San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 5 Greatest Plays in Franchise History
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Wide Receiver Jerry Rice Sets the Touchdown Record
It’s going to be nearly impossible to convince a 49ers fan Jerry Rice was the greatest player to ever suit up on Sundays.
To cap off this argument, all one needs to do is look back at the second best play on our list — the day Rice broke the NFL record for all-time touchdowns on Septmeber 5, 1994.
Fittingly enough, it was on Monday Night Football in front of a national audience. Fans might recall the Niners were up big over the Los Angeles Raiders, and Rice had tied Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown’s record earlier in the game, making the score 37-14 in favor of San Francisco.
It would have been easy to sit Rice and the remaining starters as the clock wound down. But that’s not what happened.
Instead, quarterback Steve Young and Rice connected for an amazing touchdown amid the Raiders defenders and fell into the end zone.
Record broken. It belonged to Rice.
“On the snap of the ball, everybody knew where the ball was going,” Rice said, via Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News. “I’m running down the field, and everything that Bill Walsh had taught me, coached me, came into the equation — catching the ball at the highest peak. Not waiting for the football. Attacking the ball. Then fighting for the ball to bring it down.”
And with that, Rice cemented himself as the greatest of all time.