SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Jeff Garcia threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns to Terrell Owens Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers rallied from an early 10-point deficit for a 21-13 victory over the winless Detroit Lions.
Detroit coach Marty Mornhinweg served as offensive coordinator for San Francisco's Steve Mariucci for the last four years before being hired by the Lions. Mornhinweg was credited with the rapid development of Garcia.
Garcia struggled early, however, as Robert Bailey returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Jason Hanson's 49-yard field goal made it 10-0 before the 49ers' offense finally woke up.
Garcia engineered a seven-play, 74-yard drive, capped by a four-yard touchdown to tight end Eric Johnson to slice the deficit to 10-7 at halftime.
Owens opened the scoring in the second half with a 30-yard touchdown reception from Garcia to give San Francisco the lead for good.
A field goal cut Detroit's deficit to one point, but the 49ers responded with an eight-play, 87-yard drive that ended with Owens catching his second touchdown, a seven-yard toss that made it 21-13 with 14:26 left. Garcia found Owens for a 41-yard pass play earlier in the drive.
The Lions were forced to punt twice in the fourth quarter before their final possession. A pass interference play by cornerback Jason Webster gave Detroit a first down at the 49ers' 41 with 1:44 left.
But after three incompletions by Charlie Batch, San Francisco ran out the final 74 seconds for its seventh straight home win over Detroit.
