The San Francisco 49ers were cruising along at 8-2 as they hosted the rival Los Angeles Rams on November 20, 1994. Head Coach George Seifert’s team had an outstanding offense built around the nucleus of QB Steve Young, WR Jerry Rice (pictured at right), and RB Ricky Watters, and there were plenty of other fine players around them. The defense benefited from the addition of CB Deion Sanders and was anchored by young DTs Dana Stubblefield and Bryant Young.
The Rams, coached by Chuck Knox, were struggling at 4-6
and had been beaten handily by the 49ers at home earlier in the season. QB
Chris Miller was talented but injury prone and RB Jerome Bettis was having
difficulty duplicating his first-year exploits, although rookie WR Isaac Bruce
was showing promise.
There were 62,774 fans in attendance for the Sunday night
game at Candlestick Park. The 49ers took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards
in eight plays. Steve Young completed five passes, three of them to Jerry Rice
and the last to WR John Taylor for a seven-yard touchdown. Doug Brien added the
extra point.
The Rams responded with a seven-play drive of their own
that covered 48 yards. Chris Miller was sacked by DT Bryant Young for a loss of
eight yards on first down and had to leave the game, but backup QB Tommy Maddox
completed passes to RB David Lang for ten yards and WR Todd Kinchen for 39 to
the San Francisco 21. Los Angeles reached the 14 before the drive stalled and Tony
Zendejas kicked a 31-yard field goal.
San Francisco put together another methodical drive of 67
yards in 13 plays. Young completed five more passes, two of them to Ricky
Watters and two to Rice, the second for a seven-yard TD. Brien converted and
the Niners took a 14-3 lead into the second quarter.
LA benefited from a roughing-the-passer penalty on
Miller, who was back in the game, and two completions to Isaac Bruce picked up
18 yards to the San Francisco 10. Once again the Rams were unable to reach the
end zone, but Zendejas added another field goal from 27 yards to narrow the
home team’s lead to 14-6.
The scoring parade finally ended as the teams exchanged
punts. Starting from their own eight, the 49ers advanced 92 yards in 12 plays.
Watters gained 22 yards on two carries to start, RB Dexter Carter ran twice
more for 17 yards, and Young completed five passes and scrambled once for a
first down. Rice again had two catches, and again the second was good for a
touchdown, this time from six yards out. Brien added the PAT and the Niners
took a 21-6 lead into halftime.
The Rams took the second half kickoff and drove 70 yards
in six plays, the biggest of which was an end-around in which Kinchen raced 44
yards for a TD. The try to pass for two points failed and the score stayed at
21-12.
Once again the 49ers moved effectively down the field.
Young had completions to Rice for 29 yards and Watters for 14, but this time
they ended up with a field goal by Brien from 28 yards, still keeping them
comfortably in the lead by 24-12.
LA faced a third-and-12 situation on its next series but
Miller completed a pass to Kinchen for the needed yards and, three plays later,
the Rams pulled off another big play when Miller threw long down the left
sideline for WR Willie “Flipper” Anderson, who beat Deion Sanders and went the
distance for a 50-yard touchdown. Zendejas added the extra point and the
visitors were now just five points behind at 24-19.
On San Francisco’s second play after the ensuing kickoff,
Young (pictured at left) went deep for Watters to pick up 35 yards and, adding on an unnecessary
roughness penalty, the Niners advanced all the way to the LA 26. But the 49ers
were able to gain only three more yards and Brien’s 41-yard field goal attempt
was wide to the right.
The Rams were on the move as the game headed into the
fourth quarter. Miller completed passes to Anderson for 14 yards and Jerome
Bettis for 20 to reach the San Francisco 36. Two runs by Bettis, plus a
facemask penalty, picked up another 14 yards before Miller fired a pass toward
the goal line that WR Jessie Hester caught for a 22-yard TD. Bettis
successfully ran for a two-point conversion and the upset-minded Rams were
ahead by 27-24.
The 49ers again reached Los Angeles territory, but a
penalty for an illegal forward pass by Young, who was a yard past the line of
scrimmage on what would have been a long completion to TE Brent Jones, forced
them to punt. The Rams went three-and-out and had to punt in turn and the
49ers, starting from their 43, advanced back into LA territory. But after a
six-yard run by Watters gave the Niners a first down at the 25, Rice fumbled
when hit by LB Shane Conlan after catching a pass and DE Gerald Robinson
recovered for the Rams.
LA again couldn’t move on offense and punted following a short
series, and San Francisco responded with a 10-play, 67-yard drive. Young threw
to Jones for 19 yards and to Rice for 14 yards in a third-and-six situation. The
drive was capped by another Young pass to Rice that resulted in an 18-yard
touchdown. Brien’s extra point put the 49ers back on top by four.
The Rams regained possession with 1:56 remaining in
regulation. Miller passed them to the San Francisco 38, but a holding penalty
backed them up, Deion Sanders deflected a throw into the end zone that was
intended for Anderson, and Lang dropped a fourth-down pass to seal the 31-27
win for the 49ers.
San Francisco had significant edges in total yards (459
to 358) and first downs (32 to 17). They also recorded the game’s only two
sacks, but also the only turnover and led in penalties (7 for 60 yards to five
for 50).
Jerry Rice set a then- club record with 16 catches, good
for 165 yards and three TDs, and made up for his fourth quarter fumble with the
game-winning reception. Steve Young completed 30 of 44 passes for 325 yards and
four touchdowns with none intercepted and also ran for 23 yards on 10 carries.
Ricky Watters gained 81 yards on 20 rushing attempts and added 74 more yards on
five pass receptions. John Taylor also had five catches, for 49 yards and a
score.
For the Rams, Chris Miller (pictured above) was successful on 16 of 33
throws for 228 yards and two touchdowns, also with no interceptions. Willie
Anderson caught five passes for 99 yards and a TD while Todd Kinchen
contributed 51 yards on two receptions and had the one 44-yard scoring run,
which made him the team’s leading rusher. Jerome Bettis was held to 29 yards on
15 attempts.
San Francisco kept on winning, finishing atop the NFC
West with a league-best 13-3 record and going on to thrash San Diego in the
Super Bowl. The Rams didn’t win again the rest of the way, ending up at the
bottom of the division with a 4-12 tally. It was the franchise’s last season in
Los Angeles as it departed for St. Louis the following year.
Jerry Rice led the NFL with 1499 yards on 112 catches
that included 13 touchdowns. It marked his ninth consecutive season with over a
thousand receiving yards and he was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection
for the eighth time and a Pro Bowl selectee for the ninth straight year. Steve
Young led the league in passing with a 112.8 rating and in touchdown passes
with 35. He received consensus league MVP honors in addition to being a
first-team All-NFL choice for the third year in a row and a Pro Bowl selection.
