Joe Montana's 1988-89 Super Bowl Runs Were the Best We've Ever Seen

Recency bias prevents many from having an appreciation for some of the great players of the past. The GOAT discussion sometimes seems isolated only to quarterbacks who’ve played in the league during the last 10 years.

That’s why sometimes it’s important to remind people about how great Joe Montana was.

Books have already been written and documentaries produced. So I won’t go chapter and verse through his entire career. Instead, I’ll leave you with his numbers from the most impressive 2-year playoff run by a quarterback in NFL history.

During the 1988 and 89 postseasons, Montana was lights out as he guided the 49ers to back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. Just take a look:

Keep in mind that this was during an era when defense was allowed. It was even encouraged.

Montana did this with two different head coaches (Bill Walsh in 1988 and George Seifert in 1989). He would have won back-to-back Super Bowl MVPs if not for the fact that Jerry Rice caught 11 passes for a Super Bowl-record 215 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII against the Bengals.

All Montana did in that game (the only Super Bowl where he didn’t win MVP) was complete 23 of 36 passes for 357 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Oh, he also led the first last-minute come-from-behind touchdown drive in Super Bowl history, shepherding the 49ers 92 yards down the field and scoring with just 34 seconds remaining.

And it’s not like these were the only great moments of his playoff career. Montana never turned the ball over in his 4 Super Bowl appearances while firing 11 touchdowns (and rushing for 2 more). He also set the single-game Super Bowl record for passing yards and rushing yards by a QB in the same game (Super Bowl XIX against Dan Marino and the Dolphins after the 1984 season).

Simply put, Montana was an unbelievable playoff quarterback. And no one has come close to matching his level of play from 1988-89 for two consecutive playoff runs.

That said, Patrick Mahomes did throw 7 TDs and no interceptions during his playoff run to a Super Bowl title last year. Perhaps he can lead the Chiefs to a repeat and match Montana’s performance from the late 80’s in 2023…