49ers Still Smarting Over 108-Yd FG Return
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The longest scoring play in NFL history began as a desperate attempt to chisel a few points out of an ice block of a game.
It ended with Chicago's Nathan Vasher rumbling 108 yards through icy winds with Joe Nedney's missed 52-yard field goal attempt for San Francisco last November, changing the clubs' November meeting and perhaps altering the 49ers' miserable season.
As the teams prepare for a rematch, Nedney and the 49ers are taking extra care to make sure such a disaster never happens again. Vasher simply enjoys the memories of an unlikely play that will live forever on Chicago highlight reels.
"It's definitely something special, and a blessing," Vasher said. "It will take a great effort for someone to break it. ... Hopefully, we can take trips out to Ohio and see it in the Hall of Fame."
Don't count on any 49ers going along on that jaunt to Canton.
The touchdown didn't quite make the difference in Chicago's 17-9 victory in atrocious weather conditions, but that return and that loss -- featuring just one completed pass by San Francisco -- encapsulated the 49ers' futility during their 4-12 campaign in coach Mike Nolan's first season.
"It always comes up, but that's certainly a play we would like to learn from and get past," center Eric Heitmann said.
Memories of that play still sting for the 49ers who were on the field and the coaches who watched it happen -- but they'll have their first chance to erase them when they return to Soldier Field on Sunday to face the unbeaten Bears.
"Any play like that has an impact on you," Nolan said. "You don't forget it. That was a play (where) a lot of things went south -- or went east and west."
It all started when Nedney's long attempt on the final play before halftime got caught in the swirling wind. It hooked, wobbled and fell short of the goal posts.
Vasher somehow caught the ball in the back of the end zone and started to bring it up the Bears' sideline -- and then spun, stumbled and started back toward the 49ers' sideline. He sidestepped several tacklers and got a few blocks all the way to the end zone, where the Bears celebrated wildly.
The score put Chicago up 7-3 at halftime -- but it also underlined the unspoken belief in the San Francisco locker room that anything could go wrong at any moment.
Of course, many other things went wrong in Chicago:
-- Quarterback Cody Pickett, the former fourth-stringer forced into action, went 1-for-13 in the biting wind to set a franchise record for fewest completions.
-- Safety Tony Parrish, a Chicago starter for four seasons, broke his leg to end his streak of 121 consecutive starts in every game in his NFL career. Parrish since has lost his starting job to Mark Roman.
-- The defeat was the second of seven straight for the 49ers, who then won their final two games to ruin any chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
But Vasher's return -- and the entire Chicago trip in general -- was the nadir for most everybody on the club. The helpless feeling of that play, combined with the awful weather and the offense's utter inability to move, left everyone exhausted and discouraged.
"I wasn't even playing in it, and I was miserable," said quarterback Alex Smith, who was out with an injury at the time. "It was like playing in a hurricane. It seems so long ago, that game. Seems like a few years ago."
That's because the 49ers' offense has made significant strides since that epitome of futility. Smith is enjoying a strong start to his sophomore campaign, and Frank Gore has emerged as one of the NFL's top running backs behind an offensive line that should get veterans Larry Allen and Jonas Jennings back from injury this week.
And Vasher's return changed the way San Francisco works on special teams -- just another part of the slow, sure process of rebuilding a franchise from the lowest of lows.
"Since that play, whenever we do have a long field goal, we fan out to where we need to be," Heitmann said.
Said Nolan: "Now, you'll always hear us yelling, 'Make sure you cover!"'