The San Francisco 49ers have had many dominant playoff performers in their franchise history. Niner Noise takes a look at the best individual performances in playoff history.
The San Francisco 49ers have been fortunate to have some of the greatest players in the history of the NFL, and most of them made their mark in the playoffs. How else would the 49ers have won five Super Bowl trophies?
The 49ers have had some of the best teams in the history of the league, and even the casual NFL fan knows who Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, and Steve Young are. These players took the playoff game into their hands and made it their own. Even today, these performances are legendary.
These players might have turned the playoff game into the favor of the 49ers, or their performance was so dominant it didn’t give the other team a chance. It might have been their all-time best game for the franchise, after a history of uneven performances for the team, or some other criticism leveled at them at some point in their career.
These individual performances will be ranked by how memorable they were, how dominant the player was during that game and how their performance impacted the game. Human nature will appear in some cases because, well, we all have individual playoff performances that we find more memorable than others.
Please feel free to compile your list before starting through our rundown of the best 49ers individual playoff games. Which performances do you think will be on the list?
Enjoy our rankings of the top 10 individual games in San Francisco 49ers playoff history!
Next: 1984 NFC Championship
No. 10: 1984 NFC Championship vs. Chicago Bears
OK, I admit I am taking liberty with this selection at No. 10. This game wasn’t about one individual — it was every individual on the 49ers defense.
This 49ers defense shut out the Bears offense which included Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, who was held to just 92 yards, and the Bears offense only totaled 186 yards.
The defense held Bears quarterback Steve Fuller to 87 passing yards, forced an interception and sacked him nine times. Seven different 49ers had at least half a sack, and Fred Dean, Michael Carter and Gary Johnson had two sacks apiece.
The most impressive fact about this performance was that this is only one of only two 49ers playoff shutouts in the history of the franchise. Also take into account that the next year the Bears went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl with one of the most dominant teams in league history.
This makes this 49ers defense effort even more impressive. It was easy to include this team defense performance on this list.
Next: Joe Montana & Super Bowl XIX
No. 9: Joe Montana — Super Bowl XIX vs. Miami Dolphins
The “Battle of the West Coast Offenses” game: Joe Montana versus Dolphins QB Dan Marino who had set new NFL records that season for passing yards and passing touchdowns.
The 49ers went 15-1 during the regular season, and the Dolphins had gone 14-2. They were the two best teams in the NFL.
After the Dolphins took a 10-7 lead after the first quarter, Montana led the 49ers to a dominant second quarter, which destroyed the Dolphins Super Bowl dreams. Montana threw for a TD and ran for a TD in a 21-point quarter, giving the 49ers a 28-16 lead at halftime, which they were never going to relinquish.
Montana led the offense to 537 total yards, and he went for 24-of-35 with 331 yards, with three TDs and 0 INTs.
This was the 49ers second Super Bowl triumph and kept going the incredible legacy of one Joe Montana.
This performance was an easy pick for this list.
Next: Joe Montana & 1989 Divisional Playoff Game
No. 8 – Joe Montana — 1989 Divisional Playoffs vs. Minnesota Vikings
Montana was simply fantastic during this game. He led another dominant second quarter performance with 20 points, which included TD passes to Brent Jones, John Taylor and Jerry Rice. The 49ers had the game in hand with a lead of 27-3 at halftime.
He led the offense to another great performance with 403 total yards. Montana was at his playoff-efficient best, with an incredible 71 percent completion rate (17-of-24, 241 yards, and four TDs).
The 49ers won the game 41-13, and went on to win back-to-back Super Bowls and their fourth Super Bowl trophy overall.
Such was the 49ers offense dominance that they outscored their opponents 126-26 during that playoff run. Montana led from the front, and he cemented his legacy as arguably the best QB in the history of the NFL.
This performance was the beginning of a magical run and was a no-doubter for this list.
Next: Vernon Davis vs. the New Orleans Saints in 2011
No. 7 – Vernon Davis — 2011 Divisional Playoffs vs. New Orleans Saints
This was Davis’ best-ever game in a 49ers uniform. He was a beast, and he carried the team on his back.
Davis had seven catches for 180 yards and two TDs, including the game winner with just nine seconds left (it is unofficially known as “The Catch III” or the “Vernon Post”). Davis had 68 percent of the 49ers passing yards in this game (team had 264 passing yards total).
There were four lead changes in the last three minutes of the game. After the Saints had taken the lead with 1:37 left, Davis put the team in field goal position to at least tie the game with a 47-yard reception from the 49ers 33-yard line on 2nd-and-10 with 1:14 left.
It is important to note this was Davis’ first playoff game. And he didn’t have another playoff game like this again.
It is special when a player carries his team on his back to a memorable playoff victory, and this performance by Davis makes it a top-seven place on this list.
Next: Ricky Watters vs. New York Giants in 1993
No. 6: Ricky Watters — 1993 Divisional Playoffs vs. New York Giants
The 49ers were just an average team in 1993, finishing the season with a 10-6 record. They faced off against the 11-5 New York Giants at Candlestick Park.
QB Steve Young was very efficient, finishing with 17-of-22 for 226 yards. However, the real star was RB Ricky Watters.
Watters was simply sublime in this game. He ran for five touchdowns in this game — a new NFL playoff record for most rushing TDs in a game, and this record still stands today.
Overall, he ran 24 times for 118 yards (4.92 yards per carry), and you couldn’t ask for a better way to finish off drives and to totally demoralize a rush defense.
The 49ers destroyed the Giants 44-3, and Watters performance is not just a 49ers great playoff performance, but an all-time great NFL playoff performance. This victory stands as the second-biggest playoff margin of victory in 49ers franchise history.
His efforts is a worthy top-six selection for this list.
Next: Terrell Owens & the Miracle Comeback
No. 5: Terrell Owens — 2002 NFC Wild Card vs. New York Giants
Owens was just a beast in this game. He ran past and through Giants defenders throughout the game, and his performance played a large part in the 49ers having the second-biggest comeback in playoff history.
Owens did it all — he had nine catches for 177 yards, scored two TDs, converted two 2-point conversions, and even completed a pass of 25 yards. He was QB Jeff Garcia’s primary go-to man in this game, and he had nearly 100 more receiving yards than the next 49ers receiver.
Owens combined with the defense to shut out the Giants over the last 19 minutes of the game, which led to the epic comeback.
Owens performance is a worthy top-five member of this list.
Next: Colin Kaepernick vs. the Green Bay Packers
No. 4: Colin Kaepernick — 2012 Divisional Playoffs vs. Green Bay Packers
This game wasn’t a fair fight. There haven’t been too many games where the Packers defense was completely embarrassed, but this game was one of them. And it was all down to one man: Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick utilized the read option to brutally expose the Packers. This game was just Kaepernick’s eighth NFL start and his first playoff game. He had nerves to start, where he threw an early pick-six to Packers cornerback Sam Shields.
But then it was a one-way street.
The 49ers offense had 579 total yards, including 323 on the ground (both of these marks were new Packers records for futility). Kaepernick went 17-of-31 for 263 yards and two TDs to WR Michael Crabtree, but he also ran for 181 yards on 16 carries and scored two TDs.
Kaepernick’s 181 yards rushing was the most ever by a QB in any game, breaking Michael Vick’s 173 yards for the Atlanta Falcons in 2002.
Kaepernick’s performance was an all-time great playoff effort, and is unlucky to not rank higher on this list. However, the top-three performances on our list occurred on the biggest day of the football calendar. It is impossible to go past these efforts.
Next: Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXIII
No. 3: Jerry Rice — Super Bowl XXIII vs. Cincinnati Bengals
This game is best remembered for Montana’s game-winning TD pass to WR John Taylor with only 34 seconds left in the game, and the win was the 49ers third Super Bowl triumph.
However, the person who kept the 49ers in the game, and was the catalyst for most of their drives, including the game-winning 92 yard drive, was WR Jerry Rice.
Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and a TD. Rice’s receiving output was 114 yards better than the next 49ers receiver in the game.
How good was Rice?
After 26 years since this game, his 215 receiving yards ranks No. 6 all-time in NFL playoff history, and is still No. 1 all time in Super Bowl history. His 11 catches still ranks as tied for second in Super Bowl history.
Rice won the Super Bowl MVP award in this game, which he richly deserved. He simply torched the Bengals defense.
This performance was an easy selection for the top three on this list.
Next: Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXIV
No. 2: Joe Montana — Super Bowl XXIV vs. Denver Broncos
This game was the coronation of Montana’s historic career with the 49ers, and it cemented his legacy of one of the best QBs to ever play the game.
Montana was a one-man show — he threw passes at will, with perfect timing and velocity to find his receivers all over the field. It was like watching a symphony orchestra at their very best. It was sublime.
Montana set a then-Super Bowl record with 5 TD passes, going 22-of-29 (76 percent completion rate) for 297 yards. He led the offense to 461 total yards, a 19-minute time-of-possession advantage, and a 45-point winning margin, setting (and still is today) the biggest victory ever in a Super Bowl.
Montana was an easy selection as the Super Bowl MVP.
Montana’s performance was nearly No. 1 on this list. It was a toss up. The difference maker was the next man broke Montana’s Super Bowl passing record.
Next: Steve Young in Super Bowl XXIX
No. 1: Steve Young — Super Bowl XXIX vs. San Diego Chargers
Young had played in the shadow of the great Joe Montana for many years, including the back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1988 and 1989.
When he was finally given the chance to lead the team, the 49ers and Young had experienced two excruciating losses in the NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993.
1994 arrived, and with a bevy of free agents signed, the 49ers coasted to a 13-3 regular season and they finally beat the Cowboys 38-28 in the NFC Championship Game.
Already known as one of the greatest teams in NFL history, the 49ers just had one more game to win.
Young was ready to make his mark on the Super Bowl. Within 84 seconds of the game starting, Young threw a 44-yard TD to WR Jerry Rice (the fastest TD score in Super Bowl history), which set the tone for the offense for the rest of the game.
Young was nothing but brilliant in the first half — he threw four TD passes and led the 49ers to a 28-10 lead at halftime, and the game was over, and the franchise’s 5th Super Bowl trophy was within sight.
More from Niner Noise
- 49ers 2023 NFL Draft tracker: Pick-by-pick news and analysis
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
Young went 24-of-36 for 325 yards and a new Super Bowl record six TD passes, and he led the team with 49 rushing yards. He won the Super Bowl MVP award. Young finally proved that he was the man, that he could win the big game and he finally exited the shadow of Montana.
Who can forget middle linebacker Gary Plummer ripping the “monkey” off Young’s back in the waning moments of the game? Young had silenced the doubters for good. Young’s speech in the locker room after the game was poignant — holding the Super Bowl trophy he said: “No one can ever, EVER take this away from us, ever!”.
Young finally had the piece of hardware that his idol had. His performance still stands today as an all-time great Super Bowl performance, and just edges Montana in Super Bowl XXIV.
Next: San Francisco 49ers: An Early Look at Locks for the 2016 Roster
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.