49ers Year-by-Year: 1998

by howtheyscored on Oct 9, 2009 8:01 AM PDT in 49ers Year-by-Year Comment 30 comments

What follows is a recap of the 49ers' 1998 season. It was a fun season, if you don't count all the broken legs.

Date:	Opponent:	Score:	Record:	Opponent's Record:
Sept. 6	New York Jets	W: 30-36	1-0	0-1
Sept. 14	@ Washington Redskins	W: 45-10	2-0	0-2
Sept. 27	Atlanta Falcons	W: 20-31	3-0	2-1
Oct. 4	@ Buffalo Bills	L: 21-26	3-1	1-3
Oct. 11	@ New Orleans Saints	W: 31-0	4-1	3-2
Oct. 18	Indianapolis Colts	W: 31-34	5-1	1-6
Oct. 25	@ St. Louis Rams	W: 28-10	6-1	2-5
Nov. 1	@ Green Bay Packers	L: 22-36	6-2	6-2
Nov. 8	Carolina Panthers	W: W: 23-25	7-2	1-8
Nov. 15	@ Atlanta Falcons	L: 19-31	7-3	8-2
Nov. 22	New Orleans Saints	W: 20-31	8-3	5-6
Nov. 30	New York Giants	W: 7-31	9-3	4-8
Dec. 6	@ Carolina Panthers	W: 31-28	10-3	2-11
Dec. 14	Detroit Lions	W: 13-35	11-3	5-9
Dec. 20	@ New England Patriots	L: 21-24	11-4	9-6
Dec. 27	St. Louis Rams	W: 19-38	12-4	4-12
Playoffs:
Jan. 3	Green Bay Packers	W: 27-30	13-4	11-6
Jan. 9	@ Atlanta Falcons	L: 18-20	13-5	15-2

Head Coach: Steve Mariucci

Key Losses: TE Brent Jones, DT Dana Stubblefield, LB Gary Plummer, DB Rod Woodson, C/G Jesse Sapolu

Key Additions: LB Winfred Tubbs, FB Fred Beasley, G/T Dave Fiore, DB Lance Schulters, C Jeremy Newberry

Going into the 1998 season, the 49ers and their fans were still stinging from yet another postseason loss to the Green Bay Packers. More than that, the 49ers had lost the Packers four times in a row, with Steve Young being 0-7 against Green Bay all on his own. There was something familiar about the taste of that kind of frustration coming against one team - twice in their history, the 49ers had faced similar stretches against the Cowboys.

But where the 49ers had ultimately put a target on the Cowboys' backs and taken careful by splurging in free agency on players like Deion Sanders and Ken Norton, Jr., they made no such desperate run at the Packers. If San Francisco was going to beat Green Bay, it would be with the same core group of players that had lost to them so consistently over the last few years.

On the bright side for the 49ers, though, they entered the season healthy. 1997 had been a trial, as Jerry Rice had missed virtually the entire season to injury and Steve Young had been battered, playing through multiple injuries including concussions. And just as good as having a healthy roster, San Francisco had finally found its running back. After years of trying unsuccessfully to replace Rickey Watters, Garrison Hearst had proven that he could be effective enough to take pressure off of Young, Rice, and the rest of the passing game.

And when the first game of the season rolled around and the Jets came to town, Hearst made an immediate statement to prove his worth. After Steve Young and Glenn Foley exchanged blows for four quarters to bring the game to a 30-30 tie, Hearst took overtime into his own hands. Following a Jets punt that trapped the 49ers at their own four-yard line, Hearst took a handoff off right tackle, broke a tackle, fended off another defender, and raced 96 yards to the finish line to end the game with the longest run from scrimmage in San Francisco franchise history.

If the Packers had the 49ers' number, the 49ers' had the Redskins number. And having beaten Washington seven times in a row, San Francisco made it an easy eight against Gus Frerotte and Norv Turner's Redskins. After beating Atlanta handily following the bye week and losing a mistake-ridden game at Buffalo a week after that, the 49ers were 3-1 and looking forward to three pushovers before traveling to Green Bay to take on their biggest current rival.

That stretch of games was barely a blip on the radar as the 49ers coasted to 6-1. In the process, Jerry Rice tied and broke Art Monk's NFL record of 182 consecutive games with a reception.

And then the 49ers were in Green Bay to face the Packers at Lambeau Field. The game was not pretty. Right from the outset, the Packers asserted their dominance, putting Young on the ground time and time again - ultimately nine times on the day - and jumping out to a 16-0 lead. Then, the tide began to turn. First Young and Rive connected for a touchdown that set the NFL record for touchdowns between a QB/WR pair. Then, the 49ers took advantage of three Favre interceptions to actually pull ahead by the end of the third quarter. As long as Favre was giving the ball away, the 49ers had a chance. But in the fourth quarter, he stopped. The Packers regained the lead, and when Steve Young later fumbled the ball, it was all Green Bay needed to ice the game. After five consecutive losses to the Packers, even Jerry Rice said, "I'm tired of losing to the Packers."

After that beating, Young missed the next game with an abdominal strain. The 49ers were still able to salvage a win behind backup Ty Detmer. A loss at Atlanta a week later put the 49ers behind the Falcons in the division, and with Atlanta beating everybody who looked at them that season, that's just where they would stay. And even ripping off wins in the next four games, there was a dark cloud hanging over the second place team.

First came the rumblings from Jerry Rice - he wasn't getting the ball enough, and resented having to come in as the slot receiver behind both Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes in certain formations. Then came the injury to Bryant Young. On a brutal accidental collision with Ken Norton, Jr., in which replays showed Young's leg visibly bending backward before snapping.

Then came former 49er coordinator Pete Carroll and his New England Patriots. Behind backup Scott Zolak, the Patriots beat the 49ers on a fourth quarter comeback that ended San Francisco's hopes to win the division. The only solace in beating the Rams was that it would ensure that when the 49ers played the Packers in the playoffs, it would be at Candlestick.

But as that game rolled around, the 49ers were far from a popular pick. Having lost five times in a row to the Packers, including a convincing loss once already this season, missing Bryant Young on the defensive line, and taking shots for riding one of the league's easiest schedules into the playoffs, the 49ers were given little change to defeat their rivals.

But at home, the 49ers proved that they got to the playoffs for a reason. The first three and a half quarters were a grinding battle, as the two teams exchanged leads, matching each other blow for blow, neither team ever trailing by more than seven. Then the Packers tied the game in the fourth quarter on a Ryan Longwell field goal. The 49ers answered with a field goal of their own. With a 23-20 lead and the clock winding down, it looked as though the 49ers might have their first victory against the Packers in more than two years.

But it wouldn't be that easy. Brett Favre took the Packers all the way down the field and stole a four point lead with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman. The blow should have been crushing. After what had seemed to be a likely victory, the 49ers were staring at what was almost assuredly a loss. With maybe enough time for one drive, San Francisco got the ball back.

Young answered Favre, marching the 49ers downfield efficiently. Controversy arose when Jerry Rice appeared to fumble the football, but the officials ruled that his knee was down before the ball came out and the play was dead. Replays would show this to be false, but without an instant replay system, the call was final.

Then, in the last minute the 49ers found themselves at the Packers' 25-yard line. Only a touchdown could win the game. As Young dropped back on the final play of the game, his back foot slipped out from underneath him. He stumbled, nearly lost his balance, regained his composure just long enough to look downfield, and fired the football into a sea of green and yellow.

The only red jersey anywhere near the play came down with the pass in the endzone. Terrell Owens' last second reception was quickly dubbed "The Catch II" (but hey, call it "The Throw"). The 49ers had beaten the Packers. Steve Mariucci found Owens and embraced his tearful receiver in celebration of the emotional moment.

But the momentum wouldn't carry. Playing the Falcons for the third time that season, the 49ers suffered one crushing loss on the first play of the game, and didn't recover for the duration. After taking a handoff from Steve Young to open the game, Garrison Hearst's ankle caught in the Atlanta turf, breaking his leg. The 49ers offense wasn't the same without him, and the Falcons were too good to beat undermanned.

Even after getting record setting seasons from Steve Young and Jerry Rice; even after getting the Green Bay monkey off of their backs, the 49ers couldn't advance past the second round of the playoffs. And with that, the 1998 season ended in a loss.

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OWENS! OWENS! OWENS!

HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT!

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 8:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzThn8pkpC0

Check my 49ers blogs at Mining the Gold Rush and San Francisco 49ers Examiner

by PHUT! on Oct 9, 2009 9:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not Starkey’s best call.

(I actually don’t like the call, personally, but even if you do like it, it doesn’t change the truth of my statement – his call for The Play was his best call)

Context, people. More context is good. Less context is bad. If you're willing to be reductive, then you're willing to be wrong.

by howtheyscored on Oct 9, 2009 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You are correct in that The Play was a better call.
However, I can’t believe you wouldn’t like the call of The Throw

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eh, he’s pretty much just yelling the same thing over and over again at the top of his ever-more damaged voice. Listening on the radio, you know next to nothing about what happened.

It’s almost like this to me “Young almost falls – OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD TOO BAD YOU GUYS CAN’T SEE THIS BECAUSE I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED!”

Context, people. More context is good. Less context is bad. If you're willing to be reductive, then you're willing to be wrong.

by howtheyscored on Oct 9, 2009 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

howtheyscored: Don’t trust his lies!

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Listening on the radio, you know next to nothing about what happened.

“OWENS! OWENS! OWENS! HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT!”

What else do you want him to say?

by FiveAlarmFreddy on Oct 9, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s when Owen’s was cool… when we all kinda just ignored his rants and endzone dances.

by aBulldog on Oct 9, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’d had a terrible game before that, too. I remember that he just dropped pass after pass until, you know, being pretty awesome there at the end.

GROUGTHINK ALERT
The first Chester Arthur fanboy ever.

by groug on Oct 9, 2009 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not the right week for 1998

The year the Falcons beat us in the Play Offs.. your going to give the Amo for the trash talk thread!

11-5... My 49ers pre-season prediction!

by Ten-Man on Oct 9, 2009 8:41 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

But we beat them in the regular season!

Context, people. More context is good. Less context is bad. If you're willing to be reductive, then you're willing to be wrong.

by howtheyscored on Oct 9, 2009 8:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Split with them in the regular season!

for the year we were 1-2 against them. But I remember that year. It was a good year of football! and it was my first year back from being stationed in Okinawa Japan.

11-5... My 49ers pre-season prediction!

by Ten-Man on Oct 9, 2009 9:04 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I still remember the heartbreak I felt when Hearst went down with the broken leg against the Falcons. On the first flipping play!

It was a fun season, though, and the last fun season we’ve had before this year.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 9:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

B.Y.'s Injury

Damn. It was in the second half of a monday night game that was in hand against the Giants. As the play was going on (run up the middle i think), I just had a thought that something wasn’t right, as though too many guys were out of control or out of position/assignment (some sort-of off-type feeling, ya know). Sure enough, Ken Norton dove head-long into BY’s leg.

BY was (among the Niners who don’t seem to be mentioned among the HOF-ers) and is one of my favorite 49ers of all time. He was the epitome of professional, on and off (founded scholarships for local students) the field, and anyone who could come back from that injury and be extremely effective deserves continued recognition/applause/etc. (he was the comeback player of the year). He was for a while the only link back to the ’94 super bowl team, and maintained a team first mentality through out the down years of Dennis Erickson (shutter) and Mike Nolan.

One play sticks out in particular (@ Carolina I think), when simultaneous with the ball being snapped he lunged to sack the QB before the hand off. (if anyone can confirm that it was Carolina, appreciated).

Bryant Young belongs in the 49ers HOF (at the least), and I’m confident he will get there.

Chris Cohan- YOU'RE FIRED!

by bonbrillio on Oct 9, 2009 11:15 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

by

The guy was/is class all the way I think he belongs in Canton. Great leader, great teammate and a great 49er, perhaps a coach someday.

I thought 98 was our year…losing Hearst was just heartbreaking.

by jvosh on Oct 9, 2009 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A sad moment

I remember the moment when BY broke so distinctly, it’s crazy. Now remember, I grew up in Saskatchewan and had to follow the Niners based on highlights shows and, once in a blue moon, the odd Sunday Night game. So I’m finally watching the Niners and the man at the heart of their D-Line breaks his leg in such a brutal fashion. (/shudder) I couldn’t tear myself away from the screen but felt so sick watching them show his leg with a hip joint, a knee joint and a mid-calf joint. I think I ended up turning off the game because I couldn’t get that image out of my head.

Morgan breaks through in 2009!

by grantmp on Oct 9, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Records

If you look at our opponent’s records during the regular season, we really didn’t beat anyone with a over .500 record.

Pretty cupcake schedule in 98.

by mpotter14 on Oct 9, 2009 12:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

True.

But we did hand the eventual NFC Champion one of their two losses in the regular season. But yeah, you’re right about the cupcake schedule.

We do put the "AN" in tangents, don’t we? - 67MARQUEZ

by Scottbass on Oct 9, 2009 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haven't posted on Niners Nation much, so forgive me...

Whats the general impression of Steve Mariucci around here?

I always sense s lot of Mariucci hate from some niner fans. I liked him and was pissed when they replaced him with, well you know who

I R 5

by say hey nation on Oct 9, 2009 1:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it's a mixed bag.

I don’t know this for sure, but I think that the yes/no crowd for Mariucci was pretty split down the middle.

by sfgfan on Oct 9, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

From what I remember, his playcalling bugged the bejeezus out of me, but after seeing the next two replacements, I wish we had just kept him on.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I supported his firing

And was not a big fan. I thought it was dumb to not have someone else in mind, but those were the John York days. Mooch’s offense often dissapeared in the 2nd halves of games; in this ‘98 season, the losses at GB and NE were a prime example. His game plans also could be quite simplisitic which for the current squad might make sense but for this group did not. There was no feeling of vareity or a guy who could take is team on the road and win a big game. It seemed they often played down to their opponent on the road. I think he would’ve had excellent success back in college.. IMO.

In the Falcon playoff game, his decision to not on-side kick at the end caused great frustration with me.

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Oct 9, 2009 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eh

Obviously it was the wrong move considering Dennis Erickson was our replacement? I mean really Dennis Erickson? What I found odd was he was fired after we got beat down by the eventual Champion Bucs. But it was the week after we just had one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. There is no doubt in my mind we probably crawl into the playoffs the following year if Steve is brought back and I dunno if we are forced to gut the roster 2 seasons later plunging us in the free fall we just seem to have gotten out of.

Yeah he was probably too nice to win a championship in the NFL and there were major complaints (many from T.O) about him lacking the killer instinct and step on your throat approach needed. Hey Tony Dungy was also one of the nicest guys but you definitely saw a difference in his demeanor and Steve’s. But hey, we were the Niners still in the midst of our “Dynasty” run and we had lofty goals, who knew we weren’t in for a retooling job but a 5 year rebuilding overhaul.

by KEGster on Oct 14, 2009 1:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Possible correction

Of Young’s 0-7 record vs GB, only four came in a Niner uniform (’95 playoffs, ’96 playoffs – only played the opening series, ’97 playoffs, ’98 reg season).

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Oct 9, 2009 2:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I knew there was something fishy there when I wrote it, but I was going off of one of those LA Times articles. The article had the info right. I just represented it wrong. Thanks.

Context, people. More context is good. Less context is bad. If you're willing to be reductive, then you're willing to be wrong.

by howtheyscored on Oct 9, 2009 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

West coast media bias!!!

Those darm so-cali people.

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Oct 9, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great week for the season recap

You forgot to mention the addition of Charles Haley the week before the GB playoff game. He pressured Favre into an INT and then batted a pass for an INT @ Atlanta.

I think this was our last legit SB possible team. The defense had aged and was no longer dominant but they still had legti vets and an offense that could carry them.

The Hearst injury (on the first fricking play!) continued our odd/bad luck playing games in that city. He doesn’t get hurt we win and go to Minnesota which was a team whose defense we’d always been able to exploit. Coulda been an SF vs Denver Super Bowl. Would rather have lost in Minnesota than to the dirty birds.

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Oct 9, 2009 2:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

oh, how I disliked Jamal Anderson to the depths of my being.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Oct 9, 2009 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OMG

I remember this game. I thought we were gonners, but I watched to the very end like a good fan should. I was rewarded with “The Catch II”. I swear I didn’t even see a receiver in the pack of packers around the goal line. He emmerged from the pile with the ball, the winning score, and the sweet taste of victory! Then the next game watching garrison herst go down in a heap was the agony of defeat…

Another year, another chance to hope for the team !!

by FaStRmAn on Oct 9, 2009 10:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

94 > 90 > 92 > 93 > 98 > 97 > 95

Is how I would rank them, although without injuries I’d put the 97 team ahead of 98.

Funny thing about the 1998 team is they are frequently one of the “Greatest 49ers Teams” included in Madden (probably because of the offense alone) although they didn’t even win their own division. Hearst was a MONSTER with 1570 yards and the trio of Rice, Owens and Strokes was quite impressive with each getting atleast 8 TD’s on the season.

Defense was just too old, their great seasons of ‘96 and ’97 were wasted with no running game and by the time it came together….WTF did the Falcons come from. To this day I still don’t understand. They had 7 wins the season before and 5 the season after and would have the #1 overall NFL draft pick a few seasons later. I know you can’t win EVERY division title but it really upset me how the Panthers and Falcons would come out and have these once in a lifetime seasons and keep us from getting a bye week in the playoffs.

Overall we weren’t good enough especially without Hearst to defeat the Vikings in the NFC title game or Broncos in Super Bowl and with Atlanta pulling off one of the greatest upsets in NFL history by beating those Vikings, I forgave them for ruining our 1998 season. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE was foaming at the mouth for a 14-2 Broncos vs 15-1 Vikings Super Bowl….still kinda bitter we didn’t get to see it

Everything would come crashing down Week 1 the following year with a 3-41 trashing at the hands of the Jaguars. And Young’s career would be ended 3 weeks later on a missed blitz assignment by Lawrence Phillips. So in a way the Hearst injury bit us in the butt twice because no way Garrison misses that A.Williams blitz. And so began Jeff Garcia’s Pro Bowl career.

Agreed with post above, this was indeed our final title contender. I don’t think we’ll ever see 2 VERY GOOD teams play in the Wild Card Round like we did that day in San Fran and Green Bay. A funny note, anyone remember Jake Plummer and the Cardinals going into Dallas and shocking Deion and co in the Wild Card game? Atleast we rebounded with Garcia a few seasons later, Cowboys started on a nose dive they didn’t recover from since Romo?….and still no playoff wins

by KEGster on Oct 14, 2009 1:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs