The 1978 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League, their 33rd overall, and their second and final season under general manager Joe Thomas, who was fired following the end of the season. The Niners' 2–14 record was the worst in the NFL in 1978 and tied for the worst in franchise history with the 1979, 2004, and 2016 seasons, dating back to the team's origins in the All America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946."San Francisco 49ers," in Chuck Benedict and Al Hall (eds.), Petersen's Pro Football: 1979 Annual. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co., 1979; p. 100.
Season history
The team began the season hoping to improve upon their previous output of 5–9. Instead, the team started the season 0–4 for the second straight year. The team also suffered a nine-game losing streak.1978 San Francisco 49ers
During the off-season, the 49ers acquired running back O. J. Simpson, who originally hailed from San Francisco, from the Buffalo Bills. Although Simpson had been one of the best backs in the league over the previous decade, he was in poor physical condition and had recently undergone knee surgery. As a result, his playing ability was limited.
Interim head coach Fred O'Connor was hired in the middle of the team's season after first-season head coach Pete McCulley posted an unremarkable 1–8 record. However, after the season ended, O'Connor was let go along with the coaching staff, who had been hired by McCulley.
The 49ers finished with the worst record in the league and scored only 219 points,1978 NFL Standings the fewest in the league in 1978. Making matters worse is that the club was unable to benefit from their miserable performance in the 1979 NFL draft, with the team's first pick already traded to the Bills as part of the O.J. Simpson deal.
The 1978 team set an NFL record with 63 turnovers.
Offseason NFL draft
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 at Dallas Cowboys L 24–41 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,736 2 Seattle Seahawks L 6–20 0–2 Candlestick Park 36,069 3 August 20 Oakland Raiders L 14–31 0–3 Candlestick Park 58,658 4 at Denver Broncos W 24–13 1–3 Mile High Stadium 73,559
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 at Cleveland Browns L 7–24 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,973 2 September 10 Chicago Bears L 13–16 0–2 Candlestick Park 49,502 3 September 17 at Houston Oilers L 19–20 0–3 Houston Astrodome 46,161 4 September 24 at New York Giants L 10–27 0–4 Giants Stadium 71,536 5 October 1 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–12 1–4Candlestick Park 41,107 6 October 8 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–27 1–5Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 59,337 7 October 15 New Orleans Saints L 7–14 1–6Candlestick Park 37,671 8 October 22 Atlanta Falcons L 17–20 1–7 Candlestick Park 44,235 9 October 29 at Washington Redskins L 20–38 1–8 RFK Stadium 53,706 10 November 5 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–21 1–9 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,468 11 November 12 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–16 1–10 Candlestick Park 33,155 12 November 19 Los Angeles Rams L 28–31 1–11 Candlestick Park 45,022 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–24 1–12 Candlestick Park 51,657 14 December 3 at New Orleans Saints L 13–24 1–13 Louisiana Superdome 50,068 15 December 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 6–3 2–13 Candlestick Park 30,931 16 December 17 at Detroit Lions L 14–33 2–14 Pontiac Silverdome 56,674 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
References