Way back 24 years ago this week the San Francisco 49ers travelled to Georgia to face the Atlanta Falcons in what was to become an historic game in the history of the franchise.
The 1990 team was one of the most talented in the club's illustrious history. Coming off of the back of a Super Bowl winning season in 1989, the 49ers added more talent to their defense by drafting defensive end Dennis Brown in the second round.
Brown played for several years and accumulated a healthy amount of sacks including six in his rookie season. The team's third round pick was defensive back Eric Davis, who enjoyed a great career and was a key member of the victorious Super Bowl XXIX team and went on to become a prominent football commentator.
Going into the season, head coach George Seiffert and the 49ers were aiming for the NFL's first ever 'three-peat'.
By Week 6 the Niners were well on their way with an impressive 4-0 start, defeating the Falcons in Week 3 by a 19-13 scoreline.
Having run San Francisco close, a young and gifted Atlanta team that featured sophomore cornerback and future Hall of Famer Deion Sanders came out to the media and all but guaranteed victory in the return meeting at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
The game
The 49ers received the ball to start the game and opened the scoring just three plays later when Joe Montana found Jerry Rice for a 24-yard touchdown.
Atlanta's much vaunted offense emphatically responded later in the first quarter as star wide receiver Andre Rison scored on a 75-yard touchdown to level the scores at 7-7.
But, before the end of the quarter Montana and Rice – who recorded his first 100-catch season in 1990 - struck again, connecting on a 25-yard score to restore the 49ers' advantage.
Yet Atlanta continued to show great resiliency, which was highlighted again with defensive back Bobby Butler's scoop and score following a blocked 49er punt.
Montana was quite simply stunning for the entirety of the encounter, throwing two more touchdown passes before the end of the first half.
First the San Francisco signal-caller found wideout Mike Sherrard for a 43-yard strike and then displayed his precision again by hitting Rice for the third time to give the Niners a seemingly comfortable lead.
Atlanta refused to lie down, though, and capped an impressive drive with quarterback Chris Miller's five-yard touchdown pass to receiver James Milling to continue the shootout, although the 49ers tacked on 56-yard field goal from Mike Cofer before half-time to lead by 10 at the interval.
Both defenses made adjustments during the break and the free scoring of the first half came to something of a halt, with the only six-pointer of the third quarter as Montana produced another example of his rapport with Rice, who hauled in his fourth touchdown pass.
Rice then made the game safe in the fourth quarter by becoming only the third player in NFL history to catch five touchdowns in a single game and put the 49ers 45-21 to the good.
Miller tossed a three-yard pass to tight end Gary Wilkins before missing the rest of the game with a sprained MCL but, although backup Scott Campbell linked up with Rison to cut the gap to 45-35, the Falcons were unable to rally to a comeback as San Francisco emerged victorious.
Montana finished 32 of 49 with a career-high 476 yards and six touchdowns, while also throwing two interceptions, and Rice's record-tying day saw him make 13 catches for 225 yards.
Notable on the Atlanta side was Rison, whose 172 receiving yards and two touchdowns would normally have been headline news, however, he was barely mentioned due to the exploits of Montana and Rice.
Notable quotes after the game:
Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville: "I don't know of a quarterback that can play any better than that, he (Montana) taught us a lesson we didn't want to learn."
"We did everything I know in football to the quarterback and it didn't seem to matter. . . . I can't wait until that quarterback retires."
Wide receiver Andre Rison: "What champions are made of, thats what they taught us."
George Seiffert, 49ers head coach: "Our passing game was particularly good today....It was the best since I've been a head coach. We used the audible well against the blitz."
Joe Montana: "I had an off and on day. At times I played well but not up to the standards of a Super Bowl."
The 49ers finished the season with an impressive 14-2 record and looked certain to be heading back to the Super Bowl for the third time in succession. Sadly however, they fell one game short when the New York Giants managed to beat them in the NFC Championship game. The Giants then went on to win Super Bowl XXV, beating the Buffalo Bills 20-19.
Thanks for reading,
Paul Kadwill
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