49ers all-time 5 best games in franchise history
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: 1998 Week 1 vs. New York Jets
Most great games tend to be in the playoffs when there’s so much on the line. Regular-season great games tend to be late in the year when the postseason picture is shaping up.
But for the first game on this list, it started off the season.
In 1998, the 49ers were looking to get off to a hot start after yet another crushing playoff exit at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. To do so, the Niners would have to upend the New York Jets, who would finish the year 12-4 and first place in the AFC East.
On a sunny day at Candlestick Park, both the 49ers and Jets exchanged scores regularly, and neither team was able to get more than a one-score lead. By halftime, New York was up 17-14. And while quarterback Steve Young was doing his mastery with San Francisco’s offense, Jets quarterback Glenn Foley was holding his own, too, matching Young score for score.
The Niners took a three-point lead with less than two minutes in regulation, only to see the Jets tie things up on a last-second field goal.
With the score tied at 30 and the game going to overtime, all that was needed was a big play.
And the 49ers got one from running back Garrison Hearst, even though the offense started off on the 4-yard line:
Hearst’s game-winning 96-yard run is still the longest on a single play in franchise history. And it stands as one of San Francisco’s greatest moments, too, putting this back-and-forth contest safely on the list at No. 5.