The first 49ers game I ever attended almost made me hate football. It wound up doing the opposite, and in hindsight there probably wasn’t a better game to be at to help solidify my love for a game that would become a foundational aspect of my life.
It was Week 7 of the 1998 season and the 4-1 49ers were hosting rookie quarterback Peyton Manning and the 1-5 Indianapolis Colts. This should’ve been a walk-over win for San Francisco, an 18-point favorite, which is probably why my mom, a long-time 49ers season ticket holder, took me and my best friend to the game.
Since I was only eight-years old, details of the game are fuzzy, but the Colts jumping out to a huge lead early on is something that’s stuck in the memory bank because it was as miserable as I’d ever been watching sports. The 49ers coming back to win is an obvious detail that’s always stuck around, but that game affirmed my enjoyment of football.
It wasn’t just that San Francisco won though. At the time it certainly was, but the specific events of the game looking back on it nearly 22 years later are completely bonkers. Buckle up.
The 49ers started the game with a missed field goal after a 17-play drive. On that drive, Jerry Rice hauled in a 10-yard pass from Steve Young to tie Art Monk for the all-time record for consecutive games with a reception at 183. Colts running back Marshall Faulk went for a 65-yard touchdown on Indianapolis’ first offensive play. 7-0, Colts.
San Francisco’s ensuing drive ended in a Reggie Roby punt, that bounced off of Colts defensive back Rico Clark’s head, and into the waiting arms of Colts defensive back Jason Belser, who’s 58-yard return set up the Colts at the 49ers’ 7-yard-line. Manning hit wide receiver Marvin Harrison for a four-yard score two plays later. 14-0, Colts.
Another 49ers punt was followed by a 12-play, 84-yard touchdown drive for the Colts. Harrison caught his second touchdown of the game from six yards out. 21-0, Colts.
San Francisco eventually put points on the board when Wade Richey drilled a 43-yard field goal after the 49ers stalled out on the Colts’ 25-yard-line. 21-3, Colts.
The 49ers forced a Colts punt on the ensuing possession, and responded with a touchdown. Only it couldn’t be just a regular old touchdown. First, Young threw an interception to defensive back Jeff Burris on a third-and-goal from the 5. It was called back for a very questionable holding on Burris. Two plays later, Young found JJ Stokes in the back corner of the end zone. Stokes was pushed out of bounds and only got one foot down, so the pass was ruled incomplete. HOWEVER, this was when the NFL had a rule where defensive backs, for some reason, couldn’t push receivers out of bounds to force incompletions, and the officials congregated and decided that Stokes would’ve gotten both feet in had the defensive back not … played defense. Got all that? Touchdown 49ers. 21-10, Colts.
Indianapolis punted back to the 49ers with 1:41 left in the first half, and Young went to work. He completed his first four passes on the series and scrambled for 10 yards to put the 49ers at the Colts’ 15. Then the future Hall of Famer tossed another interception in the end zone. ALAS, another flag for defensive holding on what can only be described as a bad call, and the 49ers were bailed out again. Young found Terrell Owens for a 10-yard score two plays later with seven seconds left in the first half. 21-17, Colts.
The teams exchanged punts to open the second half, but the Colts widened their lead on their second possession of the third quarter, and again they only needed one play to find pay dirt. Harrison took a short throw 61 yards for his third touchdown of the day. 28-17, Colts.
The 49ers’ ensuing possession ended with a Garrison Hearst fumble that the Colts recovered. An unnecessary roughness flag on San Francisco put the Colts on the 49ers’ 42-yard-line. They capitalized with a field goal to make it a two-touchdown game again midway through the third quarter. 31-17, Colts.
Another 49ers fumble, this one by Owens in Colts territory, gave the Colts the ball back again. They punted on their extra possession, then Young took over. He went 6-for-9 for 83 yards and scored on a one-yard run after Stokes drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone. The 49ers botched the extra point. 31-23, Colts.
San Francisco’s defense got another Colts punt after the touchdown. Young was again sensational. He completed three of his four throws for 40 yards, then scored his second rushing touchdown of the day, this time spinning and bouncing off would-be tacklers for a 23-yard touchdown run. He hit Jerry Rice on the two-point conversion. Tied, 31-31.
Because this game couldn’t have ended in any normal way, the 49ers were offsides on the ensuing kickoff, meaning they had to kick it off twice. The Colts set up for a 53-yard field goal with 1:14 left, but Mike Vanderjagt’s kick fell just short, setting San Francisco up at their own 44 with 1:08 left. Young tried a deep shot to Stokes, but the receiver was badly interfered with, putting the 49ers at the Colts’ 17-yard line. They worked their way down to the 7, and Richey drilled the game-winning field goal with only seconds left to give San Francisco their first lead of the day. 34-31, 49ers win.
Young finished with 331 passing yards to give him six-consecutive games over 300 – an NFL record. Stokes had a huge day with 110 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions, which likely explains my irrational love of Stokes as a youngster.
It’s clear going back through that game with 22 years of hindsight that it was a seminal moment in my football fandom. That game was as wild as they come, but it also featured a dizzying array of talent.
Here is the list of players from that contest who’re now in (or will be in) the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning and Marshall Faulk.
It would be great to go back and watch that game for the first time with a little more cognizance to truly appreciate how special it was. I’m glad I got to be at Candlestick Park and see it when I did though, because my relationship with football would be much different without it.
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