The San Francisco 49ers were an NFL-best 13-3 in 1981, but they still had their share of doubters: they were too young (with 13 rookies on the roster) and cursed to boot (never having won a title during 35 seasons in the All-America Football Conference and the NFL).

     Meanwhile, Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys were in the playoffs for the 15th time in 16 seasons, and when they came to visit the Stick more than a few considered the Niners underdogs.

     The game was an agonizing affair for the Niners, who moved the ball at will but turned it over 6 times, including 3 interceptions by the usually accurate Montana. The lead changed hands six times. The fifth time came a minute into the fourth quarter, when Cowboys tight end Doug Cosbie caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Danny White, giving his team a 27-21 advantage. That score began to look like it would hold up, as the 49ers struggled through the final quarter.

   There was a palpable sense of ... well, not panic ... but urgency when they got the ball at their 11-yard line with 4:54 remaining. The ensuing drive down the field isn't remembered as distinctly as John Elway's in the 1986 AFC Championship Game, or Montana's drive in Super Bowl XXIII, but it was just as impressive.

   The 49ers hadn't had much of a ground game all year, and their leading rusher, Ricky Patton, was injured. But Bill Walsh confused the Cowboys by mixing up 5 running plays - mostly handoffs to Lenvil Elliott, who was in the final season of a rather undistinguished nine-year NFL career - with 6 passes. Walsh's strategy exposed the Cowboys' vulnerability to the outside sweep; celebrated defensive ends Harvey Martin and Ed (Too Tall) Jones excelled primarily as pass rushers. So, while Dallas fielded a nickel defense and braced for mid-range throws, the 49ers swept their way downfield.

   San Francisco crossed into Dallas territory at the two-minute warning; an exhausted Randy Cross, the center, celebrated by vomiting on the turf. But the Cowboys were just as tired by this point, and Walsh crossed them up with an end-around to WR Freddie Solomon that gained 14 yards. Montana then hit Clark for 10 yards on an out pattern, and Solomon for another 12. After an incomplete pass (to an open Solomon in the end zone), Elliott swept left for 7 yards, going down at the Dallas 6.

   The 49ers then called their second time out. It was third-and-3. Walsh called a pass play known as Sprint Option Right, figuring that if it failed, Montana could try again on fourth down. Solomon, flanked inside Clark on the right side, was the primary receiver. His job was to end up in the right corner of the end zone. Clark was supposed to clear out underneath; if Solomon wasn't open, Clark was to move from right to left in the end zone, then stop sharply and double back in the opposite direction.

   The play looked busted from the start, as the Cowboys stampeded through the offensive line en masse. Jones, defensive tackle Larry Bethea, and linebacker D.D. Lewis chased Montana out of the pocket, all the way to the right sideline; finally, Montana lofted the ball into the air, to the back of the end zone from off his back foot. He didn't witness the culmination of the pass.

   Rookie cornerback Everson Walls had been one of the game's heroes to this point. He had intercepted 2 passes and recovered a fumble. But he was a step behind Clark this time. Clark leapt straight up, soaring above the defenders, and caught the ball with he tips of his fingers. Ray Wersching's extra point gave the Niners a 28-27 lead.

   But that didn't end the affair. Danny White hit Drew Pearson on a post pattern on the next play, and Pearson almost broke free for a touchdown of his own; inches away from separation, cornerback Eric Wright got one hand on his jersey tugged him down. Still, the Cowboys had crossed the 50, and all they needed was a field goal; the nervous fans in San Francisco had to wait until the next play - a sack and forced fumble by Lawrence Pillers, and recovery by Jim Stuckey - to be sure that heir team was going to the Super Bowl XVI.

   The Niners went on to win the Super Bowl that year with a 26-21 victory over the Bengals.