The Catch II

The San Francisco 49ers went 12–4 during the 1998 NFL season and entered as the fourth seed in the playoffs after clinching a Wild Card berth. San Francisco won six out of their last eight games, but did not secure the NFC West, which was won by Atlanta Falcons. The Green Bay Packers went 11–5 and entered the playoffs as the fifth seed, also clinching a Wild Card berth. Green Bay won their last three games of the season, but the Vikings won the NFC Central after going 15–1. This was the fourth playoff game between the 49ers and Packers in the 1990s, which helped establish the teams' rivalry. The Packers had won the three previous games, including the 1997 NFC Championship Game. In the lead-up to the game, ESPN gave the Packers the overall advantage in a head-to-head comparison, noting that the 49ers only outpaced the Packers in their pass offense versus the Packers' pass defense. However, the 49ers were ultimately favored by three points. == Game summary ==

First half in San Francisco, California, the site of the game.|alt=Photo of a full Candlestick Point The Packers scored first, with Ryan Longwell converting a 23-yard field goal on a 10-play, 48-yard drive. The Packers recovered Terrell Owens at mid-field to kick-off the drive and take an early 3–0 lead. Later in the first quarter, the 49ers returned the favor, recovering Dorsey Levens' fumble on the Packers 19-yard line. After two rushes gained 18 yards, Steve Young threw a 1-yard pass to Greg Clark for the touchdown putting the 49ers up 7–3. The Packers then drove 62 yards on 9 plays, scoring touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Brett Favre to Antonio Freeman. Levens converted a short 4th down play for 22 yards to put the Packers in scoring position. San Francisco quickly tied the game 10–10 on a 34-yard Wade Richey field goal, after a short 8-play, 37-yard drive. Just before the end of the half, Levens capped off a 7-play, 83-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Packers up 17–10. The Packers gained 30 yards on 2, 15-yard penalties on the 49ers during the same play. Box score Analysis Dorsey Levens, as well as the Packers as a whole, set a number of records in the game. Levens set three career records and three single-game records, including becoming the team's leader in career postseason rushing yards. Antonio Freeman also set a new team postseason record with seven career receiving touchdowns. Roell Preston had 194 kick return yards in the game, beating the previous Packers' postseason record by 40 yards. The Packers set two team playoff game records: most total first downs (24) and most rushing first downs (20). Officiating With 40 seconds left in the game during the 49ers' final drive, Young completed a pass to Jerry Rice for a gain of 6 yards to the Packers' 47. At the time, Rice had been held in check by the Packers' defense, having not recorded a catch up to that point. However, on the tackle by Bernardo Harris, a clear fumble was forced and recovered by the Packers, but not seen by the officials. On the television broadcast replay, the ball appeared to be forced out of Rice's hand, punched out by safety Scott McGarrahan, before Rice's knee hit the ground. At the time of this game, instant replay rules were not instated in the NFL, in which the play could be easily challenged and overturned. A fumble recovery would have given the Packers the ball and effectively ended the game for a Packers' victory. After the game, Rice deflected questions on whether he fumbled the ball. He had fumbled early in the game and had four dropped passes. One of those dropped passes would have been a touchdown. He had only recorded 2 receptions for 48 yards before the game-winning touchdown catch. == Aftermath ==

The game ended up being Mike Holmgren's last as head coach of the Packers. Shortly after, he resigned to take the head coach and general manager positions with the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers moved on to the NFC Divisional round, where they lost to the Atlanta Falcons 20–18. The Falcons intercepted Young three times, including a William White interception at midfield that sealed the victory for the Falcons. The 49ers took a hit when Garrison Hearst broke his leg on the first play from scrimmage. Replay rule change Following the missed Jerry Rice fumble, outcry rippled throughout the NFL and the Packers organization for the league to institute a new instant replay review system. Packers general manager Ron Wolf said about the NFL's missed calls, "It's time we do something about it in the NFL. To turn a game around like this...I'm not alone in this. This is not the regular season and next week you can strap it on and play again. We have to go home now". The NFL previously used a review system from 1986 to 1991. In response to the controversial calls during this game and others, during the 1999 off-season, the league implemented a new "challenge" system. Coaches were allowed two challenges per game before the final two minutes of each half to notify officials of a missed call: a lost challenge costs the team one available timeout, while a correct costs none. After the two-minute warning of both halves, and in overtime, all reviews will be initiated by the replay assistant in the press box replay booth, as many times as necessary. Though, before the 2006 season, an electronic pager was used instead of the modern-day challenge flag. Legacy The Catch II went down in 49ers–Packers history, as a culmination of San Francisco finally winning one of their many postseason meetings in the 1990s. The NFL called the game and the catch "one of the most amazing finishes in NFL postseason history" and was ranked as #24 on the NFL's top 100 greatest games. In June 2020, NBC Sports Bay Area put it at No. 12 in a top 20 list of great 49ers plays. As for Owens, the moment was one of his first memorable plays with the 49ers that eventually led to a Hall of Fame NFL career. Reflecting on the play in July 2019, Owens said, "I don't know where I would be if it weren't for that play to be honest. If you take that one catch, that one touchdown away from me, I don't know where I would be. It was a play that really catapulted my career". Once again, with San Francisco trailing late in the game, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith connected with tight end Vernon Davis in the end zone for the game winning touchdown reception with 9 seconds left to go in the game, giving San Francisco the victory over the Saints, 36–32. == See also ==