"75 for 75" is an article series from the 49ers Museum highlighting legendary moments in 49ers history as part of the team's 75th Anniversary celebrations in 2021.
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*November 28, 1993 *
After throttling the Los Angeles Rams 35-10, and completing 26 of 32 passes for a career-high 462 yards and four touchdowns, quarterback Steve Young was still striving for perfection.
"We'll just keep looking for room to improve," said the 49ers overly sincere quarterback in a postgame interview. "It's business. It's a challenge. And now we can enjoy it for a day."
While Young put together one of the most dominating performances of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career, wide receiver Jerry Rice happily enjoyed being part of the show.
"It's so scary because he has a good chemistry with so many guys," Rice said of Young. "On a couple of those plays, I just felt he was going to put the ball in that spot, and I just tried to get to that spot."
Young gave credit to the 49ers overwhelming amount of offensive talent in Rice, wide receiver John Taylor and running back Ricky Watters. Rice nabbed two touchdown passes, the first from 39 yards out and the second from seven yards. His most spectacular play came on a 48-yard catch, which was stopped short of the end zone. While racing down the sideline in pursuit of Young's pass, Rice's left arm was pinned by Rams DB Wymon Henderson, a clear pass interference penalty. Rice nonchalantly reached out with his right arm and snatched the football with one hand before being forced out of bounds at the eight yard line.
Taylor added another of the breathtaking catch-and-run scores he typically saved for the Rams. The elusive receiver hauled in a Young pass at the 49ers 38 yard line, sidestepped a linebacker, tip-toed down the sideline for 10 yards, then outran a defensive back to complete a 76-yard score. He finished with six receptions for 150 yards
Watters recorded 82 yards receiving and 47 rushing. He got the scoring started in the first period by racing six yards to the end zone then added a 48-yard touchdown reception from Young in the third quarter.
"It's fun for me to watch all our talent come on the way it is," Young said. "I try to just orchestrate it...like a conductor. I'm just the guy leading the band."
Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan gave a nod to the big men up front saying, "The offensive line gives him the separation he needs to make the play... but Steve Young can't play much better than he played."
Young's 462 passing yards ranks as the second-best single-game mark in 49ers history, behind Joe Montana's 476 yards against Atlanta in 1990. It was just one of the milestones the 49ers attained before the final gun sounded.
Rice posted eight catches for 166 yards putting him over 1,000 yards receiving for an NFL record eight-straight seasons.
The 49ers established a team single-game passing yardage record after quarterback Steve Bono took over for Young in the fourth quarter. He completed two throws for 26 yards and San Francisco finished with 488 passing yards. Not bad for a day's work.
