NFC West Is a Rerun of Dynasty

Hold the talk about Carolina being a budding dynasty in the NFC West. The old one is back.

Treating Carolina as a one-year wonder, the San Francisco 49ers reclaimed the division title from the team that took it from them, defeating the Panthers, 27-19, on Sunday.

Getting a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Terry Kirby to start the second half and surviving a blocked field goal late in the game, the 49ers (10-1) won their 10th game in a row to wrap up their 13th division title in 17 years and sixth in the 1990s.

“It feels great to take it back from the team that had taken it away from us so boldly,” said Steve Young, who threw for a touchdown, ran for another and completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards.

But Young said the division title was only one step in the 49ers’ ultimate goal--the Super Bowl.

“There are a lot of great things happening right now on this team. Expectations are growing, within the organization, within ourselves,” Young said.

The 49ers matched the 1986 Chicago Bears for the quickest division title-clinching since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

The 49ers completed their run through NFC West opponents at 8-0 this season, including the sweep of the Panthers, who had upset San Francisco twice last season in winning the NFC West title in their second year of existence.

Carolina (5-6) was in a position to tie the score after Tyrone Poole blocked Gary Anderson’s 46-yard field goal attempt and Renaldo Turnbull returned it to the San Francisco 40 with a little more than two minutes left in the game. The Panthers moved the ball to the 28, but Merton Hanks intercepted Kerry Collins’ pass at the goal line and the 49ers ran out the clock.