First game back from the 57-day NFLPA strike. The 49ers (0-2) travel to Busch Stadium for a 1:00 PM CT kickoff against the Cardinals (0-2) on Sun November 21, 1982.
Joe Montana returns after nine weeks off. Russ Francis starts at tight end. Renaldo Nehemiah at receiver. Neil Lomax starts for St. Louis with Ottis Anderson at running back.
Neither team has won. The 1982 season is a nine-game sprint to the Super Bowl Tournament cutline.[1][2][3]
Nine weeks of no football ends today. The 49ers are 0-2, defense that gave up late leads twice, and a passing offense that produced real yardage without results. Russ Francis adds a dimension the tight end spot did not have in 1981. The Cardinals are in the same position — two games down.
The 16-team Super Bowl Tournament format means every game has unusual weight. A team at 0-3 is in a deep hole. Both staffs know it.
Week eleven is the league's return from the strike. Every team starts fresh in a compressed format the NFL has not run before. The 16-team Super Bowl Tournament replaces the traditional playoff bracket. The top 8 teams from each conference make the field; seedings are determined by record. After today's round of games, the postseason picture will have its first outlines. Both conferences have no clear frontrunner yet.
Through two games the 49ers are 0-2 with a minus 9 differential. The Cardinals are 0-2 with a minus 28. Neil Lomax threw for 330 and 385 yards in the Cards' two games. Ottis Anderson ran 20 times for 75 in Week 1. Montana's two-game line: 47 of 78, 580 yards, 5 TDs, 3 INTs. The return from the strike means no recent game film for either defense.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-0 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1-1 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 1-1 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1-1 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 2-0 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 2-0 | W2 |
| New England Patriots | 1-1 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 1-1 | W1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 0-2 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Raiders | 2-0 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 1-1 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 1-1 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 1-1 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 0-2 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 1-1 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1-1 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 0-2 | L2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 0-2 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 2-0 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 2-0 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1-1 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 0-2 | L2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-2 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 2-0 | W2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1-1 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1-1 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 1-1 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 0-2 | L2 |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 36 yard field goal | 3-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jeff Moore 1 yard rush (Ray Wersching kick) | 10-0 |
| Cardinals | Roy Green 17 yard pass from Neil Lomax (Neil O'Donoghue kick) | 10-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | Neil O'Donoghue 30 yard field goal | 10-10 |
| Cardinals | Neil O'Donoghue 32 yard field goal | 10-13 |
| 49ers | Russ Francis 6 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 17-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Dwight Clark 33 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 24-13 |
| 49ers | Earl Cooper 17 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 31-13 |
| Cardinals | Ottis Anderson 2 yard rush (Neil O'Donoghue kick) | 31-20 |
Joe Montana threw three touchdown passes — to Russ Francis, Dwight Clark, and Earl Cooper — and finished 26 of 39 for 408 yards as the 49ers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 31-20 at Busch Stadium in their first game back from the strike. Renaldo Nehemiah caught three for 93 yards. Clark added six catches for 103 yards. The 49ers moved to 1-2 in the year's most important win to date.[1][2][3]
408 passing yards and three touchdowns from Joe Montana in the 49ers' return from the 57-day strike. The defense held the Cardinals to 20 points and the 49ers left St. Louis with a 31-20 win, their first of the year.
Russ Francis took his first touchdown as a 49er: a 6-yard reception in the third quarter that broke a 10-10 tie. Clark's 33-yard score extended it to 24-13. Earl Cooper's 17-yard touchdown from Montana in the fourth put it away. Montana's 408 yards were his best single-game total as a starter.
Nehemiah, the former world-class hurdler in his second NFL season, caught three for 93 yards — the longest gain of the day coming on a 65-yard connection with Montana that set up a field goal. Lomax threw for 154 yards on 34 attempts and one touchdown for St. Louis; Anderson ran 27 times for 108 and a score in the losing effort.
49ers 31, Cardinals 20. Margin: plus 11. Record: 1-2.
A 31-20 road win at Busch Stadium — the 49ers' first victory of the year in their return from the strike.
How it unfolded
Wersching's 36-yard field goal opened the scoring. Jeff Moore's 1-yard rush made it 10-0. Neil Lomax hit Roy Green on a 17-yard score to cut it to 10-7. Two Cardinals field goals in the third quarter flipped the lead to 10-13. Francis caught his first 49ers touchdown, a 6-yard reception from Montana, to restore the lead at 17-13. Clark's 33-yard score extended it to 24-13. Cooper's 17-yard reception made the final 31-20 after Anderson's 2-yard rush for St. Louis.
The turning point
Russ Francis' 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The 49ers had fallen behind 10-13 on back-to-back Cardinals field goals. Francis' score was the lead change the offense needed and the 49ers never trailed again.
By the numbers
Montana 26 of 39, 10.5 yards per attempt — a mark that says the downfield game was open all afternoon. Nehemiah's 93 yards on three catches represented the long-ball threat. Clark six for 103. The 49ers' defense held the Cardinals' offense to 154 passing yards despite Lomax's big-number reputation. Anderson's 108 yards were managed but not stopped.
What it means
1-2 and alive in the Super Bowl Tournament race. With only nine games in the season, the 49ers need to go at least 4-2 in their remaining six to contend for the tournament field. The win is necessary but not sufficient.
| SF | Opp | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 22 | 15 |
| Total Yards | 448 | 254 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 26/39 | 17/34 |
| Pass yards | 408 | 154 |
| Pass TD | 3 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 4 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 37 | 8 |
| Net pass yards | 371 | 146 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 26 | 27 |
| Rush yards | 77 | 108 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 3 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 0 |
| Penalties | 6 | 1 |
| Penalty yards | 39 | 5 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Joe Montana #16 | 26/39 | 408 | 3 | 1 | 116.2 |
| STL | |||||
| Neil Lomax | 9/23 | 82 | 1 | 0 | 64 |
| Jim Hart | 8/11 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Earl Cooper #49 | 7 | 30 | 0 | 7 |
| Vince Williams | 4 | 23 | 0 | 12 |
| Jeff Moore | 9 | 19 | 1 | 5 |
| Joe Montana #16 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Amos Lawrence | 2 | -1 | 0 | 2 |
| STL | ||||
| Ottis Anderson | 15 | 65 | 1 | 23 |
| Wayne Morris | 8 | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| Neil Lomax | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Roy Green | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Stump Mitchell | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Dwight Clark #87 | 6 | 103 | 1 | 39 |
| Renaldo Nehemiah #82 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 55 |
| Jeff Moore | 4 | 87 | 0 | 55 |
| Freddie Solomon #88 | 4 | 57 | 0 | 22 |
| Vince Williams | 3 | 25 | 0 | 13 |
| Charle Young | 3 | 21 | 0 | 11 |
| Earl Cooper #49 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| Russ Francis #81 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| STL | ||||
| Pat Tilley | 4 | 53 | 0 | 20 |
| Ottis Anderson | 6 | 51 | 0 | 19 |
| Roy Green | 3 | 28 | 1 | 17 |
| Stump Mitchell | 2 | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Mel Gray | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Wayne Morris | 1 | -2 | 0 | -2 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1982 W11 - 49ers at St. Louis Cardinals - Game Thread
