How Elite Were They? #58- Joe Montana’s 14-win 1990 Season

Photo Credit: NFL

By Zane Miller

In our last visit to the career of legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, he had completed one of the most thoroughly dominant, yet somewhat underrated, seasons in NFL history, winning Super Bowl XIX after a 15-1 regular season record in 1984. In the second half of the decade, Montana would continue to put up incredible stats, including a first-team All-Pro 1987 season and a 1989 campaign which saw him bring home both league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year (including another first-team All-Pro selection).

Not only that, the rest of the team was certainly pulling their weight as well, as he and the 49ers captured Super Bowl XXIII over the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1988 season before walloping the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV 55-10 the next year in what remains the largest margin of victory in the history of the Big Game. The only problem for an otherwise loaded squad coming into the 1990 campaign was that Montana had not crossed the 12-win mark since that magical 1984 season.

Some of this was due to injury, such as the 1986 season which saw Montana essentially miss the first half of the season due to a ruptured disc in his back. Some of it was unfortunate timing, as was the case in 1987 when Montana sat out during the in-season players’ strike. San Francisco would eventually finish with the best record in the NFL that year at 13-2 (aided by them winning all three of the games played with mainly replacement players), so it’s quite likely that Montana would have crossed the 12-win threshold had he been in those three games, four counting the one game that was canceled due to the strike. However, nothing would be holding the Comeback Kid back to start off the new decade.

After putting up modest numbers in the 49ers’ 13-12 week one victory in New Orleans, Montana showed more of what he was known for in the home opener against the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders). That September afternoon, he would throw for 390 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with 160 yards and one of the TDs going to wide receiver John Taylor as the 49ers took it 26-14. The Bay Area faithful wouldn’t need to wait long for another exceptional Montana performance, as a week later on September 23^rd, he nearly matched his previous totals with two touchdowns and 398 passing yards to beat the Atlanta Falcons 19-13. With Taylor out of the lineup, Montana connected with future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for 171 yards and a touchdown to keep the winning streak going.

After a close win in Houston against the Oilers, Montana would have the most impressive game of his career on October 14^th in the rematch against the Falcons. The Montana to Rice connection was red hot in Hotlanta, as the duo collected three touchdowns in the first half alone. With the Falcons keeping the game close, the 49ers offense had no choice but to respond and keep throwing for much of the second half as well. Ultimately, San Francisco got the job done with a 45-35 victory and improved to 5-0, with Montana posting six touchdown passes for 476 yards, both of which would be career highs. Rice had a career day as well, hauling in five touchdowns and 225 receiving yards.

Two wins later, the Niners came into Lambeau Field looking for an 8-0 start to the year at the expense of the Green Bay Packers. Early on, however, it appeared the team’s run at an undefeated season could come to an end after falling behind 10-0. This would not be the case, instead Montana and company fought back with a strong final frame to hold off the Packers 24-20, with Montana going off for three touchdowns and 411 yards and Rice catching a touchdown with 187 yards through the air.

Although Montana cooled off in the second half, he would still give the team a solid chance at the completing the undefeated season with decisive wins against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, in week 12 the whispers of a perfect season would come to an end after a 28-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, as Montana sustained his only three-interception game of the year. That being said, the team’s 10-0 start, combined with winning the final five regular season contests of the 1989 season, enabled them to place inside the top-five at the time for the longest winning streaks in league history, with their 15 straight wins coming up two victories shy of the mark set by the Chicago Bears from the conclusion of 1933 through 1934. This record was later surpassed multiple times in the 2000s, with the current record holders being the 2008-09 Indianapolis Colts at 23.

Still, the 49ers remained focused on the main goal of grabbing their third straight Super Bowl title, finishing off the regular season strong at 14-2 to claim a first-round playoff bye. Montana was the starter in all 14 victories, taking 26 passing touchdowns and 3,944 passing yards, good for third in the league overall in both categories. While Oilers QB Warren Moon led the way in these categories, Houston’s comparatively underwhelming nine-win season ultimately gave Montana the upper hand in the MVP race. The now two-time MVP also claimed first-team All-Pro honors for the third time in his career, as he would be set to defend Candlestick Park against the Redskins on January 12^th.

In the first quarter, Washington raised the upset alert after taking a 10-7 lead, but San Francisco would kick into gear in the second as Montana found Rice then seldom-used receiver Mike Sherrard to stifle the threat. This enabled the defense, ranked second-best in the league at season’s end, to do the rest, shutting out the Redskins in the second half on the way to a 28-10 divisional round victory. Montana ended the day with a very good 274 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Mark Rypien went for 361 yards and a touchdown for Washington, albeit with three interceptions to one from Montana.

In the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers would play host to the NFC East champ New York Giants on January 20^th. Both teams knew the victor would face the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, as they obliterated the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders 51-3 in the AFC title game a couple hours earlier. However, this conference title matchup would be the complete opposite type of game, as the battle between the #1 and #2 defenses quickly took center stage. A 6-6 draw at halftime gave way on easily the biggest offensive play of the afternoon, with Montana finding an open Taylor down the sideline, sprinting the remaining 40 yards to the end zone. That momentary lapse aside, the Giants responded with a field goal before holding San Francisco to three straight three-and-outs. On the third drive, defensive end Leonard Marshall delivered a crushing hit to Montana as he attempted to find a receiver, instead leading to a fumble. While the 49ers were able to fall on the loose ball, Montana would be knocked out for the remainder of the game with broken ribs and a broken hand.

A successful fake punt set New York up for yet another Matt Bahr field goal, which went through to cut the San Francisco lead down to one. Backup quarterback Steve Young made the most of his lone pass attempt with a 25-yard completion to tight end Brent Jones, but a fumble by running back Roger Craig forced by defensive lineman Erik Howard set up the Giants near midfield with just over two minutes to play. After a pair of crucial passing plays totaling 32 yards from quarterback Jeff Hostetler put the Giants in makable field goal range, a trip to the Super Bowl rested on the right leg of Matt Bahr. Bahr, seeking his first appearance in the Big Game since his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1979, put it through from 42 yards out to end San Francisco’s season with the 15-13 win.

Montana’s shot at a three-peat ended with a touchdown pass and 190 yards, compared to the 176-yard game from Hostetler. In spite of the great defense played by both sides, neither quarterback threw an interception during the game. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this would be the mark the final full season for Montana as a 49er.

Midway through the 1991 preseason, Montana developed an elbow injury that was initially not believed to be season-threatening, but was later revealed as a ligament tear that sidelined him for the entirety of 1991. Complications as a result of the ensuing surgery kept him out for all but one game of the 1992 season, at which point the 49ers had opted to go with Young as the starter for 1993. This prompted a trade sending Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs for a first-round draft pick, which was later traded again and used by the Phoenix (now Arizona) Cardinals to select offensive lineman Ernest Dye, who would only play one full season with the team.

As for Montana, he would ultimately finish his NFL career as a Chief, still contributing solid numbers despite missing the better part of two seasons. In 1993, he nearly led the team to its first Super Bowl appearance as an NFL franchise, but were stonewalled by the Bills in the conference championships. The 1994 campaign saw Montana finish inside the top-10 in passing yards at age 38, before officially announcing his retirement the following offseason, claiming a total of 117 career wins, 100 of which as a Niner, as well as four Super Bowl rings. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot in the year 2000, going along with his #16 jersey being officially retired by the 49ers in 1997. In 2009, Montana was included as an inaugural inductee of the 49ers Hall of Fame, in addition to joining the similarly regional Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Since 1998, Montana became a cofounder of multiple San Francisco-based venture capital firms, including one known as Liquid 2 Ventures which he is currently listed as managing partner.