TEMPE, Ariz. — Take away Steve Young, and the 49ers are the Denver Broncos, a great champion no more.
And maybe that's why the 49ers should be condemned for being so greedy, risking the franchise for a few more points in a 17-0 first-half romp, and paying the price in pain and another concussion for Young.
This one was mild, they said later, but it kept him out of the game in the second half and the only thing saving the 49ers from losing both Young and the game, was the inept and erratic play of Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer.
San Francisco, a witness to its own unsettling future without Young, hung on to defeat Arizona 24-10 before a sweaty group of 72,100. The Cardinals (1-2) have not won in Arizona on Monday night since moving here in 1988.
The 49ers (2-1) talked afterward about the defense's contributions, picking up the slack for a stymied offense, and Lawrence Phillips' run for respect on a 68-yard touchdown scamper with 1:42 to play. But the outcome, while rewarding for the 49ers, should be one last warning to a franchise that has squeezed so much out of Young, and who will turn 38 next month.
"I got a shot to the back of the head and for a second kind of shocked me," said Young of the hit late in the first half that left him unconscious momentarily. "I got my wits about me and felt fine and went into halftime feeling like I should play, but history wasn't on my side."
Young, who absorbed a series of concussions in his earlier years, the last coming in the opening game of the 1997 season against Tampa Bay, said he is concerned--more so than at any other point in his career.
"Yeah, I worry, but I will see my buddy (neurosurgeon)--haven;'t seen him in two years--and he's a guy I have a lot of confidence in and I'll explain exactly what happened and go from there," Young said. "I'm much more sober about it than ever before. I will deal with it as realistically as I can.
"In the past I wasn't quite as conscious of my future, but now I'm very very conscious of my future."
Young, while claiming he's more sober about the ramifications of suffering a concussion, said he tried to talk his way back onto the field because he felt fine.
"Coach said at halftime that we have enough to win it, and he ended up being right," said Young, telling people that they could look into his eyes now and see no problems resulting from the blow.
