The 2018 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 69th in the National Football League (NFL), their 73rd overall, their fifth playing their home games at Levi's Stadium and their second under the head coach/general manager tandem of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.
After finishing 6âÂÂ10 from an 0âÂÂ9 start the previous year, the 49ers entered the season with high expectations and looked to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013. However, the 49ers' season ended with a record of 4âÂÂ12 and were plagued by multiple season-ending injuries, including running back Jerick McKinnon tearing his ACL in training camp and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tearing his ACL in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention following a Week 13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 15, however, the 49ers upset the Seahawks 26âÂÂ23 in overtime at home, snapping the 49ers' 10âÂÂgame losing streak to them that dated back to the 2013 NFC Championship Game. The win also stopped the Seahawks from clinching a playoff spot that week. The 49ers failed to improve on their 6âÂÂ10 record from last year. The 49ers also went 0âÂÂ8 on the road for the first time since 1979.
The 49ers defense would also go on to set multiple NFL records for futility. During the entire 16 game schedule of the 2018 NFL season, the 49ers defense would accumulate just two interceptions, breaking the previous mark of three. Incredibly, that included strike shortened NFL seasons. Putting that into perspective, a total of 40 different players throughout the league would go on to have more interceptions than the entire 49ers team. The 49ers would also have just seven total takeaways on the season, smashing the previous record of 11. Both records would stand until 2025, when the New York Jets would surpass both marks with zero interceptions and four turnovers in an even longer 17-game regular season. The 49ers were also last in the league with a âÂÂ25 turnover differential, the worst mark since 2008.
The 2018 49ers would go on to set one more notable "futility" mark after the team went 8âÂÂ0 to start the following season, thus giving the 2018 49ers the worst record in NFL history of any team that went on to go undefeated that far into the following season.
The 49ers entered free agency with the following:
Notes
Draft trades
Three interceptions by Jimmy Garoppolo, who earned his first loss as an NFL starter, would hurt the 49ers in the end. The 49ers lost 24âÂÂ16, with the difference being a Garoppolo pick-six as well several key drops by receivers. With the loss, the 49ers started their season 0-1 for the second consecutive season.
Despite the Lions' attempted comeback in the fourth quarter, the 49ers would hang on to win 30-27 as the team earns their first win of the season behind 2 touchdowns from Garoppolo and Matt Breida's 138 yards rushing. With the win, the 49ers evened their record to 1-1
Not only did the 49ers lose the game, Jimmy Garoppolo got carted off in the fourth quarter with a serious knee injury. The next day, an MRI further revealed that Garoppolo had torn his ACL, ruling him out for the rest of the season. The devastating loss dropped the 49ers to 1-2 on the season.
These two teams would meet again the following season in Super Bowl LIV, with the 49ers falling short 31âÂÂ20.
The first post-Garoppolo game of the season was a surprisingly competitive game, mostly due to safety Antone Exum getting a pick-six in the first quarter, but the 49ers still lost 29âÂÂ27 and dropped to 1âÂÂ3 on the season and 0âÂÂ1 after Garoppolo's injury.
Playing a winless Cardinals team desperately seeking a win, the 49ers held rookie quarterback Josh Rosen in check, but were hurt by five offensive turnovers, one of which resulted in a defensive touchdown for Arizona. The 49ers dropped to 1âÂÂ4 (0âÂÂ2 since Garoppolo's injury) heading into a Monday Night road game against the Packers.
The 49ers held a 30âÂÂ23 lead in the final three minutes, but Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to Davante Adams to tie the game with less than 2 minutes left. On the 49ers' next drive, a critical C. J. Beathard interception plus an illegal contact penalty on Richard Sherman in the final minute led to a 27-yard game-winning field goal by Mason Crosby to send the 49ers to a 33âÂÂ30 loss and a 1âÂÂ5 record heading into next week's home game against the undefeated Rams.
The loss to their NFC West and interstate rivals had the 49ers fall to 1-6 and 0-3 since Jimmy Garoppolo's injury. The 29-point margin was the 49ers' worst loss until Week 12 of the 2024 season.
With the loss, the 49ers dropped to 1âÂÂ7 and last place in the NFC West. They were also swept by the Cardinals for the 4th consecutive season.
This was the first start for Nick Mullens at quarterback, who replaced C. J. Beathard. The game was incredibly one-sided, with the 49ers winning by over 30 points. The win was the final Battle of the Bay tying up the overall series at 5 but the victory put the 49ers at 2-7 for the season.
With the loss, the 49ers fall to 2-8 this would secure their 5th consecutive season without a winning record.
With the loss, the 49ers fall to 2-9, securing their 4th consecutive losing season.
With the loss, the 49ers fall to 2-10 and 0-4 in the NFC West division.
With the victory, the 49ers snapped a 3 game losing streak and go up to 3-10 on the season.
This was the first time since 2013 that the 49ers beat the Seahawks, snapping a 10-game losing streak which dates back to the 2013 NFC Championship Game. This also prevented the Seahawks from clinching a Wild-Card Berth that week. The win would be the final win of the season putting the 49ers at 4-10.
The 49ers fall in the Levi's season finale, dropping them to 4-11 on the season.
With the loss, the 49ers finished 0âÂÂ8 on the road for the first time since 1979. The 49ers were swept by the Rams for the first time since 2004. During the season finale against the Rams, Kittle broke Travis Kelce's single-season receiving yards record for a tight end, less than an hour after Kelce broke the record, on a 43-yard touchdown and finished the season with 1,377 yards. The 49ers would end their season at 4-12.