San Francisco 49ers: Top 20 games in franchise history

Steve Young’s Final Game Isn’t Pretty

Week 3 on Monday Night Football was the last chance that 49ers fans ever had to see Steve Young play. The quarterback, having already suffered a concussion in first weeks of the 1999 season, was sacked by Cardinals safety Aeneas Williams and suffered another concussion.

The effects were so brutal that Young sat out the rest of the season and retired after the 49ers, and other teams’, worries that the star may never be the same. Despite his body still feeling able to play, Young admitted that his head was damaged and he retired before playing another down.

Young was the antithesis to Joe Montana. While Montana was calm and poised in the pocket, Young was athletic, daring and confident. The two stars had played together under Bill Walsh, and Young was all that remained from the most impressive trio in San Francisco 49ers history. His final game signified an effective end to the dynasty.

San Francisco went on to win the game 24-10 against the Cardinals, but the loss of the impressive quarterback was a much larger story.

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