1953 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1953 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's fourth season in the NFL, and were coming off a 7–5–0 record in 1952.
The 49ers would play consistent football all season long, never losing consecutive games throughout the season en route to a franchise best 9–3–0 record. However, the 49ers would lose both games against the Detroit Lions, who finished the season 10–2–0 to win the Western Conference and earn a spot in the NFL Championship game.
Offensively, San Francisco was led by quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who threw for 2121 yards and 20 TD's while completing 57.5% of his passes. Running back Joe Perry had another great season, rushing for 1018 yards along with 10 TD's, while Hugh McElhenny rushed for 503 yards and 3 TD's, and caught 30 passes for 474 yards and 6 TD's. Wide receiver Billy Wilson would catch a team high 51 passes for 840 yards and 10 TD's.
Schedule
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 27 | Philadelphia Eagles | 31–21 | San Francisco 49ers | 1–0–0 | 25,000 |
| 2 | October 4 | Los Angeles Rams | 31–30 | San Francisco 49ers | 2–0–0 | 41,446 |
| 3 | October 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 24–21 | Detroit Lions | 2–1–0 | 56,080 |
| 4 | October 18 | San Francisco 49ers | 35–28 | Chicago Bears | 3–1–0 | 36,909 |
| 5 | October 25 | Detroit Lions | 14–10 | San Francisco 49ers | 3–2–0 | 52,300 |
| 6 | November 1 | Chicago Bears | 24–14 | San Francisco 49ers | 4–2–0 | 26,308 |
| 7 | November 8 | San Francisco 49ers | 31–27 | Los Angeles Rams | 5–2–0 | 85,856 |
| 8 | November 15 | San Francisco 49ers | 23–21 | Cleveland Browns | 5–3–0 | 80,698 |
| 9 | November 22 | San Francisco 49ers | 37–7 | Green Bay Packers | 6–3–0 | 16,378 |
| 10 | November 29 | San Francisco 49ers | 38–21 | Baltimore Colts | 7–3–0 | 26,005 |
| 11 | December 6 | Green Bay Packers | 48–14 | San Francisco 49ers | 8–3–0 | 31,337 |
| 12 | December 13 | Baltimore Colts | 45–14 | San Francisco 49ers | 9–3–0 | 23,932 |
Game summaries
Week 1
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|
| Eagles |
7 |
0 | 7 | 7 |
21 |
| • 49ers |
14 |
3 | 7 | 7 |
31 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
|
| Q1 |
| SF | Arenas 18 yard pass from Tittle (Soltau kick) | SF 7–0 |
|
| Q1 |
| PHI | Burk 1 yard run (Walston kick) | Tie 7–7 |
|
| Q1 |
| SF | Tittle 1 yard run (Soltau kick) | SF 14–7 |
|
| Q2 |
| SF | Soltau 39 yard field goal | SF 17–7 |
|
| Q3 |
| SF | Wilson 39 yard pass from Tittle (Soltau kick) | SF 24–7 |
|
| Q3 |
| PHI | Walston 3 yard pass from Burk (Walston kick) | SF 24–14 |
|
| Q4 |
| SF | Wilson 37 yard pass from Tittle (Soltau kick) | SF 31–14 |
|
| Q4 |
| PHI | Pihos 10 yard pass from Thomason (Pollard kick) | SF 31–21 |
|
[1]
Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Pro Bowl
San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl:
References
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