The wildly creative head coach, dialing up plays that confound one opponent after another. The young defensive stalwarts, savvy beyond their years. The gauntlet of cliffhangers and nail-biters. A dormant franchise suddenly jump-started to life.
The 1981 49ers have seen that movie. Thirty-eight years ago they were sad sacks, afterthoughts. Then they rewrote the narrative and became a dynasty.
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It is unsure how this season will turn out for the 2019 49ers. But it appears this team is reading the 1981 team’s playbook. You can see the family resemblance.
“Those two teams definitely have one thing in common,” said Randy Cross, a guard on the 1981 team, “a point of reference why they should enjoy winning.