Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 10 best single-season performances in franchise history

By Peter Panacy

Wide receiver Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Joseph Patronite/Getty Images)
Wide receiver Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Joseph Patronite/Getty Images) /
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Jeff Garcia, 49ers
Jeff Garcia #5 of the San Francisco 49ers (Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport) /

49ers Single-Season Honorable Mentions

There are far too many single-season efforts to compile into just one top-10 list. So to give homage to a few players who just barely missed out, let’s look at some favorable honorable mentions.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia in 2000

En route to the first of four Pro Bowl selections, quarterback Jeff Garcia’s 31-touchdown, 10-interception campaign deserves to be mentioned.

Especially considering his 4,278 pass yards thrown that year still ranks as a franchise best for one year.

Quarterback Joe Montana in 1987 or 1989

It’s weird to think the original GOAT only makes the honorable mentions, but his 66.8 completion percentage, 31 touchdowns thrown and 102.1 passer rating in 1987 all led the NFL that year. Two years later, Montana led the league in completion percentage (70.2) and passer rating (112.4).

At least Montana gets on the honorables twice.

Cornerback Deion Sanders in 1994

Granted, he played just one season in San Francisco. But it was a memorable one in which he recorded six interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns.

Defensive Back Dave Baker in 1960

Since we’re talking about interceptions, defensive back Dave Baker recorded what was then a franchise-record 10 interceptions back in 1960 over just 12 games when the NFL season was much shorter.

That mark wouldn’t be reached by another 49ers player for some time.

Running Back Garrison Hearst in 1998

Imagine putting up over 2,000 yards from scrimmage — 2,105 to be exact — in a single season. That’s what running back Garrison Hearst did for San Francisco in 1998, yet another one of those special years for the team.

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2012

He might have had an abbreviated season, thanks to fellow quarterback Alex Smith being the starter for the first half of the year. But Colin Kaepernick’s meteoric rise in 2012 was the talk of the NFL at the time, as he set a new playoff record for single-game rush yards by a quarterback and totaled 415 regular-season yards on the ground to go with 1,814 yards through the air.