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1978 San Francisco 49ers

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Record: 2-14-0, Finished 4th in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 219 points (13.7/g), 28th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 350 points (21.9/g), 23rd.
 Differential of -131 points (-8.2/g), 27th.
 Expected W-L: 4.0-12.0.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -18 (-1.1/g), 28th.

Coached by Pete McCulley (1-8-0) and Fred O'Connor (1-6-0)

1978 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 3 box L 0-1 @ Cleveland Browns 7 24 18 295 164 131 6 18 393 180 213 3
2 Sun September 10 box L 0-2 Chicago Bears 13 16 19 307 112 195 4 11 212 101 111 1
3 Sun September 17 box L 0-3 @ Houston Oilers 19 20 18 382 321 61 3 23 330 179 151 2
4 Sun September 24 box L 0-4 @ New York Giants 10 27 13 191 87 104 5 22 382 126 256 3
5 Sun October 1 box W 1-4 Cincinnati Bengals 28 12 11 179 66 113 2 18 322 219 103 8
6 Sun October 8 box L 1-5 @ Los Angeles Rams 10 27 13 215 83 132 2 23 404 177 227 4
7 Sun October 15 box L 1-6 New Orleans Saints 7 14 12 175 101 74 6 12 206 31 175
8 Sun October 22 box L 1-7 Atlanta Falcons 17 20 21 261 53 208 2 16 330 216 114 2
9 Sun October 29 box L 1-8 @ Washington Redskins 20 38 24 326 201 125 5 21 296 177 119 1
10 Sun November 5 box L 1-9 @ Atlanta Falcons 10 21 13 168 50 118 3 16 246 184 62 3
11 Sun November 12 box L 1-10 St. Louis Cardinals 10 16 16 264 146 118 3 21 335 221 114 2
12 Sun November 19 box L 1-11 Los Angeles Rams 28 31 16 248 83 165 1 21 386 255 131 3
13 Mon November 27 box L 1-12 Pittsburgh Steelers 7 24 12 141 74 67 5 22 380 168 212 4
14 Sun December 3 box L 1-13 @ New Orleans Saints 13 24 14 287 128 159 3 24 383 190 193 4
15 Sun December 10 box W 2-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 3 17 239 149 90 6 13 196 83 113 3
16 Sun December 17 box L 2-14 @ Detroit Lions 14 33 20 369 138 231 7 17 221 152 69 2

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 219 4047 1062 3.8 257 190 435 1956 9 36 4.1 106 585 2091 14 3.6 117 63 27 34
Team Defense 350 5024 1097 4.6 298 219 413 2659 20 18 5.9 133 649 2365 17 3.6 128 45 27 37
Lg Rank Offense 28 27 23 12 25 26 28 28 11 21 19 24 28 27
Lg Rank Defense 23 21 20 8 18 20 23 20 26 17 17 7 5 1

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
17 Steve DeBerg 24 QB 12 11 1-10-0 137 302 45.4 1570 8 2.6 22 7.3 58 5.2 2.2 11.5 130.8 40.0 17 156 4.4 1.6 5.3
19 Scott Bull 25 qb 16 5 1-4-0 48 121 39.7 651 1 0.8 11 9.1 48 5.4 1.4 13.6 40.7 22.4 22 160 3.4 0.0 15.4
88 Freddie Solomon 25 WR 16 15 5 10 50.0 85 0 0.0 1 10.0 30 8.5 4.0 17.0 5.3 39.6 3 34 3.9 0.5 23.1
23 Bruce Threadgill 22 14 0 0 2 0.0 0 0 0.0 2 100.0 0 0.0 -45.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0.0 -45.0 0.0
Team Total 24.7 16 2-14-0 190 435 43.7 2306 9 2.1 36 8.3 58 5.3 1.8 12.1 144.1 33.0 42 350 4.1 0.9 8.8
Opp Total 16 219 413 53.0 2948 20 4.8 18 4.4 7.1 5.7 13.5 184.3 74.0 35 289 5.9 4.6

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
32 O.J. Simpson 31 RB 10 10 161 593 1 34 3.7 59.3 16.1 21 172 8.2 2 19 2.1 17.2 765 3 5
38 Bob Ferrell 26 fb 16 8 125 471 1 20 3.8 29.4 7.8 16 123 7.7 0 14 1.0 7.7 594 1 5
36 Paul Hofer 26 rb 16 6 121 465 7 40 3.8 29.1 7.6 12 170 14.2 0 46 0.8 10.6 635 7 4
33 Greg Boykin 25 FB 16 8 102 361 2 23 3.5 22.6 6.4 19 112 5.9 0 22 1.2 7.0 473 2 3
19 Scott Bull 25 qb 16 5 29 100 1 15 3.4 6.3 1.8 100 1 6
30 Dave Williams 24 RET 16 0 15 18 0 6 1.2 1.1 0.9 10 63 6.3 0 13 0.6 3.9 81 0 6
17 Steve DeBerg 24 QB 12 11 15 20 1 7 1.3 1.7 1.3 20 1 9
88 Freddie Solomon 25 WR 16 15 14 70 1 17 5.0 4.4 0.9 31 458 14.8 2 58 1.9 28.6 528 3 5
21 Larry Jones 27 9 0 1 -9 0 -9 -9.0 -1.0 0.1 1 21 21.0 0 21 0.1 2.3 12 0 1
31 Earl Carr 23 14 0 1 2 0 2 2.0 0.1 0.1 2 0 0
55 Bruce Elia 25 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0 0 1
81 Ken MacAfee 22 TE 13 13 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 22 205 9.3 1 22 1.7 15.8 205 1 0
85 Paul Seal 26 te 14 5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 21 370 17.6 2 41 1.5 26.4 370 2 0
83 Kenny Harrison 25 WR 8 6 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 16 320 20.0 0 50 2.0 40.0 320 0 0
80 Terry LeCount 22 3 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 10 131 13.1 0 30 3.3 43.7 131 0 0
84 Elmo Boyd 24 wr 9 5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 9 115 12.8 1 32 1.0 12.8 115 1 1
87 Jack Steptoe 22 RET 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 46 23.0 1 35 0.3 7.7 46 1 3
Team Total 24.7 16 585 2091 14 40 3.6 130.7 36.6 190 2306 12.1 9 58 11.9 144.1 4397 23 56
Opp Total 16 649 2365 17 3.6 147.8 40.6 219 2659 12.1 20 13.7 166.2 5024 37 50

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
30 Dave Williams 24 RET 16 0 34 745 1 89 21.9 826
36 Paul Hofer 26 rb 16 6 18 386 0 40 21.4 1021
87 Jack Steptoe 22 RET 6 0 11 129 0 28 11.7 175
21 Larry Jones 27 9 0 10 86 0 52 8.6 98
88 Freddie Solomon 25 WR 16 15 9 35 0 11 3.9 563
42 Tony Leonard 25 LCB 12 10 8 26 0 14 3.3 26
84 Mike Shumann 23 6 1 8 40 0 36 5.0 40
80 Terry LeCount 22 3 3 5 91 0 23 18.2 222
65 Ernie Hughes 23 LG 15 11 4 53 0 17 13.3 53
33 Greg Boykin 25 FB 16 8 3 37 0 25 12.3 510
58 Mark R. Nichols 22 15 0 3 39 0 20 13.0 39
62 Walt Downing 22 RG 16 15 2 13 0 13 6.5 13
35 Elliott Walker 22 9 0 2 25 0 23 12.5 25
38 Bob Ferrell 26 fb 16 8 1 24 0 24 24.0 618
56 Fred Quillan 22 c 14 7 1 8 0 8 8.0 8
49 Vern Roberson 26 FS 16 12 1 7 0 7 7.0 7
Team Total 24.7 16 47 323 0 52 6.9 73 1421 1 89 19.5 6141
Opp Total 16 46 0 47 928 0 19.7

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
10 Mike Connell 22 P 16 0 96 3583 59 1 37.3
14 Ray Wersching 28 K 16 0 2 2 5 5 10 4 5 4 1 23 15 65.2% 25 24 96.0%
Team Total 24.7 16 2 2 5 5 10 4 5 4 1 23 15 65.2% 25 24 96.0% 96 3583 59 1 37.3
Opp Total 16 38 23 60.5% 40 39 97.5% 87 3497 40.2

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
68 John Ayers 25 LT/lg 16 13 0 1 0 0
84 Elmo Boyd 24 wr 9 5 1 0 0 0
33 Greg Boykin 25 FB 16 8 3 0 0 0
54 Ed Bradley 28 RLB 16 16 0 1 0 0
19 Scott Bull 25 qb 16 5 6 4 -8 0
57 Dan Bunz 23 MLB 16 16 1 13 0 13 0 3 9 0
10 Mike Connell 22 P 16 0 0 1 0 0
24 Chuck Crist 27 SS/fs 15 15 6 159 0 32 1 1 0 0
51 Randy Cross 24 C 9 9 1 0 0 0
17 Steve DeBerg 24 QB 12 11 9 2 -5 0
62 Walt Downing 22 RG 16 15 1 1 0 0
55 Bruce Elia 25 16 0 1 0 -15 0
71 Keith Fahnhorst 26 RT 15 15 0 1 0 0
38 Bob Ferrell 26 fb 16 8 5 0 0 0
75 Ed Galigher 28 RDT 15 15 0 3 0 0
86 Cedrick Hardman 30 RDE 16 16 0 1 13 0
50 Joe Harris 26 LLB 16 16 0 3 6 0
36 Paul Hofer 26 rb 16 6 4 4 3 0
21 Larry Jones 27 9 0 1 0 0 0
26 Bob Jury 23 ss 15 8 0 3 0 0
42 Tony Leonard 25 LCB 12 10 4 44 1 30 1 2 0 0
22 Eddie Lewis 25 RCB 16 16 3 17 0 11 0 1 24 0
81 Ken MacAfee 22 TE 13 13 0 1 0 0
76 Willie McCray 25 16 0 0 1 0 0
53 Dean Moore 23 16 0 0 1 0 0
58 Mark R. Nichols 22 15 0 1 0 0 0
42 Ricky Odom 22 3 3 2 19 0 19
78 Archie Reese 22 LDE 16 13 0 4 4 0
49 Vern Roberson 26 FS 16 12 1 31 0 31 0 2 0 0
84 Mike Shumann 23 6 1 2 0 0 0
32 O.J. Simpson 31 RB 10 10 5 1 0 0
88 Freddie Solomon 25 WR 16 15 5 4 -2 0
87 Jack Steptoe 22 RET 6 0 3 0 0 0
35 Elliott Walker 22 9 0 1 1 0 0
74 Jimmy Webb 26 LDT 16 16 0 1 0 0
30 Dave Williams 24 RET 16 0 6 3 0 0
Team Total 24.7 16 18 283 1 32 56 51 29 0
Opp Total 16 42 50 23 1

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
14 Ray Wersching 28 K 16 0 24 15 69
36 Paul Hofer 26 rb 16 6 7 42
32 O.J. Simpson 31 RB 10 10 1 2 18
88 Freddie Solomon 25 WR 16 15 1 2 18
33 Greg Boykin 25 FB 16 8 2 12
85 Paul Seal 26 te 14 5 2 12
84 Elmo Boyd 24 wr 9 5 1 6
19 Scott Bull 25 qb 16 5 1 6
17 Steve DeBerg 24 QB 12 11 1 6
38 Bob Ferrell 26 fb 16 8 1 6
42 Tony Leonard 25 LCB 12 10 1 6
81 Ken MacAfee 22 TE 13 13 1 6
87 Jack Steptoe 22 RET 6 0 1 6
30 Dave Williams 24 RET 16 0 1 6
Team Total 24.7 16 14 9 1 1 24 15 219
Opp Total 16 17 20 39 23 1 350