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).

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


 * SF - Joe Montana 1 yard run  (Ray Wersching kick) 7-0 SF

2nd Quarter


 * SF - Earl Cooper 11 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) 14-0 SF
 * SF - Ray Wersching 22 yards 17-0 SF
 * SF - Ray Wersching 26 yards 20-0 SF

3rd Quarter


 * CIN - Ken Anderson 5 yard run (Jim Breech kick) 20-7 SF

4th Quarter


 * CIN - Dan Ross 4 yard pass from Ken Anderson (Jim Breech kick) 20-14 SF
 * SF - Ray Wersching 40 yards 23-14 SF
 * SF - Ray Wersching 23 yards 26-14 SF
 * CIN - Dan Ross 3 yard pass from Ken Anderson (Jim Breech kick) 26-21 SF

Awards and records

 * Joe Montana, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
 * Bill Walsh, National Football League Coach of the Year Award