MIAMI -- The turning point in Super Bowl XXIX came early: San Diego called tails, the coin turned up heads and one minute and 24 seconds later San Francisco was ahead to stay.
The 49ers capped off the NFL season with a good old-fashioned thrashing of San Diego 49-26 before 74,107 fans in Joe Robbie Stadium to become the first team to win five Super Bowls.
"Let's be real," 49er cornerback Deion Sanders said. "We knew we were going to kick their butts, but we just couldn't say it."
It was 14-0 before the five-minute mark, 42-10 before the end of the third quarter and the 49ers didn't even wait for the two-minute warning before dousing Coach George Seifert.
"The real Super Bowl was against Dallas, it sure was,'' said Sanders, referring to the 49ers-Cowboys contest two weeks ago.
The 49ers extended the National Football Conference's postseason domination to 11 consecutive years and averaged 43.6 points in their three playoff games.
"To score that many points in the postseason -- we've made our mark," said quarterback Steve Young, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 325 yards and was the game's leading rusher with 49 yards in five carries. "It will be debated in bars and restaurants around the country on whether the 49ers are the best ever, but we'd like to believe that we've put together a string that might never be matched."
Young, the left-handed triggerman in one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, received jersey No. 8 when traded to the 49ers to back up Joe Montana, and the joke in San Francisco in recent years was Young wasn't half the quarterback of the legendary No. 16.
Young not only validated his performance as the league's best player this season against the Chargers, but broke Montana's Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes and was the unanimous choice as the game's most valuable player.
The Chargers offered Young no threat in their first Super Bowl appearance, and they were so far out of it by the fourth quarter, they found themselves playing against 49er backup quarterbacks Elvis Grbac and Bill Musgrave.
"We stunk it up," said Charger running back Natrone Means, who was limited to 33 yards in 13 carries.
The 49ers accepted the opening kickoff, advanced it to their 26 and then received 15 free yards compliments of a 15-yard facemask penalty on linebacker Doug Miller. The Chargers maintained their "Dumb and Dumber" routine by allowing wide receiver Jerry Rice, the most prolific touchdown scorer in NFL history, to run free between the safeties for a 44-yard scoring reception on the third play of the game. It took just 1:24 for the 49ers to score -- the quickest touchdown in Super Bowl history.
Rice, who required an IV before the game for a sinus condition and an injection of pain-killers later for a slight shoulder separation, caught 10 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Rice now has Super Bowl records for most touchdowns (7), most points (42) and most receiving yards (512). He also has the postseason record for most 100-yard receiving games (6).
San Francisco took a 14-0 lead 4:55 into the first quarter after running back Ricky Watters brushed aside safeties Darren Carrington and Stanley Richard, also beaten on Rice's touchdown, to complete a 51-yard scoring pass from Young.
After Young's long touchdown throws to Rice and Watters, there were four more:
?A 5-yard touchdown shot across the middle in the second quarter to rookie running back William Floyd.
?An 8-yard flat pass to Watters, who was left uncovered in the second quarter on a blitz.
?A 15-yard scoring pass to Rice in front of Richard in the third quarter to establish the 49ers' largest lead at 42-10.
?A 7-yard strike to Rice 1:11 into the fourth quarter to close the 49ers' scoring.
The Chargers, the largest underdogs in Super Bowl history, enjoyed momentary game-plan success in the first quarter and ran 7:21 off the clock on a 13-play, 78-yard hike in response to the 49ers' 14-0 lead. Means' 1-yard dive closed the gap to 14-7 and made him at age 22 the youngest player in Super Bowl history to ever score.
But while the 49ers went on to score 14 more points, the Chargers could muster only a 31-yard John Carney field goal before halftime.
The first time San Francisco had the ball in the third quarter, Young took the 49ers 62 yards in eight plays, finishing with Watters' nine-yard touchdown run. And they scored again on their next possession, going 67 yards in 10 plays with the dynamic duo of Young and Rice hooking up for a 42-10 lead.
San Diego's Andre Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to tie Miami's Fulton Walker for the longest return in Super Bowl history, but fans who had paid a listed $200 a ticket were already making for the exits.
"I can't tell you how wonderful I feel," said linebacker Ken Norton, who left Dallas to sign with San Francisco and became the first player to win three straight Super Bowl rings. "I've got five fingers, so why stop at three?"
The 49ers capped off the NFL season with a good old-fashioned thrashing of San Diego 49-26 before 74,107 fans in Joe Robbie Stadium to become the first team to win five Super Bowls.
"Let's be real," 49er cornerback Deion Sanders said. "We knew we were going to kick their butts, but we just couldn't say it."
It was 14-0 before the five-minute mark, 42-10 before the end of the third quarter and the 49ers didn't even wait for the two-minute warning before dousing Coach George Seifert.
"The real Super Bowl was against Dallas, it sure was,'' said Sanders, referring to the 49ers-Cowboys contest two weeks ago.
The 49ers extended the National Football Conference's postseason domination to 11 consecutive years and averaged 43.6 points in their three playoff games.
"To score that many points in the postseason -- we've made our mark," said quarterback Steve Young, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 325 yards and was the game's leading rusher with 49 yards in five carries. "It will be debated in bars and restaurants around the country on whether the 49ers are the best ever, but we'd like to believe that we've put together a string that might never be matched."
Young, the left-handed triggerman in one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, received jersey No. 8 when traded to the 49ers to back up Joe Montana, and the joke in San Francisco in recent years was Young wasn't half the quarterback of the legendary No. 16.
Young not only validated his performance as the league's best player this season against the Chargers, but broke Montana's Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes and was the unanimous choice as the game's most valuable player.
The Chargers offered Young no threat in their first Super Bowl appearance, and they were so far out of it by the fourth quarter, they found themselves playing against 49er backup quarterbacks Elvis Grbac and Bill Musgrave.
"We stunk it up," said Charger running back Natrone Means, who was limited to 33 yards in 13 carries.
The 49ers accepted the opening kickoff, advanced it to their 26 and then received 15 free yards compliments of a 15-yard facemask penalty on linebacker Doug Miller. The Chargers maintained their "Dumb and Dumber" routine by allowing wide receiver Jerry Rice, the most prolific touchdown scorer in NFL history, to run free between the safeties for a 44-yard scoring reception on the third play of the game. It took just 1:24 for the 49ers to score -- the quickest touchdown in Super Bowl history.
Rice, who required an IV before the game for a sinus condition and an injection of pain-killers later for a slight shoulder separation, caught 10 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Rice now has Super Bowl records for most touchdowns (7), most points (42) and most receiving yards (512). He also has the postseason record for most 100-yard receiving games (6).
San Francisco took a 14-0 lead 4:55 into the first quarter after running back Ricky Watters brushed aside safeties Darren Carrington and Stanley Richard, also beaten on Rice's touchdown, to complete a 51-yard scoring pass from Young.
After Young's long touchdown throws to Rice and Watters, there were four more:
?A 5-yard touchdown shot across the middle in the second quarter to rookie running back William Floyd.
?An 8-yard flat pass to Watters, who was left uncovered in the second quarter on a blitz.
?A 15-yard scoring pass to Rice in front of Richard in the third quarter to establish the 49ers' largest lead at 42-10.
?A 7-yard strike to Rice 1:11 into the fourth quarter to close the 49ers' scoring.
The Chargers, the largest underdogs in Super Bowl history, enjoyed momentary game-plan success in the first quarter and ran 7:21 off the clock on a 13-play, 78-yard hike in response to the 49ers' 14-0 lead. Means' 1-yard dive closed the gap to 14-7 and made him at age 22 the youngest player in Super Bowl history to ever score.
But while the 49ers went on to score 14 more points, the Chargers could muster only a 31-yard John Carney field goal before halftime.
The first time San Francisco had the ball in the third quarter, Young took the 49ers 62 yards in eight plays, finishing with Watters' nine-yard touchdown run. And they scored again on their next possession, going 67 yards in 10 plays with the dynamic duo of Young and Rice hooking up for a 42-10 lead.
San Diego's Andre Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to tie Miami's Fulton Walker for the longest return in Super Bowl history, but fans who had paid a listed $200 a ticket were already making for the exits.
"I can't tell you how wonderful I feel," said linebacker Ken Norton, who left Dallas to sign with San Francisco and became the first player to win three straight Super Bowl rings. "I've got five fingers, so why stop at three?"
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