NFL Old School Game of the Week: Montana's Four 4th Quarter TD Passes Leads 49ers to Comeback Win over Eagles

 

49ers quarterback Joe Montana would threw for 428 yards and five touchdown passes in San Francisco's win over the Eagles.

When the San Francisco 49ers traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in Week 3 of the 1989 NFL season, it was billed as a game between the "Team of the 80's" vs the "Team of the 90's."

The 49ers were coming off their third Super Bowl title in eight years as they had defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl XXIII, which was the final game in head coach Bill Walsh's career after he turned the 49ers from a bottom feeder into the league's newest dynasty.

George Seifert, who had served as the 49ers' defensive coordinator since 1983, was promoted to head coach as he had inherited a roster which featured quarterback Joe Montana, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Jerry Rice, and defensive back Ronnie Lott.

The 49ers won their first two games of the season as they had hoped to become the first team since the Pittsburgh Steelers a decade earlier to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

While the 49ers' dynasty was in transition, the Philadelphia Eagles were being billed as the team that would take over the 49ers' mantle at the top of the NFL, thanks in large part to a ferocious defense directed by head coach Buddy Ryan, who was in his fourth season as the Philadelphia head coach after serving as the defensive coordinator of the 1985 Chicago Bears defense.

The Eagles' defense was led by a ferocious pass rush featuring defensive end Reggie White and defensive tackle Jerome Brown who to go along with an offense led by dynamic quarterback Randall Cunningham helped lead Philadelphia to the 1988 NFC East division title and team's first playoff appearance in seven years.

Just like the 49ers, the Eagles won their first two games of the 1989 season, which included a 42-37 shootout win over the Washington Redskins the week before(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-eagles.html) as Philadelphia prepared to host the defending Super Bowl Champions at Veterans Stadium.

The 49ers got the ball to start the game as they gained 11 yards on five plays to set up 3rd & 9 from their 32-yard-line when Montana threw a deep pass down the middle of the field for Rice, who made the catch and outraced his defender for the the 68-yard touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, the Eagles would get the first turnover of the game as Taylor fumbled the football on a punt return which was recovered by defensive back William Frizzell to give Philadelphia the ball at the 49ers' 31-yard-line.

But on the very next play from scrimmage, the 49ers would get the ball back as defensive end Kevin Fagan recovered Eagles running back Heath Sherman's fumble at the same spot where Frizzell made his fumble recovery at the 49ers' 31-yard-line.

The 49ers would be unable to drive into Philadelphia territory as the Eagles' pass rush would begin to make its presence felt as Montana would be sacked twice on the ensuing drive, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Eagles.

However, the 49ers would not get the punt away  punter Mike Helton  mishandled the snap from center leading him to being dropped for a 13-yard loss by Eagles defensive end Clyde Simmons to give Philadelphia the ball at the San Francisco 33-yard-line.

Five plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone as Sherman punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven with 1:48 left in the first quarter.

Eagles defensive end Reggie White accounted for 2.5 sacks as Philadelphia sacked Joe Montana eight times.

The 49ers would have another special teams blunder on the ensuing kickoff as Terrence Flagler would mishandle the kick leading to him being tackled at his 11-yard-line where San Francisco would begin its next possession.

Things would get worse for the 49ers as Montana was sacked by White for an eight-yard loss on 1st down, which was followed by a delay of game penalty that pushed the 49ers back another yard, and then followed by right guard Bruce Collie stepping on Montana's foot, causing the quarterback to fall to the ground in the end zone as Eagles linebacker Al Harris would touch Montana for a safety to give Philadelphia a 9-7 lead and the ball at their 28-yard-line following the ensuing kick by the 49ers.

From there, the Eagles would drive 55 yards in eight plays to set up a 35-yard field goal by Luis Zendejas which increased their lead to 12-7 with 12 minutes left in the second quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Craig opened the drive with a four-yard run, which was followed by three straight completions by Montana for 35 yards to put the 49ers at the Eagles' 41-yard-line when the drive stalled as a false start penalty and another quarterback sack, this time by defensive tackle Mike Pitts, would force another San Francisco punt.

The San Francisco defense would force the Eagles to punt the ball back to the 49ers, who took over at their 31-yard-line as Montana completed passes of nine yards to wide receiver John Taylor, 14 yards to Rice, and 23 yards to tight end Brent Jones to put San Francisco at the Philadelphia nine-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal.

But the Eagles' pass rush would strike again as White sacked Montana for a seven-yard loss on 3rd & goal from the eight-yard-line, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Mike Cofer which cut the Philadelphia lead to 12-10 with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Neither team would mount another scoring threat for the rest of the first half as the Eagles went into the halftime break leading 12-10 after sacking Montana six times in the game's first 30 minutes.

The Eagles would get the ball to start the second half as three runs by Sherman for 20 yards and an incomplete pass would bring up 4th down when Philadelphia lined up to punt, only to run a fake as punter John Teltschik took the ball and ran for 23 yards to give the Eagles a 1st down at the 49ers' 37-yard-line.

From there, the Eagles would drive to the 49ers' 17-yard-line until Zendejas came on and kicked a 35-yard field goal to cap off the 13-play, 63-yard drive and increase Philadelphia's lead to 15-10.

Following a 49ers punt, the Eagles would drive 40 yards in eight plays to set up another Zendejas field goal, this one from 44 yards out which increased Philadelphia's lead to 18-10 with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The Eagles defense would give their offense a golden opportunity to possibly put the game away as Harris intercepted a Montana pass and returned the pick 11 yards to the 49ers' 15-yard-line where Cunningham and the offense would take over.

However, the Eagles could not put it in the end zone as they had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Zendejas on the second play of the fourth quarter which pushed their lead to 21-10 as the 49ers would begin their ensuing possession at their nine-yard-line following a penalty on the kickoff.

49ers wide receiver John Taylor caught six passes for 136 yards and scored one touchdown.

When the 49ers' offense came back onto the field, they lined up in a four wide receiver formation in hopes that the Eagles' defense would bring in extra defensive backs in favor of pass rushers.

The strategy would pay off for the 49ers as Montana completed three passes in a row for a total of 21 yards to set up 2nd & 6 from the 30-yard-line when Joe threw a short pass to Taylor, who made the catch at his 32-yard-line, made a juke move on Eagles cornerback Izel Jenkins, and raced down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown to bring San Francisco to within four at 21-17.

The 49ers seemed set to get the ball back as their defense forced a three-and-out only to have linebacker Bill Romanski have Teltschik's punt bounce off his helmet, leading to a recovery by Henry Williams to give the Eagles the ball at the 50-yard-line.

A 31-yard pass from Cunningham to tight end Jimmie Giles would be the big play of the eight-play, 50-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Giles which pushed the Eagles' lead back to 11 points at 28-17 with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Montana scrambled for 19 yards to pick up the initial 1st down of the drive, then handed the ball off to running back Harry Sydney who ran for 18 yards to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Eagles' 41-yard-line.

From there, Montana would complete four consecutive passes beginning with a 11-yard pass to Sydney, then 15 yards to Rice, followed by nine yards to Taylor, and wrapped up with an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tom Rathman which cut the 49ers' deficit back to four points at 28-24 with 6:03 to play.

After the Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession, the 49ers would get the ball back at the Eagles' 47-yard-line with a chance to take the lead when White struck again as he sacked Montana for a 13-yard loss, pushing San Francisco back to its 40-yard-line where they would face a 2nd & 23.

That is when Montana found Taylor for 36 yards to give the 49ers a 1st down at the Eagles' 24-yard-line as Montana would loft a pass for Jones, who made the catch at the Philadelphia 10-yard-line and outran linebacker Seth Joyner to complete the 24-yard touchdown and give San Francisco a 31-28 lead with 3:17 left in regulation.

The Eagles would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line as Cunningham completed a 17-yard pass to Sherman, then scrambled for three yards, before throwing a pass for fullback Keith Byars, which bounced off his hands and into the arms of Lott, who made the interception and returned it six yards to the Philadelphia 39-yard-line.

Two straight running plays for six yards would set up 3rd & 4 when Montana found Rice down the middle for a 33-yard touchdown that increased the 49ers' lead to double digits at 38-28 with 2:02 remaining in the game.

The Eagles would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Cunningham completed three of his next five passes for 33 yards until the quarterback scrambled for nine yards when he was hit by Romanski leading to a fumble that was recovered by 49ers defensive back Jonnie Jackson at the San Francisco 41-yard-line with 52 seconds to go.

Montana would come on and take two knees to run out the clock as the 49ers had pulled out the 38-28 victory following a fabulous fourth quarter by "Joe Cool" in which he completed 11 of 12 passes for 227 yards and threw four touchdown passes in the game's final 15 minutes.

Jerry Rice would catch six passes for 164 yards and score two touchdowns.

The Eagles would finish the regular season with a 11-5 record good enough to earn a spot in the NFC Wild Card game where they would play the Los Angeles Rams on a rainy New Year's Eve in Philadelphia.

The Rams would upset the Eagles 21-7 to end Philadelphia's season as "Gang Green" would not fulfill the prophecy of becoming the "Team of the 1990s" as Ryan would be fired after the 1990 season in which the Eagles were once again eliminated at home in the NFC Wild Card Game, this time to the Washington Redskins.

As for the 49ers, they would go on to finish with the league's best record at 14-2, which included another dramatic comeback win, this one over the Rams 30-27 on Monday Night Football(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here:https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-montana.html) as San Francisco earned the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

In the playoffs, the 49ers would defeat the Minnesota Vikings 41-13 in the Divisional Round, then knock off the Rams 30-3 in the NFC Championship Game, and finally destroyed the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV, to earn the franchise their second straight Super Bowl title and fourth in nine years.

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.