Rice Too Much as 49ers Win Sixth in a Row : Pro football: His 289 receiving yards, the fifth-highest total ever, and three touchdowns spark a 37-30 victory over the Vikings.

Jerry Rice outdid himself and did in the Minnesota Vikings.

Rice had a career-high 289 receiving yards and caught three touchdown passes from Steve Young on Monday night, leading the playoff-bound San Francisco 49ers to a 37-30 victory. Rice’s receiving yardage total was the fifth-highest in an NFL game.

It was the sixth consecutive victory for the 49ers (11-4), who led 21-0 after one quarter and then had to hold off the Vikings.

“I feel I’m in great shape and I haven’t lost a step,” said Rice, who’s in his 11th season. “The main thing is to keep our team on track for the playoffs.

“When we had the momentum and they came back, I knew I had to make some plays and I went out and made them.”

Rice had 14 receptions to increase his season total to 110, making him the first player with three 100-catch seasons.

“The guy’s fantastic,” said Minnesota Coach Dennis Green, a former 49er assistant who coached Rice. “He’s had a lot of great games and today was one of them.

“He made a lot of crucial plays down the stretch on third downs. I know his yardage was his best and that’s from his ability to stay up when he gets hit. When you team him up with Young, when the pressure’s on, they make the plays. We were doing everything we could.”

The victory gave the 49ers a first-round playoff bye and they could gain the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a victory at Atlanta in the regular-season final Sunday. The 49ers had a bye and home-field advantage during last season’s Super Bowl run.

Rice overtook Herman Moore of Detroit to set an NFL record for most receiving yards in a season. Going into the last game, Rice has 1,695 yards and Moore 1,581.

Young threw for 425 yards, completing 30 of 49 passes, a career-high for attempts.

Minnesota’s Warren Moon, his ribs aching from a previous injury, completed 22 of 39 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked five times.

“When we were down 21-0, we had to keep our composure and do the things were capable of doing to get back into it,” Minnesota’s Quadry Ismail said. “Warren’s a competitor. He sucked it up like everybody else and went at them.”

Minnesota’s loss allowed Detroit to clinch a playoff berth. The Vikings (8-7) can still qualify for the postseason by beating Cincinnati and getting some help.

Moon had two touchdown passes to Cris Carter in the first half and one to Jake Reed with 8:14 left in the third quarter that made it 27-27.

Rice caught touchdown passes on plays convering eight, 46 and 31 yards in the first half. He had a 41-yard reception to position Jeff Wilkins for a tie-breaking 20-yard field goal with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

He got behind Dewayne Washington for a 52-yard completion to help set up Young’s six-yard scramble for a score that put the 49ers up 37-27 with 12:14 left.

Fuad Reveiz kicked his third field goal, a 38-yarder with 6:42 remaining, but Young led a clock-consuming drive and the Vikings didn’t get the ball back.

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It’s Better to Receive

The top yardage totals on pass receptions in an NFL game. *--*

Date Player Team, Opponent Rec Yds Nov. 26, 1989 Willie Anderson L.A. Rams vs. New Orleans (OT) 15 336 Dec. 22, 1985 Stephone Paige Kansas City vs. San Diego 8 309 Nov. 22, 1945 Jim Benton Cleveland vs. Detroit 10 303 Dec. 3, 1950 Cloyce Box Detroit vs. Baltimore 12 302 Dec. 18, 1995 Jerry Rice San Francisco vs. Minnesota 14 289 Dec. 11, 1989 John Taylor San Francisco vs. L.A. Rams 11 286

Date TD Nov. 26, 1989 1 Dec. 22, 1985 1 Nov. 22, 1945 1 Dec. 3, 1950 4 Dec. 18, 1995 3 Dec. 11, 1989 2

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