Super Bowl XXIV - 2nd Half

Quarter 3

To get back in the game, the Broncos needed a stop on the 49ers' first possession and at least a field goal on their first possession. They got the first part but not the second.

From the 23 after the kickoff, WR John Taylor caught a pass for 8y.
But the Broncos stuffed Rathman twice for a net of only 1y.
So Helton punted 44y to the Denver 24.

Needing to "relax and let things flow," in the words of TV commentator John Madden, Elway, with DE Charles Haley in his face, threw an interception on the first play directly into the midsection of LB Michael Walter at the Denver 28.

Like barracudas smelling blood in the water, the 49ers struck on the first play as Montana, with no pressure from the rush, again threw down the middle to Jerry Rice on a post pattern. He caught the ball in stride at the two and stepped into the end zone for his Super Bowl record third touchdown. 49ers 34 Broncos 3 (12:48)

Denver CB Tyrone Braxton almost foiled the touchdown play. "I missed it by a dang fingernail. I turned early and was watching the ball come. If I had just drove full speed and looked two steps later, I would have had a pick."

Denver made one first down before having to punt.

Humphrey took a swing pass for 7y, then ran for six more to move the chains.
But Kevin Fagan sacked Elway for a loss of 6y.
A toss to Sewell gained for 10 to make the third down more manageable.
But Elway, moving around in the pocket, threw a wobbly pass that went way over the head of WR Michael Young going deep and into the hands of SS Chet Brooks, who returned it 38y to the Denver 37.

Chet Brooks returns his interception escorted by Eric Wright (21) and Johnny Jackson.

This time the 49ers took two plays to score.

Craig gained two around left end to the 35.
Montana sidestepped the rush and threw down the middle. This time it was John Taylor on the post pattern behind CB Wymon Henderson. In a carbon copy of the previous TD, Taylor took the ball just as he glided into the end zone. 49ers 41 Broncos 3 (9:44)

Montana passes.

After a nice return by Carrington, the Denver offense finally got into gear, driving 61y in five plays for a touchdown.

Elway connected with Vance Johnson for 13 before Humphrey took a draw handoff for 34y through the left side.
Then the Broncos finally got a break. LB Bill Romanowski intercepted Elway's pass in the back left corner of the end zone but was called for interference. 1st down at the one.

It took three plays, but Denver finally got a touchdown.

Humphrey and Elway collided on the handoff for no gain.
Then Haley tripped up Humphrey for a 2y loss.
From the shotgun, Elway ran a quarterback draw, eluding tacklers around the right side into the end zone.
49ers 41 Broncos 10 (6:53)

San Francisco responded with a 75y scoring drive that ended early in the fourth quarter.

Craig gained 12, then two.
Montana completed consecutive passes to Taylor for six and TE Jamie Williams for seven to move the chains to the 45.
Rathman skirted left end for 18.
After Craig lost one, Montana found Rice for 12 for another first down at the 19.
WR Mike Wilson dropped a pass to end Montana's Super Bowl record of 13 consecutive completions.
Craig took the next pass for 12y to the seven.
Rathman gained four to end the quarter.
End Quarter 3: 49ers 41 Denver 10

Jerry Rice outruns Randy Robbins (48).

Quarter 4

The 49ers were on a mission to show how great they were without Bill Walsh. So they didn't take their foot off the pedal.

Rathman shot through right guard into the end zone from the three.
49ers 48 Denver 10 (14:57)

In the telecast booth, Summerall and Madden speculated about backup quarterbacks getting a chance to play–Gary Kubiak for Denver and Steve Young for San Francisco. Montana would get one more series and Elway two.

It was the 49ers defense's turn to shine again after Carrington returned 22y to the 23.

DE Daniel Stubbs sacked Elway for a loss of six.
After an offside penalty on Frisco put the ball at the 22, disaster struck Denver again.
Scrambling to escape the all-out rush, Elway was hit from behind by CB Don Griffin, causing a fumble that Stubbs picked up and returned 15y to the one.
Montana handed to Craig who ran off the right side into the end zone.
49ers 55 Denver 10 (13:47)
Craig: "We were so efficient on that game day. It was like taking candy from a baby. Everything was clean. We trained and prepared to the fullest. It was amazing. It's beautiful when you're in synch."
Vance Johnson: "I remember looking at John's face. I was just wondering if this is what he would be known for. Knowing the type of player John was, there was no way he was going to hang it up until he won a Super Bowl."

Daniel Stubbs zeroes on Elway.

With both teams playing many backups the rest of the way, Denver got one first down on its next possession on Elway's 14y screen pass to FB Melvin Bratton before having to punt.

After a first down run by Terrence Flagler, Montana left to the cheers of the crowd with a 147.6 passer rating and his streak of never throwing an interception alive. Steve Young handed off once, then threw an incompletion to end the 49ers possession.

Gary Kubiak completed a 28y pass on third down to Ricky Nattiel to the Denver 43. But two incompletions and another sack by Stubbs–the 49ers' sixth of the game–forced a punt.

The 49ers moved across midfield on runs by Flagler and Young's completions to Harry Sydney and WR Mike Sherrard. After Young scrambled for 11y to the 27, Steve knelt down four times to end the massacre.
FINAL SCORE: SAN FRANCISCO 55 DENVER 10

Watch the game ...

Montana won his third Super Bowl MVP award. This one was unanimous.

Final statistics

Time of possession: 49ers 39:31 Broncos 20:29
First downs: 49ers 28 Broncos 12
Rushing: 49ers 44-144 Broncos 17-64
Passing: 49ers 32-24-0/317 Broncos 29-11-2/103
Return yardage: 49ers 8-129 Broncos 11-207
Fumbles-Lost: 49ers 0-0 Broncos 3-2
Penalties: 49ers 4-38 Broncos 0-0
Punting average: 49ers 4-39.5 Broncos 6-38.5
Attendance: 72,919

Postgame

49ers Locker Room

Coach Seifert did not want to take much credit for the victory. "I'm not concerned about that. I'm just going to try to relish this one for a few days. ... We said throughout the game that we've got to keep turning it up a notch. That's a sign of the inner strength this organization has put together the last 10 years."
Asked to compare his teams to the great teams of all time, he replied, "You people and the fans will decide. I think our '84 team was a great football team, but there obviously have been other great football teams. This is one of the fine teams ever to play. There is no question."
Seifert would later say, "I honestly felt that if I tried to impose too much of myself on that team and be too restrictive, the whole thing would have crumbled."
Joe Montana: "I think I might have gotten touched once. I could play 'til I'm 40 if (the offensive line) plays like that."
Matt Millen: "The strength of this defense is it ability to adjust. Once you've shown your cards, we've got it figured out. We've had a lot of these games this year ... games where we've just crushed people. It's not that our 'D' doesn't get enough credit. It's just that this team's offense–well, there's not an adjective out there to describe it."

Broncos Locker Room

Coach Reeves on the 49ers: "I think they're playing as well as anybody ever has. They are playing at a level that is incredible." He added "I'm disappointed because of all the people we let down. We made some people, some experts, awfully smart today ...:
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips: "We tried rushing three men, four men, five men. We tried everything, and nothing worked. The way Montana was playing, we could've rushed eleven or dropped eleven, and it wouldn't make any difference. He was uncanny."
John Elway coughed numerous times while facing the press and had to take a break several times. He never gave his health as an excuse. He admitted, "I played lousy. All I can do is the best I can do. Today, it wasn't any good. And, even if it was, I don't know if we could have beaten San Francisco. That was probably the greatest team of all time."
Elway showered long after the game. As he brushed his teeth, teammate Michael Young asked him, "Dude, are you all right?"
John replied, "They're never going to forgive me." He knew the fan reaction would be brutal. He felt he had let down his teammates, the organization, and the entire city.
He joined his family for a small dinner, skipping the team party that didn't figure to be a happy event. He could barely speak to his parents and wife and eventually wandered away from the table in the middle of the meal to be alone in his thoughts.
His wife said, "We all tried to talk to him and cheer him up somehow, but he wasn't hearing any of it. He didn't want to eat. He didn't want to talk. He was just miserable."
LB Karl Mecklenburg: "A lot of fans came into this game with a bad attitude about us. I said we were a good football team that could come here and play the 49ers tough, so obviously this is very frustrating. In the end, I guess you have to say the critics' expectations were right. We couldn't get the job done."
LB Simon Fletcher, another veteran of three Super Bowl losses: "I'd like to have the feeling of winning one of these things. That's the whole point of getting here, not just to get here and get your butt kicked three times. We had a good season, but this kind of puts a damper on all of it."