49ers Close In on Wild-Card Spot : Trailing at Halftime, 9-7, They Rally to Beat Saints, 31-19
The San Francisco 49ers, trailing at halftime, 9-7, rallied behind Joe Montana for a 31-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The 49ers (9-6) can clinch an NFC wild-card spot with a victory next Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at Candlestick Park. The 49ers won’t even need to beat the Cowboys to qualify for the playoffs if Washington loses at St. Louis on Saturday.
The Rams wrapped up the NFC West title Sunday by routing the Cardinals, 46-14.
Montana completed only 13 of 24 passes for 150 yards in the first half against the Saints but hit 12 of 14 for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second half.
The 49ers’ lone first-half score came on a 25-yard pass play from Montana to Dwight Clark with 4:35 left in the second quarter.
Montana hit Mike Wilson on a 52-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the second half, then hit tight end Russ Francis on a 17-yard touchdown pass 3:27 into the final quarter.
Roger Craig, who rushed for 90 yards in 17 carries, scored the game’s final touchdown on a 15-yard run with 6:41 left in the game.
Said Montana: “I didn’t really throw the ball like I had wanted to throw it. The little things were keeping us from having a good day offensively in the first half. But we executed better in the second half.”
Montana wore an ice pack on his right shoulder in the locker room after the game, but he said the injury would not affect his play next week against the Cowboys.
“I got hit right before halftime while I was in the air and fell on my shoulder,” he said. “Other than that, it was fine.”
New Orleans dropped to 5-10.
“When you play a team like the 49ers, you have to make the good plays throughout the game,” said Saint quarterback Bobby Hebert, who completed 20 of 34 for 254 yards and a touchdown. “I think that if they make the playoffs they’re going to be hard to beat.”
New Orleans’ scoring came on field goals of 46 and 41 yards by Morten Andersen, defensive end Frank Warren’s 42-yard return of a blocked field goal, and a 76-yard touchdown pass play from Hebert to Eugene Goodlow.
Hebert was sacked five times, four times in the second half.
The 49ers scored on four of seven second-half possessions after getting past their 30-yard line for only one play in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, San Francisco got into New Orleans territory on three of its four possessions but came away only with the touchdown pass to Clark.
However, San Francisco opened the second half by driving 80 yards in four plays, then moving 58 yards to Ray Wersching’s 24-yard field goal on the next possession.