2018 San Francisco 49ers season
The 2018 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 69th in the National Football League, 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 6–10 from a 0–9 start in the previous year, the 49ers were looking to improve from that record and make the playoffs for the first time since 2013. However, the 49ers' season ended with a record of 4–12 and were plagued by multiple season-ending injuries, which have included RB Jerick McKinnon tearing his ACL in training camp and QB Jimmy Garoppolo also 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 26–23 in overtime at home, snapping the 49ers' 10–game losing streak to them that dated back to 2013 Playoffs. The win also stopped the Seahawks from clinching a playoff spot that week. The 49ers failed to improve on their 6–10 record from last year. The 49ers also went 0–8 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. The 49ers were also last in the league with a −25 turnover differential, the worst mark since 2008.
The 2018 49ers would go on to set one more notable "futility" mark after the team went 8–0 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.
Offseason
Roster changes
Free agency
The 49ers entered free agency with the following:Signings
Departures
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 9 | Mike McGlinchey | OT | Notre Dame | |
| 2 | 44 | Dante Pettis | WR | Washington | from Washington |
| 3 | 70 | Fred Warner | LB | BYU | from Chicago |
| 3 | 95 | Tarvarius Moore | S | Southern Miss | from New England |
| 4 | 128 | Kentavius Street | DE | NC State | from Pittsburgh |
| 5 | 142 | D. J. Reed | CB | Kansas State | from Denver via Washington |
| 6 | 184 | Marcell Harris | S | Florida | |
| 7 | 233 | Jullian Taylor | DT | Temple | from Tampa Bay via Miami |
| 7 | 240 | Richie James | WR | Middle Tennessee | from Kansas City |
Notes
- The 49ers finished with the same overall record and strength of schedule as the Oakland Raiders at the end of the season, and their selecting order was determined by way of a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine in early 2018. Both teams will then rotate with the Miami Dolphins, selecting 9th, 10th and 11th in each round. The 49ers won the coin toss.
- The 49ers traded a second-round selection to New England in exchange for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
- The 49ers traded their third-round selection in 2017 to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' second-round selection and their seventh-round selection in 2017.
- The 49ers traded their first-round selection in 2017 to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's third-round selection, and their first-, third- and fourth-round selections in 2017.
- The 49ers traded their fourth-round selection to Denver in exchange for Denver's fifth-round selection in 2017 and running back Kapri Bibbs.
- The 49ers traded their fifth-round selection and tight end Vance McDonald to Pittsburgh in exchange for Pittsburgh's fourth-round selection.
- The 49ers traded cornerback Rashard Robinson to the New York Jets in exchange for the Jets' fifth-round selection.
- The 49ers traded their seventh-round selection and center Daniel Kilgore to Miami in exchange for the seventh-round selection Miami acquired from Tampa Bay.
- The 49ers traded cornerback Kenneth Acker to Kansas City in exchange for Kansas City's seventh-round selection.
- The 49ers traded their fifth-round selection and OT Trent Brown to New England in exchange for the third-round selection.
Undrafted free agents
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Notes- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
- Games highlighted in green means win, red = loss
Game summaries
Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
Three interceptions by Jimmy Garoppolo, who earned his first loss as an NFL starter, would hurt the 49ers in the end. The 49ers lost 24-16, with the difference being a Garoppolo pick-six as well several key drops by receivers.Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
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 TDs from Garoppolo and Matt Breida's 138 yards rushing.Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
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.These two teams would meet again the following season in Super Bowl LIV, with the 49ers falling short 31-20.