1976: Jackson & Williams Lead 49ers to Upset of Vikings

The San Francisco 49ers were trying to remain in contention in the NFC West as they faced the Minnesota Vikings on November 29, 1976. Under the guidance of Head Coach Monte Clark, the 49ers had gotten off to a 6-1 start before dropping four straight games, and were now 6-5. To make matters worse, starting QB Jim Plunkett, an offseason acquisition from the Patriots, was injured and untested rookie QB Scott Bull, a sixth-round draft choice out of Arkansas, would have to start in his place. They did have a reliable ground game with HB Delvin Williams (pictured above) and FB Wilbur Jackson, and would be even more dependent upon them.

Minnesota was coached by Bud Grant for the tenth year and was used to contending, having topped the NFC Central in each of the last three seasons. The Vikings were 9-1-1 as they came to San Francisco. 36-year-old QB Fran Tarkenton was still one of the league’s best and the receiving corps was bolstered by the addition of wide receivers Ahmad Rashad, formerly with Buffalo, and rookie Sammy White. HB Chuck Foreman was outstanding both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield. The defense had been the team’s bedrock over the years and, while age was becoming a factor, it was still a tough unit.

There were 56,775 fans in attendance at Candlestick Park on a cool, clear Monday evening. The Vikings had the game’s first possession and punted. With Wilbur Jackson and Delvin Williams running effectively, the 49ers advanced 51 yards in eight plays. Jackson finished the drive off with a two-yard touchdown carry, Steve Mike-Mayer added the extra point, and San Francisco had the early 7-0 lead.

The Vikings responded with a promising drive that was fueled by the running of Chuck Foreman, who gained 27 yards on the first three plays. However, the visitors came up empty when the series stalled at the San Francisco 34 and Fred Cox was short on a 51-yard field goal attempt. Jackson (pictured below) carried five times for 21 yards and Williams had a 30-yard run as the Niners drove to the Minnesota eight, but they failed to add to their lead when Mike-Mayer hit the right upright on a 25-yard field goal try.

As the game headed into the second quarter, the Vikings had to punt and this time the 49ers didn’t come up empty. Jackson had a 24-yard run to advance the ball into Minnesota territory and Scott Bull threw to WR Jim Lash, an ex-Viking, for 10 yards. Bull was sacked for a ten-yard loss on third down, but Mike-Mayer was successful on a field goal from 45 yards and San Francisco was ahead by 10-0.

The Vikings put together a long drive of 85 yards in 17 plays. Facing a third-and-11 situation from their own 14, Fran Tarkenton threw to Ahmad Rashad for a 33-yard gain and a third-and-six play from the San Francisco 36 resulted in a Tarkenton completion to Foreman for nine yards. A pass interference penalty allowed Minnesota to convert another third down and the final play of the series resulted in a Tarkenton toss to Sammy White in the end zone for a 17-yard TD. Cox converted to make it a three-point game at 10-7.

The 49ers had to punt from deep in their own territory and the Vikings needed just five plays this time to score again. Tarkenton threw to Rashad for a 47-yard pickup and, two plays later, it was Tarkenton-to-Rashad once more for an eight-yard touchdown. DT Cleveland Elam blocked the extra point attempt but the visitors were ahead by 13-10 with 2:24 remaining in the first half.

San Francisco responded by advancing 83 yards in seven plays. Williams started the series off with a 23-yard run and, just after the two-minute warning, Bull completed a pass to WR Gene Washington for 16 more yards. A pass interference call on CB Nate Wright placed the ball on the Minnesota one, and Bull dove into the end zone from there for a TD. Mike-Mayer converted and the 49ers were back in front by 17-13 at halftime.

The 49ers had the ball first in the third quarter but FS Paul Krause intercepted a Bull pass and that resulted in Cox kicking a 37-yard field goal that narrowed the score to 17-16. Once again it was Jackson and Williams carrying the load as the Niners kept the ball on the ground, but the drive stalled at the Minnesota 30 and Mike-Mayer was short on a 47-yard try for a field goal.

The teams exchanged punts for the remainder of the period, but the 49ers were winning the field position battle and had advanced to the Minnesota 25 as the contest entered the fourth quarter. Mike-Mayer booted a 38-yard field goal early in the final period and San Francisco was up by four points.

The Vikings punted following their next series and, on the second play of the ensuing possession, Williams took off on a 26-yard run that put him over a thousand yards for the season. However, he also had to leave the game with a sprained ankle, hobbling off the field to a loud ovation from the crowd. The teams returned to exchanging punts and now it was Minnesota benefiting from the exchanges. A 44-yard kick by Neil Clabo had the 49ers pinned back at their five yard line with 9:38 remaining to play.

The Niners went three-and-out and punted, giving the Vikings possession at the San Francisco 24 following a 14-yard return by DB Autry Beamon. Foreman ran the ball three straight times and, after LB Skip Vanderbundt stopped him short of a first down on a three-yard carry, the Vikings faced fourth-and-one at the 15. Foreman carried once more, and this time it was LB Dave Washington stopping him for no gain.

The 49ers were unable to maintain control of the ball as Bull’s six-yard run on third down came up inches short of a first down and forced a punt. Minnesota still had 1:19 to work with after taking over at the San Francisco 47. On second down, following an incomplete pass, Tarkenton was penalized for intentional grounding in order to avoid being sacked for a sizeable loss. As it was, it cost the Vikings 15 yards and a down, and a completion to Rashad for seven yards had them facing fourth-and-18. Tarkenton threw to WR Bob Grim for a gain of 27 yards to keep the series alive, but two passes into the end zone fell incomplete as time ran out. The 49ers held on to win by a final score of 20-16.  

San Francisco had the edge in total yards (331 to 282), with 317 on the ground, and first downs (17 to 16). The 49ers also were credited with three sacks, to two for Minnesota, although they also suffered the game’s only turnover and drew more penalties (9 to 8). Both teams had problems with placekicking as Minnesota’s Fred Cox missed an extra point as well as a field goal attempt and Steve Mike-Mayer failed on two of four field goal tries.

Wilbur Jackson and Delvin Williams both gained over 150 rushing yards, with Jackson accumulating 156 on 30 carries that included a touchdown and Williams compiling 153 yards on 20 attempts despite being knocked out of the game with an injury during the fourth quarter. Scott Bull went to the air only eight times and completed three for 32 yards with one interception. Three receivers had a catch apiece for the 49ers, with Gene Washington gaining a team-leading 16 yards on his reception.

For the Vikings, Fran Tarkenton (pictured at right) completed 16 of 37 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns while giving up no interceptions. Ahmad Rashad had 6 receptions for 103 yards and a TD. Chuck Foreman rushed for 93 yards on 23 carries and gained another 23 yards on three catches.

“We wanted to run at them and that’s what we did,” explained Delvin Williams. “We ran it straight up the middle. Our plan was to run the ball and to pass as little as possible, to keep the pressure off Scott (Bull).”

The 49ers split their last two games of the season with Scott Bull at quarterback and finished with an 8-6 record that was good for second place in the AFC West but not good enough to qualify for the postseason. Minnesota recovered to win its last two games to once more top the NFC Central at 11-2-1 and advanced to the Super Bowl before losing to the Oakland Raiders.

Delvin Williams broke Joe Perry’s 22-year-old franchise rushing record with 1203 yards on 248 carries (4.9 avg.) and scored seven touchdowns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl. Wilbur Jackson gained 792 yards on 200 attempts (4.0 avg.) with one TD. Scott Bull ended up completing 21 of 48 passes for 252 yards (43.8 %) with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 66 yards and two TDs.

1978: Dolphins Trade Freddie Solomon to 49ers for Delvin Williams

On April 17, 1978 the Miami Dolphins dealt WR Freddie Solomon, safety Vern Roberson, and first and fifth round draft picks to San Francisco for RB Delvin Williams.

 “It was a stiff price to pay, but a lot of clubs were interested in Williams,” said Dolphins Head Coach Don Shula. “Williams is a complete back. He has the track record to show he can be a breakaway back. He is a fine pass receiver coming out of the backfield, which interested us a great deal.”

The 6’0”, 197-pound Williams (pictured above) had 2966 rushing yards for his career thus far, including 1203 in 1976. He was drafted by the 49ers in the second round out of Kansas in 1974. The Niners had four picks in the first two rounds and, looking to upgrade the running game, also took a halfback, Wilbur Jackson from Alabama, in the first round. Jackson got more attention initially and Williams ran the ball just 36 times for 201 yards as a rookie. However, Jackson had injury problems in ’75 and, with greater opportunity, Williams emerged to rush for 631 yards while averaging an outstanding 5.4 yards per carry and caught 34 passes for another 370 yards. Jackson was shifted to fullback and became part of an outstanding tandem with Williams, who ranked second in rushing in the NFC in 1976 and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

Williams had lesser numbers in 1977, dropping to 931 rushing yards with a 3.5-yard average, significantly lower than the 4.9 yards per carry of ’76. The acquisition of RB O.J. Simpson from the Bills, a San Francisco native, rendered Williams expendable and set the stage for the trade with Miami.

Freddie Solomon, at 5’11” and 185 pounds, had also been a second-round draft pick, taken by the Dolphins in 1975. A quarterback in college at Tampa, he was considered to be an outstanding all-around athlete entering the draft and was viewed as a prospect at several positions. Shula hoped he could be the replacement at wide receiver for the great Paul Warfield, who had departed for the World Football League, across from Nat Moore. He made more of an impression as a kick returner while catching 61 passes for 973 yards and five touchdowns. He did show promise, particularly in his second year, and had punt return touchdowns of 79 and 50 yards and a 90-yard kickoff return. In one 1976 game, gained 252 all-purpose yards. But Shula indicated that Solomon was not going to start for the Dolphins in ’78 due to the emergence of Duriel Harris, who had moved into the lineup.

“The writing has been on the wall for the last couple of weeks,” said Solomon. “There have been rumors in the newspapers and I thought that something was going to happen.”

Vern Roberson came to the Dolphins undrafted in 1977 and intercepted one pass as a reserve safety. He lasted one season with the 49ers, again picking off a pass and also recovering two fumbles. The first draft pick San Francisco received was used to take Dan Bunz, a linebacker from Long Beach State, and the fifth-round choice went for DB Bruce Threadgill out of Mississippi State. Bunz spent seven seasons with the Niners while Threadgill lasted one year as a reserve defensive back and quarterback before moving on to the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.

Williams proved to be an outstanding fit in Miami’s offense in 1978. Although slowed by an injury late in the season, he ran the ball 272 times for 1258 yards (4.6 avg.) and eight touchdowns and caught 18 passes for another 192 yards. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection and was also chosen to the Pro Bowl. The Dolphins, who had missed the postseason in the three previous years, qualified for an AFC Wild Card spot with an 11-5 record.  He played two more years for the Dolphins with less spectacular results, however. In 1979 the offense as a whole was less effective even though the club won the division title with a 10-6 tally. The return of FB Larry Csonka took carries away from Williams – the 33-year-old Csonka ran the ball 220 times for 837 yards while Williams had just 184 rushing attempts for 703 yards.

Csonka was gone in 1980 but Williams declined further as he ran for 671 yards on 187 carries and, while he pulled in 31 passes for 207 yards, young Tony Nathan was far more productive as a receiver out of the backfield with 57 receptions for 588 yards and five TDs. It was the end for Williams in Miami and, other than a brief appearance with Green Bay in 1981, the end of his career as well. With the Dolphins, Williams gained 2632 rushing yards and 13 TDs, most of which came in his big first season, and had 70 catches for 574 yards and one score. For his overall career, he ran for 5598 yards, caught 152 passes for 1415 yards, and scored a total of 39 touchdowns. He was twice selected to the Pro Bowl and received All-NFL recognition in 1978 alone.

Meanwhile, the 49ers were a dreadful 2-14 club in ’78. Both O.J. Simpson and Wilbur Jackson went down with injuries and Solomon saw some action at quarterback as well as wide receiver. Solomon (pictured above) did lead the club in pass receiving with 31 catches for 458 yards. San Francisco went 2-14 again in 1979, but with a new head coach and general manager, Bill Walsh, installing a pass-oriented West Coast offense, Solomon’s numbers improved to a team-leading 807 yards on 57 catches (one behind RB Paul Hofer) with seven TDs, and would likely have been better had he not worn down in the late going.

In 1980, the team began the improvement that would lead to much better results during the Walsh era and while Solomon was a productive receiver and deep threat, with 48 catches for 658 yards and eight touchdowns, Dwight Clark emerged on the other side with 82 receptions for 991 yards. Solomon also regained his form as a punt returner, averaging 11.0 yards on 27 returns that included two TDs. The 49ers exploded into a championship team in 1981 and Solomon played his part in what was his most productive year in the NFL. He had 59 receptions for 969 yards and a 16.4-yard average gain, his best since his second year with the Dolphins, while scoring another eight TDs. He also performed well in the postseason, catching 16 passes in three games and scoring touchdowns in the NFC Divisional playoff win over the Giants (he also gained 107 yards) and in the narrow NFC Championship victory over Dallas (although it was Clark scoring the winning TD on a play in which Solomon was the primary receiver).

Solomon lasted another four years with the 49ers. While pushed by Mike Wilson and track star Renaldo Nehemiah, his receptions declined but he was still an effective deep threat and his average gain increased, with a high of 21.4 in 1983. He had a career-high 10 touchdown receptions in ’84, on 40 catches with an 18.4-yard average. His last season, 1985, was the first for his illustrious successor, Jerry Rice (who he mentored). In eight years with San Francisco, Solomon had 310 catches for 4873 yards (15.7 avg.) and 43 touchdowns. In the postseason, he added another 34 receptions for 537 yards and six TDs. While he never received All-NFL or Pro Bowl recognition, Solomon proved to be a good fit in Bill Walsh’s offense and earned two Super Bowl rings along the way.