Ruzek Makes Most of His Second Chance : Pro football: His 28-yard field goal with no time left in overtime lifts Eagles over 49ers, 37-34, after penalty nullifies miss on previous play.

Roger Ruzek made good on a second-chance 28-yard field goal with no time left in overtime Monday night to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 37-34 victory over the playoff-bound San Francisco 49ers in the last game of the regular season.

Moments earlier, Ruzek missed a 38-yard attempt, but the Eagles got another chance when the 49ers’ Merton Hanks was penalized for roughing the kicker after leaping to try to block the kick.

After the penalty, Ruzek connected on the winner to send the 49ers (10-6) into the postseason with losses in three of their last four games, including the last two.

The Eagles (8-8), recovering from a midseason tailspin caused by a wave of injuries, ended the season with three consecutive victories to avoid their first losing season since 1988.

Nearly lost in the wild finish was Steve Young of the 49ers winning a third consecutive NFL passing title--something no other quarterback has done--and the relief performance by his backup, Steve Bono, who directed two scoring drives in the final 4:41 to force overtime.

But the two couldn’t bail out a porous defense and misfiring kicker Mike Cofer. Although he connected on a 29-yard field goal with 12 seconds to play in regulation, he missed a 47-yard attempt in the fourth quarter and a 32-yarder that would have ended it after Bono guided the 49ers deep into the Eagles’ territory on the opening possession of overtime.

Cofer’s second miss opened the door for Philadelphia. Bubby Brister, who passed for 350 yards and three touchdowns and completed 26 of 43 passes, moved the Eagles 68 yards in nine plays to set up Ruzek’s winning kick.

The 37 points were the most given up by the 49ers this season, surpassing the 30 scored by Atlanta in a 37-30 San Francisco victory on Sept. 19.

Despite their weak finish, the 49ers remained locked in as the NFC’s second-seeded team. They will have a first-round playoff bye before playing either the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants or the Detroit Lions in a divisional playoff game Jan. 15 at Candlestick Park.

Young passed for two touchdowns, completing 15 of 19 passes for 165 yards, and finished with a 101.5 rating, the third consecutive season he has had a ranking above 100, also an NFL first. He edged Dallas’ Troy Aikman, who ended the season with a 99.0 rating.

Trailing late in the second quarter, 24-3, the 49ers fought back to tie the score at 24-24 as Young capped a 21-point run with a 38-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor.

With that pass, Young became the first 49er quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season, ending the season with 4,023. He surpassed Joe Montana’s previous club record of 3,944 during the 1990 season.

Brister eluded pressure to complete a short pass to James Joseph, who turned it into a 48-yard gain, and Herschel Walker caught a pass in the flat and went 21 yards for the score to give Philadelphia a 31-24 lead.

Ruzek kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:16 to play in the third quarter to make it 34-24.