Way back 30 years ago this week the 49ers were nearing the end of one of the most successful and dominant seasons in NFL history.
Fuelled by the feeling that they had been robbed in the previous year's NFC championship game against the Washington Redskins, when two controversial penalties cost them the game, the 49ers went into 1984 with a steely determination to right a gigantic wrong.
After losing starters to the upstart United States Football League, head coach Bill Walsh plugged the gaps in the defense with a mixture of draft picks and brought in veteran nose tackle Manu Tuiasosopo from the Seattle Seahawks. Several existing players were missing during preseason as they negotiated new contracts, with star pass rusher Fred Dean not returning until part way through the season.
With the new additions fitting in seamlessly and the holdouts returning, the 49ers onslaught began to pick up speed with each passing week. Barring a narrow defeat to Pittsburgh in Week 7, San Francisco had dominated each game and were winning by increasingly impressive margins.
By Week 12 they were sitting atop of their division with an 10-1 record after demolishing the Browns 41-7 in Cleveland the week before.
The next team to try to stop the steamrolling Niners were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Entering Candlestick Park off of a close win against the New York Giants, the Buccaneers were at 4-7. What their record failed to illuminate was that in the majority of their losses, the Bucs had run their opponents extremely close all the way to the final whistle and were not a team to be taken lightly.
The 1984 season also marked the year that the Buccaneers acquired the rights to a certain left-handed quarterback from Brigham Young University by the name of Steve Young through the NFL supplemental draft. Young, however, had already signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL and decided to honour the contract. This was short-lived, though, as the LA Express folded during 1985, allowing Young to join up with the Bucs.
The Game
It was clear from the outset that the Buccaneers had done their homework before arriving at Candlestick Park. Throughout the first quarter of play, the Buccaneers stifled the much vaunted 49er offense, allowing some yardage whilst at the same time not allowing any big plays or any threats to the red zone.
In a surprise to everyone, they managed to keep the 49ers scoreless in the first quarter, which was something of a result considering that the hosts had put up so many points throughout the season and in the previous week against Cleveland.
But the Bucs were receiving the same treament from the 49er defense, who also employed the 'bend but don't break' philosophy.
Part way through the second quarter the deadlock was finally broken after a well constructed drive led by 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Moving the ball all the way down to the two-yard line with a classic West Coast offense display of dinks and dunks, it was left to second-year running back Roger Craig to carry the ball into the end zone after some aggressive run blocking by the offensive line created a nice hole from him to attack.
Ex-49ers quarterback Steve DeBerg, famously supplanted from his starting role by Joe Montana, was behind center for Tampa Bay. On the first drive after the home team went ahead, DeBerg moved the chains for the visitors with several passes including some to speedy receiver Gerald Carter. The 49er defense firmed up however, forcing Tampa to settle for a 27-yard field goal.
The Buccaneers looked as if they may have finally succumbed to the powerful 49er offense, when on the next drive they were again picked apart by San Francisco. This time it was the backfield duo of Craig and Wendall Tyler that did the majority of the damage.
Again the 49ers pushed all the way inside the Tampa five-yard line and from three yards out, wide receiver Freddie Solomon took a reverse into the end zone for a rushing touchdown. San Francisco led 14-3 and floodgates appeared to have opened.
Tampa Bays offense refused to throw in the towel, however, and again DeBerg was finding success through the air against his former team. The final drive of the half ended when DeBerg found his tight end Jimmie Giles for a nine-yard score to cap off an exciting second quarter.
The adjustments made by the Niners began to pay dividends at the start of the second half as a DeBerg pass was intercepted. San Francisco's tandem of running backs took advantage, grinding the visitors down before Tyler punched the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line.
DeBerg displayed his veteran experience and was not rattled by his previous interception, connecting with Carter, his favoured target of the day, for a nine-yard score. Carter would finish with 166 receiving yards and a touchdown.
At that point Tampa was far from dead and buried with a four-point deficit with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. Attempting to put the game away Walsh once again leant on his tailbacks, however, this time the Bucs were able to keep the Niners out of the end zone, forcing San Francisco to kick a 39-yard field goal and give the hosts a 24-17 lead.
Yet there was still time for Tampa to come back and eradicate the 49ers' one-score lead. Nerves were soon jangling as DeBerg led another menacing drive that looked destined to end in paydirt. However, with their backs against the wall and the game on the line the 49er defense came up big by picking off the Buccaneers' signal-caller for a second time to secure a dramatic victory.
The 49ers had defeated their former quarterback and with the win moved to 11-1 on the year. They won all of their remaining regular season games and finished with a 15-1 record.
During the playoffs San Francisco dominated the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears on the way to a Super Bowl matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins were led by young superstar quarterback Dan Marino, who broke both the single-season passing yardage and the single-season touchdowns records in 1984. Miami finished with a 14-2 record and accrued over 500 points in a single season for the first time in their history.
Build-up to Super Bowl XIX was dominated by the hype surrounding Marino, with many newspapers and TV stations already crowning him and the Dolphins champions. However, Montana spearheaded the 49ers to a famous victory in front of a home crowd at Stanford Stadium - just a few miles from the city by the bay - sealing a 38-16 success for San Francisco, a scoreline that flattered a Dolphins team that went scoreless in the second half.
Marino, sacked four times and intercepted twice, was visibly frustrated throughout as what proved to be his only shot at Super Bowl glory slipped through his fingers.
No comments:
Post a Comment