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49ers Joe Montana vs. Patriots Tom Brady: Revisiting the GOAT Argument after Super Bowl LI

By Peter Panacy

Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers former players Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice laugh on the sideline during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers former players Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice laugh on the sideline during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Super Bowl Statistics

OK, 49ers fans. You might be feeling Tom Brady is getting the GOAT award here after the last slide. And many Patriots will use those numbers to back up the argument.

But Brady is far from perfect in his Super Bowl runs. Montana, on the other hand, was almost untouchable.

For starters, let’s look at Brady’s Super Bowl numbers from all seven appearances:

Super Bowl Stats Table
Passing
Year SB Tm Opp Result Cmp Att Yds TD Int Lng Rate
2001 XXXVI NWE STL W, 20-17 16 27 145 1 0 23 86.2
2003 XXXVIII NWE CAR W, 32-29 32 48 354 3 1 52 100.5
2004 XXXIX NWE PHI W, 24-21 23 33 236 2 0 27 110.2
2007 XLII NWE NYG L, 14-17 29 48 266 1 0 19 82.5
2011 XLVI NWE NYG L, 17-21 27 41 276 2 1 21 91.1
2014 XLIX NWE SEA W, 28-24 37 50 328 4 2 23 101.1
2016 LI NWE ATL W, 34-28 43 62 466 2 1 28 95.2
Career 7 207 309 2071 15 5 52 95.3

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/6/2017.

And now the same for Montana:

Super Bowl Stats Table
Passing
Year SB Tm Opp Result Cmp Att Yds TD Int Lng Rate
1981 XVI SFO CIN W, 26-21 14 22 157 1 0 22 100.0
1984 XIX SFO MIA W, 38-16 24 35 331 3 0 40 127.2
1988 XXIII SFO CIN W, 20-16 23 36 357 2 0 44 115.2
1989 XXIV SFO DEN W, 55-10 22 29 297 5 0 38 147.6
Career 4 83 122 1142 11 0 44 127.8

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/5/2017.

There are two key stats to look at here — passer rating and interceptions. Brady’s 95.3 mark is more than commendable. But Montana’s 127.8 is inconceivable.

And those picks? Brady has five now. Montana has yet to record one. And unless he applies for reinstatement, that number will never be blemished.

Can’t beat that.

Advantage: Montana