The 49ers (11-3) travel to Foxboro Stadium for a 1:00 ET kickoff against the New England Patriots (8-6). Scott Zolak is the starter for the injured Drew Bledsoe. Robert Edwards is the back. Shawn Jefferson and Tony Simmons are the receivers. The Patriots come off three straight wins.
The 49ers come off the 35-13 home win over Detroit. Steve Young is the starter; Garrison Hearst is the lead back at 1,356 yards rushing. Jerry Rice is the WR1.[1][2]
Scott Zolak is the Patriots' starter Sunday with Drew Bledsoe on the injury report. The Patriots' offense, off three straight wins under Pete Carroll, is the kind of unit that, in late December, has produced the organization's most-recent stretch of competent football. The 49ers' Sunday at Foxboro is the road game the staff has been pointing toward across the back half. Foxboro in December is the cold-weather road game the 49ers have not produced a win in since 1993.
Week 16 has the road game at Foxboro plus a slate where the playoff seedings are nearly locked. The Broncos sit at 13-2; the Vikings 14-1; the Falcons 12-2. The AFC East has the Dolphins at 9-6 and the Jets 10-5. Around the conference the storyline is the Vikings' offense, on pace to break the all-time NFL scoring record. The 49ers' Sunday at Foxboro is the conference's only NFC-AFC road game on the slate. In the divisional standings, the home finale is next.
Through fourteen games the 49ers sit at 11-3 with a plus 135 point differential. Young is on pace for 4,400 passing yards. Hearst is at 1,356 rushing with two games left. Bryant Young has 14 sacks. The Patriots are 8-6 with Zolak starting and Edwards averaging 4.0 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 1-point road favorites. A figure to follow: Hearst's chase of 1,500, which would require 144 rushing yards across two games.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 10-4 | L1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8-6 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-7 | L3 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-9 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2-12 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Jets | 10-4 | W4 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9-5 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9-5 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 8-6 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-1 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-7 | L4 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 7-7 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-8 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-9 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 12-2 | W7 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 11-3 | W4 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-8 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4-10 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 13-1 | W6 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9-5 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-7 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-9 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-11 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 8-6 | L3 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 7-7 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-8 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 5-9 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-11 | L1 |
Robert Edwards ran for 101 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown and the New England Patriots beat the 49ers 24-21 at Foxboro Stadium. Steve Young threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Jerry Rice caught 5 for 115 with a touchdown. Scott Zolak threw for 205 and two touchdowns. The 49ers led 21-17 in the third quarter before the Patriots scored seven in the fourth quarter to win.[1][2]
Robert Edwards ran for 101 yards on 24 carries and the Patriots won 24-21 at Foxboro Stadium. The 49ers led 21-17 with eleven minutes to play. The fourth-quarter touchdown drive that gave the Patriots the lead came on a 9-play sequence ending in an Edwards 1-yard rushing score.
Steve Young threw two touchdowns. Jerry Rice caught five for 115 with a score. The 49ers' offense produced 351 total yards. The defensive front did not produce a sack. The secondary surrendered two Zolak touchdowns; the second came on a Shawn Jefferson 38-yard reception that the Cover 2 shell did not contain.
The 49ers walk back to the airport 11-4 with the home finale against the Rams on Sunday next. The road record drops to 5-4. The wire copy is going to spend the column on the secondary; the film room is going to spend the week on the fourth-quarter coverage and the front rotation's missing pass-rush production.
Patriots 24, 49ers 21. Margin: minus 3. Record: 11-4, plus 132 differential. • Young: 18-of-23 for 267, 2 TDs, 2 INTs. • Hearst: 27 carries for 107, 0 TDs; 3 catches for 17. • Kirby: 5 carries for 37; 2 catches for 13. • Rice: 5 catches for 115, 1 TD. • Owens: 3 catches for 61, 1 TD. • Stokes: 4 catches for 59. • Zolak: 14-of-30 for 205, 2 TDs. • Edwards: 24 carries for 101, 1 TD. • Jefferson: 2 catches for 72, 1 TD. • Simmons: 5 catches for 56.
A 24-21 road loss at Foxboro Stadium. The 49ers fall to 11-4.
How it unfolded
The Patriots opened with a Zolak touchdown to Shawn Jefferson on the 38-yard reception. Young answered with a 12-yard touchdown to Rice. Edwards' rushing touchdown made it 14-7. The second quarter produced two more 49ers scores: a Wade Richey field goal and a Young touchdown to Owens to push the lead to 17-14. A Patriots field goal made it 17-17 at the half. The third quarter saw a Young second touchdown to Rice to make it 21-17. The fourth quarter belonged to New England: a 9-play Edwards touchdown drive made the final 24-21.
The turning point
The fourth-quarter Edwards rushing touchdown. With the 49ers up 21-17 and the defense facing third-and-one at the New England 1, the staff called the goal-line stop. Edwards converted on a power lead from the I-formation. The 21-17 lead became 24-21 with 6:11 to play, and the 49ers' offense produced two punts on its closing possessions.
By the numbers
Young 18-of-23 for 267 with two touchdowns and two picks. Hearst 107 on 27 carries; his sixth 100-yard rushing day of 1998. Rice 5 catches for 115 with a touchdown; his cleanest road afternoon since the ACL. Owens 3 catches for 61 with a score. Defensively the front did not produce a sack across 30 dropbacks; the unit's first zero-sack road game since 1996. Zolak 205 passing with two touchdowns; Edwards 101 on 24 carries with the goal-line score.
Personnel watch
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 18/23 | 267 | 2 | 2 | |
| Ty Detmer | 1/1 | 25 | 1 | 0 | |
| NWE | |||||
| Scott Zolak | 14/30 | 205 | 2 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Garrison Hearst | 27 | 107 | 0 | 14 |
| Terry Kirby | 5 | 37 | 0 | 19 |
| Marc Edwards | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| NWE | ||||
| Robert Edwards | 24 | 101 | 1 | 12 |
| Shawn Jefferson | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Chris Floyd | 2 | 14 | 0 | 10 |
| Scott Zolak | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Derrick Cullors | 2 | -1 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jerry Rice #80 | 5 | 115 | 1 | 75 |
| Terrell Owens | 3 | 61 | 1 | 42 |
| J.J. Stokes | 4 | 59 | 0 | 22 |
| Irv Smith | 1 | 25 | 1 | 25 |
| Garrison Hearst | 3 | 17 | 0 | 11 |
| Terry Kirby | 2 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| NWE | ||||
| Shawn Jefferson | 2 | 72 | 1 | 61 |
| Tony Simmons | 5 | 56 | 0 | 20 |
| Robert Edwards | 4 | 52 | 1 | 20 |
| Ben Coates | 3 | 25 | 0 | 11 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1998 W16 - 49ers at New England Patriots - Game Thread
