NFL Recap (San Francisco-New England)
Posted: Sun December 20, 1998 at 10:28 p.m. EST
NEW ENGLAND 24, SAN FRANCISCO 21
FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Even a plethora of injuries could
not prevent the New
England Patriots from making the playoffs.
Adam Vinatieri's
35-yard field goal with three seconds remaining lifted the Patriots to a
come-from-behind 24-21 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The
win, coupled with Tennessee's 30-22 loss to Green Bay, puts the Patriots
(9-6) in the postseason for the third straight year.
It was quite an achievement for a team forced to start eight-year
backup Scott Zolak at
quarterback for the injured Drew Bledsoe, who is
nursing a fractured right index finger. New England also played without
star receiver Terry
Glenn, who suffered a broken ankle last week.
Despite the absence of defensive standouts Willie McGinest and Ted Johnson, the Patriots
blanked the 49ers' vaunted offense in the second half. Niners Pro Bowl
quarterback Steve Young
was sacked five times and intercepted twice.
"Our defense in the second half was pretty incredible," said Patriots
Pro Bowl cornerback Ty
Law, who recorded his league-leading ninth interception of the season.
"When you take a look at their players...what a great defensive gameplan by
Steve Sidwell (defensive coordinator)."
The 49ers (11-4) began the day one game behind Atlanta in the NFC West
race, but the Falcons clinched the division title with a 24-17 win over
Detroit later in the afternoon. San Francisco will play Green Bay in the
wild-card round.
With the Patriots trailing 21-14, safety Willie Clay intercepted a
pass intended for Terrell
Owens at the San Francisco 49-yard line with 12:18 remaining.
Zolak then made a number of big plays, completing 4-of-6 passes for 48
yards. He hit rookie Tony
Simmons with a 20-yard pass on 3rd-and-17, connected with Simmons on a
13-yard pass following a sack and hit tight end Ben Coates with a
four-yard pass on a 4th-and-2 to the San Francisco 9.
Two plays later, Robert Edwards scored on a
five-yard run to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:34 left.
"I've never played in a game with quite this much significance," said
Zolak. "It's great to be part of a win that gets you in the playoffs."
New England's defense then stepped up with two stops of the 49ers.
With a 3rd-and-1 at its own 20, Young was sacked by rookie defensive end Greg Spires for a 10-yard
loss. Spires was filling in for McGinest, who has missed six games with a
strained groin.
Troy Brown then
returned the ensuing 45-yard punt a total of 14 yards to the San Francisco
41 with 1:48 left.
Edwards then carried the Patriots into field-goal position, gaining 19
yards on four carries to the San Francisco 22. A facemask penalty on Niners
linebacker Winfred
Tubbs following Edwards' fourth carry put the ball on the San Francisco
17 with 18 seconds left.
After Zolak kneeled down with the ball in the middle of the field,
Vinatieri drilled the game-winning field goal to give New England only its
second win in nine career meetings against the 49ers.
Zolak finished 14-of-30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns with two
interceptions. He hit Edwards with a 19-yard scoring play and connected
with Shawn Jefferson on
a 61-yard touchdown in the first half.
"My offensive line kept my jersey clean pretty much the whole day,"
said Zolak, who was sacked just once. "That's where the credit goes today."
"All you can say about Zolak is he got it done," said Niners coach
Steve Mariucci. "He played well enough to win."
Edwards rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries to become the third
Patriots rookie to reach the 1,000-yard mark. He has rushed for 1,068
yards this season.
Young completed 18-of-23 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns, but
attempted just eight passes in the second half. Young connected with fellow
Pro Bowler Jerry Rice on
a 75-yard touchdown and hit Terrell Owens with a seven-yard scoring play in
a 21-point second quarter for San Francisco.
"I thought last week we were pretty aggressive in the second half,"
said Young. "But this time, we just tried to run the ball. But give them
credit. They stopped us when they needed to and won the game."
The 49ers scored on the final play of the half when Ty Detmer, the backup
quarterback, turned a mishandled snap on an attempted field goal into a
25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Irv Smith.
Rice had five catches for 116 yards, but had just one reception for 10
yards in the second half.
Pro Bowl running back Garrison Hearst, coming
off a club-record 198-yard rushing performance Monday night against
Detroit, produced 107 yards on 27 carries for the Niners. It was the sixth
100-yard game of the year for Hearst, who has rushed for 1,549 yards this
season.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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