Rice Pops a Big Play as 49ers Beat Colts, 30-24

The Indianapolis Colts tried desperately to rally in the fourth quarter and sent seven players headhunting for San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana. But they forgot about receiver Jerry Rice.

“They came with an all-out blitz and I got underneath the coverage,” said Rice, whose 58-yard touchdown pass play helped the 49ers beat the Colts, 30-24, Sunday.

“I cut my route and jumped into the middle. I guess they felt they had to get pressure on Joe. He just stood in there and side-armed the ball,” Rice said.

The victory marked the debut of 49er Coach George Seifert, a former assistant who took over this season for Bill Walsh.

“There’s a lot more pressure on that sideline than I realized,” Seifert said. “There’s anxiety, obviously. There’s anxiety in any ball game, whether you’re head coach or assistant coach. But when you feel it out there and feel the mood of the players, feel the emotion of the players, that was an interesting sense.”

Indianapolis Coach Ron Meyer said the Colts were dogging Montana.

“We were trying to get pressure. Rice came under our coverage and used our defensive coverage to get open,” Meyer said.

Roger Craig rushed 24 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers.

The Colts’ Eric Dickerson rushed for 106 yards, making him only the seventh NFL player to gain at least 10,000 yards in his career.

Dickerson has 10,021 yards in 91 games, breaking an NFL record set by Jim Brown. It took Brown 98 games to reach 10,000.

The Colts, losing their season opener for the sixth year in a row, trailed by only six points after quarterback Chris Chandler’s one-yard touchdown run midway through the final period.

But the 49ers struck quickly on the next possession, moving 80 yards in five plays, capped by Rice’s big play, the 50th touchdown reception of his career.