49ers Impressed by Victory, Not Tie : NFC: San Francisco routs Tampa Bay, 31-7, shares NFL record with 18 consecutive victories.

Winning, not winning streaks, is what counts, the San Francisco 49ers have been saying all week.

And Sunday, after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-7, to tie the NFL record of 18 consecutive victories, the 49ers were saying it again.

“We really don’t pay much attention to it at this point,” said quarterback Joe Montana, who threw two touchdown passes to tight end Brent Jones. “It will be nice later to look back on, but right now it’s no big deal. It’s just something that’s going along with us.”

The 49ers’ winning streak includes three post-season games last season and dates to last Nov. 27.

It marks the fourth time in NFL history that a team has won 18 games in a row. The Chicago Bears accomplished the feat twice--in 1933-34 and 1941-42--and the Miami Dolphins did it over the 1972-73 seasons.

“The thing that makes them the team they are is that they win games,” Tampa Bay Coach Ray Perkins said. “They were not devastating in any one area, but they did what they had to do to get the ball into the end zone.”

San Francisco (10-0) tied the record by stifling the Tampa Bay offense, which gained only 180 total yards and could not score a touchdown.

The Buccaneers (4-7), who have lost five consecutive games, managed to get inside the 49ers’ 30-yard-line once.

“Our defense has been playing well, and they continued to do that today,” Montana said.

The 49ers sacked Chris Chandler seven times, including twice in the fourth quarter after Tampa Bay drove to the San Francisco four-yard-line.

Chandler, scrambling seemingly on every pass play, completed 13 of 29 for 125 yards with one interception.

Montana was 23 for 35 for 230 yards with two touchdowns and an interception before leaving midway through the fourth quarter. Montana’s total gave him 3,065 yards this season. He became the first player to pass for more than 3,000 yards in seven seasons.

Montana hit Jones for an 11-yard touchdown 5:58 into the game, capping a 66-yard, eight-play drive on the 49ers’ first possession.

After Mike Cofer kicked a 24-yard field goal 4:48 into the second quarter, the 49ers went ahead, 17-3, with 1:56 left in the half when Montana hit Jones with a four-yard touchdown pass.

The Buccaneers scored when cornerback Wayne Haddix intercepted a pass by Montana and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown 2:51 into the third quarter. It was Haddix’s third interception return for a touchdown this season.

Roger Craig scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run with 4:35 left in the third quarter to put the 49ers ahead, 24-7. Harry Sydney scored on a one-yard run with four seconds left in the game.

The 49ers’ last defeat was 21-17 to Green Bay a year ago today.