Niner Noise goes back through San Francisco 49ers history and explores the five players from other teams around the NFL Niners fans love to hate the most.
The San Francisco 49ers are fortunate enough to have boasted some of the best players ever to play at the NFL level.
These players have turned in some memorable moments and incredible seasons. Yet the Niners have also been victims of some cringeworthy memories over the years.
And there are more than a few opposing players responsible for such memories.
During the 1970s, the Dallas Cowboys embarrassed the 49ers on more than one occasion, rediscovering that longtime rivalry again in the 1990s. During that same decade, the Green Bay Packers were easily categorized into a team Niners fans loved to beat.
In between, particularly late in the 1980s, the New York Giants angered the Faithful on more than one occasion.
Most recently, of course, those Seattle Seahawks proved to be the bane of Niners fans everywhere.
But behind the teams, there are typically individuals standing out who command vitriol above all else. Those are the guys we’ll focus on here, breaking down the five rival players San Francisco fans should consider the all-time villains.
No. 5: Linebacker Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants
The Giants and 49ers had some tremendous rivalry moments during the 1980s and early 1990s, and there are certainly a few players to pick from the other side here.
But the one standing out the most is pass-rushing linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who was one of the most dominant defenders in the NFL during his 13-year career. The Hall of Famer had his share of off-field character issues, cocaine abuse and statutory rape. Against the Niners, though, he remained about as big an on-field villain there can be.
Particularly when he was the player to recover Niners running back Roger Craig’s costly fumble during the 1991 NFC Championship game that ultimately denied the Niners a third trip to the Super Bowl.
Ironically, Taylor once noted how much he hated playing the 49ers.
“I hate playing the 49ers because they play a short drop, ball-control offense and they really don’t take a lot of chances,” Taylor noted back in 1986, via UPI Archives. “That’s when you can hurt a team, when they take a gamble.
“It makes it difficult to play when you’re high-strung and ready to go and forced to play patiently.”
That doesn’t change Niners fans’ sentiments about Taylor at all, though. They hated seeing him on the field and probably didn’t care for him off of it either.
No. 4: Cornerback Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
The Niners and Seahawks’ rivalry was pretty heated in the early 2010s with, unfortunately, Seattle getting the better end of the deal.
Particularly in the 2014 NFC Championship game, where fans recall then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s last-second fade pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone deflected by one, cornerback Richard Sherman, into the hands of Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith.
That sealed Seattle’s 23-17 victory, and they went on to dominate the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVII.
Yet the story of the conference championship didn’t end right at that moment. No, Sherman went over to Crabtree to shake his hand. And no 49ers fan to this day would say it was a gesture of sportsmanship. Crabtree shoved Sherman away, prompting one of the most epic outbursts in NFL history:
Sherman’s outburst was just one of a number of moments that drew the ire from Niners fans everywhere, but this one clearly stands out above all the rest.
Perhaps it was because of the game’s crucial moment. Or, just as likely, the nature by which Sherman mocked Crabtree.
The ironic thing now is Sherman is part of the 49ers, following the Seahawks releasing him during the 2018 offseason. And even though the Niners were adding a three-time All-Pro to the fold, it took a lot of San Francisco fans some time getting used to the idea Sherman had traded in Seahawks blue for the red and gold.
Getting used to embracing a villain can take a while.
No. 3: EDGE Charles Haley, Dallas Cowboys
From a rival player, who subsequently joined the 49ers, to another player who started off his career in San Francisco, only to go to a rival, the No. 3 biggest-villain player on our list is former Niners and Cowboys EDGE Charles Haley.
San Francisco 49ers
Yes, the Hall of Famer whom the 49ers grabbed in Round 4 of the NFL Draft back in 1986.
Haley’s career in San Francisco was Hall of Fame-worthy already, accumulating 66.5 sacks and three Pro Bowl nods during his eight-year career in the Bay Area.
According to former Niners running back Dexter Carter (h/t 49ers Webzone, 247 Sports), Haley was known for “getting into it” with fellow teammates. But when Haley got into a bit of a locker room spat with wide receiver Jerry Rice, enough was enough. San Francisco traded him to Dallas ahead of the 1992 season.
What makes this all the more frustrating is the Cowboys were a sub-.500 team between 1986 and 1990. And while 1991 was promising, Haley’s presence immediately turned Dallas into a Super Bowl contender.
Case in point, the Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl the year Haley was traded, the first of three championships over the next four years.
Just like that, San Francisco’s dynasty of the 1980s evaporated, and the Cowboys became the team of the 1990s. Haley would go on to receive two more Pro Bowl nods during his time in Dallas, helping transform the 49ers’ most hated rival into perennial contenders.
No. 2: Quarterback Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
The Cowboys might have been the 49ers’ team to beat in the early 1990s, but that label fell on the Green Bay Packers later in the decade.
And, more notably, quarterback Brett Favre.
Favre owned an 8-1 regular-season record over San Francisco during his entire career. But what hurt the Faithful even more was Favre’s 4-1 record over the Niners during the playoffs. Favre was responsible for postseason victories against the 49ers in 1996, 1997, 1998 and then once more in 2002.
OK, so San Francisco ended a possible four-peat by Favre in 1999, thanks to quarterback Steve Young and wide receiver Terrell Owens’ version of “The Catch.” But even that doesn’t help mask what appeared to be a regular trend of Favre ending San Francisco’s seasons those three years in a row.
What made it all the more frustrating was the way by which Favre accomplished it. His gunslinging mentality meant no Niners lead was safe. Favre would all-too often find a way to engineer some last-second miracle play, giving the Packers a win and sending the Faithful home dejected and spiteful.
They still are today.
No. 1: Quarterback Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys
Yes, another member of the Dallas Cowboys. See why this rivalry was so heated?
Long before the battles of the 1990s, and even before “The Catch,” the 49ers and Cowboys shared some tremendous moments during the early 1970s. San Francisco went to the playoffs three years in a row, between 1970 and 1972, and were eliminated from the postseason each time.
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And by who? You guessed it. Dallas.
Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach was at the helm for two of those three playoff exits (1971 and 1972). He compiled a 3-1 record against the Niners during his career, posting an impressive 114.8 passer rating in the process.
But Staubach’s 1972 performance was particularly heartbreaking for San Francisco. NFL Mocks’ Erik Lambert described what went down:
"Staubach had been injured most of the season and was on the bench when two teams met again in the divisional round. The 49ers built a 28-13 lead going into the 4th quarter. Their eyes were already on the next round. Dallas, with nothing left to lose, put Staubach in. In a span of mere minutes, he engineered three-straight scoring drives including two touchdown passes to stun San Francisco 30-28. That loss crippled the franchise."
Indeed, it did. The Niners fell on some hard times after that season, while the Cowboys went on to be the team of that decade.
Next: 5 most heartbreaking playoff losses in 49ers history
San Francisco wouldn’t exorcise those demons until 1981, when the franchise would win its first Super Bowl, knocking off those Cowboys in historic fashion.