49ers Push Redskins Closer to Elimination With 37-21 Victory

Joe Gibbs knows what it takes to get to the playoffs, and when it was over Monday night, it didn’t take him long to figure things out.

Joe Montana passed for 2 touchdowns and ran for another as the San Francisco 49ers all but knocked Gibbs’ defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins out of the playoffs with a 37-21 victory at Candlestick Park.

“Right now the Redskins are hurting,” Gibbs said after the Redskins (6-6) lost for the third time in 4 games. “Right now we’re not in good position. I still think 10-6 will make it, but we’ve got some tough games left.”

Washington plays Cleveland, Dallas, Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the final 4 weeks of the season. The Redskins are on the verge of being the ninth straight NFL champion not to repeat.

John Taylor returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown as San Francisco (7-5) rolled to a 23-7 halftime lead and kept its playoff hopes alive.

The 49ers are tied for second place with the Rams, a game behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC West.

“It’s really big,” Coach Bill Walsh said of the victory. “Every one now is really big. There will be some teams caving in. We just have to take advantage of our opportunities.”

Montana, who had just 1 touchdown pass in his previous 5 games, opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass to third-string tight end Brent Jones. The Redskins tied it on Doug Williams’ 15-yard scoring pass to Ricky Sanders with 7 seconds left in the first quarter before San Francisco broke it open in the second quarter.

Mike Cofer kicked a 52-yard field goal, Taylor made the longest scoring return in 49er history and Tom Rathman scored on a 1-yard run before halftime.

“If it wasn’t for my blockers, I probably would have been stuck at the 5-yard line,” Taylor said.

Williams had a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sanders in the third quarter and an 18-yarder to Art Monk in the fourth, but Montana added a 4-yard scoring run and a 80-yard touchdown pass play to Jerry Rice.

Montana completed 15 of 23 passes for 218 yards, and Williams was 27 of 41 for 271 yards. The 49ers limied Washington to 56 yards rushing in 25 plays.

Roger Craig ran 24 times for 75 yards and caught 5 passes for 37 yards for the 49ers.

Montana missed three series in the first half with a sprained knee.