49ers Inch Past Eagles Into Playoffs : NFC: Philadelphia barely misses first down at San Francisco 10 in final minute of 20-14 setback.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been trying to convert scrambler Randall Cunningham into a conventional NFL quarterback this season. And in the second half Sunday, they seemed to have done it.

With 36 seconds to play, the last of a series of Cunningham strikes--an artistic completion on fourth and 15--carried the Eagles to within one inch of a first down at the San Francisco 10-yard line.

One inch. And by that much, the 49ers held on to win, 20-14, on a day when their all-time all-pro wide receiver, Jerry Rice, catching his 100th touchdown pass, tied Steve Largent’s all-time record.

“Philadelphia and New Orleans are possibly the best we’ve faced all year,” San Francisco Coach George Seifert said.

Said Philadelphia Coach Rich Kotite: “We’re back--we lost, but we’re back.”

Because the 49ers’ weak link, their pass defense, held Cunningham in the end--or because they got a lucky spot on Cunningham’s last play--Seifert’s team is the first to get in the playoffs.

“We could tell by the way (the 49ers) reacted that they knew we had a first down,” Eagle tight end Keith Byars said of wide receiver Calvin Williams’ catch at the 49er 10-yard line.

San Francisco guard Roy Foster, who seemed to agree, said: “I’d like to send that official a Christmas card.”

In an enigmatic comment on the call, referee Howard Roe said: “(The ball) was spotted by our back judge (Ken Baker). It was a proper ‘mechanic,’ yes, judgment call.”

Rice’s scoring pass was the 29th he has pulled in from quarterback Steve Young, who won the game with his other scoring pass in the fourth quarter, a 43-yarder to Dexter Carter that put San Francisco (10-2) ahead of Philadelphia (7-5) by too much, 20-7.

Carter, lining up along the left sideline as one of three 49er wide receivers--with Rice and newly healed John Taylor flanked right--beat Eagle safety Rich Miano, who was filling in for injured veteran Andre Waters.

“(The 49ers) have a lot of people,” said Miano, who was also in the wrong place when Rice scored. “You can’t predicate a game plan against Rice alone.”

Waters, who is gone for the season, might have saved one of those touchdowns--probably Carter’s. It has been that kind of season for the Eagles, who have fought back gamely after losing defensive lineman Jerome Brown, tight end Keith Jackson, Waters and too many others.

In sunny, warm, windless weather at Candlestick Park, in a matchup of top-five NFC teams, Philadelphia went in needing to win to hold off the Washington Redskins in the wild-card race.

The 49ers needed to win to stay up with the Dallas Cowboys in the home-field title-game race.

When it was over, the league’s top pair, the 49ers and Cowboys, were 10-2. The Eagles and Redskins were 7-5. And only two other NFC entries, the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, appeared to be on track for the playoffs, which are only a month away.

“Philadelphia is going to be hell in the playoffs,” Foster said.

Young has been the NFL’s best passer and best running quarterback this year, and against the Eagle defense he again distinguished himself in both areas, completing 24 of 35 passes for 342 yards and leading the 49ers in rushing yards with 26 in six carries, a 4.3 average.

For the first time this year, after running back Ricky Watters departed with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, Young had to do it with the help of the NFL’s finest offensive line and best cast of pass catchers.

Hitting the open receiver regularly, Young moved the 49ers 54 and 87 yards to their touchdowns, one before halftime and one after, and 76 and 41 yards to their field goals.

But after taking a 10-0 lead in the first half, Young lost the second half to Cunningham, who, in the best game he ever played as a pocket quarterback, led the Eagles 48 and 87 yards to their touchdowns.

Scrambling only in the fourth quarter, and then only three times, Cunningham completed 28 of 42 passes for 257 yards and both Philadelphia touchdowns.

Often maligned because he isn’t a traditional pro passer, he threw perfect passes to wide receiver Fred Barnett and tight end Byars on Philadelphia’s touchdown plays of 23 and 11 yards.

Then in the last four minutes, Cunningham once more marched the Eagles confidently from midfield toward the 49er goal line on the nine plays that had a capacity 64,374 fans at Candlestick biting their nails.

Although fate sacked him at the 49er 10--where, the Eagles kept insisting, they had the first down that the officials couldn’t see--Cunningham might have come of age as a quarterback in this game.

Only three weeks ago, Eagle Coach Kotite benched him when Philadelphia lost three of four starts on Cunningham’s erratic passing. The Kotite point was that Cunningham was trying to be himself--trying to do too much, that is, as both scrambler and passer.

The good quarterbacks stay in the pocket and behave themselves, Kotite told Cunningham, and so Cunningham has been trying.

In this game he succeeded. Everywhere but on the scoreboard.

Thinking it over afterward, the Philadelphia quarterback said: “It was the best game I’ve played in two years.”

At least.