The Catch (American football)
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The Catch was the winning score in the January 10, 1982 NFC Championship American football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.
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[edit] The Play
In a game where the lead shifted back and forth repeatedly, the 49ers took over the ball trailing 27-21 and marched down to the 6-yard line with 58 seconds left on the clock. When Joe Montana took the snap, the play, known as Sprint Right Option, was intended to be a pass to wide receiver Freddie Solomon; earlier in the game, Solomon scored a touchdown on that exact play. [1] However, the Cowboys covered Solomon perfectly. Making matters worse, the pass rush of the Cowboys collapsed the 49ers offensive line. Three Cowboys -- defensive ends Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Larry Bethea, plus linebacker D. D. Lewis -- chased a backpedalling Montana to the sideline and were certain to send him out of bounds or make a sack. At the last moment, Montana threw a very high pass to the back of the endzone. 49ers receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping grab from the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game. He finished the game with 8 catches for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight--Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Freddie Solomon, and Clark to line up on the right. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon. Clark's pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path to the right. If Solomon were covered, it would be up to Montana to find Clark. Due to the pressure, Montana's pass was high, but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab.
A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try and block the ball, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Clark and Montana re-enacted The Catch in observance of the 25th anniversary of the play as part of San Francisco alumni day activities at halftime of the Minnesota game Nov. 5, 2006 at Candlestick Park.
[edit] Reactions
Many people claimed that Montana was trying to throw the ball away, leaving time for a fourth down. Clark disputes that assertion, claiming that it was a backup plan that they practiced many times.[1] Montana confirmed that he could not see the end zone through the defenders, but claims that he knew exactly where Clark would be. The 49ers coach, Bill Walsh, assumed that it was a throw-away play and immediately began planning for the fourth down until he heard the cheers from the crowd.
As for the height of the catch, Montana has said that he didn't feel that he threw a very high ball. However, Clark leapt as high as he could only to get his fingertips on the ball.
[edit] Aftermath and Legacy
While the catch is well known by most NFL fans, many forget that there was still 51 seconds left on the clock after Clark's touchdown, and with Dallas needing only a field goal to win, the game was far from over.
After the ensuing kickoff, Dallas receiver Drew Pearson caught a long pass, but defensive back Eric Wright made a touchdown-saving tackle to keep him from scoring. Two plays later, quarterback Danny White lost a fumble while being sacked by Lawrence Pillers, and San Francisco’s Jim Stuckey recovered the ball, sealing a victory for the 49ers.
The 49ers won 28-27 and went on to win Super Bowl XVI over the Cincinnati Bengals.
This game was a watershed in the historic fortunes of both the 49ers and the Cowboys. After being a losing team in the 1970s, San Francisco went on to win four Super Bowls in the 1980s, and made the playoffs eight out of the next 10 years. Meanwhile, Dallas, the winningest team in the NFC in the 1970s, never made it back to the Super Bowl in the 1980s, and suffered losing seasons in the last part of that decade.
The Catch was immortalized by two dramatic calls. Jack Buck voiced it for the CBS Radio Network, with Pat Summerall at his side. Vin Scully described the play for CBS Television with Hank Stram as analyst:
| “ | Montana...looking, looking, throwing in the endzone...Clark caught it!!! | ” |
In 2005, a commercial for the Gatorade sports drink, with the slogan "What Happens When You're A Fraction Off?", portrayed an alternate version of The Catch, in which the ball bounced out of Clark's fingertips. Following the Gatorade logo, the real version was shown with Dwight Clark's completion. This is also done with Derek Jeters "flip play" going wide of home plate and Michael Jordans famous buzzer-beater against Cleveland going off the rim.
