2002 · Wild Card Round · Game 4

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Wild Card Round

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Sun January 5, 2003 · 3Com Park, kickoff 4:47pm

Pregame

Pregame: Wild Card Round
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

The 49ers (10-6) host the New York Giants (10-6) at Candlestick Park for a Sunday afternoon Wild Card kickoff in the NFC Wild Card playoffs.

Kerry Collins starts at quarterback for the Giants. Tiki Barber runs the ball. Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard lead the receivers. Jeff Garcia starts for the 49ers; Garrison Hearst at running back; Terrell Owens at receiver. Eric Johnson at tight end.

Steve Mariucci coaches the 49ers' second playoff appearance in as many years.[1][2][3]

Columnist
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

Steve Mariucci's second consecutive playoff appearance Sunday at Candlestick. The first home playoff game since 1998 after clinching the NFC West.

Jeff Garcia in his second Pro Bowl year. Terrell Owens with 13 receiving touchdowns. Garrison Hearst back at running back. The Giants come in with Kerry Collins at quarterback and Tiki Barber as the lead back.

Favored by 3 at home. The kind of home Wild Card game where, with the NFC West title in hand, the year's identity tape will define whether the season's competitive arc extends into the Divisional round.

Around the league
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

Wild Card weekend across the NFC. The Eagles (12-4) earned the top NFC seed with the Buccaneers (12-4) at #2. The Packers (12-4) earned a bye. The 49ers (10-6) and Giants (10-6) face off in the Wild Card. The Falcons travel to Green Bay in the other NFC Wild Card. The winner of the 49ers-Giants game heads to Tampa Bay in the Divisional round. The kind of January where the 49ers' identity tape, with the NFC West championship in hand, gets one more home playoff audience.

Trend analyst
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

Through sixteen games the 49ers are 10-6 with a +59 point differential. Jeff Garcia threw for 21 TDs and 10 INTs and a 85.6 rating (second straight Pro Bowl). Garrison Hearst rushed for 972 yards with seven TDs. Terrell Owens caught 100 passes for 1,300 yards and 13 TDs (1st Team All-Pro). The defense allows 16.9 points per game. The Giants are 10-6 with Kerry Collins averaging 220 passing yards a game and 19 TDs/14 INTs. Tiki Barber rushed for 1,387 yards with 11 TDs. Vegas opens the 49ers as 3-point home favorites; total 48.

League standings entering Week 18

Standings as of kickoff, Week 18 (no future-game spoilers)

Around the league

  • Tied atop the league at 12-4: Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

AFC

AFC East

TeamRecStrk
Miami Dolphins9-7L2
New England Patriots9-7W1
New York Jets9-7W2
Buffalo Bills8-8W1

AFC North

TeamRecStrk
Pittsburgh Steelers10-5-1W3
Cleveland Browns9-7W2
Baltimore Ravens7-9L2
Cincinnati Bengals2-14L1

AFC South

TeamRecStrk
Tennessee Titans11-5W5
Indianapolis Colts10-6W1
Jacksonville Jaguars6-10L2
Houston Texans4-12L3

AFC West

TeamRecStrk
Oakland Raiders11-5W2
Denver Broncos9-7W1
Kansas City Chiefs8-8L1
San Diego Chargers8-8L4

NFC

NFC West

TeamRecStrk
San Francisco 49ers10-6L1
St. Louis Rams7-9W1
Seattle Seahawks7-9W3
Arizona Cardinals5-11--

NFC East

TeamRecStrk
Philadelphia Eagles12-4L1
New York Giants10-6W4
Washington Redskins7-9W2
Dallas Cowboys5-11L4

NFC North

TeamRecStrk
Green Bay Packers12-4L1
Minnesota Vikings6-10W3
Chicago Bears4-12L2
Detroit Lions3-13L8

NFC South

TeamRecStrk
Tampa Bay Buccaneers12-4W1
Atlanta Falcons9-6-1L1
New Orleans Saints9-7L3
Carolina Panthers7-9W2

Game video

▶ Open in YouTube 2002 NFL Wildcard Giants @ 49ers; Fox Jan 5th 2003 · channel: College Football Historian

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🔎 Search YouTube for this game🏈 Around the league this week
More of this game (3):
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Game info

Roof
outdoors
Surface
grass
Weather
53°F, 96% humidity, wind 5 mph
Vegas line
49ers -3
Over/Under
41 (over)

Score

Reveal through:

San Francisco 49ers 39, New York Giants 38[1][2]

1234T
New York Giants721100728383838
San Francisco 49ers77817714223939

Scoring plays

Q1

TeamPlayScore
No scoring this quarter.

Q2

TeamPlayScore
No scoring this quarter.

Q3

TeamPlayScore
No scoring this quarter.

Q4

TeamPlayScore
No scoring this quarter.

Recap

Recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns and the 49ers came back from a 38-14 third-quarter deficit to beat the New York Giants 39-38 at Candlestick Park in the NFC Wild Card. Jeff Garcia threw three touchdowns and ran for a fourth (60 rushing yards). Tai Streets caught the go-ahead touchdown with one minute left. The Giants' last-second 41-yard field goal attempt failed on a botched snap. The 49ers scored 25 fourth-quarter points to advance.[1][2][3]

Columnist recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns Sunday afternoon at Candlestick. The 49ers came back from a 38-14 third-quarter deficit to beat the New York Giants 39-38 in the kind of Wild Card home comeback that will live in the franchise's playoff catalog for the rest of the post-Walsh era.

Jeff Garcia threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth, finishing with 60 yards on seven carries. The kind of complete-team quarterback performance the year's Pro Bowl tape has been pointing toward. Garrison Hearst ran for 32 with a touchdown. Tai Streets caught the go-ahead touchdown from 13 yards out with one minute left to put the 49ers up 39-38. The Giants drove into 49ers territory but Trey Junkin's botched 41-yard field-goal snap (the kind of holder error the league had not seen in a playoff game in years) ended the game on the wrong side of an illegal-receiver-downfield call that the officials missed on the play but acknowledged the next day.

25 fourth-quarter points. Garcia threw two TDs to Owens, one to Tai Streets, and ran a two-point conversion. Tiki Barber ran for 115 with a touchdown. Kerry Collins threw four touchdowns and 342 yards. The 49ers advance to the Divisional round at Tampa Bay.

By the numbers
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

49ers 39, Giants 38. Margin: +1. Wild Card win.

* Jeff Garcia: 27-of-44 for 331, 3 TDs (Owens x2, Streets), 1 INT; 7 carries for 60, 1 TD.
* Garrison Hearst: 13 carries for 42, 1 TD.
* Terrell Owens: 9 catches for 177, 2 TDs.
* Tai Streets: receiving TD with 1:00 remaining (go-ahead 13y catch).
* Kerry Collins: 29-of-43 for 342, 4 TDs, 1 INT.
* Tiki Barber: 26 carries for 115, 1 TD.
* Amani Toomer: receiving TDs.
* 49ers down 38-14 in 3Q; scored 25 4Q points.
* Trey Junkin: botched 41y FG snap as time expired (illegal-receiver-downfield missed call).
* 49ers advance to Divisional at Tampa Bay; Giants season ends 10-7.

Film room
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)

A 39-38 Wild Card home comeback over the New York Giants at Candlestick. The 49ers' historic 25-point fourth-quarter rally from a 38-14 deficit. The 49ers advance to the Divisional round at Tampa Bay.

How it unfolded

The Giants scored on their opening drive (Collins to Toomer) to make it 7-0. Hearst answered with a short TD to tie. Collins added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-7. Garcia hit Owens for a TD to make it 21-14 at halftime. The third quarter slipped further: Collins fourth TD made it 28-14, then a Tiki Barber rushing TD made it 35-14, then a Matt Bryant field goal made it 38-14. The fourth quarter rewrote franchise history: Garcia to Owens (38-20), Garcia two-point run (38-22), 49ers field goal (38-25), Hearst short TD with two-point conversion (38-31), and Garcia's 13-yard TD to Tai Streets with one minute left (39-38). The Giants drove into 49ers territory and lined up for a 41-yard Matt Bryant kick. Trey Junkin's snap was botched; the kick was never attempted. Final 39-38.

The turning point

The 25-point fourth-quarter comeback. With the score 38-14 in the third quarter, the 49ers' offense produced four touchdown drives in roughly twenty game-clock minutes.

By the numbers

Garcia 331 passing on 44 attempts with three TDs and an INT plus 60 rushing on 7 carries. Hearst 42 rushing with a TD. Owens 177 receiving on 9 catches with two TDs. Streets the go-ahead TD. Collins 342 on 43 attempts with four TDs. Tiki Barber 115 rushing with a TD. Toomer two receiving TDs.

Personnel watch

Garcia's three-TD passing plus rushing TD. Owens's 177-yard, two-TD rally. Tai Streets's 13-yard go-ahead touchdown. Trey Junkin (signed days before the playoffs) the botched snap. The illegal-receiver-downfield missed call the league acknowledged the next day.

What it means

11-6 with the Divisional round at Tampa Bay. The 25-point fourth-quarter rally produced one of the post-Walsh era's signature moments.

Box score

SFOpp
Team totals
First Downs2623
Total Yards446446
Turnovers12
Passing
Comp/Att29/4428/45
Pass yards342356
Pass TD43
Interceptions11
Sacks taken20
Sack yards lost150
Net pass yards327356
Rushing
Rushes2920
Rush yards11990
Rush TD12
Discipline
Fumbles11
Fumbles lost01
Penalties52
Penalty yards5020

Passing

PlayerC/AYdsTDIntRate
SFO
Jeff Garcia27/4433131
Terrell Owens1/12500
NYG
Kerry Collins29/4334241
Matt Allen0/1000

Rushing

PlayerAttYdsTDLong
SFO
Jeff Garcia760114
Garrison Hearst61506
Kevan Barlow41216
Fred Beasley3303
NYG
Tiki Barber26115129
Ron Dayne3403

Receiving

PlayerRecYdsTDLong
SFO
Terrell Owens9177276
Eric Johnson878025
Tai Streets558125
Cedrick Wilson118018
J.J. Stokes214010
Fred Beasley2805
Garrison Hearst1303
NYG
Amani Toomer8136346
Jeremy Shockey768127
Tiki Barber562030
Ron Dixon552019
Dan Campbell213010
Charles Stackhouse21106

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