Memorable NFL Plays at Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was constructed in San Francisco, CA in 1959. The stadium was demolished in 2015 as it lasted for 56 years. There were many memorable football moments at the stadium as it was home to the 49ers from 1971 to 2013. As part of their 100th anniversary season celebration, the NFL selected its 100 greatest plays ever in 2019. Five of those plays happened at Candlestick Park (more than any other stadium!). One of those plays was by the road team. That play (ranked No. 81) was this 31-yard catch and run by New York Giants tight end Mark Bavaro in 1986. The other four plays were game-winning touchdowns by the 49ers.
The first of the four touchdowns ranked No. 2 on the list. In the 1981 NFC Championship Game, the 49ers were trailing the Dallas Cowboys 27-21 when Joe Montana threw this memorable pass to Dwight Clark with 51 seconds left (known as
"The Catch") to win the game 28-27. Later that decade, Montana's backup Steve Young was also involved in a famous lead-changing touchdown. The Minnesota Vikings were leading the 49ers 21-17, when Young had a 49-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 24-21 win. The run was ranked as the No. 27 play of all-time and also ranked as the fourth greatest run of all-time.
The fifth greatest run of all-time was the next 49ers touchdown (in chronological order) on the overall list. In 1998, the 49ers were tied with the New York Jets 30-30 in overtime and had the ball at their own 4-yard line. Young (now firmly entrenched as the 49ers starter) handed the ball to Garrison Hearst, who broke off this walkoff 96-yard touchdown run to win the game for the 49ers. The overtime run was ranked as No. 66 on the overall list. It was aided by some amazing downfield blocking by wide receiver Terrell Owens.
Owens was on the receiving end of another great touchdown later in the season. In the Wild Card round of the 1998 playoffs, the 49ers were trailing the Green Bay Packers 27-23 late in the fourth quarter. Like with the plays in the 1980s, the 49ers needed a touchdown to have any chance of winning. They got that touchdown as the Young threw this incredible touchdown pass (known as "The Catch II") to Owens with three seconds left for the win. The play was ranked No. 27 on the list.
It was also ranked as the No. 13 catch of all-time (Clark's catch was ranked No. 2). Other great catches at Candlestick Park include Brandon Lloyd's one-handed catch against the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 (No. 65),
Jerry Rice's record-breaking touchdown catch against the Raiders in 1994 (No. 61), and
Vernon Davis' game-winning touchdown against the Saints in the Divisional Round of the 2013 playoffs (No. 44). Approximately two minutes in game time prior to that last touchdown, quarterback Alex Smith scored
this go-ahead touchdown.
The touchdown ranked No. 13 on the list of greatest quarterback runs of all-time. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick also had a great touchdown run in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The year after Smith's run, Kaepernick had this
tie-breaking 56-yard touchdown run at the Stick against the Green Bay Packers (ranked No. 35). Of course, Steve Young had the most runs (four) on the list of any 49ers quarterback. Those runs include the aforementioned 49-yard run against the Vikings in 1988 (No. 1). Other Young runs include this seven-yard touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons in 1991 (No. 42), this 23-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts in 1998 (No. 33), and
this 45-yard touchdown run against the Los Angeles Rams in 1992 (No. 4). (The run against the Rams was ranked No. 30 on the list of greatest runs overall (regardless of position).)
The run was not Young's only phenomenal play against the Rams at Candlestick Park. He also had this great touchdown pass against them five years earlier (the throw was ranked No. 22 on the list of all-time NFL throws). Other great throws at Candlestick include two previously mentioned ones: Young's throw to Owens against the Packers (No. 12) and Montana's throw to Clark against the Cowboys (No. 1). Thirteen years after Montana's pass, the 49ers had another great touchdown pass in a home NFC Championship Game against the Cowboys: Young threw this beautiful deep pass to Rice right before halftime to put the game away (No. 38).
Earlier in that game, cornerback Eric Davis started the scoring for the 49ers with this game-changing 44-yard interception return touchdown. (The return ranked No. 81 on the list of all-time NFL returns.) Nineteen years later, the 49ers had another iconic interception return touchdown. In the final NFL game ever at Candlestick Park, linebacker Navarro Bowman had
this 89-yard pick six against the Atlanta Falcons. The return was ranked as the No. 26 return of all-time. Bowman's touchdown was the seventeenth stellar play mentioned in this write-up!