The 49ers open 1998 at 3Com Park against the New York Jets in Steve Mariucci's second-year debut. Steve Young returns at 37, healthy from the rib injury that limited him in the divisional round. Jerry Rice is back from the ACL that ended his 1997 in Week 1.
Garrison Hearst is RB1 after his 1,019-yard 1997. J.J. Stokes and Terrell Owens flank the receiver room with Rice. Bill Walsh is back as a consulting executive after stepping back in 1989.[1][2]
Bill Parcells comes to 3Com Park for the season opener with the Jets in year two of his rebuild. Steve Young, off a 1997 division title that ended in a divisional-round loss to Green Bay, takes his first opening snap at thirty-seven years old. Jerry Rice's first regular-season game since the opening play of last year's opener is the storyline this stadium has been pointing toward since January.
Opening Sunday begins the year with the Broncos as defending Super Bowl champions and the conference looking for a challenger. The Vikings and Packers project as the NFC's strongest two; the Cowboys are picked third. The 49ers' Sunday opens the NFC West against the Jets and Bill Parcells. Around the league the early stories are the Falcons hiring Dan Reeves, the Bucs adding Trent Dilfer pieces, and the Saints under Mike Ditka.
Through zero games the 49ers reset to last year's profile: 13-3, NFC West champions, NFC divisional-round exit. Young threw for 3,029 in 1997 and 19 touchdowns. Hearst ran for 1,019. Rice is in his first full regular-season action since the 1997 opener. The Jets opened 1997 9-7, the franchise's first non-losing season since 1988. Vegas opens the 49ers as 7-point home favorites. Number to track today: snaps with all three of Rice, Stokes and Owens on the field.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 0-0 | -- |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-0 | -- |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0-0 | -- |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0-0 | -- |
| Tennessee Oilers | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 0-0 | -- |
| Indianapolis Colts | 0-0 | -- |
| Miami Dolphins | 0-0 | -- |
| New England Patriots | 0-0 | -- |
| New York Jets | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 0-0 | -- |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 0-0 | -- |
| Oakland Raiders | 0-0 | -- |
| San Diego Chargers | 0-0 | -- |
| Seattle Seahawks | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 0-0 | -- |
| Carolina Panthers | 0-0 | -- |
| New Orleans Saints | 0-0 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 0-0 | -- |
| St. Louis Rams | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 0-0 | -- |
| Detroit Lions | 0-0 | -- |
| Green Bay Packers | 0-0 | -- |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0-0 | -- |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | 0-0 | -- |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0-0 | -- |
| New York Giants | 0-0 | -- |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 0-0 | -- |
| Washington Redskins | 0-0 | -- |
ICONIC Ending in Opening Sunday! (Jets vs. 49ers 1998, Week 1)
Jets vs 49ers 1998 Week 1
49ers Vs Jets 1998
1. New York Jets 1998 Garrison Hearst OT TD Run
49ers vs Jets 1998 #49ersfaithful #49ersfan #newyorkjets 2
NFL on CBS - 1998 NY Jets vs San Francisco - open
NY Jets at San Francisco 1st half week 1 1998
NY Jets at San Francisco 2nd half week 1 1998Steve Young threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, Garrison Hearst ran for 187 yards on 20 carries with two scores, and the 49ers beat the New York Jets 36-30 at 3Com Park in the home opener. J.J. Stokes caught 7 for 111 and two touchdowns; Jerry Rice caught 6 for 86 with a touchdown in his first regular-season action since the 1997 opener. Glenn Foley threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns in his Jets debut.[1][2]
Jerry Rice caught six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in his first regular-season game in 364 days. Garrison Hearst ran for 187. Steve Young threw three touchdown passes. The 49ers won 36-30 at 3Com Park in the home opener.
The Sunday was the offensive shootout the schedule projected: 736 combined passing yards, two quarterbacks throwing three touchdowns each, the Jets' rookie wide receiver duo of Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet combining for 15 catches and 251 yards. Hearst's 187-yard rushing day is the 49ers' highest single-game line in two years. The offensive line, with the rebuilt rotation, gave up two sacks on 46 dropbacks.
The 49ers walk away 1-0 with the road trip to Washington next Sunday. The defensive secondary surrendered three Foley touchdowns and the 415-yard passing line is the franchise's worst opening-week defensive afternoon since 1995. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Rice's return.
49ers 36, Jets 30. Margin: plus 6. Record: 1-0.
A 36-30 home opener win over the Jets. The 49ers improve to 1-0 with the season's first offensive shootout.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a touchdown drive ending in a 14-yard touchdown to Stokes. The Jets answered with a Foley touchdown to Keyshawn Johnson. Hearst's first rushing touchdown made it 14-7. The second quarter produced three more touchdowns: a Foley score to Chrebet, the second Hearst rushing touchdown to make it 21-14, and a Foley touchdown to Keyshawn Johnson to tie at 21 at the half. The third quarter belonged to the 49ers: Young found Stokes for the second touchdown and Rice for his first 1998 score to push the lead to 36-21. The Jets added a fourth-quarter touchdown to make the final 36-30.
The turning point
The third-quarter Rice touchdown. With the 49ers leading 29-21 and the offense facing third-and-six at the Jets' 18, Young found Rice on a slant. The 36-21 cushion put the home team in protect-the-lead posture against a Jets offense that had already produced 21 points in the first half.
By the numbers
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 26/46 | 363 | 3 | 1 | |
| NYJ | |||||
| Glenn Foley | 30/58 | 415 | 3 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Garrison Hearst | 20 | 187 | 2 | 96 |
| Steve Young #8 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Chuck Levy | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| NYJ | ||||
| Curtis Martin | 22 | 58 | 0 | 16 |
| Jerald Sowell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| J.J. Stokes | 7 | 111 | 2 | 31 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 6 | 86 | 1 | 22 |
| Terrell Owens | 3 | 60 | 0 | 23 |
| Garrison Hearst | 2 | 38 | 0 | 35 |
| Irv Smith | 3 | 35 | 0 | 18 |
| Marc Edwards | 2 | 22 | 0 | 16 |
| Chuck Levy | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| NYJ | ||||
| Keyshawn Johnson | 9 | 126 | 2 | 41 |
| Wayne Chrebet | 6 | 125 | 1 | 48 |
| Dedric Ward | 5 | 96 | 0 | 22 |
| Curtis Martin | 4 | 41 | 0 | 22 |
| Jerald Sowell | 2 | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| Kyle Brady | 2 | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| Keith Byars | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Leon Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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