49ers Top Giants, 16-13

<br>EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ What seemed like a dud of a season-opening party for the NFL actually turned into a thriller. <br><br>Jose Cortez kicked a 36-yard field goal with :06 to play, giving the

Friday, September 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ What seemed like a dud of a season-opening party for the NFL actually turned into a thriller.

Jose Cortez kicked a 36-yard field goal with :06 to play, giving the San Francisco 49ers a 16-13 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night.

Cortez also had field goals of 23 and 33 yards and Garrison Hearst scored on a 9-yard pass for the Niners.

Tiki Barber tied the game at 13 with a 1-yard score with 1:49 to play, and rookie Matt Bryant made field goals of 29 and 33 yards for the Giants in a mistake-filled game that turned into a nail-biter in the fourth quarter.

The NFL ushered in this season with a special midweek start that included a Manhattan concert. The league said it was celebrating New York's resilience in the wake of the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people.

The festivities kicked off with what the NFL termed the ``world's largest tailgate party,'' a concert in Times Square featuring Bon Jovi, Eve, Alicia Keys, 'N Sync's Joey Fatone and Enrique Iglesias. It continued before the game with a more patriotic flavor.

New York City police officer Daniel Rodriguez sang ``God Bless America'' as a 40-yard U.S. flag was unfurled by policemen, firefighters, members of the armed services and construction workers who helped clear the rubble of the World Trade Center towers. Following the national anthem, there was a flyover by two Navy helicopters with U.S. flags waving in the breeze.

San Francisco went 52 yards in six plays on its winning drive, with the big gain coming on the opening play.

Terrell Owens, fairly invisible the whole game, caught a 33-yard pass down the right sideline, moving the ball to the New York 37. A 12-yard pass to J.J. Stokes got the ball to the 25, and Hearst's 7-yard run set up Cortez, who earlier had a 25-yarder blocked and was short from 48.

This one was down the middle.

San Francisco seemed in control in the fourth quarter after wiping out a 6-3 halftime deficit on Hearst's 9-yard TD catch on a swing pass from Jeff Garcia, and Cortez's 33-yard field goal, which came after Kerry Collins was intercepted for the third time.

However, the Giants responded with a 77-yard, 14-play game-tying drive that featured a key 23-yard pass from Collins to Toomer on third-and-16. First-round draft pick Jeremy Shockey caught a 20-yarder and Barber made a third-down catch and roll to give New York a first down at the 4-yard line.

Barber swept the left side two plays later for the touchdown, diving into the corner of the end zone.

The Giants outgained the 49ers 361-279, with Collins and Toomer providing most of the yardage.

Collins was 28 of 45 for 342 yards, but his three interceptions and some key penalties hurt the Giants. Toomer, who had nine receptions for 134 yards, lost 44 yards on one third-quarter pass to the Niners 7 because of a holding penalty against left tackle Luke Petitgout, the one returning member of the Giants' revamped offensive line.

Garcia finished 16 of 26 for 166 yards. Owens, considered the best receiver in the league by many, had only four catches for 41 yards, but he had the big one at the key time.

Despite two first-half interceptions of Collins and a failure to convert on two chances from the 49ers' 21, the Giants took a 6-3 halftime lead on field goals of 29 and 33 yards by Bryant.

San Francisco left three points on the field on its opening series.

An interception by Tony Parrish on the third play and a 16-yard run by Garcia gave the 49ers a first down at the 7. Cortez eventually had a 25-yard field goal blocked by Mike Rosenthal, the Giants 6-foot-7 offensive tackle.

Despite facing a first-and-25 situation, the Giants went 69 yards in 11 plays on their next series. Collins hit Toomer on consecutive passes of 22 and 14 yards and later found Ike Hilliard for 12.

Bryant, cut on Friday and re-signed just 48 hours before gametime when Owen Pochman went on injured reserve with a knee injury, then made his first NFL kick.

A 38-yard third-down pass from Garcia to Eric Johnson and a 19-yard run by Kevan Barlow set up Cortez's game-tying 23-yard field goal.

Bryant put New York ahead on the final play of the first half with a shaky kick that got just inside the upright.