They Had 49ers Cornered and Covered : Raiders: McDaniel is very effective, and Washington also has a big game against San Francisco.

When Raider cornerback Terry McDaniel begins to daydream, he imagines himself in man-to-man coverage against the best wide receiver in the NFL with time running out and the game on the line.

McDaniel’s fantasy became reality with 1:59 left in the Raiders’ 12-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at the Coliseum.

With the Raiders protecting a six-point lead, the 49ers drove to the Raider 19, where they faced a third-and-seven. Quarterback Steve Young lofted a pass for wide receiver Jerry Rice into the right corner of the end zone. But McDaniel, who was tightly covering Rice, broke up the pass. The 49ers went to John Taylor on the next play, but cornerback Lionel Washington broke up the play to give the Raiders possession.

“When the game is on the line, that’s one of the things you dream about,” McDaniel said. “We were inside the 20 and I was man-to-man on one of the best receivers of all time. To play this position you’ve got to love to be in that situation.”

Matched in single coverage against Rice, McDaniel held the 49ers All-Pro wide receiver without a reception for the first three quarters before Rice caught three passes for 38 yards. Rice made his first reception with 11:54 remaining in the game, catching a seven-yard pass. He added a 14-yard reception to the Raider 11 to set up Mike Cofer’s 25-yard field goal. Rice also caught a 17-yard pass on the first play of San Francisco’s final drive.

“It was not a typical Jerry Rice day,” Rice said. “I didn’t make some plays. The only thing I have to say is that the Raiders played well and they won the football game.”

How did McDaniel contain Rice?

“He’s tall (5 feet 10) and what helps him out is that he can get his arms on you,” Rice said. “And he’s got the speed to run with you. He’s a good defensive back.”

Raider safety Ronnie Lott, a teammate of Rice before coming to the Raiders this season, said McDaniel contained Rice well.

“Terry McDaniel is one of the best corners in football,” Lott said. “He does an excellent job of playing man-to-man coverage.”

Raider safety Eddie Anderson thinks McDaniel is having a Pro Bowl season.

“Believe it or not, Terry McDaniel is one of the top corner men in this league,” Anderson said. “People will know about him sooner or later. I hope this is the year he goes to the Pro Bowl because he’s a great corner guy. Terry has always had all the natural talent that it takes to play the position. He loves to compete. He thrives on taking the best receiver every week. He looks forward to it.”

The 49ers, who emphasized their running game at the start of the game, didn’t seem to place a high priority on getting Rice involved in the offense early.

“I’m not going to point any fingers,” Rice said. “Sometimes when I go into a game I’m not going to be the guy they try to get the ball to because we like to spread the ball around. I just feel that if I get some opportunities I can make some things happen, but today I didn’t make anything happen.”

After shutting down Rice in the first half, McDaniel sensed that the 49ers would try to get Rice involved in the offense.

“I don’t think Rice had too many passes thrown to him in the first half, so you knew that he was going to get the ball more in the second half,” McDaniel said. “It makes you concentrate more because if you know that you just played a whole half with the 49ers and Rice hasn’t had the ball, you know that they’re coming at you in the second half.”

A hit by McDaniel almost knocked Rice out of the game with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter. As Rice jumped in an attempt to catch a pass that was over his head, McDaniel tackled Rice from behind. Rice landed hard and he was down for several minutes before he left the field under his own power.

“It wasn’t the blow, it was when I made contact with the ground,” Rice said. “For a second everything went out. I felt my entire body stinging. That was the first time ever getting hit like that.”

McDaniel said he was going for the ball on the play.

‘Actually, I was going for the interception and at the last moment I saw the ball was high so my only alternative was to go through him and try to make him pay,” McDaniel said. “I thought he had gotten up and when I looked up he was down and I didn’t even know if he’d caught the ball.”

Washington, the Raiders’ right cornerback, also did a good job on 49er wide receiver John Taylor, limiting him to two catches for 42 yards. Washington also intercepted a pass on the 49ers’ first series.

“I thought Terry McDaniel did an outstanding job,” Raider Coach Art Shell said. “And Lionel Washington did an outstanding job on John Taylor. I think they deserve some Pro Bowl recognition. They did an outstanding job against the best pair of receivers in the NFC.”

Washington sensed before the game that the Raider cornerbacks would have to play well against the 49ers’ talented wide receivers.

“Rice is the best in the league and Taylor isn’t far behind,” Washington said. “Any time you get two receivers like that on the football field at the same time, it poses somewhat of a problem for your cornerbacks. Going into the game, Terry and I knew that if we played well we’d win. It was a challenge for us.”