NFL Old School Game of the Week: Hearst's 96 OT TD Run Gives 49ers Season Opening Win over Jets

 

49ers running back Garrison Hearst(20) would run for 187 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns in the 49ers' win.

While the first Sunday of the NFL season is exciting, most NFL fans have a hard time remembering any close game or great play that often happen in Week 1.

That was not the case for the San Francisco 49ers' season opener with the New York Jets to begin the 1998 NFL season which featured one of the longest touchdown runs in NFL history.

The 49ers came into the 1998 season as Super Bowl contenders as the team was coming off a 14-2 regular season and a trip to the 1997 NFC Championship Game where they would fall to the Green Bay Packers.

Under second-year head coach Steve Marucci, the 49ers' offense was stacked they were led by quarterback Steve Young and the returning Jerry Rice, who had missed most of the 1997 season with knee injuries, to go along with running Garrison Hearst, who had rushed for 1,019 yards in his first season in San Francisco.

While the 49ers had Super Bowl aspirations, the Jets were just hoping to make the postseason for the first time since 1991 as the team was coming off a 9-7 season in 1997 during Bill Parcells' first year as Jets head coach.

The Jets had made a splash in free agency as they pried running back Curtis Martin from the New England Patriots to join an offense which featured former overall #1 pick Keyshawn Johnson at wide receiver and Glenn Foley at quarterback, taking over for Neil O' Donnell who left to join the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 49ers would get the ball to start the game as they drove from their 20-yard-line to their 42-yard-line until Young was intercepted by Jets free safety Kevin Williams, who returned it 34 yards to give the Jets the ball at the San Francisco 27-yard-line.

Two passes to Keyshawn Johnson for 18 yards help set up a 24-yard field goal by John Hall to give the Jets an early 3-0 lead.

Following an exchange of punts, the 49ers got the ball back at their 16-yard-line as Young would complete four passes for 72 yards on an eight-play, 84-yard drive which ended with Hearst running it in for a five-yard touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-3 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

The Jets would hold the ball for the rest of the first quarter but would give right it back to the 49ers on the first play of the second quarter when 49ers cornerback Antonio Langham intercepted a Foley pass to give San Francisco the ball at the New York 48-yard-line.

A 19-yard run by Hearst would put the 49ers in field goal range as Wade Richey would come on to attempt a 47-yard field goal, but his kick would be short to keep the score at 7-3 as the Jets would take over at their 37-yard-line.

The Jets would drive to the 49ers' 44-yard-line until they were faced with a 4th & 1 when Parcells decided to go for the 1st down when Martin ran for three yards to give New York a fresh set of downs at the 41-yard-line.

On the very next play, Foley went deep and hit Johnson on a deep post pattern for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 10-7 lead with 10:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Jets quarterback Glenn Foley completed 30 of 58 passes for 415 yards and threw three touchdowns.

After another exchange of punts, the 49ers had the ball at their 37-yard-line as Young completed passes of 25 yards to J.J. Stokes and 16 yards to fullback Marc Edwards to help set up Young's six-yard touchdown pass to Stokes to give the lead back to the 49ers at 14-10 with 2:11 left in the first half.

The Jets would get great field position to start its next drive as Leon Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the New York 40-yard-line as Foley completed passes of 19 yards to Dedric Ward and nine yards to Keyshawn Johnson to put the Jets at the 49ers' 32-yard-line.

That is when Foley was picked off by 49ers free safety Merton Hanks on a pass intended for Keyshawn, only to have it nullified because of a pass interference penalty on Langham, to give the Jets a 1st & goal at the 49ers' six-yard-line.

After two runs by Martin netted no yards, Foley found Wayne Chrebet in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 17-14 lead with 33 seconds left before halftime.

The 49ers would drive from their 20-yard-line to the Jets' 41-yard-line until time ran out in the first half with New York ahead 17-14 and set to get the ball to start the second half.

The Jets would be forced to punt after their opening possession of the second half as a short punt as the 49ers would take over at the New York 42-yard-line as a 26-yard pass to Stokes would help lead to a 22-yard field goal by Richey to tie the game at 17 with 9:05 to go in the third quarter.

It would take long for the Jets to respond as Foley hit Chrebet for 48 yards on the first play of their next possession which was followed by a roughing the passer penalty on 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young to put New York at the San Francisco 15-yard-line.

An incomplete pass and a six-yard loss on a Martin run would push the Jets back to the 49ers' 21-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 16 when Foley found Johnson again for a 21-yard touchdown to put New York on top 24-17 with 7:15 left in the third quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 32-yard-line as San Francisco would drive down the field on the left arm of Young as he was a perfect 5-of-5 for 62 yards on the seven-play, 68-yard drive which culminated with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Young to Rice to put the 49ers on the verge of tying the game once again.

However, Richey's extra point would be blocked by Jets defensive tackle Jason Ferguson to keep New York in the lead at 24-23 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

Steve Young(8) threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in the 49ers 1998 season opener.

The Jets would respond by driving 54 yards in nine plays to set up a 45-yard field goal attempt by Hall which sailed wide right to keep the score at 24-23 in favor of New York with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter.

The two teams would trade punts until the Jets got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Foley completed passes of 22 yards to Martin, 14 yards to Johnson, and 22 yards to Chrebet to put New York at the San Francisco 20-yard-line with a chance to extend the lead.

Two runs by Martin for six yards and an incomplete pass would force the Jets to call on Hall to kick a 32-yard field goal which increased New York's lead to 27-23 with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Needing a touchdown, the 49ers would start their ensuing drive at their 24-yard-line as Hearst would turn a short screen pass from Young into a 35-yard gain to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Jets' 41-yard-line.

Four plays later, Young would fire a 31-yard touchdown pass to Stokes, who outjumped his defender to make the catch, to give the 49ers a 30-27 lead with 86 seconds left in regulation.

Following a 16-yard return by Aaron Glenn on the ensuing kickoff, the Jets would begin their ensuing possession at their 27-yard-line as Foley would throw two incomplete passes before hitting Chrebet for 19 yards to give New York a 1st down at its 46-yard-line where Foley would throw three straight incomplete passes to bring a 4th down with 33 seconds to go.

That is when Foley found Ward for 22 yards to give the Jets a fresh set of downs at the 49ers' 32-yard-line as after two more incomplete passes, Foley would connect with Ward again, this time for 19 yards to put New York at the San Francisco 13-yard-line with eight seconds to go as the Jets spent their last timeout.

The Jets would get one chance to get the game-winning touchdown as Foley threw an incomplete pass intended for Johnson leaving New York three seconds left for Hall to attempt a 31-yard field goal which he made as time expired to tie the game at 30 and send it into overtime.

The Jets would win the overtime coin toss to take the ball at their 20-yard-line where a quarterback sack by 49ers defensive tackle Junior Bryant for a nine-yard loss on 1st down would force New York to go three-and-out and punt the ball back to San Francisco who took over at the Jets' 43-yard-line.

However, the 49ers could not pick up a 1st down to punt the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 21-yard-line as New York drove to its 47-yard-line before punting it back to San Francisco who took over at its four-yard-line.

That is when Hearst took a handoff from Young and run up the middle, broke a tackle at about the seven-yard-line, then darted to his right as he stiffed arm another Jet at about the 20, then swerved around the tackle attempt of Otis Smith at about midfield, then carried linebacker Mo Lewis for the final five yards as he fell into the end zone following a stunning 96-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 36-30 Opening Day win.

The Jets would lose to the Baltimore Ravens the following week as Foley throw three interceptions in their 24-10 loss as Vinny Testaverde would take over the starting quarterback job and help lead New York to its first division title since the merger as they finished with a 12-4 regular season which earned the Jets the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

New York would defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-24 in the Divisional Round to earn a trip to the AFC Championship Game where the Jets jumped out to a 10-0 lead only to lose to the Denver Broncos 23-10.

As for the 49ers, they would also finish the regular season with a 12-4 record, but not enough for a division title as San Francisco would play the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round when Young threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens with three seconds left to give the 49ers a 30-27 win.

The 49ers would advance to the Divisional Round where they would fall to the Atlanta Falcons 20-18 in a game where Hearst broke his left ankle on the first play from scrimmage.

Little did Hearst know but the injury would lead him to missing the next two seasons as avascular neurosis, or death of bone tissue, developed around the ankle as Garrison would undergo seven surgeries in hopes of correcting the issue.

Not only would Hearst return for the 2001 season, he would run for 1,206 yards and catch 41 passes for 317 yards to be named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for 2001.

Hearst would play two more seasons with the 49ers before being released after the 2003 season as he would sign with the Denver Broncos for 2004 as he played sparingly before a broken hand ended his season and eventually his NFL career after 10 seasons.