2022 San Francisco 49ers season

2022 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerJed York
General managerJohn Lynch
Head coachKyle Shanahan
Home fieldLevi's Stadium
Results
Record13–4
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Seahawks) 41–23
Won Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Cowboys) 19–12
Lost NFC Championship
(at Eagles) 7–31
Pro Bowlers
7
AP All-Pros
6
Uniform

The 2022 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 73rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 77th overall, and their sixth under the head coach/general manager tandem of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.

After having an underwhelming start, with notable season-ending injuries,[1] combined with a 3–4 start[2] before the bye week, the 49ers won the rest of their games,[3] improving on their 10–7 record from the previous year after a Week 16 win over the Washington Commanders.[4] With a Week 15 win against the Seattle Seahawks, and with the Rams and Cardinals both being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they won the NFC West for the first time since 2019 and clinched a playoff berth,[5] also becoming the NFL's first team this season to win their division. The 49ers swept the NFC West for the first time since 1997,[6] which included sweeping the Seahawks for the first time since 2011.[7] With a 41–23 victory over the Seahawks in the Wild Card round,[8] San Francisco completed a 3–0 sweep of all three games played against Seattle. The next week, the 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 19–12 in the Divisional round,[9] defeating them in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The 49ers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–7 in the NFC Championship in which injuries to third-stringer Brock Purdy and fourth-stringer Josh Johnson during the game and first-stringer Trey Lance and second-stringer Jimmy Garoppolo previously in the season made the 49ers unable to stay competitive.[10]

The season was highlighted by the emergence of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, taken last in the 2022 NFL draft, who started after an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo (who himself replaced the injured Trey Lance) and went 5–0 as the starter to end the regular season before winning his first two playoff games. The 49ers were well-balanced and dominant on both sides of the ball during the season. On offense, they finished 5th in total offense with 365 yards per game and 6th in scoring, averaging 26.5 points a game, while also finishing first in the league in plus/minus differential with a +173. On defense, they were even more dominant, as they finished first in the league in both total defense and defensive scoring (306 yards per game and 16.3 points per game respectively). They also finished first in the league in turnover differential with a +13, which included 20 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.[11]

Jordan Matthews missed the 2022 season after tearing his ACL in practice.

  1. ^ "2022 San Francisco 49ers Injuries". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Patrick Mahomes' 3 TDs lead Chiefs past 49ers 44-23". ESPN.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Pallares, Lindsey (January 8, 2023). "49ers Clinch the No. 2 Seed in the NFC; 8 Takeaways from #AZvsSF". 49ers.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Dajani, Jordan (December 24, 2022). "49ers vs. Commanders score, takeaways: George Kittle's huge day powers San Francisco to eighth straight win". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Henderson, Brady; Wagoner, Nick (December 15, 2022). "Brock Purdy and the 49ers breeze past Seahawks to clinch NFC West". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Pallares, Lindsey (January 9, 2023). "Shanahan Breaks Down 49ers Wild Card Matchup vs. Seahawks". 49ers.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "49ers Sweep the Seahawks; Stats and Facts from #SFvsSEA". 49ers.com. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Tyler (January 15, 2023). "49ers vs. Seahawks score, takeaways: Brock Purdy makes playoff history, accounts for 4 TDs in rout of Seattle". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys 19-12 to set up NFC Championship meeting with Eagles in Philadelphia". SkySports.com. January 23, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "49ers vs. Eagles highlights: Philly dominated NFC Championship Game". FoxSports.com. January 29, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "ESPN NFL stats". ESPN.