\'Niners last-second FG defeats Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- What seemed like a dud of a season-opening party for the NFL actually turned into a thriller.\nJose 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 in a Thursday night season opener.\nCortez also had field goals of 23 and 33 yards and Garrison Hearst score on a 9-yard pass for the Niners.\nTiki Barber tied the game at 13 with a 1-yard 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.\nThe 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.\nThe 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.\nNew 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.\nSan Francisco went 52 yards in six plays on its winning drive, with the big gain coming on the opening play.\nTerrell 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.\nThis one was down the middle.\nSan 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 Collins was intercepted for the third time.\nHowever, the Giants responded with a 77-yard, 14-play game-tying drive that featured a key 23-yard pass from Collins to Amani 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.\nBarber swept the left side two plays later for the touchdown, diving into the corner of the end zone.