold them to only a field goal in the second half , the lead proved to be too much . Humbled , San Francisco was able to regain their offensive composure , winning the following week in Pittsburgh 25 - 15 , against the defending AFC champions who were in the hunt for the # 2 seed in their conference . Then the 49ers easily won the regular season finale against 5 - 10 Detroit , earning the # 4 seed and its one home field playoff game . Steve Young ' s 17 / 23 , 2 TD performance against Detroit earned him his 5th NFL passing title with a passer rating of 97 . 2 , edging out season MVP Brett Favre . 1997 Outlook . Too many ill - timed injuries and lack of fluidity resulted in a disappointing season . In 1996 , the 49ers fell well short of the team ' s annual goal of winning the Super Bowl . With the emergence of Carolina and Green Bay as NFC powerhouses , and the resignation of George Seifert following the season , San Francisco ' s future looked uncertain heading into 1997 . However , there were reasons for optimism . All World receiver Jerry Rice , the NFL ' s reception leader for 1996 , would be returning , and two time MVP quarterback Steve Young still showed signs of being one of the leagues most dangerous weapons when healthy . With all the injuries and bad luck the team had in 1996 , one couldn ' t help but look to 1997 with at least moderate optimism . Playoffs . The 49ers entered the playoffs as the 4th seed . Their wild card match - up against the Philadelphia Eagles featured the return of Ricky Watters to San Francisco . Many analysts believed that Watters ' departure was one of the main reasons the 49ers dominance declined , so the game was highly anticipated . The weather was very rainy and windy , but Steve Young ' s passes were as accurate as they were during the season . Despite both offenses moving the ball well , neither was able to score until the second quarter . With the score tied at 0 - 0 , a long pass from Young to Jerry Rice set up Young ' s scamper into the endzone for a touchdown on a draw play . Although the 49ers took a 7 - 0 lead into half time , Young was once again injured . At the beginning of the second half , Young ' s throws were visibly altered . However , pain killers were effective enough for him to throw a touchdown pass to Rice before the game was over . Unfortunately for San Francisco , Young broke his ribs on the touchdown run , and the injury would force him to leave early in the first quarter the following week . Although Philadelphia was able to move the ball at times , the 49ers were able to keep them scoreless . San Francisco advanced to the divisional playoffs , and the opponent would again be the Green Bay Packers . San Francisco was able to keep pace offensively and defensively for most of the game , with the score 21 - 14 in favor of Green Bay in the third quarter , but special teams were decisively dominated by the Packers . To make matters worse , Steve Young was only able to play for a few ineffective plays due to his rib injury . Neither team ' s offense was particularly effective in the game , with San Francisco gaining only 196 total yards and Green Bay only gaining 210 ( including only 79 passing yards ) . However , costly penalties by San Francisco ( 6 for 42 yards , while Green Bay only had 1 for 5 ) and outstanding play by the Packer ' s special teams were the deciding factors ( Green Bay averaged 43 . 2 yards per punt return ) . A muffed kickoff by Green Bay set up a 49ers touchdown , but Green Bay ' s Desmond Howard returned two kicks for large gains , including one touchdown . The final score was Green Bay 35 - 14 . With the 49ers most valuable player out , special teams errors were far too much for San Francisco to remain competitive in the game . Green Bay was the eventual Super Bowl Champion , and the 49ers ' season again ended in defeat against the Packers . NFC Wild Card Playoff - December 29 , 1996 . " at Candlestick Park , San Francisco , CA " NFC Divisional Playoff - January 4 , 1997 ( Sat ) . " at Lambeau Field , Green Bay , WI "