Which 49ers team was the best? Vote for the greatest team of all-time (think 1989)
This isn’t at all like trying to pick the worst Rocky movie sequel, or the most dreadful traffic spot in California to lose your mind.
This is easy.
What’s the greatest 49ers team of them all?
Or your favorite? They might be two different things.
It might not even be a Super Bowl winner that most appeals to the red-wearing 49ers fans, or those who go to church with a Joe Montana shirt tucked under his or her Sunday best.
Some 49ers clubs are lost in time and history, the near-miss Super Bowl teams that were undone by a late fumble or bad bounce in the NFC Championship game. The 49ers have been there. We do know this: 49ers fans have plenty to choose from on this “greatest menu” — a San Francisco treat of teams, eras, coaches, players and moments.
It hasn’t always been good living as a San Francisco fan. The 49ers have endured some dreadful seasons that led to new coaches and new hopes and dreams, including: the 2-14 mess in 1978 that led to the Bill Walsh era, the 6-10 sputter of 2010 that led to the arrival of Jim Harbaugh and the 2-14 wreck of 2016 that led to Kyle Shanahan.
Sunday’s clash with the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium marks the 16th time the 49ers have reached the NFC Championship, all since 1970, when that contest began following the NFL/AFL merger. The 16 NFC title dates are the most in history.
San Francisco is hosting the NFC finale for the 10th time, also a record. The 49ers have won six such contests and five Super Bowls. They are 4-5 at home in NFC championship tilts. Their nine conference title losses are also a record.
Eight times from 1981 through 1997 the 49ers earned the top seed in the NFC, and five times they won the George Halas Trophy, named after the Chicago Bears famed founder and coach. Three times the 49ers lost in the NFC Championship in that stretch and once in an NFC Divisional round shocker to Minnesota following the 1987 season.
The ninth time the 49ers have had the top NFC draw is Sunday. Coaches prefer to live in the moment, the here and now. We like to also look back.
Who remembers the 49ers of 1970 and ‘71 under coach Dick Nolan and quarterback John Brodie? Those teams lost crushing NFC Championship games to Dallas, the first at Kezar Stadium on a Roger Staubach comeback classic 17-10, and the second in Texas Stadium, 14-3.
Is this Jimmy Garoppolo’s time to make history? Time will tell, if the Packers and their storied history do not.
Here’s a peek at the five greatest 49ers team, a subjective list decided by us. There’s an online poll to pick the team you think is the best.
1. 1989 (17-2)
John Madden, while in the midst of his broadcasting career, called this the greatest team in NFL history. Good argument, big John.
The 49ers became the first Super Bowl team to win back-to-back titles with different coaches leading the team, as George Seifert successfully took over for Bill Walsh. They were first in the NFL in offense and scoring and third in points allowed. They were 8-0 at home, lost two home games by a combined total of five points, won three playoff games by a combined 100 points and blasted Denver into orbit 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV in the Super Dome as Montana hit Jerry Rice for three touchdowns to win his third Super Bowl MVP.
2. 1984 (18-1)
Ronnie Lott, San Francisco’s spirited defensive anchor, recently called this the greatest 49ers team of them all, and he might have inside intel on this.
He was a star on four Super Bowl winners. We went with the ‘89 group as it featured the two greatest 49ers of them all — Montana and Rice. The ‘84 outfit was pre-Rice, but it was the first in history to win 15 regular-season games. Only a three-point loss to Pittsburgh dulled the season. Montana, Roger Craig, Dwight Clark and Wendell Tyler fueled the offense. The defense had 51 sacks and 25 interceptions. Montana earned the Super Bowl MVP honor at nearby Stanford Stadium, keying a 38-16 rout as Craig scored three times.
3. 1994 (16-3)
Steve Young finally got the monkey off his back and bounded out of Montana’s considerable shadow, doing a victory lap after beating Dallas in the NFC Championship game and then setting a record with six touchdown passes in a 49-26 demolition of San Diego in the Super Bowl, three to Rice and three to Ricky Watters. This was the new era of free agency, and the 49ers pounced, signing Deion Sanders, Ken Norton, Gary Plummer, Rickey Jackson, Richard Dent and Charles Mann. The 505 regular-season points were a franchise record. The 49ers came together after a 3-2 start to the season that included a 40-8 home loss to Philadelphia.
4. 1981 (16-3)
Two years after going 2-14 and a year after slight progress at 6-10, the 49ers took the NFL by storm with their breakthrough season, highlighted by the emergence of Joe Montana, in his third season, and punctuated by the dramatics of “The Catch” to beat Dallas in the NFC Championship game, 28-27. San Francisco started the season 1-2 but jolted the NFL with a 45-14 blitzing of Dallas in Week 6. In the Super Bowl, Montana led a 26-21 effort over Cincinnati and Dan Bunz made “The Stop” — one of the greatest tackles in NFL history.
5. 1990 (15-3)
The 49ers were driven to become the first Super Bowl team to three-peat, started the season 10-0 and had the NFC Championship game in hand at home against the Giants, and then they didn’t. A late Roger Craig fumble allowed the Giants new life and to kick a last-play field goal. The Giants went on to beat the Bills in the Super Bowl.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 12:59 PM.