NFC Wild Card: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers (3Com Park), the bracket opens here. Kickoff time: 4:47pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in 3Com Park shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
New York Giants versus San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New York Giants-San Francisco 49ers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 9-7 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 9-7 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8-8 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-5-1 | W3 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9-7 | W2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7-9 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2-14 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Titans | 11-5 | W5 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 10-6 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-10 | L2 |
| Houston Texans | 4-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 11-5 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 9-7 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8-8 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-8 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 10-6 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 7-9 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-9 | W3 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 12-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 10-6 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 7-9 | W2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-11 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 12-4 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-10 | W3 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-12 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 3-13 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 12-4 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9-6-1 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 9-7 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | W2 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 7 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 728383838 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 714223939 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Terrell Owens 76 yard pass from Jeff Garcia ( Jeff Chandler kick) | 0-7 |
| Giants | Amani Toomer 12 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) | 7-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Jeremy Shockey 2 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) | 14-7 |
| 49ers | Kevan Barlow 1 yard rush ( Jeff Chandler kick) | 14-14 |
| Giants | Amani Toomer 8 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) | 21-14 |
| Giants | Amani Toomer 24 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) | 28-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Giants | Tiki Barber 6 yard rush ( Matt Bryant kick) | 35-14 |
| Giants | Matt Bryant 21 yard field goal | 38-14 |
| 49ers | Terrell Owens 26 yard pass from Jeff Garcia ( Terrell Owens pass from Jeff Garcia ) | 38-22 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jeff Garcia 14 yard rush ( Terrell Owens pass from Jeff Garcia ) | 38-30 |
| 49ers | Jeff Chandler 25 yard field goal | 38-33 |
| 49ers | Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed) | 38-39 |
| Giants | 49ers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 26 | 23 |
| Total Yards | 446 | 446 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 29/44 | 28/45 |
| Pass yards | 342 | 356 |
| Pass TD | 4 | 3 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 15 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 327 | 356 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 29 | 20 |
| Rush yards | 119 | 90 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 5 | 2 |
| Penalty yards | 50 | 20 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Jeff Garcia | 27/44 | 331 | 3 | 1 | |
| Terrell Owens | 1/1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | |
| NYG | |||||
| Kerry Collins | 29/43 | 342 | 4 | 1 | |
| Matt Allen | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jeff Garcia | 7 | 60 | 1 | 14 |
| Garrison Hearst | 6 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Kevan Barlow | 4 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
| Fred Beasley | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| NYG | ||||
| Tiki Barber | 26 | 115 | 1 | 29 |
| Ron Dayne | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terrell Owens | 9 | 177 | 2 | 76 |
| Eric Johnson | 8 | 78 | 0 | 25 |
| Tai Streets | 5 | 58 | 1 | 25 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| J.J. Stokes | 2 | 14 | 0 | 10 |
| Fred Beasley | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Garrison Hearst | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| NYG | ||||
| Amani Toomer | 8 | 136 | 3 | 46 |
| Jeremy Shockey | 7 | 68 | 1 | 27 |
| Tiki Barber | 5 | 62 | 0 | 30 |
| Ron Dixon | 5 | 52 | 0 | 19 |
| Dan Campbell | 2 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| Charles Stackhouse | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
San Francisco 49ers defeated New York Giants 39-38 at 3Com Park in the NFC Wild Card. The final scoring play was 49ers: Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed). The result came down to the final possession; San Francisco 49ers won by 1. Top line of the day: Kerry Collins: 342 pass yards on 29-of-43, 4 TD, 1 INT. San Francisco 49ers advance to the divisional round.
San Francisco 49ers walked out of 3Com Park as the team that survived an NFC Wild Card New York Giants will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 39-38. The game stayed within 1 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from 49ers: Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. San Francisco 49ers advance to the divisional round.
San Francisco 49ers 39, New York Giants 38. Round: NFC Wild Card. Attendance: 66318. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 4 scoring plays. Q3: 3 scoring plays. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers: - Kerry Collins: 342 pass yards on 29-of-43, 4 TD, 1 INT - Tiki Barber: 115 rush yards on 26 carries - Terrell Owens: 9 catches for 177 yards
NFC Wild Card, played at 3Com Park. Final: New York Giants 38, San Francisco 49ers 39, with San Francisco 49ers taking the result by 1. **First quarter**
- 49ers: Terrell Owens 76 yard pass from Jeff Garcia ( Jeff Chandler kick) - Giants: Amani Toomer 12 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick)
**Second quarter**
- Giants: Jeremy Shockey 2 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) - 49ers: Kevan Barlow 1 yard rush ( Jeff Chandler kick) - Giants: Amani Toomer 8 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick) - Giants: Amani Toomer 24 yard pass from Kerry Collins ( Matt Bryant kick)
**Third quarter**
- Giants: Tiki Barber 6 yard rush ( Matt Bryant kick) - Giants: Matt Bryant 21 yard field goal - 49ers: Terrell Owens 26 yard pass from Jeff Garcia ( Terrell Owens pass from Jeff Garcia )
**Fourth quarter**
- 49ers: Jeff Garcia 14 yard rush ( Terrell Owens pass from Jeff Garcia ) - 49ers: Jeff Chandler 25 yard field goal - 49ers: Tai Streets 13 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (pass failed)
**Top performers**
- Kerry Collins: 342 pass yards on 29-of-43, 4 TD, 1 INT - Tiki Barber: 115 rush yards on 26 carries - Terrell Owens: 9 catches for 177 yards
A 1-point margin in NFC Wild Card is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.