NFL Old School Game of the Week: Montana + Taylor Lead Niners to Comeback Win over Rams

49ers wide receiver John Taylor put together a historic performance against the Rams in 1989.

For a player that lined up alongside the greatest wide receiver of all time in Jerry Rice, John Taylor did not have a bad career.
In his nine-year career from 1987-95, Taylor caught 347 passes for 5,598 yards and score 43 touchdowns while being named to the Pro Bowl twice.
He also won three Super Bowl rings with the first one being the 49ers' legendary 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII where Taylor caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 34 seconds left.
Even though he caught the game-winning touchdown in the game, he was still in Rice's shadow as Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.
But one Monday night in December 1989, Taylor had the spotlight to himself as he put together a legendary performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
The 49ers were under the direction of first-year head coach George Seifert, who had taken over head coaching duties after Bill Walsh's retirement following their win in Super Bowl XXIII.
But with an offense which featured Rice, Taylor, running back Roger Craig and perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time in Joe Montana, Seifert's first year was less stressful as they entered the game with Los Angeles with a 11-2 record and one win away from their fourth straight NFC West division title and seventh in nine years.
Standing in their way of another NFC West division title were the Rams, who were 9-4 and one of only two teams who had defeated the 49ers in 1989 as they knocked off the San Francisco 13-12 in Candlestick Park in Week 4 of the season.
The Rams got off to a 5-0 start but then lost four games in a row before going on a four-game winning streak, which included a 20-17 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints where wide receiver Flipper Anderson set the NFL single game record for receiving yards as he picked up 336 yards on 15 catches.
With Anderson and quarterback Jim Everett at the helm of the offense, the Rams had the firepower to match the 49ers' legendary "West Coast Offense".
Plus, if they could pull off the win over the 49ers, they would be a game back of San Francisco with two weeks to go and would hold the tiebreaker for the division title if both teams ended the regular season with the same record.
So to say the game in Anaheim was a big deal, would be an understatement.

Joe Montana would complete 30 of 42 passes for 458 yards and throw three touchdowns, two of them to John Taylor.

The Rams got off to a hot start as they drove 75 yards in eight plays on the opening possession of the game as Everett connected with Anderson for 34 yards on the first play from scrimmage, then hit Ron Brown for 27 yards on a 3rd & 11, all leading to Greg Bell's three-yard touchdown run to give LA a 7-0 lead just 3:43 into the game.
Then after forcing a 49ers punt, the Rams would drive 66 yards in five plays with the key play being a 42-yard pass interference penalty on 49ers cornerback Daryl Pollard, leading to Everett's four-yard touchdown pass to Damone Johnson to increase the LA lead to 14-0 with 4:47 left in the opening quarter.
In a 14-point hole, the 49ers offense needed to get going but on the first play of their ensuing drive, Montana was picked off by Rams cornerback Leroy Irvin, whose 18-yard return gave the Rams the ball at the San Francisco 11-yard-line with a chance for another touchdown.
However, the 49ers defense would hold, forcing a 25-yard field goal by Mike Lansford which increased the Rams' lead to 17-0 with 2:56 left in the first quarter.
But holding the Rams to a field goal was the spark the 49ers needed as Terrence Flagler returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to the San Francisco 45-yard-line.
From there, Montana would complete four of his next five passes for 43 yards to set up a 1st & goal at the two-yard-line as the first quarter come to a close.
After the two teams walked down to the other end of the field, the Rams' defense would stiffen as they would not allow another yard, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Mike Cofer to get San Francisco on the scoreboard, but trailing 17-3.
Following an exchange of punts, the Rams got the ball at their 20-yard-line but were quickly in 49ers territory as Everett hit Anderson for 38 yards to begin the drive.
The Rams would drive to the four-yard-line where they lined up to kick a 21-yard field goal, only to have holder Pete Holohan take the snap and try to run it in for a touchdown.
But Holohan was tackled one yard short of the end zone by 49ers linebacker Mike Walter, giving the 49ers the ball at their one-yard-line, but still down 17-3.
Montana threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then hit tight end Brent Jones for seven yards to set up a 3rd & 3 when Taylor made his first big play of the game.
Montana took the snap, dropped back, and fired a pass for Taylor, who made the catch at the 49ers' 19-yard-line, then cut across the field toward the left sideline, where he faked out defensive back Anthony Newman at the San Francisco 47-yard-line, then ran down the left sideline for the remaining 53 yards to complete a 92-yard touchdown to bring the 49ers to within a touchdown at 17-10 with 2:27 left in the first half.

The 49ers defense would force the Rams to punt on their next possession to get the ball back at their 37-yard-line with 1:24 to go in the first half as Montana would complete five passes in a row to drive San Francisco to the Rams' five-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal with 17 seconds remaining before halftime.
That is when the 49ers started to go backwards as Montana threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then was sacked for a 12-yard loss by Rams linebacker Kevin Greene on 2nd down, then lost 10 more yards on a holding penalty which wiped out a 22-yard touchdown pass to Craig, which was followed by another loss of five yards on a false start on Cofer's 49-yard field goal.
In total, the 49ers went 32 yards in the wrong direction and would come away with no points as Cofer missed a 54-yard field goal as the first half came to an end with the Rams still leading 17-10.
The 49ers got the ball to start the second half but went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Rams, who took over at their 44-yard-line.
That is when Everett took command as he hit Holohan for 12 yards to begin the drive, then connected with Holohan again, this time for 16 yards to give LA a 1st down at the 49ers' 24-yard-line.
Everett would then connect with Buford McGee on back-to-back completions, with the second one being a 13-yard touchdown to push the Rams' lead back to double digits at 24-10 with 10:28 left in the third quarter.
After both teams punted on their next possessions, the 49ers got the ball at their 39-yard-line as they drove to the Rams' 12-yard-line in six plays with Montana accounted for all of the 49 yards on offense as he completed four passes for 34 yards and scrambled for 15 yards on two carries.
But on 1st down from the LA 12-yard-line, Montana was intercepted when his pass bounced off the hands of Craig and into the hands of Rams strong safety Michael Stewart, whose 35-yard return gave the Rams the ball at their 37-yard-line.
From there, the Rams would drive 58 yards in nine plays on a drive that would span into the 4th quarter and end with a 22-yard field goal by Lansford to increase the Rams' lead to 27-10 with 13:34 left in regulation.
Down by 17 points again, the 49ers needed "Montana Magic" if they were going to win or at least force the game into overtime.
They would get some of that magic on their ensuing possession as Montana connected with Taylor for 23 yards and then with Jones for 28 yards, leading to a seven-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wilson to cut the Rams' lead to 27-17 with just over 10 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.
But when the Rams got the ball back at their 26-yard-line for their next possession, it appeared LA was on the verge of putting the game away as they drove to the 49ers' four-yard-line where they had a 2nd & goal.
That is when Everett fumbled the snap from center which was recovered by 49ers linebacker Matt Millen at the San Francisco five-yard-line.
It would only take Montana one play to make the Rams pay as he hit Taylor in stride at the 16-yard-line, who then got away from three LA defenders as he once again cut toward the left sideline, where he ran untouched for his second 90+ yard touchdown of the game, this one for 95 yards.

However, Cofer would miss the extra point, keeping it a 27-23 game, which meant the 49ers would now need a touchdown for their next score, instead of a field goal which would have tied the game had Cofer made the extra point.
Nevertheless, the 49ers would get another gift courtesy of the Rams on the ensuing kickoff as Keith Henderson hit Brown on the kickoff, forcing a fumble which Henderson recovered to give San Francisco the ball at the Rams' 27-yard-line with 6:15 left in the game.
Taylor would strike again as he caught a 15-yard pass on 3rd & 5 from the 22-yard-line, setting up Craig's one-yard touchdown run, which gave the 49ers their first lead of the game at 30-27 with 3:42 left in regulation.
The Rams got the ball at their 20-yard-line but after Everett was sacked by 49ers defensive end Pierce Holt, LA head coach John Robinson sent in the punting unit as LA faced a 4th & 17 situation.
Dale Hatcher would get off a 42-yard punt which was returned by Taylor for nine yards, setting the 49ers shop at the LA 46-yard-line with 2:35 left and needed a 1st down to win the game.
After Craig ran for five yards on back-to-back carries and the Rams burned their two remaining timeouts, the 49ers were faced with a 3rd & 5 at the LA 41-yard-line with 2:20 to go.
That is when Montana would connect with Taylor for the 11th and final time in the game, this one for nine yards to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Rams' 32-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.
Montana would take a knee on the next three snaps to run out the clock to complete the improbable comeback as the 49ers came away with a 30-27 win and the NFC West title as Taylor finished the game with 11 catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rams would recover from the 49ers loss to win their last two game of the regular season to finish with a 11-5 record and earn the final Wild Card spot in the NFC while San Francisco would win their last two games to finish with a 14-2 and earn home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Rams would go on the road and knock off the Philadelphia Eagles 21-7 in the NFC Wild Card Game, then upset the New York Giants 19-13 in overtime on Flipper Anderson's game-winning 30-yard touchdown pass.
This would set up a rematch with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, who demolished the Minnesota Vikings 41-13, thanks to Montana's four touchdown passes.
In the title game, Montana would complete 26 of 30 passes for 262 yards and throw two touchdowns, one of them to Taylor as the 49ers stomped the Rams 30-3 to earn their fourth trip to the Super Bowl in nine yards, where they destroyed the Denver Broncos 55-10 for their fourth Super Bowl title.