Gannon was held to 164 yards on 18 of 28 completions. He had just one touchdown and was under constant pressure, despite the 49ers only nailing him to the ground once. Gannon who had thrown for 300 or more yards in six consecutive games was simply out played by the 49ers defense who were coming off a string of terrible games.

With the quarterback under pressure, the cornerbacks didn’t need to hold their coverage for as long. As such, Jerry Rice only gained 74 yards, and Tim Brown just ten. In fact, if not for third string receiver Jerry Porter working against rookie Mike Rumph the 49ers defense may have had an even greater game.

It’s an old theory that by rattling the quarterback an entire offense can be disrupted. Getting to the quarterback of course is the tricky part - easier said than done, but the 49ers did manage to keep a heavy pursuit on the Raiders quarterback, and ultimately it allowed them to limit the production of two of the greatest receivers in the history of the NFL.