Today, the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers enjoy one of the NFL's spiciest rivalries. But every great rivalry has a start date and for this one, October 14, 2002 is circled in a black sharpie.
The Game
It was Week 6 of the 2002 NFL season and the two new divisional rivals were headed in opposite directions. While the Seahawks stumbled to a 1-3 start, the 49ers entered Seahawks Stadium for their Monday Night bout, having scorched the once-mighty Rams 37-13. But while they would end the season on different sides of the spectrum, this historic first inter-divisional clash between the two franchises would prove to be a sign of things to come
After taking a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter, defensive back Zack Bronson intercepted Seahawks quarterback Trent Dilfer in the middle of the field. Shortly after, the 49ers made the Seahawks pay when Jeff Garcia rolled to the right and found his favorite target, Terrell Owens, for an eight-yard touchdown.
Dilfer responded on the ensuing drive with an eight-yard scoring strike of his own to Mack Strong to whittle the 49ers' lead down to three. A short while later, the 49ers were forced to punt when disaster struck. Seahawks punt returner Bobby Engram caught the ball, saw an opening and wrestled his ankle away from long snapper Brian Jennings' grasp as he steamrolled to the end zone for an exhilarating 61-yard return for a touchdown. Suddenly, after being behind by as much as ten points in the first quarter, the Seahawks were ahead 14-10.
Late in the first half, Owens slipped by his defender with a clear path to the end zone in his sight, but the ball never came his way. Instead, Garcia scrambled to the left to set up a Jose Cortez field goal to pull within one. Owens was fuming when he reached the sideline and made sure that his quarterback knew that he was open. It was a moment that Jeff Garcia would not soon forget.
The 49ers opened the second half with a six yard Kevan Barlow dash into the end zone to give them a 20-14 lead. But the Seahawks had one of the league's most talented running backs in their backfield and were eager to use him. Shaun Alexander took over the subsequent drive, running long and running short, all the while with his eyes fixed firmly on the end zone. He ended the drive accordingly: with a a one-yard plunge.
The Seahawks still maintained a 21-2- lead when Dilfer began another drive early in the fourth quarter. He lofted a pass downfield when Ahmed Plummer picked it off at the San Francisco 31-yard line. On third-and-four on the ensuing drive, Jeff Garcia scrambled up the middle and chucked a shovel pass to running back Garrison Hearst at the 49ers 38-yard line who then rumbled for a nice chunk of extra yards to give his teammates a critical first down.
Garcia found Owens one play later. Stretched high above the defeated cornerback at the eight-yard line, Terrell Owens came down with the ball and rumbled into the end zone for the winning touchdown. 49ers: 28, Seahawks: 21
But the game's greatest showboats wasn't about to leave the moment unattended. After scoring the touchdown, Owens pulled out a sharpie from his sock, signed the football and handed it to his financial advisor who had recently requested a signed game-used football.
And just like that, the 49ers and Seahawks bitter rivalry was officially off and running.
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