1954 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1954 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League and their 9th overall. The team was coming off a 9–3 record in 1953, finishing one game behind the Detroit Lions for a spot in the championship game.

1954 San Francisco 49ers season
Head coachBuck Shaw
Home fieldKezar Stadium
Results
Record7–4–1
Division place3rd NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 49ers would get off to a strong start, beginning the season with a 4–0–1 record, as they were trying to finish on top of the conference for the 1st time in team history. The Niners would lose their next 2 games against the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams by close scores, however, they still found themselves in the playoff race as no team was running away with the conference. The 4–2–1 Niners had a huge game against the 5–1–0 Detroit Lions, which was a must-win game for San Francisco. The Lions though had other ideas, demolishing the 49ers 48–7, as they fell to a 4–3–1 record. San Francisco would finish the season with 3 wins in their final 4 games, and finished the year in 3rd place with a 7–4–1 record.

Offensively, Y. A. Tittle had another strong season, throwing for 2,205 yards and 9 touchdowns, while completing 57.6% of his passes. Billy Wilson led the club with 60 receptions and 830 yards and 5 touchdowns. San Francisco's ground attack was overwhelming. Joe Perry rushed for an NFL high 1,049 yards, and John Johnson rushed for 681 yards (2nd highest total in the NFL) and a team-high 9 touchdowns. Hugh McElhenny was leading the team with 8.0 yards per carry until he separated his shoulder on October 31 against the Chicago Bears.

Joe Perry (FB), Bruno Banducci (G) and Leo Nomellini (DT) made the Associated Press All-Pro team. Hugh McElhenny (HB), Billy Wilson (E), and Bob St. Clair (T) made the second squad.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 26 Washington Redskins W 41–7 1–0 Kezar Stadium 32,085 Recap
2 October 3 Los Angeles Rams T 24–24 1–0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 79,208 Recap
3 October 10 Green Bay Packers W 23–17 2–0–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 15,571 Recap
4 October 17 Chicago Bears W 31–24 3–0–1 Wrigley Field 42,935 Recap
5 October 24 Detroit Lions W 37–31 4–0–1 Kezar Stadium 58,891 Recap
6 October 31 Chicago Bears L 27–31 4–1–1 Kezar Stadium 49,833 Recap
7 November 7 Los Angeles Rams L 34–42 4–2–1 Kezar Stadium 58,758 Recap
8 November 14 Detroit Lions L 7–48 4–3–1 Briggs Stadium 58,431 Recap
9 November 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–3 5–3–1 Forbes Field 37,001 Recap
10 November 28 Baltimore Colts L 13–17 5–4–1 Memorial Stadium 23,875 Recap
11 December 5 Green Bay Packers W 35–0 6–4–1 Kezar Stadium 32,012 Recap
12 December 11 Baltimore Colts W 10–7 7–4–1 Kezar Stadium 25,456 Recap

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions 9 2 1 .818 8–2 337 189 W1
Chicago Bears 8 4 0 .667 7–3 301 279 W4
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 313 251 W2
Los Angeles Rams 6 5 1 .545 4–5–1 314 285 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 8 0 .333 3–7 234 251 L4
Baltimore Colts 3 9 0 .250 2–8 131 279 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

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