The San Francisco 49ers stand as one of the elite and most storied franchises in NFL history. It’s not surprising the Niners have boasted some great teams dating back to their creation in 1946. Niner Noise breaks down the top 10 49ers teams of all time.
The San Francisco 49ers franchise is no stranger to greatness. One can simply count the accolades to determine this. The team has five Super Bowl championships under its belt. The Niners’ ranks have been filled with Hall of Fame greats like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, Bill Walsh and more.
And a plethora of records, many which still stand, were set by 49ers greats dating back to the franchise’s inception in 1946.
Naturally, the 49ers have boasted some incredible teams during that span. And it’s only fitting to list the 10 best Niner teams of all time with the franchise celebrating its 70th birthday this season.
Fortunately, we’ve already gone over the 10 worst 49ers teams of all time. This list will be nothing like that one. No, Niner Noise will be focusing on the better stories and years from which most of the 49ers glory stems.
This list won’t be compiled strictly based on records though. True, the Niners own a 558-450-16 record dating back to 1946. But there’s more to it than just wins and losses.
To determine the rankings, one must look at a combination of records, season-end results, statistics, impact players and a number of other factors to help decipher which 49ers all-time teams make the cut.
So get ready for a fun and memorable trip through San Francisco history as we look at the greatest of the great teams to don red and gold.
Next: No. 10
No. 10: The 2013 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 12-4, second place in the NFC West
San Francisco was fresh off a loss in Super Bowl XLVII but had made it to two-consecutive NFC Championship games and was poised to reach a third.
Thanks to the tutelage and coaching prowess of head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Niners had emerged from the dark years that dominated the 2000s and were, once again, among the NFL’s most elite teams.
Up-and-coming quarterback Colin Kaepernick was taking the league by storm, and the 49ers defense — ranked No. 3 in the NFL that season — was an absolute force capable of shutting down even the best of opposing offenses.
In spite of Kaepernick and the seemingly ageless efforts of running back Frank Gore, the 49ers offense didn’t mirror those of previous decades and Super Bowl contenders.
Still, the Niners rode on the back of their defense and managed to knock off the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers in the playoffs before a road contest in Seattle for the rights to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl that year.
Of course, fans remember the result. There was the gruesome injury suffered by linebacker NaVorro Bowman. And that deflected fade pass intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree never found its target.
Regardless, the 2013 49ers were tremendously good. And they even earned some praise from Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman after his team went on to Super Bowl victory.
Next: No. 9
No. 9: The 1998 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 12-4, second place in the NFC West
1998 started off with a bang thanks to running back Garrison Hearst’s 96-yard touchdown run in overtime to seal San Francisco’s Week 1 victory over the New York Jets.
The 49ers went undefeated at home that season, and quarterback Steve Young led the way with 36 passing touchdowns against 12 interceptions. San Francisco also featured a duo of wide receivers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens — each crested 1,000 receiving yards on the season and had a combined 23 touchdown grabs between them.
San Francisco’s offense was the primary factor that year as the defense, ranked No. 13 in the NFL, was a little more towards the center of the pack.
Still, the 49ers’ 1998 season is best remembered for the dramatic last-second victory in the Wild Card round over the Green Bay Packers and Young’s touchdown pass to Owens, which has earned the nickname, “The Catch II.”
The 49ers would lose to the Atlanta Falcons the next week to end the season. But this team still stands large in Niner lore.
Next: No. 8
No. 8: The 1990 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 14-2, first place in the NFC West
The 49ers nearly pulled off a Super Bowl three-peat at the end of the 1990 season after winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989.
Of course, that came crashing to an end in the NFC Championship game versus the New York Giants, and fans are still haunted by running back Roger Craig’s fumble in the waning minutes.
Still, 1990 was an incredible year for the red and gold — a season that saw the team finish with a 14-2 record, the league’s second-best defense and an offense that averaged over 368 yards per game.
Naturally, quarterback Joe Montana was in All-Pro form as was wide receiver Jerry Rice.
But Montana’s days were coming to a close in San Francisco as injuries began to take their toll. Fortunately, the Niners had another quarterback in Steve Young waiting to get into the mix.
Next: No. 7
No. 7: The 1981 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 13-3, first place in the NFC West, Super Bowl XVI Champions
1981 marked the year in which the 49ers’ dynasty was born, and it was for all the right reasons.
Head coach Bill Walsh had finally seen his experiment working, and developing quarterback Joe Montana was emerging as one of the NFL’s best.
Two years removed from a two-win season, the 1984 49ers ended up finishing with a 13-3 record and the league’s second-best defense.
This was thanks, in large measure, to the budding developments of defenders like Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson and Dwight Hicks.
San Francisco’s offense, employing Walsh’s West Coast approach, was also effective enough to gain the seventh-most points in the league that year (357).
And, of course, fans know all too well how the Niners reached the Super Bowl over the Dallas Cowboys in one of the most unforgettable moments in NFL history.
Yes, “The Catch” has to give this team some boost on the rankings. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to assign the team’s first Super Bowl crown to this year either.
Next: No. 6
No. 6: The 1987 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 13-2, first place in the NFC West
The 1987 was shortened one game by a strike, but that didn’t do much to stop the 49ers seemingly endless momentum of the decade.
San Francisco boasted the NFL’s best record that year and took its 13-2 mark back into the playoffs for the fifth-consecutive season.
Not surprisingly, quarterback Joe Montana had yet another All-Pro campaign with 31 passing touchdowns against 13 interceptions and a passer rating of 102.1 on the season.
But fellow QB Steve Young was also entering into the mix. And with head coach Bill Walsh alternating the two, Young would go onto have a passer rating of 120.8 and throw 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions.
Controversy aside, the 1987 49ers would finish with the league’s best offense and third-best defense.
San Francisco would lose in the divisional round, but the 49ers would more than make up for the defeat over the next two seasons with back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Next: No. 5
No. 5: The 1992 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 14-2, first place in the NFC West
The 1992 season featured an all-out controversy regarding the future of the quarterback position in San Francisco.
Joe Montana made his miraculous comeback on Monday Night Football against the Detroit Lions in Week and helped lead the Niners to a 24-6 prime-time victory. Yet quarterback Steve Young already had proven his worth over the previous 15 games, which would eventually lead to Montana being traded prior to the 1993 season.
Still, 1992 was memorable for a number of reasons.
Aside from the regular-season record, the Niners of that year posted the league’s best offense and third-best defense.
Young, en route to a Pro Bowl as well as an All-Pro nod, was assisted again by wide receiver Jerry Rice.
But the 49ers ran into some difficulties in the early 90s as the Dallas Cowboys began to seize the decade. The Cowboys would defeat the Niners in the NFC Championship game that year en route to the Super Bowl.
Next: No. 4
No. 4: The 1989 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 14-2, first place in the NFC West, Super Bowl XXIV Champions
In 1989, former head coach Bill Walsh was heading out and new head coach George Seifert was stepping in. The 49ers didn’t lose a whole lot there.
Seifert led an already stacked Niners squad to an impressive 14-2 record, thanks to yet another stellar season from All-Pro and Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Montana. Montana tossed 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions despite a hungry backup named Steve Young waiting in the folds.
Wide receivers Jerry Rice and John Taylor each crested 1,000 receiving yards and a combined 17 touchdowns between them.
Not surprisingly, the 49ers finished with the league’s best offense that year and scored a total of 442 points.
Defensively, the Niners were just as formidable. San Francisco ranked third in the NFL with just 253 points allowed.
Impressive to say the least.
San Francisco’s amazing season would culminate with a 55-10 demolishing of quarterback John Elway’s Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV. Over the Niners’ playoff run, San Francisco defeated opposing teams by a combined 100 points.
Next: No. 3
No. 3: The 1948 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 12-2, second place in the AAFC West
The 1948 49ers may be a team long forgotten, but that doesn’t mean they should be.
Two years after their formation, the 49ers of this year were powerhouses in the old All-America Football Conference and posted a more-than impressive 12-2 record.
Over 14, yes 14, games, this group amassed a total of 495 points scored under the team’s first head coach Buck Shaw. The 1948 49ers led the AAFC on offense and were ranked No. 2 on the defensive side of the ball.
San Francisco’s plus-247 point differential was also tops in the conference.
But this was in the days before wild cards and multiple playoff berths. Despite the 49ers’ lofty offensive and defensive numbers, two losses — both against the Cleveland Browns — meant San Francisco would occupy the No. 2 seed in the West.
The Browns would go undefeated that year and would eventually claim the AAFC crown in 1948.
Next: No. 2
No. 2: The 1994 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 13-3, first place in the NFC West, Super Bowl XXIX Champions
The 1994 49ers were a dream team in nearly every sense of the term. San Francisco brought in big free agents like cornerback Deion Sanders and linebacker Ken Norton Jr. in order to help the franchise get back over its rivals the Dallas Cowboys.
In a day when no NFL salary cap existed, this group of 49ers simply outmatched the rest of the competition. And they had plenty of their own firepower in addition to the lofty free-agent acquisitions.
Led by quarterback Steve Young and wide receiver Jerry Rice, the Niners offense steamrolled its way to a top-ranked finish with an amazing 505 points scored on the season.
No 49ers team before or since has crested more than 500 points on a single season.
Defensively, San Francisco was nearly as good and allowed the sixth-fewest points in the NFL that year (296).
Not surprisingly, the 49ers demolished the San Diego Chargers 49-26 to win Super Bowl XXIX and claim the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title.
And who can forget Young exclaiming to “get the monkey” off his back?
Next: No. 1
No. 1: The 1984 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 15-1, first place in the NFC West, Super Bowl XIX Champions
This shouldn’t come as any surprise. The best of the best in 49ers history goes to the 1984 Niners, who compiled a 15-1 regular-season record, which still stands as the best in franchise history.
And the stats go well beyond a near perfect season.
Led by quarterback Joe Montana, head coach Bill Walsh, running back Wendell Tyler and a secondary whose starting members all made it to the Pro Bowl, the 1984 49ers might as well be called an all-time team.
This group led the NFL in fewest points allowed (227) and also boasted the second-most points and yards on offense — 475 and 6,366, respectively.
En route to the team’s second Super Bowl title, the Niners impressively shut out the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game 23-0 before handling NFL MVP quarterback Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.
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It all seemed too easy for this 49ers group. And the 49ers’ glory years would continue on throughout the rest of the 1980s.
Next: Ranking the 10 Worst 49ers Teams in Franchise History
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.