The 2006 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 61st overall. It began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2005. Despite having improved from their previous two disastrous seasons, they missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year, continuing their playoff drought. The 49ers celebrated their 60th anniversary during the 2006 season, because, although it was their 61st season, the 2006 calendar year marked the 60th anniversary of the franchise's founding in 1946.
Offseason Soon after the end of the 2005 season, Mike McCarthy, the 49ers' offensive coordinator of one year, left for the Green Bay Packers. On January 17, 2006, the 49ers hired Norv Turner as McCarthy's replacement. Whereas McCarthy based the majority of his offense on Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense, Turner has been known to use a power running scheme and vertical passing game more often than the West Coast scheme. Turner came to the 49ers after two unsuccessful seasons as the head coach of the 49ers' cross-bay rivals, the Oakland Raiders.
The 49ers gained the sixth pick in the 2006 NFL draft after winning a coin toss with the Raiders at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. The 49ers used their first pick on Maryland Tight End Vernon Davis. They then used their next pick (acquired from the Denver Broncos via the Washington Redskins) on North Carolina State defensive end Manny Lawson. The rest of their picks were Wisconsin Wide Receiver Brandon Williams, Penn State RB Michael Robinson, Tennessee DE Parys Haralson, Central Missouri St. Wide Receiver Delanie Walker, North Carolina St. Safety Marcus Hudson, Louisiana St. DE Melvin Oliver, and Arkansas Safety Vickiel Vaughn.
The 49ers had two major free agent acquisitions in the offseason. Larry Allen, a perennial Pro Bowl left guard from the Dallas Cowboys, and Antonio Bryant, a talented but oft-troubled wide receiver from the Cleveland Browns. The 49ers also traded Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets for what was believed to be a 2007 4th round draft pick.
Draft
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Chicago Bears W 28–14 1–0 Monster Park Recap 2 August 20 at Oakland Raiders L 7–23 1–1 McAfee Coliseum Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–17 1–2 Texas Stadium Recap 4 San Diego Chargers W 23–14 2–2 Monster Park Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Arizona Cardinals L 27–34 0–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 2 September 17 St. Louis Rams W 20–13 1–1 Monster Park Recap 3 September 24 Philadelphia Eagles L 24–38 1–2Monster ParkRecap 4 October 1 at Kansas City Chiefs L 0–41 1–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 5 October 8 Oakland Raiders W 34–20 2–3 Monster Park Recap 6 October 15 San Diego Chargers L 19–48 2–4 Monster Park Recap 7 Bye 8 October 29 at Chicago Bears L 10–41 2–5 Soldier Field Recap 9 November 5 Minnesota Vikings W 9–3 3–5 Monster Park Recap 10 November 12 at Detroit Lions W 19–13 4–5 Ford Field Recap 11 November 19 Seattle Seahawks W 20–14 5–5 Monster Park Recap 12 November 26 at St. Louis Rams L 17–20 5–6 Edward Jones Dome Recap 13 December 3 at New Orleans Saints L 10–34 5–7 Louisiana Superdome Recap 14 December 10 Green Bay Packers L 19–30 5–8 Monster Park Recap 15 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–14 6–8 Qwest Field Recap 16 December 24 Arizona Cardinals L 20–26 6–9 Monster Park Recap 17 December 31 at Denver Broncos W 26–23 7–9 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals
The 49ers opened the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10. Despite losing 34–27, many positives can be taken out of the game. RB Frank Gore rushed for 88 yards and caught 6 receptions for over 80 yards with two touchdowns. Rookie tight end Vernon Davis and second year quarterback Alex Smith hooked up for a touchdown pass with Smith equaling his touchdown total of the entire 2005 season and passing for an encouraging 288 yards with 23 completions out of 40 attempts. The 49ers had several chances to win it, however, many controversial non-calls were made by the officials, including a blatant pass interference in the end zone, which would have tied the game with just a little over 2 minutes to go. The 49ers would thus start their 61st season 0–1.
Week 2: vs. St. Louis Rams
The 49ers played their second game of the season against the St. Louis Rams on September 17 in a Week 2 home – opener. After a loss to the Arizona Cardinals the previous week, the 49ers redeemed themselves with a win at home. Second year quarterback Alex Smith threw for 233 yards with 11 completions and one touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant. Bryant had four receptions with 131 yards. Running back Frank Gore ran for a (at the time) career-best 127 yards with a touchdown, despite Jonas Jennings and Larry Allen being sidelined with injuries. San Francisco won 20–13 and evened out their record at 1–1.
Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The 49ers stayed at home for a Week 3 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. From the get-go, the Niners trailed as QB Donovan McNabb managed to complete two TD passes to RB Brian Westbrook (a 4-yard pass) and WR L.J. Smith (a 1-yard pass) in the first quarter. In the second quarter, San Francisco would get on the board with Kicker Joe Nedney completing a 48-yard field goal, but Philadelphia would strike hard, as RB Brian Westbrook ran 71 yards for a touchdown and Kicker David Akers completed a 21-yard field goal. In the third quarter, both sides managed to get themselves a touchdown. Eagles DT Mike Patterson returned a 49ers fumble 98 yards for a touchdown, while the Niners' rookie RB Michael Robinson got a 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, San Francisco tried to come back with Robinson getting another 1-yard TD run. However, the Eagles got an 8-yard TD run by Westbrook. The Niners would get one more score, as QB Alex Smith completed a TE Eric Johnson, but that would as far as they would get, as the 49ers fell to 1–2 on the year.
Week 4: at Kansas City Chiefs
After losing at home to the Eagles, the 49ers flew to Arrowhead Stadium for a Week 4 match-up with the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, this match-up was one-sided from beginning to end, with the Chiefs’ offense being in top form, the Niners crushed by KC's defense, and the usual loudness of the stadium (via the Chiefs’ fans) also probably affected the team's ability to execute. The 49ers tried their best, but in the end, QB Damon Huard and the Kansas City Chiefs were the better team in the fight. 49ers would drop their record to 1–3
Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders |weather= (Sunny) |road=Raiders |R1=3|R2=10|R3=0|R4=7 |Home=49ers |H1=7|H2=0|H3=14|H4=13 |scoring= First quarter SF – Arnaz Battle 4-yard pass from Alex Smith (Joe Nedney kick) OAK – Sebastian Janikowski 33-yard field goal Second quarter OAK- Sebastian Janikowski 36-yard field goal OAK – Randy Moss 22-yard pass from Andrew Walter (Sebastian Janikowski kick) Third quarter SF – Arnaz Battle 6-yard pass from Alex Smith (Joe Nedney kick) SF – Maurice Hicks 33-yard pass from Alex Smith (Joe Nedney kick) Fourth quarter SF – Joe Nedney 19-yard field goal SF – Melvin Oliver 12-yard fumble return (Joe Nedney kick) OAK – Courtney Anderson 8-yard pass from Marques Tuiasosopo (Sebastian Janikowski kick) SF – Joe Nedney 39-yard field goal
Hoping to rebound from their loss in Kansas City, the 49ers went home for Week 5 as they played a Bay Area battle with the Oakland Raiders. The Niners drew first blood with QB Alex Smith throwing a 4-yard TD pass to WR Arnaz Battle, yet the Raiders would respond with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 33-yard field goal for the first quarter. In the second quarter, things started to look grim, as Oakland took the lead with Janikowski kicking a 36-yard field goal, while QB Andrew Walter threw a 22-yard TD pass to WR Randy Moss. In the third quarter, the 49ers would rebound, as Smith hooked up with Battle again for a 6-yard TD pass. Later, Alex would throw a 33-yard TD pass to RB Maurice Hicks, giving San Francisco the lead. In the fourth quarter, the 49ers continued to roll, as kicker Joe Nedney kicked a 19-yard field goal, while rookie DE Melvin Oliver returned a fumble 12 yards for a touchdown. The Niners would allow one last touchdown from the Raiders, in the form of QB Marques Tuiasosopo completing an 8-yard pass to TE Courtney Anderson, but Nedney would help the Niners get win #2 with a 39-yard field goal. This beating of their Cross-bay rivals would bring the 49ers to a 2–3 record
Week 6: vs. San Diego Chargers
RB LaDainian Tomlinson hurdled the goal line on one of his four touchdown runs. Tomlinson set a franchise record while spending most of the afternoon in the end zone, and QB Philip Rivers passed for a career-high 334 yards and two more scores in San Diego's 48–19 victory over San Francisco. Tomlinson got his third score 33 seconds before halftime, capping San Diego's 35-point first half and beating the 49ers (2–4) with a leap over the goal-line pile. WR Bryan Gilmore and FB Moran Norris caught scoring passes as the Chargers gave up more points in the first half alone than they allowed in any of their first four games. But San Diego shut out San Francisco in the second half, with QB Alex Smith finishing 20 of 31 for 214 yards. Two weeks after giving up 41 points to the Chiefs, the 49ers CB Walt Harris was ruled out with a hamstring injury. This put the 49ers record at 2–4.
Week 8: at Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears beat the 49ers who were coming off their Bye Week. They moved to a 24–0 first-quarter lead and 41–0 halftime cushion before scoring a 41–10 victory. San Francisco entered, giving up 32 points a game. Turnovers allowed the Bears to work from short fields. Drives started at the 15, 41 and 13, which turned into three touchdowns to take the big opening-quarter lead. The 49ers had a turnover a fourth time late in the half when WR Antonio Bryant caught a pass and fumbled the ball, with CB Ricky Manning Jr. recovering. San Francisco averted a shutout in the fourth quarter on a 23-yard field goal by K Joe Nedney and a 16-yard TD pass from Smith to WR Antonio Bryant. QB Alex Smith finished 16 of 26 for 146 yards. RB Frank Gore rushed for 111 yards on 12 carries, thanks to a 53-yard run. The 49ers then stood at 2–5.
Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings