The season-opening NFL game in San Francisco on September
6, 1998 featured the 49ers, a perennial contender, hosting the New York Jets, a
team that was on the rise.
The 49ers were a savvy veteran club that was used to
winning, having been to the postseason in each of the previous six seasons and
16 of the past 18 years. Steve Mariucci had taken over as head coach in 1997
and the result was a conference-best 13-3 record and an appearance in the NFC
Championship game. 36-year-old QB Steve Young routinely won passing titles, and
while there were concerns that he could no longer deliver the long ball, the
return of star WR Jerry Rice, who was lost for the year in the first week of
‘97, was expected to help, even coming off of two knee surgeries.
New York was just two years removed from a dreadful 1-15
campaign in 1996 but had perked up considerably to 9-7 in the first year under
Head Coach Bill Parcells. QB Glenn Foley, taking over for the departed Neil O’Donnell,
brought a gunslinger attitude to the offense but was also inexperienced, and
underachieving veteran QB Vinny Testaverde was signed during the offseason. RB
Curtis Martin was obtained from New England, where he had previously played
with distinction under Parcells, and there was a young pass receiving corps led
by brash WR Keyshawn Johnson. The team was in rebuilding mode but appeared
poised to move up.
There were 64,419 fans in attendance on an unseasonably
warm day at 3Com Park. The 49ers had the game’s first possession but turned the
ball over when a pass by Steve Young was intercepted by FS Kevin Williams, who
returned it 34 yards to the San Francisco 27. Glenn Foley (pictured at right) completed two passes
to Keyshawn Johnson and John Hall kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the Jets
the early lead.
The teams exchanged punts before San Francisco put
together an 84-yard drive in eight plays. Young completed four passes along the
way, with the longest to WR Terrell Owens for 23 yards, and RB Garrison Hearst (pictured at top) capped the series with a five-yard touchdown run up the middle. Wade Richey
kicked the extra point and the home team was ahead by 7-3.
The Jets had the ball for the remainder of the opening
period, but on the first play of the second quarter CB Antonio Langham picked
off a Foley pass to give the 49ers possession at the New York 48. Hearst burst
up the middle for 19 yards on first down, but three consecutive incomplete
passes forced a long field goal try by Richey, and his 47-yard attempt missed
the mark. Seven plays later, Foley connected with Johnson for a 41-yard TD and,
with Hall’s point after, the visitors were back on top by 10-7.
The teams again traded punts before the 49ers put
together a seven-play, 63-yard scoring drive. Young threw to WR J.J. Stokes for
25 yards and followed up with a completion to FB Marc Edwards for 16 yards to
reach the New York 17. The drive bogged down but a defensive holding penalty on
a third-and-six play gave the Niners a first down at the eight and, two plays
later, it was Young to Stokes for a six-yard touchdown. Richey’s conversion had
San Francisco ahead by 14-10.
There were still two minutes remaining in the first half
following RB Leon Johnson’s 33-yard kickoff return, and Foley fired passes to WR
Dedric Ward for 19 yards and Keyshawn Johnson for nine to reach the San
Francisco 32. The Jets got a break when an interception was nullified by a
penalty on the 49ers and, three plays later, Foley tossed a pass to WR Wayne
Chrebet for a six-yard TD with 37 seconds left on the clock. Hall booted the
extra point and, in see-saw fashion, the Jets took a 17-14 lead into halftime.
Following a possession by the Jets that concluded with a
punt to start the third quarter, the 49ers tied the score with a 38-yard drive
in seven plays that ended with a Richey field goal from 22 yards. However, New
York came right back when, on the first play of the next series, Foley threw to
Chrebet for a 48-yard gain to the San Francisco 30. Three plays later, with a
roughing-the-passer penalty mixed in to move the Jets closer, Foley connected
with Keyshawn Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown and, with Hall providing the
extra point, the visitors were up by 24-17.
The 49ers responded with a 68-yard series in seven plays
that featured Young completing consecutive passes to Owens for 19 yards and WR
Jerry Rice for 21. Facing fourth-and-one at the New York 14, it was Young to
Rice for a TD but the extra point attempt was blocked by DT Jason Ferguson and
New York remained in the lead by a point.
The Jets had the ball in a possession that extended into
the fourth quarter. Foley threw to Curtis Martin for 18 yards and to Chrebet
twice, once for eight yards in a third-and-seven situation and then for 22 to
get the ball to the San Francisco 29. But New York came up empty when the drive
stalled and Hall missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
The teams exchanged punts before the Jets advanced to
another score. Foley completed passes to Martin for 22 yards, Keyshawn Johnson
for 14, and Chrebet for 22 and, after Martin ran twice to get to the San
Francisco 14, Hall booted a 32-yard field goal to make the score 27-23.
After the ensuing kickoff, the 49ers took possession with
3:38 remaining in regulation. On first down, Young passed to Hearst for a
35-yard gain to the New York 41. Four plays later, it was Young to Stokes (pictured at left), who
out-jumped Kevin Williams and dove into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown
and, with Richey making the extra point, the Niners were in the lead by three
points at 30-27 with the clock down to 1:32.
There was still time for the Jets, and they drove 60
yards in 12 plays. Foley converted a third-and-ten play with a throw to Chrebet
for 19 yards and a fourth-and-ten situation with a toss to Ward for 22 to the
San Francisco 32. Another pass to Ward on third down picked up 19 yards and, as
time expired, Hall booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 30-30 and send the
contest into overtime.
The Jets had the ball first in the extra period but went
three-and-out. CB R.W. McQuarters returned Nick Gallery’s punt 16 yards to give
San Francisco good field position at the New York 43, but the 49ers were unable
to move and punted in return.
The visitors, helped by a face mask penalty, drove to
their 47 before having to punt again, and Gallery’s 49-yard kick had the 49ers
taking possession at their four yard line. But on the next play, Hearst broke
away off right tackle, stiff-armed Williams at the 20, and was off to the races
for a 96-yard touchdown run, reaching the end zone just ahead of LB Mo Lewis’
desperation tackle. In stunning fashion, San Francisco came away the winner by
a final score of 36-30.
The teams combined for 1003 yards, with the 49ers having
the edge (557 to 465) as well as in first downs (26 to 25). New York, whose
yardage total was its most in eight years, led in time of possession (34:43 to
29:25). Each club turned the ball over once.
Steve Young completed 26 of 46 passes for 363 yards and
three touchdowns while giving up one interception. Boosted by the game-winning
run that was the longest in franchise history, Garrison Hearst accumulated 187
yards on 20 carries that included two TDs. J.J. Stokes had 7 catches for 111
yards and two touchdowns and Jerry Rice pulled in 6 passes for 86 yards and a
score.
For the Jets, Glenn Foley had a career day as he
succeeded on 30 of 58 throws for 415 yards and three TDs with one interception.
There were two receivers with over a hundred yards led by Keyshawn Johnson, who
caught 9 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, along with Wayne Chrebet (pictured at right) with
6 receptions for 125 yards and a TD. Dedric Ward was four yards short of the
century mark as he gained 96 yards on five catches. Curtis Martin had a fairly
quiet rushing day, gaining 58 yards on 22 attempts, but also had four pass
receptions for 41 yards.
“It’s disappointing to fight that hard and lose,” said a
drained Coach Parcells. “You just put players in a position to make plays and
you’ve got to make them. Hearst was right there. We missed some tackles there.”
San Francisco went on to a 12-4 record that placed second
in the NFC West and qualified for a Wild Card playoff spot. The 49ers defeated
Green Bay in the first round before falling to Atlanta at the Divisional level.
The Jets were a bigger surprise in also going 12-4 and topping the AFC East.
They reached the AFC Championship game before finally succumbing to the Denver
Broncos.
Steve Young had another stellar year, passing for a career-high
4170 yards and a league-leading 36 touchdowns. He was chosen to a seventh
straight Pro Bowl, his last. Garrison Hearst went on to gain 1570 yards on 310
carries with seven TDs and was also a Pro Bowl selection for the first time.
J.J. Stokes achieved career bests with 63 pass receptions for 770 yards and
eight touchdowns and Jerry Rice returned to Pro Bowl form as he caught 82
passes for 1157 yards and nine TDs.
For Glenn Foley, the big opening performance against the
49ers proved to be the highlight of his season. Two lackluster starts while
also being sidelined with a rib injury in between caused him to be relegated to
the bench in favor of Vinny Testaverde, who put together a Pro Bowl year in
quarterbacking the Jets to the postseason.
