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2002 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerDenise DeBartolo York and John York
General managerTerry Donahue
Head coachSteve Mariucci
Offensive coordinatorGreg Knapp
Defensive coordinatorJim L. Mora
Home field3Com Park
Results
Record10–6
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Giants) 39–38
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Buccaneers) 6–31
Pro BowlersQB Jeff Garcia
WR Terrell Owens
G Ron Stone
C Jeremy Newberry
DT Bryant Young
LB Julian Peterson
AP All-ProsWR Terrell Owens (1st team)
RB Fred Beasley (2nd team)
LB Julian Peterson (2nd team)

The 2002 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 57th season, and 53rd in the National Football League (NFL) and the sixth and final under head coach Steve Mariucci.

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

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

NFL Draft

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Main article: 2002 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

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Staff

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2002 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Jerry Attaway
  • Strength development coordinator – Terrell Jones


Roster

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2002 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 5 at New York Giants W 16–13 1–0 Giants Stadium 78,748
2 September 15 Denver Broncos L 14–24 1–1 3Com Park 67,685
3 September 22 Washington Redskins W 20–10 2–1 3Com Park 67,541
4 Bye
5 October 6 St. Louis Rams W 37–13 3–1 3Com Park 67,853
6 October 14 at Seattle Seahawks W 28–21 4–1 Seahawks Stadium 66,420
7 October 20 at New Orleans Saints L 27–35 4–2 Louisiana Superdome 67,903
8 October 27 Arizona Cardinals W 38–28 5–2 3Com Park 67,173
9 November 3 at Oakland Raiders W 23–20 (OT) 6–2 Network Associates Coliseum 62,660
10 November 10 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–13 7–2 3Com Park 67,881
11 November 17 at San Diego Chargers L 17–20 (OT) 7–3 Qualcomm Stadium 67,161
12 November 25 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–38 7–4 3Com Park 67,919
13 December 1 Seattle Seahawks W 31–24 8–4 3Com Park 67,594
14 December 8 at Dallas Cowboys W 31–27 9–4 Texas Stadium 64,097
15 December 15 Green Bay Packers L 14–20 9–5 3Com Park 67,947
16 December 21 at Arizona Cardinals W 17–14 10–5 Sun Devil Stadium 44,051
17 December 30 at St. Louis Rams L 20–31 10–6 Edward Jones Dome 66,118
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at New York Giants

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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

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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 (20 °C) (Sunny)

Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins

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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 (22 °C) (Sunny)

Week 5: vs. St. Louis Rams

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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 (29 °C) (Sunny)

Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks

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Week 6: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 10 3 7828
Seahawks 7 7 7021

at Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, WA

  • Date: October 14
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 66,420
  • Referee: Bill Leavy
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels & John Madden
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
  • SEA – Bobby Engram 61 yard punt return (Rian Lindell kick), 5:41. Seahawks 14–10.
  • SF – Jose Cortez 29 yard field goal, 2:09. Seahawks 14–13.
  • SF – Kevan Barlow 6 yard run (Jose Cortez kick), 5:29. 49ers 20–14.
Third Quarter
  • SEA – Shaun Alexander 1 yard run (Rian Lindell kick), 1:11. Seahawks 21–20.
Fourth Quarter
  • SF – Terrell Owens 37 yard pass from Garcia (Garrison Hearst pass from Jeff Garcia), 7:46. 49ers 28–21.

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

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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

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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 (19 °C) (Sunny)

Week 9: at Oakland Raiders

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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

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Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 7 0313
49ers 3 14 0017

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

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.

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers

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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. Kicker Jose Cortez, who missed another game-winning field goal attempt in overtime, was cut by the 49ers.

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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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 touchdown passes from Jeff Garcia. |Weather= 68 °F (20 °C) (Clear)

Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks

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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, ensuring the 31–24 Niners win. |Weather= 60 °F (16 °C) (Sunny)

Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys

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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

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Week 15: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 3 0 14320
49ers 0 6 8014

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: December 15, 2002
  • Game time: 4:15 p.m.
  • Game weather: Light Rain, 58 °F (14 °C)
  • Game attendance: 67,947
  • Referee: Tony Corrente (99)
  • TV announcers (FOX): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth & Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

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

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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

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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 for 28 fourth-quarter points to win 31–20; the Rams thus finished 7–9 while the Niners were 10–6.

Standings

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Division

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NFC West
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

Conference

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NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV
Division leaders
1[a] Philadelphia Eagles East 12 4 0 .750 5–1 11–1 .469 .432
2[a][b] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .482 .432
3[a][b] Green Bay Packers North 12 4 0 .750 5–1 9–3 .451 .414
4 San Francisco 49ers West 10 6 0 .625 5–1 8–4 .504 .450
Wild Cards
5 New York Giants East 10 6 0 .625 5–1 8–4 .482 .450
6 Atlanta Falcons South 9 6 1 .594 4–2 7–5 .494 .429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 New Orleans Saints South 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 .498 .566
8[c] St. Louis Rams West 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 .508 .446
9[c] Seattle Seahawks West 7 9 0 .438 2–4 5–7 .506 .433
10[d] Washington Redskins East 7 9 0 .438 1–5 4–8 .527 .438
11[d] Carolina Panthers South 7 9 0 .438 1–5 4–8 .486 .357
12 Minnesota Vikings North 6 10 0 .375 4–2 5–7 .498 .417
13[e] Arizona Cardinals West 5 11 0 .313 1–5 5–7 .500 .400
14[e] Dallas Cowboys East 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 .500 .475
15 Chicago Bears North 4 12 0 .250 2–4 3–9 .521 .430
16 Detroit Lions North 3 13 0 .188 1–5 3–9 .494 .375
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. ^ a b c Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3).
  2. ^ a b Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory.
  3. ^ a b St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  4. ^ a b Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4)
  5. ^ a b Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory.
  6. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Playoffs

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Schedule

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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

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NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. New York Giants

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NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (#5) New York Giants at (#4) San Francisco 49ers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 7 21 10038
49ers 7 7 81739

at 3Com Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: January 5, 2003
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 66,318
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV: FOX
  • Recap
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
  • NYG – Jeremy Shockey 2 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 12:24. Giants 14–7. Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards, 2:24.
  • SF – Kevan Barlow 1 yard run (Jeff Chandler kick), 6:58. Tied 14–14. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 6:14.
  • NYG – Amani Toomer 8 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 2:54. Giants 21–14. Drive: 1 play, 8 yards, 0:05.
  • NYG – Amani Toomer 24 yard pass from Kerry Collins (Matt Bryant kick), 0:16. Giants 28–14. Drive: 5 plays, 66 yards, 1:43.
Third Quarter
  • NYG – Tiki Barber 6 yard run (Matt Bryant kick), 9:57. Giants 35–14. Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 2:16.
  • NYG – Matt Bryant 21 yard field goal, 4:30. Giants 38–14. Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:20.
  • SF – Terrell Owens 26 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Jeff Garcia–Terrell Owens pass), 2:10. Giants 38–22. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:24.
Fourth Quarter
  • SF – Jeff Garcia 14 yard run (Jeff Garcia–Terrell Owens pass), 15:00. Giants 38–30. Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards, 0:41.
  • SF – Jeff Chandler 25 yard field goal, 7:52. Giants 38–33. Drive: 15 plays, 74 yards, 5:26.
  • SF – Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed), 1:05. 49ers 39–38. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 2:01.

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 the score 38–30, Joe Buck remarked "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 have put the Giants up 41–14. Instead, the Giants had to kick a field goal, making the score 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 the last until the 2011 divisional playoffs.

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

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NFC Divisional Playoffs: (#4) San Francisco 49ers at (#2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 3 3 006
Buccaneers 7 21 3031

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: January 12, 2003
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 65,599
  • Referee: Gerald Austin
  • TV: FOX
  • Recap
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
  • TB – Joe Jurevicius 20 yard pass from Brad Johnson (Martín Gramática kick), 9:35. Buccaneers 14–3. Drive: 11 plays, 87 yards, 5:50.
  • SF – Jeff Chandler 40 yard field goal, 8:36. Buccaneers 14–6. Drive: 5 plays, 9 yards, 0:46.
  • TB – Rickey Dudley 12 yard pass from Brad Johnson (Martín Gramática kick), 7:31. Buccaneers 21–6. Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 1:07.
  • TB – Mike Alstott 2 yard run (Martín Gramática kick), 0:55. Buccaneers 28–6. Drive: 4 plays, 26 yards, 1:10.
Third Quarter
  • TB – Martín Gramática 19 yard field goal, 8:33. Buccaneers 31–6. Drive: 10 plays, 36 yards, 6:16.
Fourth Quarter
  • No scoring plays.

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

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