The
2018 season was the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
' 69th in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, their 73rd overall, their fifth playing their home games at
Levi's Stadium
Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 2014. T ...
and their second under the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
/
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
tandem of
Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...
and
John Lynch.
After finishing 6–10 from an 0–9 start
the previous year, the 49ers were looking to improve from that record and make the playoffs for the first time since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. However, the 49ers' season ended with a record of 4–12 and were plagued by multiple season-ending injuries, which have included RB
Jerick McKinnon
Jerick Deshun McKinnon (born May 3, 1992), nicknamed Jet, is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Southern and was drafted by the Minnesota Vik ...
tearing his ACL in training camp and QB
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
also tearing his ACL in Week 3 against the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
. The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention following a Week 13 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
. In Week 15, however, the 49ers upset the Seahawks 26–23 in overtime at home, snapping the 49ers' 10–game losing streak to them that dated back to
2013 Playoffs. The win also stopped the
Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...
from clinching a playoff spot that week. The 49ers failed to improve on their 6–10 record from last year. The 49ers also went 0–8 on the road for the first time since
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
.
The 49ers defense would also go on to set multiple NFL records for futility. During the entire 16 game schedule of the 2018 NFL season, the 49ers defense would accumulate just two interceptions, breaking the previous mark of three. Incredibly, that included strike shortened NFL seasons. Putting that into perspective, a total of 40 different players throughout the league would go on to have more interceptions than the entire 49ers team. The 49ers would also have just seven total takeaways on the season, smashing the previous record of 11. The 49ers were also last in the league with a −25 turnover differential, the worst mark since 2008.
The 2018 49ers would go on to set one more notable "futility" mark after the team went
8–0 to start the following season, thus giving the 2018 49ers the worst record in NFL history of any team that went on to go undefeated that far into the following season.
Offseason
Roster changes
Free agency
The 49ers entered free agency with the following:
Signings
Departures
Draft
Notes
* The 49ers finished with the same overall record and strength of schedule as the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
at the end of the season, and their selecting order was determined by way of a coin flip at the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
in early 2018. Both teams will then rotate with the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
, selecting 9th, 10th and 11th in each round. The 49ers won the coin toss.
Draft trades
* The 49ers traded a second-round selection (43rd overall) to New England in exchange for quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
.
* The 49ers traded their third-round selection in 2017 (67th overall) to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' second-round selection (59th overall) and their seventh-round selection in 2017 (229th overall).
* The 49ers traded their first-round selection in 2017 (2nd overall) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's third-round selection (70th overall), and their first-, third- and fourth-round selections in 2017 (3rd, 67th and 111th overall).
* The 49ers traded their fourth-round selection (109th overall) to Denver in exchange for Denver's fifth-round selection in 2017 (177th overall) and running back
Kapri Bibbs.
* The 49ers traded their fifth-round selection (148th overall) and tight end
Vance McDonald
Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and spent ...
to Pittsburgh in exchange for Pittsburgh's fourth-round selection (128th overall).
* The 49ers traded cornerback
Rashard Robinson
Rashard Robinson (born July 23, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at LSU, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of ...
to the New York Jets in exchange for the Jets' fifth-round selection (143rd overall).
* The 49ers traded their seventh-round selection (227th overall) and center
Daniel Kilgore to Miami in exchange for the seventh-round selection Miami acquired from Tampa Bay (223rd overall).
* The 49ers traded cornerback
Kenneth Acker
Kenneth Acker (born February 6, 1992) is a former American football defensive back. He was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
Co ...
to Kansas City in exchange for Kansas City's seventh-round selection (240th overall).
* The 49ers traded their fifth-round selection (143rd overall) and OT
Trent Brown to New England in exchange for the third-round selection (95th overall).
Undrafted free agents
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Notes
* Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
* Games highlighted in green means win, red = loss
Game summaries
Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
Three interceptions by
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
, who earned his first loss as an NFL starter, would hurt the 49ers in the end. The 49ers lost 24–16, with the difference being a Garoppolo pick-six as well several key drops by receivers.
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
Despite the Lions' attempted comeback in the fourth quarter, the 49ers would hang on to win 30-27 as the team earns their first win of the season behind 2 TDs from Garoppolo and
Matt Breida
Matthew John Breida (born February 28, 1995) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Southern and signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent ...
's 138 yards rushing.
Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
Not only did the 49ers lose the game,
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...
got carted off in the fourth quarter with a serious knee injury. The next day, an MRI further revealed that Garoppolo had torn his ACL, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
These two teams would meet again the following season in
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
, with the 49ers falling short 31–20.
Week 4: at Los Angeles Chargers
The first post-Garoppolo game of the season was a surprisingly competitive game, mostly due to safety
Antone Exum
Antone Chavez Exum Jr. (born February 27, 1991), also known mononymously as Exum, is a musician and former American football safety. He played college football at Virginia Tech, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the ...
getting a pick-six in the first quarter, but the 49ers still lost 29–27 and dropped to 1–3 on the season and 0–1 after Garoppolo's injury.
Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Playing a winless Cardinals team desperately seeking a win, the 49ers held rookie QB
Josh Rosen
Joshua Ballinger Lippincott Rosen (born February 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, receiving Freshman All-American and ...
in check, but were hurt by five offensive turnovers, one of which resulted in a defensive touchdown for Arizona. The 49ers drop to 1–4 (0–2 since Garoppolo's injury) heading into a Monday Night road game against the Packers.
Week 6: at Green Bay Packers
The 49ers held a 30–23 lead in the final three minutes, but
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
threw a touchdown pass to
Davante Adams
Davante Lavell Adams (born December 24, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the s ...
to tie the game with less than 2 minutes left. On the 49ers' next drive, a critical C. J. Beathard interception plus an illegal contact penalty on Richard Sherman in the final minute led to a 27-yard game-winning field goal by
Mason Crosby
Mason Walker Crosby (born September 3, 1984) is an American football placekicker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado, and earned unanimous All-American honors. The Packers chos ...
to send the 49ers to a 33–30 loss and a 1–5 record heading into next week's home game against the undefeated Rams.
Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 8: at Arizona Cardinals
With the loss, the Niners dropped to 1–7 and last place in the NFC West. They were also swept by the Cardinals for the 4th consecutive year.
Week 9: vs. Oakland Raiders
This was the first start for Nick Mullens at QB, who replaced C. J. Beathard. The game was incredibly one-sided, with the 49ers winning by over 30 points.
Week 10: vs. New York Giants
Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 13: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks
This was the first time since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
that the 49ers beat the Seahawks, snapping a 10-game losing streak which dates back to the 2013-14 NFC Championship Game. This also prevented the Seahawks from clinching a Wild-Card Berth that week.
Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams
With the loss, the 49ers finished 0–8 on the road for the first time since 1979.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links
*
*
{{2018 NFL season by team
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
San Francisco 49ers seasons
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...