NFL Old School Game of the Week: Young Rallies 49ers to Win over Manning's Colts

49ers quarterback Steve Young threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns while running for 60 yards and two touchdowns in the 49ers' comeback win over the Colts.

At halftime of the Week 7 game between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, 49ers quarterback Steve Young was so exhausted that he ended up vomiting into a trash can.

Young would go to his head coach Steve Mariucci and suggested that maybe backup Ty Detmer finish the game for the 49ers.

It was a good thing for the 49ers did not do that as Young would lead San Francisco to one of its greatest comeback wins against the Colts in 1998.

The 49ers came into the game with a 4-1 record as the season began with a thrilling 36-30 overtime win over the New York Jets on Garrison Hearst's game-winning 96-yard touchdown run in overtime(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-hearsts-96.html).

The 49ers' offense was humming to start the season as Young threw for at least 300 yards in all five games with a wide receiver corps that features J.J. Stokes, Terrell Owens, and Jerry Rice as San Francisco averaged 32.8 points per game in the first five games of the 1998 season.

The 49ers were probably licking their chops as they prepared to face the Colts, who came into the game with a 1-5 record with a defense that had given up an average of 26.5 points per game up to this point in the 1998 season.

The Colts were in rebuild mode with first-year head coach Jim Mora, who took over in Indianapolis after a one-year hiatus following a decade-long stint with the New Orleans Saints, as the Colts had finished with the league's worst record in 1997 at 3-13 to earn the rights to the #1 overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft.

The Colts would use that pick to select quarterback Peyton Manning, son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, who had thrown for 11,021 yards and 89 touchdowns in his four years at the University of Tennessee.

Manning had shown signs of his potential in the first six games of the 1998 season as he threw for 1,364 yards and six touchdowns but also a league-high 14 interceptions as the Colts were 18 point underdogs as they traveled to the Bay Area to take on the 49ers.

 The 49ers would get the ball to start the game as they hold the ball for over nine minutes as they drove from their 25-yard-line to the Colts' two-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal only to go backwards as they lost seven yards on the next three plays, forcing San Francisco to settle for a 27-yard field goal attempt by Wade Richey.

However, Richey's kick would sail wide left of the uprights as the 49ers came away with no points after a 17-play, 66-yard drive as the Colts would begin their opening possession of the game at their 35-yard-line after 49ers guard Ray Brown was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty after the missed field goal.

It would take the Colts just one play to get into the end zone as running back Marshall Faulk took a handoff from Manning and outran the San Francisco defense to give Indianapolis a 7-0 lead with 5:33 to go in the first quarter.

The 49ers would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Colts when Reggie Roby's punt bounced off the helmet of Colts defensive back Rico Clark and into the arms of free safety Jason Belser, who was not the designated returner, who would stun everybody with a 53-yard return to give Manning the ball at the San Francisco seven-yard-line.

After a run by Faulk went for three yards, Manning fired a four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harrison to increase the Colts' lead to 14-0 with 2:02 remaining in the first quarter.

Following a San Francisco three-and-out, the Colts got the ball back at their 16-yard-line as they would embark on a 12-play, 84-yard drive where Manning completed six of nine passes for 76 yards with the last completion being a six-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis a shocking 21-0 lead with 10:56 to play in the second quarter.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards and threw touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Desperately needing points, the 49ers would start their next drive at their 32-yard-line as Young would complete three straight passes for 43 yards to move San Francisco to the Indianapolis 25-yard-line where Young would then throw three straight incomplete passes as Richey would come in to make a 43-yard field goal to put the 49ers on the scoreboard as to make it a 21-3 game in favor of the Colts.

The 49ers defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at the Colts' 46-yard-line as Young led the San Francisco offense to the Indianapolis five-yard-line when two controversial calls helped San Francisco as they would cut further into the Colts' lead.

The first call came on 3rd & goal when Young had a pass intended for Owens be picked off in the end zone by Colts cornerback Jeff Burris, who ran the interception back to the San Francisco 32-yard-line only to have it nullified as Burris was called for holding, giving the 49ers a 1st & goal at the Indianapolis two-yard-line.

After Hearst was dropped for an one-yard loss, Young threw a pass for Stokes in the left corner of the end zone when Colts defensive back Monty Montgomery pushed Stokes out of bounds before the receiver could get his second foot down to complete the catch.

However, the officials ruled that Stokes would have gotten his second foot inbounds if Montgomery had not pushed him out of bounds, aka "the force out" rule which existed through the 2007 season, thus the catch was good for a three-yard touchdown to trim the Colts' lead to 21-10 with 1:54 to go before halftime.

Manning would throw three straight incomplete pass on the Colts' ensuing possession as the 49ers would once again start in a drive in Indianapolis territory as San Francisco would take over at the Colts' 42-yard-line with 88 seconds before the end of the first half.

Two catches by Stokes for 21 yards helped the 49ers move to the Colts' 15-yard-line when for the second time in the half, the Colts had an interception wiped out by a holding penalty as Montgomery was called for holding Owens in the end zone as strong safety Robert Blackmon picked off the pass, resulting in a 1st & goal for the 49ers at the Colts' 10-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Young found Owens for the 10-yard touchdown to make it a one-score game at 21-17 with three seconds left in the first half as the reeling Colts would get the ball to start the second half.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the first half, the Colts had the ball at their 39-yard-line when Manning threw a short pass to Harrison, who spun out of a tackle attempt by 49ers cornerback Antonio Langham at the Indianapolis 45-yard-line, to race for his third touchdown of the game to push the Colts' lead back to double digits at 28-17 with 10:41 to go in the third quarter.

The 49ers would then drive to the Colts' 42-yard-line until Hearst lost the football after a hit by Colts linebacker Antony linebacker Antony Jordan as defensive end Kendel Shello would make the recovery as Manning and the Indianapolis offense would get the ball at the San Francisco 42-yard-line after a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on was called on the 49ers.

A 15-yard pass to tight end Ken Dilger and an eight-yard pass to running back Lamont Warren would help set up a 38-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt to increase the Colts' lead to 31-17 with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter.

The 49ers would have a second drive that move into Colts territory end in a turnover as Young completed a 11-yard pass to Owens, who fumbled the football as Belser would recover the fumble to give the Colts the ball at their 24-yard-line.

The Colts would advance to the 49ers' 47-yard-line before punting the ball back to the 49ers who would take over at their nine-yard-line with 14:09 remaining in regulation and needed two touchdowns to tie the game.

The 49ers would drive down the field on the left arm of Young who completed six of eight passes for 83 yards on the 10-play, 91-yard drive that ended with Young running it in for a one-yard touchdown on a quarterback bootleg to cut the lead to 31-23 as Randy Kirk's snap on the extra point was bobbled by the holder,  Detmer who was then tackled by Colts cornerback Tyrone Poole.

After an Indianapolis three-and-out, the 49ers got the ball at their 47-yard-line as Young completed a six-yard pass to Owens which was followed by a holding penalty that pushed San Francisco back to its 43-yard-line with a 2nd & 14 when Young connected with Stokes for 21 yards to move the sticks.

Young would then complete a 13-yard pass to running back Chuck Levy to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Colts' 23-yard-line where after an incomplete pass, Young would then produce a run reminiscent of his famous touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings in 1988, as Young weaved through the Colts' defense than ran over at the Burris at the three-yard-line to score the 23-yard touchdown to make it a 31-29 game.

The 49ers then went for two to tie the game which they got when Young found Rice in the end zone to tie the game at 31 with 5:52 left in regulation.

J.J. Stokes would catch nine passes for 110 yards with one touchdown.

The Colts would begin their ensuing possession at their 26-yard-line as two passes from Manning to wide receiver Jerome Pathon that totaled 35 yards moved Indianapolis to the San Francisco 44-yard-line.

Following an nine-yard run by Faulk, the Colts had a 2nd & 1 at the 49ers' 35-yard-line when a run by Craig "Ironhead" Heyward went for an one-yard loss to set up 3rd & 2 when Faulk was dropped for no gain as the 49ers called timeout to stop the clock with 1:13 to go.

Mora would send in Vanderjagt to attempt a 53-yard field goal that would give the Colts the lead only for the kick to fall short of the uprights as the 49ers would take over at their 44-yard-line with 68 seconds left in regulation and a chance to win the game.

The drive would begin with a 12-yard pass from Young to Owens to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Colts' 44-yard-line, which was followed by a incomplete pass to bring up 2nd down when Young threw deep for Stokes, whose feet got tangled with Poole as the Colts cornerback would be called for pass interference to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Indianapolis 17-yard-line with 38 seconds to go.

Clearly in field goal range, the 49ers would run the ball three more times, picking up another 11 yards before calling on Richey to attempt a game-winning field goal from 24 yards out.

Unlike his miss from 27 yards out earlier in the game, Richey would split the uprights with his 24-yard field goal to give the 49ers their first lead of the game with five seconds to go in the game.

The Colts could not pull off a miracle touchdown on the ensuing kickoff as the game ended with the 49ers on top 34-31 to equal the third greatest comeback in San Francisco 49ers history.

The loss to the 49ers would be the third of eight losses decided by a touchdown or less for the Colts as they would finish the season with a 3-13 record as Manning played all 16 games to finish the season with 3,739 yards and 26 touchdowns but 28 interceptions.

However, brighter days were ahead for the Colts as they would put together on the greatest single season turnarounds in NFL history as they would go 13-3 the following season beginning a 12-year stretch where Indianapolis made the playoffs every year except 2001 as the Colts won eight division titles, two AFC championships and one Super Bowl as they defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.

As for the 49ers, they would go on to finish the 1998 season with a 12-4 record to earn a seventh straight trip to the playoffs and 16th in 18 years as San Francisco would finally defeat the Packers in the playoffs with their 30-27 win over Green Bay in the Wild Card round thanks to Young's 25-yard touchdown pass to Owens with three seconds to go.

The 49ers' season would end the following week in the divisional round as they would fall to the Atlanta Falcons 20-18 in what would be the final postseason start in Young's career as a concussion following a violent hit by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams in the third game of the 1999 season would end Young's professional football career after 15 plus seasons.