Birth of a Dynasty..."The Catch"

January 10, 1982. Dallas @ San Francisco for the 1981 N.F.C.
Championship and the right to go to Super Bowl XVI.

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.