San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 Worst Teams in Franchise History

No. 2: The 2004 49ers

Regular-Season Record: 2-14, fourth in the NFC West

2004 was the season things completely fell apart for the red and gold. The year marked the second-consecutive losing season under head coach Dennis Erickson but also was paralleled by a mass exodus of talent due to the 49ers salary cap situation of the previous years.

San Francisco was forced to part ways with quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Terrell Owens and running back Garrison Hearst. Other notable players were also released due to cap restraints.

As a result, the 2004 49ers fielded one of the most under-equipped and talent-strapped teams in recent NFL history. San Francisco’s roster that year boasted a plethora of players who likely wouldn’t have made it onto most teams’ practice squads.

Led by a quarterback tandem of Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey, along with an ineffective running back Kevan Barlow, the 49ers offense finished with an abysmal 259 points scored — 30th in the league.

The defense was even worse. The Niners allowed 452 points on the season, which ranked the highest out of all 32 NFL teams that year.

This group also had a point differential of minus-193 — worst in the league.

San Francisco finished last in the division for the first time since 1979, and the horrendous season marked the end for Erickson and general manager Terry Donahue with the 49ers.

But despite all that went wrong in 2004, this 49ers group still isn’t the worst team in franchise history.

There’s one more.

Next: No. 1