Oiler Timeout May Have Saved 49ers : Interconference: One play after a fumble is nullified, Montana throws the winning touchdown pass to Taylor. Houston, after leading 14-0 and 21-14, loses, 24-21.

An untimely timeout did in the Houston Oilers and helped the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers record their NFL-record 12th consecutive road victory.

After struggling the entire game to catch the fast-starting Oilers, Joe Montana got the break he needed and threw his third touchdown pass on a 46-yard play to John Taylor, giving the 49ers a 24-21 victory Sunday.

The 49ers improved to 4-0. Houston is 2-3.

Montana teamed with Taylor for the winning touchdown on the first play after backup quarterback Steve Young came into the game and fumbled. The Oilers’ Ray Childress recovered, but it was nullified because Houston called time out before the play started.

Montana, shaken up on the previous play, returned and threw a short pass to Taylor, who broke away from cornerback Cris Dishman at the Oilers’ 43-yard line and scored with 6:51 left to play.

Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said time was called to set up Houston’s defense.

“With Young coming in, we weren’t sure who else was in the game,” Pardee said. “We were expecting Young to bootleg for the first down, and we weren’t sure of our own personnel. It was such a key play we wanted to set it up to get him stopped.”

San Francisco Coach George Seifert said the 49ers also considered a timeout.

“In that situation, it’s confusing,” Seifert said. “We were going to call a time, but we decided to just go ahead and run the play.”

Montana’s two earlier touchdown passes included one to Taylor on a play that covered 78 yards. He also threw six yards to Jerry Rice for a score.

The 49ers’ Roger Craig set an NFL record for receptions in a career by a running back with his 494th.

“Our defense has been playing well, and they gave us the opportunity to get back in the game,” Montana said. “They took up the slack for us. We were running plays designed to clear out the middle and get man-to-man coverage. We started calling more crossing routes to get the man-to-man matchups.”

Warren Moon, who scored on a quarterback sneak in the the quarter, completed touchdown pass plays of 30 yards to Drew Hill and 18 yards to Haywood Jeffires to give the Oilers a 21-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We had been very successful before,” Moon said. “Then we didn’t execute when we had to. The what-ifs and might-have-beens may haunt me for a couple of days, but then I have to get ready for Cincinnati.”

The 49ers narrowed the gap to 21-17 on a 23-yard field goal by Mike Cofer with 11:36 to play. The kick was set up by Montana passes of 32 and 22 yards to Brent Jones. Jones’ 22-yarder gave San Francisco a first down at the Oiler seven.

“It was so close and yet so far,” Pardee said. “This was the kind of day we expected. We jumped up and got some turnovers, and the offense got the ball right away. Usually, 5-6 plays make the difference, and it was probably fewer than that today.”

Montana quickly erased a 14-7 halftime deficit in the third quarter with the 78-yard pass-play touchdown to Taylor, who had beaten cornerback Dishman when he caught the ball at the 50 and raced down the sideline for the score.

The Oilers got the lead back, 21-14, on Moon’s pass to Jeffires, who dropped a pass at the 49ers’ 15 earlier in the drive. Jeffires beat Eric Davis to the end zone to atone for his drop.

Montana finished with 318 yards, completing 20 of 28 passes. Taylor caught four passes for 132 yards and Rice had six receptions for 78 yards.

Moon performed like the star of a highlight film in the first half. His one-yard sneak and his 30-yard touchdown pass to Hill, one play after an interception, gave the Oilers a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Montana rallied the 49ers with the six-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass to Rice in a drive that benefited from instant replay. Montana’s 15-yard completion to Rice at the nine was ruled incomplete on the field, but reversed after a replay showed Rice got both feet inbounds.

Craig caught a five-yard pass from Montana during the drive that gave him the NFL record.

Montana’s first touchdown pass to Taylor, five minutes into the third quarter, tied the score at 14-14.