The 49ers (11-4) host the St. Louis Rams (4-11) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff in the regular-season finale and the home finale. Steve Bono is the Rams' starter. June Henley is the back. Ricky Proehl is the WR1. The Rams come off back-to-back losses.
The 49ers come off the 24-21 road loss in New England. Steve Young is the starter; Garrison Hearst is the lead back at 1,463 rushing yards. Jerry Rice is the WR1.[1][2]
The home finale closes out the 1998 calendar at 3Com Park. Garrison Hearst is 37 rushing yards short of 1,500 and 207 yards short of the team single-season record. The Sunday's biggest unknown is whether Mariucci calls Hearst's number enough times to produce the chase. Steve Bono starts at quarterback for the Rams. The former 49ers backup, in his second year in St. Louis after the Chiefs cut him in 1997, makes his fifth career start against his old team.
Week 17 closes the season. The Vikings, Broncos, Falcons and Cowboys hold the conference's top seeds. The Sunday-night game is St. Louis at San Francisco. The calendar closes with the playoff field set. The 49ers' Sunday at 3Com is the club's last regular-season home game of the calendar. The wild-card weekend bracket sets Monday morning. The 49ers sit fifth in the NFC, with the divisional winner of the NFC East yet to be decided across Monday night football.
Through fifteen games the 49ers sit at 11-4 with a plus 132 point differential. Young is on pace for 4,200 passing yards. Hearst is 37 yards short of 1,500 with one game left. Bryant Young has 14 sacks. The Rams are 4-11 with Bono starting and Henley averaging 3.7 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 13-point home favorites. Number to track today: Hearst's chase of 1,500; the back needs 37 rushing yards in the home finale.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 10-5 | L2 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8-7 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-8 | L4 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-10 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Jets | 11-4 | W5 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10-5 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9-6 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 9-6 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-2 | L2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 8-7 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-7 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-9 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-10 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 13-2 | W8 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 11-4 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-9 | L2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4-11 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 3-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 14-1 | W7 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10-5 | W2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-8 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-10 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 9-6 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 8-7 | -- |
| New York Giants | 7-8 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 6-9 | W4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-12 | L2 |
Steve Young threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns, Garrison Hearst added 21 yards rushing and 58 receiving to clear the 1,500-yard mark and the 49ers beat the St. Louis Rams 38-19 at 3Com Park in the regular-season finale. Terry Kirby ran for 60. Terrell Owens caught a touchdown; Jerry Rice caught a touchdown. Steve Bono threw for 240 with three touchdowns. The 49ers finished 12-4, NFC West champions.[1][2]
Garrison Hearst cleared 1,500 rushing yards Sunday at 3Com Park. The lead back finished with 21 rushing on 10 carries and 58 receiving on 3 catches. The chase of the organization single-season record falls 173 yards short. The chase of 1,500 is intact.
The 49ers won 38-19. Steve Young threw two touchdowns. Terry Kirby took the second-half rushing workload as the staff rested Hearst across the closing possessions. Owens caught his ninth receiving touchdown of the year. The 49ers finished the regular season 12-4 with the NFC West title and the conference's fifth seed.
The 49ers' wild-card weekend opponent will be determined Monday morning. The home finale was the kind of clean regular-season closer that, in calendar 1998, sets the team's wild-card seeding posture. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Hearst's 1,500 and the playoff bracket. The film room is going to spend the bye week on the secondary's continued issues with deep balls.
49ers 38, Rams 19. Margin: plus 19. Final record: 12-4, plus 151 differential. • Young: 22-of-32 for 288, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. • Hearst: 10 carries for 21; 3 catches for 58 (cleared 1,500 rushing yards for the season). • Kirby: 16 carries for 60. • Owens: 5 catches for 85, 1 TD. • Rice: 4 catches for 49, 1 TD. • Bono: 15-of-30 for 240, 3 TDs. • Henley: 13 carries for 51. • Proehl: 7 catches for 100, 2 TDs. • Final NFC West standing: first (12-4, NFC West champions).
A 38-19 home win over the Rams. The 49ers finish 12-4, NFC West champions, with the fifth seed in the conference playoff bracket.
How it unfolded
The 49ers opened with a touchdown drive ending in a Rice 14-yard score. The Rams answered with a Bono touchdown to Proehl. The second quarter produced two more 49ers scores: a Young touchdown to Owens and a Hearst short reception that converted a third-and-six. A second Proehl touchdown made it 14-13 at the half. The third quarter saw an Owens second touchdown reception and a Kirby rushing touchdown to push the lead to 31-13. A Bono touchdown to June Henley made it 31-19. The fourth quarter added a closing Marc Edwards rushing touchdown to make the final 38-19.
The turning point
The second-quarter Owens touchdown. With the 49ers up 7-6 and the offense facing third-and-eight at the Rams' 11, Young found Owens on a fade. The 14-6 cushion put the home team in script-the-clock posture against a Rams offense that had not produced more than 19 points in any game across the back half.
By the numbers
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 22/32 | 288 | 2 | 0 | |
| STL | |||||
| Steve Bono | 15/30 | 240 | 3 | 1 | |
| Kurt Warner | 4/11 | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terry Kirby | 16 | 60 | 0 | 25 |
| Garrison Hearst | 10 | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Young #8 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 16 |
| Terrell Owens | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Marc Edwards | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Ty Detmer | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| STL | ||||
| June Henley | 13 | 51 | 0 | 12 |
| Derrick Harris | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Amp Lee | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Steve Bono | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terrell Owens | 5 | 85 | 1 | 24 |
| Garrison Hearst | 3 | 58 | 0 | 47 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 4 | 49 | 1 | 19 |
| Greg Clark | 3 | 46 | 0 | 23 |
| Terry Kirby | 4 | 35 | 0 | 21 |
| J.J. Stokes | 2 | 11 | 0 | 9 |
| Irv Smith | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| STL | ||||
| Ricky Proehl | 7 | 100 | 2 | 29 |
| June Henley | 5 | 64 | 0 | 43 |
| Eddie Kennison | 2 | 48 | 0 | 42 |
| Amp Lee | 4 | 46 | 1 | 25 |
| Az-Zahir Hakim | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1998 W17 - 49ers vs St. Louis Rams - Game Thread