Steve Young finally got a rest Sunday, and he didn't even have to be knocked out to get it. Instead, Young and the rest of the 49ers delivered such a knockout punch to the Detroit Lions that, before the end of the third quarter, the 49ers were able to go to the bullpen without a worry.
With an offensive explosion reminiscent of last month's five-game run, the 49ers routed the Lions, 55-17. They scored on seven of eight possessions while Young was in the game, piled up 565 yards, never punted, and accomplished the following triple crown:- Clinched the NFL West title, for the 10th time in 13 years.
- Assured themselves a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs.
- Guaranteed at least one post-season game at home, on either January 15 or 16.
The victory, which improved the 49ers' record to 10-4, also extended to 11 their own NFL record of consecutive seasons with at least 10 victories. And, obviously, it erased any question about whether last week's blown game at Atlanta would linger with them.
"That was as tough an in-season loss as we've ever had, affecting everyone emotionally, and to come off that game and play like we did today is a positive statement as far as the club is concerned," said coach George Seifert.
Of course, it helps to have offensive players like Young, Jerry Rice, John Taylor and the others.
For pure passing, Young was as good as he ever was, completing 17 of 23 for 354 yards and four touchdowns, with a remarkable average of nearly 21 yards a completion. He was gone from the game for good seven minutes into the second half, at which time the 49er already had gained 451 yards while averaging 9.8 yards a play.
Although Rice (4 catches for 132 yards, 1 TD), Taylor (4 for 115 yards, 1 TD) and Brent Jones all made superlative plays on their own, Young several times threaded passes through coverage for big gains in a terrific display of accuracy. "To me," he said, "there were no bad ones."
Three of Young's touchdown passes came on third down plays as the 49ers, league leaders in converting third downs - 47.3 percent before Sunday - enjoyed remarkable success. They scored touchdowns on 3rd-and-6, 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-14, and four other times converted third down plays when they needed at least nine yards for a first down.
"It was like, `Get first and second downs over with, so we can make a play,' " Seifert joked.
Taylor scored the game's first touchdown, catching a pass between two defenders and turning on the afterburners to complete a 68-yard scoring play with half the Detroit defense in pursuit. Rice called it "the biggest play" he'd ever seen by Taylor, who does not speak to the media. That's saying a lot considering Taylor has scored three times on passes of longer than 90 yards.
Next time the 49ers had the ball, Young threaded a 20-yard pass between two defenders in the end zone, and backup wide receiver Sanjay Beach caught it for only his second career touchdown.
A short time later, Rice made a rather nifty play himself to score the 123rd touchdown of his career, moving within three of Jim Brown's NFL record on an 80-yard play.
The 49ers drove at least 64 yards for touchdowns on their first four possessions, the fourth of which was scored by Tom Rathman. Later, Rathman scored again, Amp Lee scored on a swing pass and Dexter Carter punctuated the rout by scoring on a 50-yard run.