Running on empty

Tailback injuries leave 49ers offense grounded

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Posted: Saturday January 09, 1999 06:36 PM

Not feeling so Young: Young completed 23 of 37 passes for 289 yards but was intercepted three times to end crucial drives AP

ATLANTA (AP) -- Garrison Hearst crumpled to the turf on the first play. Terry Kirby limped off the field moments later.

The San Francisco 49ers had lost their legs.

With their running game mangled and going nowhere, and Steve Young pressured into throwing three interceptions, the 49ers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 20-18 in the NFC playoffs Saturday.

Hearst, San Francisco's leading rusher, broke a bone in his left leg at the end of a 7-yard run. He was pulled down awkwardly, his leg bent beneath him.

"It was shocking," San Francisco guard Ray Brown said. "At first, I didn't think it was serious. But when they brought the cart out to take him off the field, I knew it was bad.

"It was a big blow. But I like the way the guys battled back and we almost got it done."

Atlanta coach Dan Reeves said once Hearst went down, the Falcons knew the 49ers' attack had lost its balance.

"It would be like if we lost Jamal Anderson," Reeves said. "It would have been very difficult for us. That was one of the keys to the games. They only had 46 yards rushing. We had over 100."

Kirby bruised a bone in his left leg when he was kicked while covering San Francisco's first punt. Unlike Hearst, who came out on crutches to watch the second half from the bench, Kirby had his leg injected with a pain-killer and returned late in the second quarter. But he was still playing hurt.

"Our running game took a couple of hits," San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci said. "Terry Kirby came back but he wasn't quite full speed. A lot of the responsibility was placed on Steve Young's shoulders and our passing game. You try to be balanced, but we just weren't balanced from early in the game."

San Francisco, which came in with the league's top rushing attack, didn't get a rushing first down until the fourth quarter. Kirby had just 22 yards on nine carries and Hearst was the 49ers' leading rusher at halftime with his 7-yard run making up most of the team's nine-yard total.

"We expected to come in and establish the running game," said Jerry Rice, who caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Young in the second quarter for San Francisco's first score after trailing 14-0.

"When Garrison went down and Terry was hurt, we had to pass and I think they knew that," Rice said.

Young completed 23 of 37 passes for 289 yards but was intercepted three times. San Francisco was on the brink of another score, with the ball on the Atlanta 25, when Young overthrew J.J. Stokes near the goal line and Eugene Robinson intercepted, returning it 77 yards to set up a field goal.

Early in the fourth quarter, tight end Greg Clark broke one way and Young threw the other way, leading to an interception by William White. White also picked off a desperation pass as time expired.

"I tried to play perfectly and I made too many mistakes," Young said. "Once Garrison and Terry were hurt, we had to throw. We loaded up and tried to get it done that way.

"I knew I had to take some chances, which I did. Some of them, I got away with. You just tried to minimize the risks the best you can. You just hoped to make more plays, but in the end we were one or two plays short."

 

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