1954 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1954 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's fifth season in the National Football League (NFL), and it was coming off a 9–3–0 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
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordAttendance
1September 26Washington Redskins41–7San Francisco 49ers1–0–032,085
2October 3San Francisco 49ers24–24Los Angeles Rams1–0–179,208
3October 10San Francisco 49ers23–17Green Bay Packers2–0–115,571
4October 17San Francisco 49ers31–24Chicago Bears3–0–142,935
5October 24Detroit Lions37–31San Francisco 49ers4–0–158,891
6October 31Chicago Bears31–27San Francisco 49ers4–1–149,833
7November 7Los Angeles Rams42–34San Francisco 49ers4–2–158,758
8November 14San Francisco 49ers48–7Detroit Lions4–3–158,431
9November 20San Francisco 49ers31–3Pittsburgh Steelers5–3–137,001
10November 28San Francisco 49ers17–13Baltimore Colts5–4–123,875
11December 5Green Bay Packers35–0San Francisco 49ers6–4–132,012
12December 11Baltimore Colts10–7San Francisco 49ers7–4–125,456

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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