Montana, 49er Defense, Make Buccaneers Walk Plank : Quarterback Completes 32 of 46 While DeBerg Is Intercepted 7 Times in 31-7 Romp
The Rams may have second thoughts now about picking on the San Francisco 49ers’ bewitched, bothered and bewildered defensive secondary next Sunday.
For Steve DeBerg, the experience was demoralizing, disastrous and a 31-7 debacle Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback passed himself into the record books by throwing seven interceptions, including two to a revived Ronnie Lott.
“This is probably the worst game I’ve ever had,” said DeBerg, a master of understatement.
Joe Montana was tremendouslymore effective. DeBerg’s one-time understudy at San Francisco, inactive for a month because of an ankle injury, directed the 49ers to a quick 14-0 lead and finished with 32 completions in 46 attempts for 356 yards and one touchdown, with one interception.
The result left the 49ers tied with the Rams and Atlanta for first place in the NFC West, but the ranks will be reduced by one at Anaheim next Sunday.
DeBerg’s effort made 50,780 long-suffering Tampa fans forget the departed Doug Williams, who held the old club interception record of five, and it came within one of the National Football League record set by Jim Hardy while playing for the Chicago Cardinals against the Philadelphia Eagles 36 years ago.
The total also topped the 49er club single-game record of six. Besides Lott, those who picked DeBerg’s pocket were rookie cornerbacks Don Griffin and Tim McKyer, safety Jeff Fuller and linebackers Jim Fahnhorst and Tom Cousineau.
Anyone wearing a red shirt had a shot at an interception. Cousineau, a surprise cut by the Cleveland Browns last week, had been issued his jersey only a few hours earlier. He saw his first action in the last quarter at his new position: outside linebacker.
The 49ers had lost four of their last five opening games. Looking for a way to get off to a fast start, they came to the right place and helped DeBerg extend the Bucs’ league-leading streak of debut defeats to five.
Buc Coach Leeman Bennett said: “No way, no how did anybody expect what happened to us out there today to happen. We couldn’t pass protect, and when we did pass protect, we couldn’t throw the football.”
DeBerg was sacked three times, each time by end Jeff Stover. He tried sprinting left, sprinting right and dropping straight back, but even when he had time to throw, the 49ers’ coverage was close or his aim went awry.
Still, even after throwing four interceptions by halftime and with Steve Young available, DeBerg remained in the game until the bitter end, when McKyer stole his last, long, desperate prayer at the one-yard line.
“Don (Griffin) got one and I was dyin’ to get one,” McKyer said. “It made me forget about that play I gave up.”
McKyer, a third-round draft pick from Texas Arlington, was the victim of the Bucs’ only score, a 31-yard pass from DeBerg to Gerald Carter that brought the Bucs back to 14-7 early in the third quarter.
But after that it was the home team that faded in the 90-degree, 70%-humidity heat. The 49ers scored the last 17 points, including a mop-up 20-yard touchdown pass from Montana’s backup, Jeff Kemp, to tight end John Frank with 1:54 remaining.
Although Montana was magnificent, it was the 49ers’ rebuilt secondary that did in DeBerg and the Bucs. The group is faintly reminiscent of the young but brilliant 1981 Super Bowl quartet.
This time, Lott is not a rookie but the leader, and after some shifting around over the years, he is apparently settled at free safety where he can direct the coverages and cover the others’ errors.
“I have the talent to play there,” Lott said. “It’s a matter of being in the right place and making sure they (Griffin and McKyer) are in the right place.
“These guys have ability and they’re going to get better, and the way they’ll get better is for them to push themselves and for me to push ‘em. I’ve told ‘em that I’m gonna ride ‘em, ride ‘em and ride ‘em.”
Lott, whose intensity has brought frequent injury to himself, as well as others, had the tip of his left little finger amputated after a compound fracture late last season. A four-time Pro Bowl selection who has played cornerback and both safety positions, he was asked if he had finally found a home and settled down.
“My home is on the football field,” he said.
And he hasn’t settled down. In the first quarter, he met Carter in mid-air, knocking the ball loose and leaving the Buc receiver prostrate.
“It wasn’t that great of a hit,” Lott said, “a C or B-minus. I just caught him at the right angle.”
A minute later, he collected the first of his two interceptions, while still looking after his colleagues.
“I’m trying to take care of their responsibilities and my own responsibilities. That’s what a leader is.”
Griffin, a sixth-rounder from Middle Tennessee State, said: “He’s like our captain out there. He’s making sure that nothing goes wrong. We’re always communicating. He lets us know.”
McKyer hadn’t even dressed before he was thinking about the Rams’ Ron Brown.
“I’ll probably be the one who covers him,” McKyer said. “We know he has great speed. No way I’ll try to jam him. We’ve got to respect his speed.”
And the 49er defenders will have the Rams’ attention.