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1977 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.
General manager Joe Thomas
Head coach Ken Meyer
Home field Candlestick Park
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersDT Cleveland Elam

The 1977 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League, their 32nd overall, and their first season with general manager Joe Thomas and head coach Ken Meyer. Hoping to build on their 8–6 season from the previous year, the team struggled and was again unable to qualify for the playoffs, this time posting a record of 5–9, including starting the season 0–5. [1]

Offseason

Before the season began, the team was purchased by Edward DeBartolo, Sr., who in turn gave management of the team to his son, Edward DeBartolo, Jr. The team also hired a new general manager, Joe Thomas, and a new head coach, Ken Meyer.

NFL draft

Main article: 1977 NFL draft
1977 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
3 65 Elmo Boyd  Wide receiver Eastern Kentucky
4 100 Stan Black  Defensive back Mississippi State
6 141 Mike Burns  Defensive back USC
6 155 Jim Harlan  Tackle Howard Payne
7 183 Jim Van Wagner  Running back Michigan Tech
9 239 David Posey  Kicker Florida
11 295 Brian Billick  Tight end BYU
12 323 Scott Martin  Guard North Dakota
      Made roster  

Source: [2]

Personnel

Staff

1977 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Ed Alsman


Roster

1977 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[3]

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 7 Seattle Seahawks L 24–34 0–1 Candlestick Park 38,024
2 August 13 at San Diego Chargers L 13–32 0–2 San Diego Stadium 26,620
3 August 21 Los Angeles Rams W 23–14 1–2 Candlestick Park 44,898
4 August 29 at Houston Oilers L 3–17 1–3 Astrodome 36,538
5 September 3 at Oakland Raiders L 0–33 1–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,442
6 September 10 Denver Broncos L 0–20 1–5 Candlestick Park 36,441

[4]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–27 0–1 Three Rivers Stadium 48,046
2 September 25 Miami Dolphins L 15–19 0–2 Candlestick Park 40,503
3 October 2 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–34 0–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 55,466
4 October 9 Atlanta Falcons L 0–7 0–4 Candlestick Park 38,009
5 October 16 at New York Giants L 17–20 0–5 Giants Stadium 70,366
6 October 23 Detroit Lions W 28–7 1–5 Candlestick Park 39,392
7 October 30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–10 2–5 Candlestick Park 34,700
8 November 6 at Atlanta Falcons W 10–3 3–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 46,577
9 November 13 at New Orleans Saints W 10–7 4–5 Louisiana Superdome 41,564
10 November 20 Los Angeles Rams L 10–23 4–6 Candlestick Park 56,779
11 November 27 New Orleans Saints W 20–17 5–6 Candlestick Park 33,702
12 December 4 at Minnesota Vikings L 27–28 5–7 Metropolitan Stadium 40,745
13 December 12 Dallas Cowboys L 35–42 5–8 Candlestick Park 55,851
14 December 18 at Green Bay Packers L 14–16 5–9 Milwaukee County Stadium 44,902
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons

San Francisco knocked Atlanta out of a tie for first in the NFC West, sacking Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski seven times for a loss of 76 yards. The only touchdown of a game came on a 2-yard run by Wilbur Jackson.

Week 9: at New Orleans Saints

Ray Wersching booted a 33-yard field goal in overtime to cap a second half San Francisco rally and give his team a comeback win over New Orleans. Wersching had a chance to end the game in regulation time when his 50-yard field goal was miss midway through the fourth quarter. The drive to a winning score covered 59 yards. Delvin Williams, who put the 49ers on the scoreboard with a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, got 16 yards on the drive and finished the game with 110 yards on 25 carries. The Saints also missed a chance to win it in regulation when Rich Szaro's 30-yard field goal attempt hit the left goal post and bounced away.

Week 11: vs. New Orleans Saints

  • Television: CBS
  • Announcers: Tim Ryan, Tom Matte

This great game started when the Saints Rich Szaro kicked a 30-yard field goal. then the 49ers rallied back to even the game with a Ray Wersching field goal of 40 yards but back came those Saints as Clarence Chapman returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. In a game that has no playoff berths at stake but pride, the Saints added to their lead as Archie Manning scored from 1 yard out. But the 49ers came back on the legs of Wilbur Jackson who ran for 190 yards on 16 carries before he left the game in the fourth quarter with a pulled hamstring. Jackson scored on touchdowns from 34 and 1. Then late in the game the 49ers drove on the legs of Delvin Williams. the 49ers chances to win was helped by a roughing the passing penalty against Mike Fultz of the Saints cancelling a Potential Saints interception. Giving new life Ray Wersching kicked a 42-yard field goal with no time left to give the 49ers a win.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–4 302 146 L1
Atlanta Falcons 7 7 0 .500 3–3 7–5 179 129 W1
San Francisco 49ers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–7 220 260 L3
New Orleans Saints 3 11 0 .214 2–4 3–9 232 336 L4

References

  1. ^ 1977 San Francisco 49ers
  2. ^ "1977 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "1977 San Francisco 49ers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "1977 San Francisco 49ers season". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
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