The 49ers (8-3) host the New York Giants (5-6) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff. Kent Graham is the starter under second-year head coach Jim Fassel. Gary Brown is the back. Ike Hilliard and Chris Calloway are the receivers. The Giants come off back-to-back losses.
The 49ers come off the 31-20 home win over New Orleans. Steve Young is the starter; Garrison Hearst is the lead back. Jerry Rice is the WR1.[1][2]
Kent Graham is the Giants' starter Sunday for the second straight week with Danny Kanell on the injury report. Jim Fassel's Giants are 5-6 and have produced a defensive front that has not generated more than two sacks in any of the last four games. The Sunday matchup is the kind of late-November home game where the script is the run-the-ball, play-action-pass offense the 49ers have been building since 1995.
Week 13 has the home matchup against the Giants plus a slate where the playoff field is locked. The Broncos sit at 11-1; the Vikings 11-1; the Falcons 9-2. The AFC East has the Dolphins at 9-3 and the Bills 7-5. Conference reading list the storyline is the Broncos and Vikings, both at 11-1, projecting as the conference's one-seeds. The 49ers' Sunday at 3Com is the conference's only matchup of two NFC opponents from opposite divisions where both teams are above .500.
Through eleven games the 49ers sit at 8-3 with a plus 86 point differential. Young is on pace for 4,600 passing yards. Hearst is on pace for 1,440 rushing. Bryant Young leads the team with 11 sacks. The Giants are 5-6 with Graham averaging 200 passing yards per game and Brown 3.6 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 10-point home favorites. Watching today: Hearst's chase of 200 rushing yards, the threshold he has not hit in any 1998 game.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-3 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-4 | W1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 6-5 | L1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-7 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2-9 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 7-4 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-4 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 7-4 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 6-5 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 2-9 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 11-0 | W11 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-4 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-6 | W2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5-6 | L2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 4-7 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 9-2 | W4 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8-3 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5-6 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 3-8 | L2 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 10-1 | W3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 7-4 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-7 | W2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-7 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-8 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 8-3 | W4 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 6-5 | -- |
| New York Giants | 4-7 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2-9 | L2 |
| Washington Redskins | 2-9 | L1 |
Steve Young threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, Garrison Hearst ran for 166 on 20 carries with a touchdown and the 49ers beat the New York Giants 31-7 at 3Com Park. Terrell Owens caught 5 for 140 and a touchdown. The 49ers' defense produced four sacks and three interceptions. The Giants were held to 187 total yards. Kent Graham went 21 of 41 for 237 yards with no touchdowns.[1][2]
Garrison Hearst ran for one hundred and sixty-six on twenty carries and the 49ers won 31-7 at 3Com Park. Terrell Owens caught five passes for one hundred and forty yards and a touchdown. The defensive front sacked Kent Graham four times. The Sunday at 3Com was the most-complete home win of the 1998 calendar.
The 49ers led 24-0 at halftime. Graham did not produce a touchdown across his 41 dropbacks. The defensive secondary, an issue across the back half, held Ike Hilliard to one hundred and forty-one yards but never surrendered a touchdown. Bryant Young's twelfth sack of the year is the organization's first dozen-sack season since 1991.
The 49ers walk away 9-3 with the road trip to Carolina on Sunday next. The home record is 6-1. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Hearst's chase of 1,500. The film room is going to spend the week on the front rotation's four-sack afternoon.
49ers 31, Giants 7. Margin: plus 24. Record: 9-3, plus 110 differential. • Young: 19-of-33 for 253, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; 5 rushes for 62. • Hearst: 20 carries for 166, 1 TD (4th 100-yard rushing day of 1998). • Owens: 5 catches for 140, 1 TD. • Stokes: 3 catches for 38. • Rice: 3 catches for 25. • Graham: 21-of-41 for 237, 0 TDs, 3 INTs. • Gary Brown: 15 carries for 56, 1 TD. • Hilliard: 6 catches for 141. • Defense: 4 sacks, 3 INTs, 187 yards allowed.
A 31-7 home win over the Giants. The 49ers improve to 9-3 with the most-complete home win of the year.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a touchdown drive ending in a 6-yard touchdown to Owens. The second quarter produced three scores: a Wade Richey field goal, a Hearst 14-yard touchdown rush, and a Young second touchdown to Marc Edwards to push the lead to 24-0 at halftime. The third quarter saw a Hearst 47-yard run set up a Richey field goal to make it 27-0. A Hearst second rushing touchdown made it 31-0. The Giants added a closing fourth-quarter rushing touchdown to make the final 31-7.
The turning point
The second-quarter Hearst 14-yard rushing touchdown. With the 49ers up 10-0 and the offense facing third-and-eight at the Giants' 14, the staff called a draw play. Hearst broke through the left tackle for the score. The 17-0 cushion put the home team in protect-the-lead posture from the second quarter forward.
By the numbers
Young 19-of-33 for 253 with two touchdowns and no interceptions; the cleanest passing line of his recent three-game stretch. Hearst 166 on 20 carries (8.3 ypc) with a touchdown; his fourth 100-yard rushing day of 1998. Owens 5 catches for 140 with a score; his second 130-plus receiving day of the year. Rice 3 catches for 25 in his quietest afternoon of the calendar. Defensively the front produced four sacks (Bryant Young 2, Junior Bryant 1, Chike Okeafor 1); the secondary forced three interceptions.
Personnel watch
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 19/33 | 253 | 2 | 0 | |
| NYG | |||||
| Kent Graham | 21/41 | 237 | 0 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Garrison Hearst | 20 | 166 | 1 | 70 |
| Steve Young #8 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 24 |
| Terry Kirby | 6 | 14 | 1 | 8 |
| Ty Detmer | 3 | -5 | 0 | -1 |
| NYG | ||||
| Gary Brown | 15 | 56 | 1 | 12 |
| Charles Way | 6 | 53 | 0 | 13 |
| Tiki Barber | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| Kent Graham | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terrell Owens | 5 | 140 | 1 | 79 |
| J.J. Stokes | 3 | 38 | 0 | 15 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 10 |
| Mark Harris | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Garrison Hearst | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Greg Clark | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Irv Smith | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Terry Kirby | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| NYG | ||||
| Ike Hilliard | 6 | 141 | 0 | 50 |
| Chris Calloway | 5 | 45 | 0 | 11 |
| Andy Haase | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Amani Toomer | 2 | 14 | 0 | 8 |
| Tiki Barber | 4 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Joe Jurevicius | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Howard Cross | 1 | -4 | 0 | -4 |
| Charles Way | 1 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
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