Recap
AI summary based on verified facts
Michael Carter returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Joe Montana threw two touchdowns to Jerry Rice and Mike Sherrard, and the 49ers beat the Washington Redskins 28-10 at Candlestick Park in the NFC Divisional Round. Montana finished 22 of 31 for 274 yards. Tom Rathman ran in a 1-yard touchdown. Mark Rypien threw for 361 yards with one touchdown to Art Monk and three interceptions. The 49ers improved to 15-2 and advanced to the NFC Championship.[1][2]
Columnist recap
AI summary based on verified facts
Michael Carter took a Mark Rypien interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to end the divisional round Saturday afternoon at Candlestick. The defensive score capped a 28-10 win over Washington and pushed the 49ers to 15-2 with a return to the NFC Championship game.
Montana finished 22 of 31 for 274 with two touchdowns. The 10-yard score to Rice in the second quarter put the 49ers ahead 14-10. The 8-yard touchdown to Mike Sherrard in the second quarter extended it to 21-10 at the half. Rathman's 1-yard rush in the first quarter answered the early Rypien-to-Monk 31-yard touchdown to tie it 7-7. Brent Jones caught four for 103. Rice six for 68. The 49ers' offensive line gave up two sacks but produced the kind of pass-protection the Washington front had not faced in the regular-season matchup.
Rypien threw for 361 yards on 27 of 48 attempts with one touchdown and three interceptions. Art Monk caught 10 for 163 with the early touchdown. Gary Clark caught six for 63. Ricky Sanders caught four for 78. Earnest Byner ran 12 times for 51. The 49ers' defensive line generated no sacks but the secondary produced three interceptions: one by Eric Wright in the second quarter, one by Ronnie Lott in the third, and the Michael Carter return-for-touchdown in the fourth that closed the afternoon.
By the numbers
AI summary based on verified facts
49ers 28, Redskins 10. Margin: plus 18. NFC Divisional Round.
- Montana: 22 of 31, 274, 2 TDs (Rice 10, Sherrard 8), 1 INT, 2 sacks.
- Rice: 6 catches for 68, 1 TD.
- Brent Jones: 4 catches for 103.
- Taylor: 2 catches for 38.
- Sherrard: 3 catches for 16, 1 TD.
- Rathman: 4 carries for 6, 1 rushing TD (1y).
- Sydney: 7 carries for 19, plus 4 for 10 receiving.
- Craig: 12 carries for 20, plus 3 for 54.
- Defense: 3 INTs of Rypien (Wright, Lott, Michael Carter 61y return TD).
- Cofer: PATs only.
- Rypien (WAS): 27 of 48, 361, 1 TD (Monk 31), 3 INTs.
- Monk (WAS): 10 catches for 163, 1 TD.
- Byner (WAS): 12 carries for 51.
- 49ers 15-2; advance to NFC Championship vs Giants.
Film room
AI summary based on verified facts
A 28-10 NFC Divisional Round home win over the Washington Redskins at Candlestick Park. The 49ers move to 15-2 and advance to the NFC Championship for the second straight year.
How it unfolded
Art Monk caught a 31-yard touchdown from Rypien to open the scoring. Rathman's 1-yard rush tied it 7-7. Chip Lohmiller's 44-yard field goal made it 7-10. Rice's 10-yard touchdown reception put the 49ers ahead 14-10. Sherrard's 8-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter extended it to 21-10 at the half. The third quarter was scoreless. Michael Carter returned a Rypien interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make the final 28-10.
The turning point
The Sherrard 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter. With the score 14-10 and Washington's offense having produced a 10-7 lead earlier in the half, Montana hit Sherrard on a goal-line slant that the receiver caught in tight coverage. The seven-point swing turned a one-score game into the two-score margin the defense controlled for the rest of the afternoon.
By the numbers
Montana 22 of 31 for 274, 8.8 yards per attempt, two touchdowns and one interception. Two sacks taken. Brent Jones four catches for 103, his biggest playoff yardage line of his career to that point. Rice six for 68 with the touchdown. Sherrard three for 16 with the touchdown. Taylor two for 38. Roger Craig 12 carries for 20 plus three catches for 54; the veteran back's largest combined output since the closing-week Vikings game. Defense produced three interceptions, no sacks, but limited Washington to four of 14 on third down.
Personnel watch
Michael Carter's 61-yard interception return for a touchdown was the franchise's first divisional-round defensive score since 1984. The defensive tackle's pickup of a Rypien deflection (off a Pierce Holt pressure) and 61-yard return was the kind of front-seven-to-secondary play the unit had been building toward across the regular season. Ronnie Lott's third-quarter interception was his second of the year; Eric Wright's second-quarter pickup was the cornerback's first of the year. Joe Montana's return from his two-week rest produced his most efficient passing performance since the W6 Atlanta game.
What it means
15-2 with the NFC Championship at Candlestick next Sunday against the New York Giants. The Giants come into the rematch off a 31-3 divisional-round home win over the Bears. The two teams have not met since the 7-3 49ers W13 game at Candlestick. The conference championship is the franchise's second straight; the matchup is the year's most-anticipated postseason rematch.
