The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 36th overall and their third under head coach Bill Walsh. The 49ers were 13–3 in the regular season for their first winning season in five years and first playoff appearance in nine years. The franchise's most successful season to date, it was considered to be "the birth of a dynasty", when the 49ers began a decade of dominance over much of the NFL. The 49ers drew an average home attendance of 54,398 in the season. The 49ers won Super Bowl XVI, defeating the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals 26–21. It was the first of five Super Bowl victories in franchise history, all within the next thirteen seasons. From 1981 to 1997, the 49ers would have thirteen NFC West titles, eight NFC top seeds, and seven seasons with the NFL's best regular season record. Third-year quarterback Joe Montana began the season as the starter, and produced two fourth-quarter comeback victories. His signature game of the season was the NFC Championship Game, which culminated in "The Catch", a last-minute touchdown pass from Montana to Dwight Clark, propelling the 49ers to victory over Dallas, and a berth in their first Super Bowl. The 49ers were undefeated in their first five Super Bowls. NFL Films produced a documentary about the team's season entitled A Very Special Team; it was narrated by John Facenda. On March 23, 2007, NFL Network aired America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, the 1981 San Francisco 49ers, with team commentary from Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott and Randy Cross, and narrated by Gene Hackman.

Offseason

NFL Draft

A turning point for the franchise was the drafting of safety Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California, later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In addiction, they also drafted cornerback Eric Wright from Missouri and safety Carlton Williamson from Pittsburgh.

Training Camp

The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season held training camp at Red Morten Park in Redwood City, California.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Schedule

Preseason Game summaries

Week P1 (Wednesday, August 5, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks

Week P2 (Saturday, August 15, 1981): vs. San Diego Chargers

Week P3 (Saturday, August 22, 1981) vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week P4 (Saturday, August 29, 1981): at Oakland Raiders

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 and Hicks made the Pro Bowl. The 49ers selection of Lott in the 1981 NFL draft proved to be a seminal one. In addition to making the NFC Pro Bowl roster, Lott was voted First-Team All-Pro and received nods from all 5 newspapers that voted, a significant honor for a rookie. Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor was the only other rookie from the 1981 NFL draft to achieve this unanimous selection to the First Team All-Pro unit. 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).

Schedule

Regular Season Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday, September 6, 1981): at Detroit Lions

Individual stats

Week 2 (Sunday, September 13, 1981): vs. Chicago Bears

Individual stats

Week 3 (Sunday, September 20, 1981): at Atlanta Falcons

Individual stats Joe Montana was intercepted twice in 34 passes (24 completed) as the Niners fell to the Falcons for the eleventh time in the last eight seasons.

Week 4 (Sunday, September 27, 1981): vs. New Orleans Saints

Individual stats

Week 5 (Sunday, October 4, 1981): at Washington Redskins

Individual stats

Week 6 (Sunday, October 11, 1981): vs. Dallas Cowboys

Individual stats

Week 7 (Sunday, October 18, 1981) at Green Bay Packers

Individual stats

Week 8 (Sunday, October 25, 1981): vs. Los Angeles Rams

Individual stats

Week 9 (Sunday, November 1, 1981): at Pittsburgh Steelers

Individual stats

Week 10 (Sunday, November 8, 1981): vs. Atlanta Falcons

Individual stats

Week 11 (Sunday, November 15, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns

Individual stats The Niners’ winning streak ended in a battle of six combined field goals. Opposing quarterbacks Brian Sipe and Montana combined for 393 yards, three interceptions, and an average passer rating of 56.

Week 12 (Sunday, November 22, 1981): at Los Angeles Rams

Individual stats The game lead tied or changed eight times as the Rams wound up using quarterbacks Dan Pastorini and Pat Haden while running back Mike Guman threw a seven-yard touchdown to Preston Dennard. Amos Lawrence opened the third quarter by scoring on the opening kickoff and Ronnie Lott scored after intercepting Pastorini.

Week 13 (Sunday, November 29, 1981): vs. New York Giants

|scoring= First quarter Second quarter Fourth quarter Top passers Top rushers Top receivers Top tacklers Turnovers }}

Week 14 at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 15 vs. Houston Oilers

Week 16 (Sunday, December 20, 1981): at New Orleans Saints

Individual stats

Standings

Final statistics

Regular Season Stats

Passing Rushing

Statistical comparison

Quarter-by-quarter

Individual leaders

1Completions/attempts 2Carries 3Long gain 4Receptions 5Interceptions 6Punts 7Kickoff Returns 8Punt Returns

Postseason

1981 NFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, January 3, 1982): vs. (5) New York Giants

|scoring= First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers Top rushers Top receivers Top tacklers Turnovers }} 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 debut 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.

1981 NFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 10, 1982): vs. (2) Dallas Cowboys

Individual stats 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/Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who grew up in the Bay Area, attended the game as a four-year-old. The 49ers were victorious despite an astonishing six turnovers, including three interceptions by Joe Montana. 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.

Super Bowl XVI

Awards and records

1982 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl

Media

Pre season Local TV Local Radio