San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 Best Quarterbacks in Franchise History
Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Steve Young arrives for Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2. Steve Young
This was not a difficult decision to place quarterback Steve Young at No. 2 on this list. Despite Young being considered the proverbial “bridesmaid” for most of his starting career (losing back-to-back NFC Championship games to the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993), his overall record is outstanding.
In 1994, Young led the team to its fifth Super Bowl in blowing out the San Diego Chargers 49-26. Young threw for a Super Bowl-record six TD passes and became the sixth person in NFL history to win both the NFL and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season.
Later at age 37 in 1998, Young threw “The Catch II” where he found wide receiver Terrell Owens for the game-winning TD with seconds left to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card game.
Ultimately, Young threw for 29,907 yards (third-best in franchise history) and second in TDs (221). Young had his No. 8 jersey number retired and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Young also finished with a 91-33-0 win-loss record, the second-most wins in franchise history.
Other notable records that Young holds:
- fourth-highest passer rating of all-time (96.8 percent)
- 43 career rushing TDs (NFL record for a QB)
- 4,239 rushing yards (third-highest in NFL history)
- six NFL passer rating titles (NFL record)
In total, Young holds 11 various 49ers QB records and holds or shares nine NFL QB records. He goes down as not just a 49ers great, but an all-time NFL great. If it wasn’t for our next QB on this list, he would have been a clear No. 1.
Next: No. 1: Joe Montana