Montana Giveth, Taketh Away : Rams: San Francisco quarterback gets 458 passing yards as 49ers come back from 17 points behind in final quarter to win, 30-27.

The Rams, the one team you would expect to know better, did everything for Joe Montana but set out the silverware and napkins.

Come in, Mr. Montana, have a seat. There’s the cutlery. Carve us to pieces.

And Montana did. The Rams have seen his Super Bowl rings, watched his highlight reel, admired his comebacks and contributed to his legend.

They do know better, but, still, it didn’t matter. The Rams had a 17-point lead with less than a quarter remaining. A playoff berth was at hand, the division title in clearer focus. The curse of Montana at Anaheim Stadium was over.

Then they gave Joe Montana two chances.

Sorry. Next, please.

And with that, the San Francisco 49ers rallied to defeat the Rams, 30-27, before a record-crowd of 67,959 at Anaheim Stadium. The 49ers clinched their seventh division title of the decade. San Francisco assured itself the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Rams are second-best, again.

Montana was so businesslike he might have worked the final minutes in a double-breasted suit. Quietly, he sliced the Rams’ lead to 27-17 with a seven-yard scoring pass to Mike Wilson with 10:04 left. Then he took his place on the sideline and waited to pounce.

The Rams were going to keep the ball out of his hands if it killed them. They mounted a skillful drive after the touchdown, consuming yards and time.

Quarterback Jim Everett stood over center on second-and-goal at the 49ers’ four. He could smell the clinching touchdown. Then, a center snap stuck in the mud.

“He never touched it,” center Doug Smith said later. “I should have pulled it up. I didn’t. It was my play to make and I didn’t make it.”

Matt Millen, the former Raider linebacker who had agreed to sign with the Rams earlier this year until the 49ers jumped in with more money, recovered at the five.

Montana raised a brow. He had already found receiver John Taylor on a 92-yard scoring reception in the second quarter, and now seemed like a good time for a replay.

Boom . One play. Montana hit Taylor over the middle, and he broke loose for a 95-yard touchdown with 6:27 to go. Mike Cofer missed the extra point, leaving the score 27-23.

Then, another gift. Ron Brown, who nearly cost the Rams a victory last week in Dallas when he fumbled a kickoff, did it again. Steve Hendrickson made the hit, and Keith Henderson recovered at the Ram 27. And Montana had 6:15 left to work with. It was almost too easy.

He worked the clock down some, then hit Taylor for 15 yards to the seven. On third-and-goal from the one, tailback Roger Craig scored the winning touchdown with 3:42 left.

The Rams still had an opening. Everett had led five fourth-quarter comebacks this season.

There wouldn’t be a sixth.

On third and nine at his own 21, Everett was sacked by defensive end Pierce Holt, who said he was expecting a draw play and was stunting on the line with teammate Kevin Fagan.

“I ran outside and the guy (Everett) ran right into me,” Holt said.

End of game.

Montana and Taylor have never been better. Both set single-game career marks. Montana, 8-0 against the Rams as a starter in Anaheim, completed 30 of 42 passes for 458 yards and three touchdowns. Taylor finished with 286 yards on 11 catches. Jerry Rice (five catches, 38 yards) was left to play decoy.

Coach John Robinson refused to acknowledge that the Rams gave the game away.

“Anyone who thought that the game was in hand was a fool,” he said. “Anyone who says we blew it doesn’t understand the football team we played.”

Or the football player, Montana.

The football game wasn’t bad, either. The last 3:22 of the first half alone was worth the price of admission. In that span, the Rams came within four yards of taking a 24-3 lead, then one penalty in a series of freakish last-minute plays from having the score tied at 17.

It started with the Rams, who had fourth and goal on the 49ers’ four. Field goal, right? Take the 20-10 lead and run. Wrong. If you’ve got something up your sleeve, use it against the arch rivals. At least that’s what the Rams figured.

They faked a 21-yard field goal attempt, as holder Pete Holohan kept the ball and swept right. Holohan tried to leap over Tim McKyer but was squashed by Michael Walter at the one.

As a turned out, those three points, had Lansford converted, were the difference.

“It was a great call,” Robinson said of the failed fake. “I thought it was when I called it and I still do. I thought a touchdown at that point would break their backs. Anyone who would second-guess that call is simply looking at it after the game is over. I thought it was a great call.”

Looking back, so did the 49ers.

The 49ers took over there, and got some breathing room on a seven-yard pass from Montana to Brent Jones. On third and three from the eight, Montana found Taylor wide open on the left after cornerback Cliff Hicks slipped at the line of scrimmage. The foot race was on to the end zone, with Taylor weaving through Ram defenders, first losing Anthony Newman, then Jerry Gray, on his way to a 92-yard touchdown with 2:27 left, cutting the Ram lead to 17-10.

One Rams’ strategy backfired, and there was more noise to come. After their own drive fizzled, the Rams punted, handing Montana the ball at his own 37 with 1:24 remaining--an eternity for a comeback king. Before you blinked, Montana had first and goal at the Rams’ five with 17 seconds left.

Then, mayhem. Kevin Greene sacked Montana for a 12-yard loss to the 17 on second down. Ten seconds left. Terry Tausch jumped off-sides, pushing the 49ers back to the 22. Still, Montana had another crack at the end zone and found it, hitting Craig for an apparent touchdown pass. But tackle Steve Wallace was called for holding, pushing the 49ers to third-and-goal at the 32 with four seconds left.

Now there’s only time for a field goal attempt. Cofer hits from 49-yards out. False start by the 49er line. The Rams run from the field, thinking the half’s over. It’s not. The penalty was called before the snap, so the 49ers get the four seconds back.

Now, it’s third-and-goal at the 37. Cofer tries again from 54, but his attempt hits the left upright as time expires. The Rams kiss their 20-10 lead. Just your ordinary first half.

Of course, it was anything but. The Rams had a 17-0 lead while Montana had run only seven offensive plays. Nice game plan if you can get it.

Everett set the tone on the game’s first play, hitting Anderson on a 34-pass play to the 49er 41 over corner Darryl Pollard. Seven plays later, Bell scored on a three-yard run to make it 7-0.

On the Rams’ next possession, Everett worked Anderson against Pollard again, drawing a 42-yard pass interference penalty to the 49er 21. Everett moved it in from there, hitting Damone Johnson on a four-yard scoring pass to make it 14-0.

The Rams had a chance for an early knockout when cornerback/fight promoter LeRoy Irvin intercepted a Montana pass intended for Rice, returning it 18 yards to the 11. But the Rams could move only three yards on three plays and had to settle for a 25-yard Lansford field goal with 2:56 left in the first quarter.

Afterward, Robinson didn’t talk about the one that got away. He insisted the 49ers haven’t seen the last of his team. “I told our team we’re going to win four in a row and get a rematch,” he said.

Ram Notes

Receiver John Taylor broke the 49ers’ single-game yardage record with his 286 yards. Jerry Rice had 240 yards in 11 catches against the Rams in 1985. Joe Montana’s previous high for passing yardage was 441 yards. . . Jim Everett’s final numbers: 18 of 31 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.