SAN FRANCISCO – These may be aging former champions and they certainly showed signs of vulnerability yesterday as they met for the first time in an NFC wild card playoff game. But for one afternoon, the 49ers and Packers allowed the NFL to remember what is is that is so enduring about these two proud franchises.
In a game of wild swings, comebacks, turnovers and blown plays by future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Steve Young and Brett Favre, it was Young and the Niners that were left standing. Completing a miraclefinish, Young fired a 25-yard missle that landed in the hands of Terrell Owens with only three seconds left, a touchdown strike that propelled the 49ers to an improbable and thrilling 30-27 victory over the Packers at dazed 3Com Park.
When Favre tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Antonio Freeman with 1:56 remaining, it appeared as if the Packers would continue their dominance of the 49ers. Green Bay had ended the Niners season the past three years and came in with a five-game winning streak over Young and San Francisco.
Young, though, got the last laugh in defeating the Packers for the first time in his career (he had been 0-8). The gutty left-hander was brilliant in directing a nine-play, 76-yard drive that culminated with one of the finest throws of his career.
On third-and-3 from the Packers 25, with no time outs remaining, Owens lined up in the slot and simply ran past safety LeRoy Butler. Young’s fastball found it’s target, and Owens held on, making the catch between Darren Sharper and Pat Terrell to set off a joyous celebration and leave Favre and the Packers stunned.
The 49ers (13-4) move on to face the Falcons (14-2) Saturday in an NFC divisional playoff game inside the Georgia Dome.
The third lead change of the second half put San Francisco ahead 23-20 with 6:12 left on Wade Richey’s third field goal, a 40-yarder that was set up by Young’s perfect throw to Terrell Owens down the left sideline. Owens, who earlier had a costly fumble and dropped four passes, was blanketed by Tyrone Williams but made the leaping catch.
Favre, plagued by interceptions (23) all season, served up another, and this one was awful. Favre on first down looked for Tyrone Davis but his lob was far short of the mark and was picked off by Darnell Walker with 5:53 left.
Fittingly, the 49ers pulled even at 17 by taking advantage of a turnover. Charles Haley, signed one day earlier after being out of football for more than two years, put some heat on Favre, forcing a throw over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Lee Woodall. While the return was going on, defensive tackle Gabe Wilkins, a former Packer, charged at Favre, prompting a wild scene as Favre and Wilkins exchanged punches, with Haley acting as peacemaker.
Five plays later, Young connected with tight end Greg Clark for a touchdown for the second time and the Niners and Packers were tied at 17 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
The 49ers took their first lead since 7-3 in the first quarter, and Garrison Hearst was the key to the scoring drive. Hearst did not practice much this week because of a strained right hamstring, but he was a force against the Packers. His 24-yard run, finished by a rugged stiff-arm into the facemask of safety LeRoy Butler, gave Hearst 112 yards mid-way through the third quarter.
Heart’s run, combined with a 17-yard pass interference penalty on Tyrone Williams, put Wade Richey in position to break a team playoff record with a 48-yard field goal. The 20-17 49ers lead didn’t last long, though, as Ryan Longwell’s 37-yard field goal made it 20-20. There was 11:51 remaining and these two former champions were headed to a fight to the finish.
These certainly looked like two old warhorses in the first half, as the two clubs took turns seeing which could screw up more than the other. There were five turnovers before halftime, the fifth coming with the 49ers threatening on the Packers 17. Young fired wide of Garrison Hearst and linebacker George Koonce came up with a diving interception, the second by Young. With the game tied at 10, the Packers took over on their 17-yard line and the Niners immediately breathed some life into a Green Bay drive with some bonehead moves on one play.
Favre threw incomplete on first down, but was leveled by defensive end Chris Doleman with a high body blow that was delivered well after Favre let to of the ball. As Favre writhed on the grass holding his midsection, the other defensive end, Roy Barker, taunted the fallen quarterback. Dumb move. Doleman was called for roughing the passer and Barker was called for unsportmanlike conduct, and the 30 yards in penalties put the Packers on their 47.
Favre made the 49ers pay for their indiscretions. He hit Robert Brooks over the middle for 24 yards, Antonio Freeman for 11 and Dorsey Levens for 13. Levens then completed the 83-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run and the Pack went in at halftime leading 17-10.
Earlier, there were misplays all around. Young somehow escaped the grasp of a blitzing LeRoy Butler for a 14-yard completion to Terrell Owens on the third play of the game, but Owens was stripped of the ball by Darren Sharper and teammate Pat Terrell recovered the fumble. Levens fumbled when hit by Merton Hanks, setting the Niners up on the Green Bay 19, leading to Young’s short scoring toss to tight end Greg Clark.
The 49ers were able to escape the first quarter leading 7-3, which was a triumph, considering they had been overwhelmed 53-6 by the Packers in the opening quarters of the five-game Green Bay winning streak. In the past, the Niners were blown away so early that it ruined their gameplan and put too much pressure on Young to mount a comeback. This time, the Niners kept things close.
The first-quarter woes might have been behind them, but on the first play of the second quarter, Antonio Freeman escaped the clutches of Merton Hanks in the back of the end zone and caught a 2-yard touchdown pass to put the Packers up 10-7.
