2.0 NFC Quarterfinals: Cleveland Browns @ San Fransico 49ers
Coach Don Shula
QB -- #16 Joe Montana
RB -- #3 Bronko Nagurski
FB - Joe Perry
WR -- #19 Lance Alworth
WR- John Stallworth
TE- Mike Ditka
OT -- #75 Forrest Gregg
G- Ed Budde
C- Frank Gatski
G- Stew Barber
OT- Lou Creekmur
DE- Gerry Philbin
DT -- #86 Buck Buchanan
DT -- #54 Randy White
DE- Fred Dean
ROLB -- #64 Dave Wilcox
MLB- Harry Carson
LOLB- Larry Grantham
CB- Dave Grayson
SS- Joey Browner
FS -- #24 Willie Wood
CB -- #20 Lem Barney
K- Morten Andersen
P- Reggie Roby
KR-
PR-
BN- TE Ozzie Newsome
BN- RB Jerome Bettis
BN- WR Irving Fryar
BN- CB Asante Samuel
BN- OLB Joey Porter
San Francisco 49ers
Head Coach: Bill Walsh
Offense
QB: Peyton Manning
RB: Walter Payton
FB: Tony Richardson
WR: Chad Ochocinco
WR: Terrell Owens
WR: Cris Carter
TE: Antonio Gates TE: Jason Witten
LT: Walter Jones
LG: Larry Allen
C: Dermontti Dawson
RG: Jerry Kramer
RT: Richmond Webb
Defense
DE: Bruce Smith
DT: John Randle
DT:La'Roi Glover DT: Kris Jenkins
DE: Mark Gastineau
SLB: Wilber Marshall
MLB: Brian Urlacher
WLB: Derrick Brooks
CB: Erich Barnes
SS: Jake Scott
FS: Johnny Robinson
CB: Ty Law NB: Jimmy Patton
Specialists
K: Adam Vinatieri
P: Rich Camarillo
RET: Eric Metcalf
The 49ers will be using the Walsh West-Coast offense, naturally but with a few adjustments. First one is that we will use a lot more spread gun formations to take advantage of our wealth of talent at the skill positions.
On defense, the 49ers will be running a 43 Cover 2 scheme. I don't feel like we will need to blitz a lot. The defensive line has some strong pass rushers - Bruce and Randle are some of the best all-time, and Gastineau and Glover had a prolific primes to their career. Jenkins can provide good pash rush as a back up.
San Francisco (AP)--Walter Payton scored two touchdowns on the ground and one more receiving, while Peyton Manning threw for two more to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 41-14 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Manning was surgical on the first drive, completing all five passes attempted capped off by a 16 yard touchdown run from Payton. After forcing a punt on the ensuing Cleveland possession, Manning would hook up with Owens for a 40 yard strike after Cleveland safety Willie Wood bit on a well-executed play action fake.
The Browns offense was able to move the football, but poor red zone efficiency in the first half doomed them. After drawing a pass interference penalty in the end zone on Ty Law, the Browns seemed poised to tie the game in the second quarter, but a Bronco Nagurski fumble at the goal line would instead lead to a 80 yard San Francisco drive, capped off by a 21 yard screen pass from Manning to Payton.
The Browns offense would again move the ball into the red zone after Joe Montana hooked up John Stallworth and Mike Ditka, but the drive stalled when Derrick Brooks made a key stop in the backfield on Nagurski. However, a rare miss by Morten Andersen meant the Browns again came away with no points.
After the 49ers picked up a field goal, the Browns would get on the board before the half with Montana operating an efficient 2 minute drill, capped off by a 25 yard touchdown pass to Lance Alworth with 40 seconds left in the half. However, this proved to be too much time for Manning, as he would find Ochocinco for a 40 yard reception down the sidelines and then connect with Gates in the end zone from 36 yards out. Manning would finish the game with 341 yards and no interceptions.
After tacking on a field goal after a Cleveland punt to open the second half, the 49ers had a 27-7 lead. Montana would then lose the ball when sacked by Bruce Smith, leading to Manning's third touchdown pass of day when he found Carter in the back of the end zone.
After trading punts, Montana would again hook up with Alworth in the end zone for the Browns last score of the game early in the fourth. Then it became the Payton show, as he picked up 43 of his 127 yards and a touchdown on the ensuing drive to finish the scoring.
The 49ers will advance to the Divisional Round, where they will travel to Memphis to play the Showboats.
