NFC Championship, 1981: San Francisco 28 Dallas 27

The San Francisco 49ers lined up in a split backs formation, with Joe Montana under center. Wide receiver Freddie Solomon was lined up in the right slot, while Dwight Clark was outside of Solomon, wide to the right.

When Montana took the snap, the play, officially named in the 49ers playbook "Change Left Slot – Sprint Right Option", was intended to set up quick pass to Solomon; earlier in the game, Solomon had scored a touchdown on the same play. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon, who would run a short "square out" pattern that he would catch just past the first down marker, and either step out of bounds, giving the 49ers a fresh set of downs, or would turn upfield and score himself. Since Clark was lined up near Solomon, he was supposed to position himself to get in the way of Solomon's defender (known as a "pick" or "rub" play), and then release and head for the end zone on his own pattern, providing Montana with a second option. However, Solomon slipped while running his route, thus ruining the timing of the play, as Clark was no longer in position to impede Solomon's defender. As such, the Cowboys were able to cover Solomon perfectly. Making matters worse, the pass rush of the Cowboys collapsed the 49ers' offensive line. Three of the Cowboys' defenders, defensive ends Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Larry Bethea and linebacker D. D. Lewis, chased a backpedalling Montana toward the sideline, and seemed certain to either send him out of bounds or sack him. After his initial move, Clark's pattern called for him to cut diagonally left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path, running right along the back boundary of the end zone. Just before being chased out of bounds, and after a pump-fake caused the 6-foot 9-inch (206 cm) "Too Tall" Jones to leave his feet, Montana threw a high pass to the back of the end zone that seemed to be heading out of bounds until Clark, closely covered by Cowboys defender Everson Walls, made a leaping catch with his fingertips, and landed just in-bounds at the back right corner of the end zone to score the touchdown and tie the game with 51 seconds left. Despite the hurried and improvised look of the play on the field, it had mostly run according to plan. Because Solomon, the first option, was covered, Montana was supposed to look to Clark as his second option. Montana threw the ball to a location where only Clark could reach it; if he missed the catch it would have sailed harmlessly out of bounds. Being fairly tall himself, at 6-foot 4-inches (193 cm) tall, Clark was able to use all of his length to jump and grab the ball with the tips of his fingers completing one of the most memorable plays in NFL history.

Closing out the game
The ensuing extra point by kicker Ray Wersching gave the 49ers a 28–27 lead. The game was not over, however, and the Cowboys quarterback Danny White had 51 seconds following a Wersching squib kick to move the ball 75 yards. On the first play from scrimmage, White hit Drew Pearson for a 31-yard reception, bringing the Cowboys over the midfield line and leaving them only 10 to 15 yards to reach field goal range. Pearson would have scored had defensive back Eric Wright not made a one-handed horse-collar tackle. After calling a timeout, White took the first down snap and was sacked by Lawrence Pillers, fumbling in the process. Jim Stuckey recovered the dropped ball, giving the 49ers offense possession near midfield, and allowing Montana to kneel down twice and run out the clock.

Clark finished the game with 8 catches for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Reactions
A photograph of the catch by Walter Iooss, Jr., with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.

Some people claimed that Montana was trying to throw the ball away, leaving time for a fourth down. Clark disputes that assertion, claiming that it was a backup plan that they practiced many times. Montana confirmed that he could not see the end zone through the defenders, but claims that he knew exactly where Clark would be. The 49ers coach, Bill Walsh, assumed that it was a throw-away play and immediately began planning for the fourth down until he heard the cheers from the crowd.

As for the height of the catch, Montana has said that he didn't feel that he threw the ball very high. However, Clark leaped as high as he could only to get his fingertips on the ball. In the Sports Illustrated article, Montana explained that he never saw The Catch, since he had just been knocked to the ground by Jones, but "I saw Dwight's feet touch the ground. I heard the crowd scream." Later, in the locker room, he expressed his amazement at how high Clark had jumped.

According to Clark, Jones reacted to the play by stating "You just beat America's Team" to Montana after the pass was caught, to which Montana replied, "Well, you can sit at home with the rest of America and watch the Super Bowl."

Clark, while discussing The Catch in America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions documentary about the 1981 49ers, said:

It's humbling, really. I feel honored people are still talking about it, 25 years later. I am honored to be able to be a part of a play that was kind of the culmination of just this incredible surprise season. It's great to give 49er fans that moment that they can relive over and over and over, and I know they do because when I am in San Francisco and a lot of places, people want to talk about that play and how it crushed the Cowboys and sent them into submission for a decade. I never get tired of talking about it; I never get tired of seeing it, because I sign pictures and send them to people. I see that catch every day. I may sit and think about that moment couple of times a year, and how awesome it was to be a part of that play and to be a part of the 49ers in the '80s.

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