2002 San Francisco 49ers season

2002 San Francisco 49ers season
Head coach	Steve Mariucci
Home field	3Com Park
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Giants) 39–38 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Buccaneers) 6–31
Pro Bowlers	6
AP All-Pros	WR Terrell Owens (1st team) RB Fred Beasley (2nd team) LB Julian Peterson (2nd team)
← 2001 49ers seasons 2003 →

The 2002 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 57th season, and 53rd in the National Football League.

The first season following divisional realignment, the 49ers won the new-look NFC West title with a 10–6 record; they swept their new division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals while splitting with the St. Louis Rams. In the Wild Card round, the 49ers fell behind the New York Giants 38–14 but erupted with 25 unanswered points and survived a chaotic last-second field goal attempt by the Giants; the 39–38 win was the 26th playoff win in the team's history and as of 2019, it is the fourth biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. The 49ers lost the next week in the divisional round to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–6 and head coach Steve Mariucci was fired, the result of a power struggle with owner John York and new general manager Terry Donahue. 2002 was the last winning season for the 49ers until 2011.

Offseason[]

Additions	Subtractions
FS Tony Parrish (Bears)	FS Lance Schulters (Titans)
G Ron Stone (Giants)	G Ray Brown (Lions)
	QB Rick Mirer (Raiders)

NFL Draft[]

2002 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	27	Mike Rumph	CB	Miami (FL)
3	69	Saleem Rasheed	LB	Alabama	From Buffalo
3		Forfeited due	to a	Salary Cap	Violation
4	102	Jeff Chandler	K	Florida	From Buffalo
4	127	Kevin Curtis	S	Texas Tech
5	163	Brandon Doman	QB	BYU
5	172	Josh Shaw	DT	Michigan State	compensatory selection
6	201	Mark Anelli	TE	Wisconsin
7	239	Eric Heitmann	C	Stanford
7	248	Kyle Kosier	T	Arizona State
7	256	Teddy Gaines	CB	Tennessee
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel[]

Staff[]

2002 San Francisco 49ers staff

	Front office Owner – Denise DeBartolo York Owner – The DeBartolo Corporation Director/Owner's Representative – John York President/Chief Executive Officer – Peter L. Harris General Manager – Terry Donahue Consultant – Bill Walsh Vice President/Director of Football Operations – John McVay Asst. Director of Football Operations/Salary Cap – Dominic Corsell Director of Pro Personnel – Bill McPherson Head coaches Head Coach – Steve Mariucci Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Greg Knapp Quarterbacks – Ted Tollner Running Backs – Tom Rathman Wide Receivers – George Stewart Tight Ends – Tom Batta Offensive Line – Patrick Morris Offensive Assistant – Andy Sugarman Offensive Quality Control – Jason Tarver			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jim Mora Defensive Line – Dwaine Board Linebackers – Richard Smith Secondary – Brett Maxie Defensive Assistant – Chris Beake Defensive Quality Control – Dan Quinn Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Physical Development Coordinator – Jerry Attaway Strength Development Coordinator – Terrell Jones

Roster[]

2002 San Francisco 49ers final roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Brandon Doman  5 Jeff Garcia 13 Tim Rattay Running backs 32 Kevan Barlow 40 Fred Beasley FB 20 Garrison Hearst 27 Paul Smith Wide receivers 18 James Jordan 81 Terrell Owens 83 J. J. Stokes 89 Tai Streets 87 Vinny Sutherland 84 Cedrick Wilson Tight ends 85 Mark Anelli 82 Eric Johnson 88 Justin Swift		Offensive linemen 63 Derrick Deese T 78 Scott Gragg T 66 Eric Heitmann G 72 Kyle Kosier G 60 Ben Lynch C 62 Jeremy Newberry C 71 Craig Osika G 65 Ron Stone G 77 Matt Willig T Defensive linemen 96 Andre Carter DE 92 Jerome Davis DT 95 John Engelberger DE 91 Chike Okeafor DE 93 Josh Shaw DT 94 Dana Stubblefield DT 97 Bryant Young DT		Linebackers 57 Cornelius Anthony 56 Brandon Moore 98 Julian Peterson 51 Saleem Rasheed 50 Derek Smith ILB 56 53 Jeff Ulbrich Defensive backs 31 Zack Bronson FS 25 Rashad Holman CB 33 Tony Parrish SS 29 Ahmed Plummer CB 24 Mike Rumph CB 36 Jason Webster CB Special teams  3 Jeff Chandler K 86 Brian Jennings LS  4 Bill Lafleur P		Reserve lists 74 Dave Fiore G (IR) 22 Terry Jackson FB (IR) —- John Schlecht DT (IR) 55 Jamie Winborn OLB (IR) Practice squad 67 Jerome Davis DE 41 FB 76 Austin Lee T 15 Aaron Lockett WR Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 5, 2002 (Thu)	at New York Giants	W 16–13	1–0	ESPN 8:30et	78,748
2	September 15, 2002	Denver Broncos	L 14–24	1–1	CBS 4:15et	67,685
3	September 22, 2002	Washington Redskins	W 20–10	2–1	FOX 4:15et	67,541
4	Bye
5	October 6, 2002	St. Louis Rams	W 37–13	3–1	FOX 4:15et	67,853
6	October 14, 2002 (Mon)	at Seattle Seahawks	W 28–21	4–1	ABC 9:00et	66,420
7	October 20, 2002	at New Orleans Saints	L 27–35	4–2	FOX 1:00et	67,903
8	October 27, 2002	Arizona Cardinals	W 38–28	5–2	FOX 4:05et	67,173
9	November 3, 2002	at Oakland Raiders	W 23–20 (OT)	6–2	FOX 4:15et	62,660
10	November 10, 2002	Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–13	7–2	CBS 4:15et	67,881
11	November 17, 2002	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–20 (OT)	7–3	FOX 4:05et	67,161
12	November 25, 2002 (Mon)	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–38	7–4	ABC 9:00et	67,919
13	December 1, 2002	Seattle Seahawks	W 31–24	8–4	FOX 4:15et	67,594
14	December 8, 2002	at Dallas Cowboys	W 31–27	9–4	FOX 1:00et	64,097
15	December 15, 2002	Green Bay Packers	L 14–20	9–5	FOX 4:15et	67,947
16	December 21, 2002 (Sat)	at Arizona Cardinals	W 17–14	10–5	FOX 4:15et	44,051
17	December 30, 2002 (Mon)	at St. Louis Rams	L 20–31	10–6	ABC 9:00et	66,118

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game Summaries[]

Week 1: at New York Giants[]

At Giants Stadium the 49ers clawed to a 13–6 lead on three Kerry Collins interceptions, but a late Tiki Barber score tied the game 13–13. Two Jeff Garcia passes for 45 yards and three Garrison Hearst runs for seven yards set up Jose Cortez's 36-yard field goal with ten seconds left and the 16–13 49ers win.

Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos[]

Despite an eight-yard touchdown to Terrell Owens (suffering from a season-long groin issue), Jeff Garcia struggled in San Francisco's home opener, fumbling in the third quarter then throwing an interception to Deltha O'Neal in the fourth. A late rushing score by Garcia made the final score 24–14 for the Broncos. |Weather= 68 °F (Sunny)

Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins[]

Jeff Garcia and Tim Rattay combined for just 125 passing yards as the Niners defeated the Redskins 20–10. Food poisoning forced Garcia out of the game. "I just didn't feel real crisp," Garcia said in the postgame press conference. |Weather= 71 °F (Sunny)

Week 5: vs. St. Louis Rams[]

The Rams' collapse following their loss in Super Bowl XXXVI continued as Jamie Martin started and was intercepted twice. Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow rushed for 166 yards as the Niners pummeled the Rams 37–13. |Weather= 84 °F (Sunny)

Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks[]

On Monday Night Football Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns, including what turned out to be the game-winner in the final eight minutes. After one touchdown Owens took out a magic marker and autographed the football before giving it to one of his assistants in the endzone grandstands, a maneuver that caused a stir in football circles. The win was only the second for the Niners over their former offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren as a head coach.

Week 7: at New Orleans Saints[]

The 4–1 49ers faced the 5–1 Saints for the first time since divisional realignment split the two clubs out of the NFC West and formed the new NFC South. The two clubs put up a combined 840 yards of offense; the Niners led 24–13 after three quarters but the Saints outscored San Francisco 22–3 in the fourth quarter; Jeff Garcia was intercepted with 2:30 to go and Aaron Brooks ran in a one-yard touchdown for the 35–27 Saints win.

Week 8: vs. Arizona Cardinals[]

Four rushing touchdowns (two of them from Marcel Shipp) were not enough for the Cardinals against the Niners as Jeff Garcia tossed four touchdowns and Jake Plummer was intercepted three times in a 38-28 San Francisco win. |Weather= 67 °F (Sunny)

Week 9: at Oakland Raiders[]

The two Bay Area teams clashed in an overtime grinder as Rich Gannon threw for 164 yards and a one-yard touchdown to Jerry Porter. Garcia threw for 282 yards and two scores and rushed for 46 yards, 21 of them in overtime following a missed 27-yard Jose Cortez field goal attempt at the end of regulation. Cortez nailed the 23-yard kick in overtime for the 23–20 49ers win.

Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs[]

The Niners faced former Rams coach Dick Vermeil, whose Chiefs had scored at least 34 points five times to that point of the season; they were held to 13 points and 256 yards of offense as the Niners ground out the 17–13 win. |Weather= 61 °F (Cloudy)

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers[]

At San Diego Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns, one a 76-yard bomb, but the Niners blew a 17–7 lead to the Chargers as Drew Brees' touchdown to Fred McCrary with 31 seconds to go tied the game, and former Buffalo Bill Steve Christie won it with 4:11 to go in overtime on a 40-yard field goal. The two teams combined for 908 yards of offense.

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles[]

Despite putting up 409 yards of offense the Niners were pounded by the Eagles 38-17 as Koy Detmer and A. J. Feeley combined for three touchdown throws; Detmer added a rushing score and Brian Mitchell ran back a 76-yard punt for a touchdown. Future Eagle Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns. |Weather= 68 °F (Clear)

Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks[]

The Niners raced to a 31–10 lead behind three Garrison Hearst touchdown runs and a punt return score. In the fourth quarter Matt Hasselbeck (who had 427 passing yards in all) scored twice on passes to Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson but was intercepted with 1:31 to go, ending the 31–24 Niners win. |Weather= 60 °F (Sunny)

Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys[]

Though the championship rivalry of a decade past had cooled off with the fall of the Cowboys to sub-mediocrity, the game at Texas Stadium nonetheless resembled Cowboy-49er clashes of yore. Despite intercepting Chad Hutchinson twice, the 49ers saw the lead change four times before the Cowboys surged to a 27–17 lead in the fourth quarter. Jeff Garcia then stormed the 49ers to the win on touchdowns to Tai Streets and a bobbling eight-yard catch by Terrell Owens with fifteen seconds remaining. In the 31–27 49ers win the two teams combined for 35 fourth-quarter points.

Week 15: vs. Green Bay Packers[]

The Niners’ perennial struggles against the Packers since Green Bay's 1995 playoff win continued with San Francisco's tenth loss in eleven meetings. Terrell Owens caught a pass and bulled off a defender into the end zone; after scoring he took the pom poms of a Niners cheerleader and celebrated. On the Niners final drive Garcia drove to the Packers 14 (gaining a first down on a run and despite running into a Packers assistant coach on the sideline) but was stopped on fourth down.

Week 16: at Arizona Cardinals[]

The Niners held the Cardinals to just 184 yards of offense in a 17-14 Niners win. Terrell Owens did not play.

Week 17: at St. Louis Rams[]

Having clinched the NFC West, the Niners rested many starters against the Rams as Jeff Garcia threw only three passes and Tim Rattay threw a pair of touchdowns to Tai Streets. The Rams played to salvage a win in their disappointing season and exploded to 28 fourth-quarter points to win 31–20; the Rams thus finished 7-9 while the Niners were 10–6.

Standings[]

NFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) San Francisco 49ers	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	367	351	L1
St. Louis Rams	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	316	369	W1
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	355	369	W3
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	262	417	L3

Playoffs[]

Schedule[]

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	NFL.com recap
Wild Card	January 5, 2003	New York Giants (5)	W 39–38	1–0	3Com Park	Recap
Divisional	January 12, 2003	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)	L 6–31	1–1	Raymond James Stadium	Recap

Game Summaries[]

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. New York Giants[]

The Steelers' comeback earlier in the day (36–33 over the Cleveland Browns) was matched by San Francisco's similar late drive, overcoming a 38–14 deficit by scoring 25 unanswered points in the second half. A last-minute Giants drive collapsed when Trey Junkin botched a field goal snap, leading to a desperation heave to the endzone that fell short. There were two notable events in this game. The first one was when after the 49ers scored a touchdown, Terrell Owens caught a pass from Jeff Garcia for the two point conversion. After the catch, Owens did a little showboating. Michael Strahan of the Giants went up to Owens and pointed to the scoreboard and mocked Owens. (At the time, the Giants led 38–22). This is significant because the 49ers came back to win. After the 49ers scored another touchdown and made it 38–30, Joe Buck replied "The scoreboard doesn't look so great to Strahan anymore". The second event in the game was that in the 3rd quarter, Jeremy Shockey dropped a touchdown pass that would've put the Giants up 42–14. Instead, the Giants had to kick, making it 38–14. Nobody at the time knew how big of a mistake this dropped pass would be for the Giants, and how big of a blessing for the 49ers. The win was the 26th in a playoff game for the club and last until the 2011 Divisional Playoffs.

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – January 12, 2003[]

The Buccaneers, with the league's top-ranked defense during the 2002 regular season, forced five turnovers, sacked quarterback Jeff Garcia four times, and limited the 49ers to only two field goals. Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson, who had been sidelined for a month, returned to throw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Mike Alstott scored two touchdowns, while the Buccaneers held onto the ball for 36:46 and held the 49ers to a season low 228 yards. This was San Francisco's first playoff game without a touchdown since 1986. Despite San Francisco's 10–6 record and their Wild Card playoff win against New York, coach Steve Mariucci was fired three days after this game. The 49ers would not return to the playoffs until 2011.

References[]

• 49ers on Pro Football Reference
• 49ers Schedule on jt-sw.com