Late Magic Vanishes for 49ers

Once again, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in dire straits in the fourth quarter.

Given the 49ers’ method of operation this season, however, it didn’t seem such a bad place to be during their home opener against the Rams Sunday at Candlestick Park.

Still, things could have been better. Joe Montana, their celebrated quarterback, had not thrown a touchdown pass. Jerry Rice, their celebrated wide receiver, caught just two passes for a measly 36 yards. The rushing game was in hibernation during the first half.

Mike Cofer’s 17-yard field goal gave the 49ers a 12-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. After a Ram series of downs--three plays, a punt and three penalties against the visitors--the 49ers began a drive from their 31 with 7 minutes 27 seconds left to play.

Now, wasn’t it time for Joe Montana to lead the 49ers to a game-clinching touchdown, using as much of the clock as possible before scoring? A two-point lead was nice, but the 49ers were looking for a touchdown and a nine-point advantage.

After all, that had been the pattern in the 49ers’ last two games: fall behind, then stage a fourth-quarter rally to win.

It worked at Philadelphia last week, when the 49ers stumbled through three quarters against the Eagles, only to have Montana bail them out with four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter of a 38-28 victory. It wasn’t quite so dramatic at Tampa Bay two weeks ago, but San Francisco still won on a last-minute drive.

But the magic ended somewhere on the Rams’ 20-yard line Sunday. Fullback Tom Rathman, a sure-handed bull in shoulder pads, fumbled there with 2:59 left.

The Rams then drove to the 49er eight, where Mike Lansford kicked a 26-yard, game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining. While the Rams celebrated their fourth consecutive victory and a spot at the top of the NFC West, the 49ers were left to wonder what might have been.

“We can’t keep waiting for fourth-quarter miracles,” said George Seifert, 49er coach. “We’ve got to come out better, sooner in the game.”

No one in the 49er locker room felt worse than Rathman.

“I feel I should take the blame for the loss because I did fumble,” he said. “I had set a goal for myself to not fumble all year, and here that goal is gone already, in the fourth game. I had gone all last year without fumbling.”

Rathman and Roger Craig had carried the ball almost exclusively on the 49ers’ final drive. San Francisco had a first down at the Ram 20 when Montana handed the ball to Rathman, who cut toward the line and appeared headed for a sizable gain.

“Somebody just swatted (the ball) out when I was getting up to the hole,” Rathman said. “I guess I just didn’t have it put away.”

Linebacker Kevin Greene pounced on the ball, and the Rams gained a reprieve.

The 49ers had other problems, too. Rice was stifled by the Ram defensive backs. The running game was hurt by poor play on the offensive line, especially in the first half. And the secondary, playing without injured safeties Ronnie Lott and Chet Brooks, had a hard time keeping up with the Ram receivers.

“We had some chances,” Rice said. “I feel I didn’t play well. They wanted to take the receivers out of the game, and they did a good job.”

Montana completed 25 of 35 passes for 227 yards. His longest completion went for 30 yards. It wasn’t enough.

The 49ers gained 152 yards on the ground, 104 in the second half. That wasn’t enough either.

Unlike Montana, Ram quarterback Jim Everett completed big passes when he needed them most. He found Flipper Anderson for a 65-yard touchdown play in the second quarter, the game’s only touchdown.

On the final drive, Everett completed passes of 19 yards to Anderson and 31 and 16 yards to Pete Holohan. In each case, the receiver was wide open.

“It’s really hard to play a perfect defensive game--there are always going to be one or two mistakes,” 49er safety Jeff Fuller said.

Sunday, the 49ers made just enough mistakes to lose.