San Francisco 49ers: Why Tom Brady’s win in Super Bowl 53 is good for Joe Montana’s legacy

There’s little argument the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. But his sixth Super Bowl title actually helps San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana’s legacy.

Even the most stout San Francisco 49ers fans have to finally admit it: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the best quarterback to have ever played the game.

This, after his Patriots completely shut down the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII.

OK, so Brady wasn’t perfect during the game. Some may argue he wasn’t even good, after going 21-of-35 for 262 yards, a deflected interception and a passer rating of 71.4. That brings Brady’s career Super Bowl passer rating down to 95.6.

In comparison, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana’s Super Bowl passer rating is an astounding 127.8. And Montana never tossed an interception in the big game, whereas Brady has six Super Bowl picks on his résumé.

Despite all this, Brady remains the G.O.A.T. Securing his sixth Super Bowl ring only cements that. That number alone is more than the total number of Lombardi Trophies respectively earned by 30 other teams around the league. Brady’s efforts are the kind of special we all may never again see in our lifetimes.

Yet Brady’s legacy also serves to boost that of Montana, too. That’s the silver lining for 49ers fans everywhere.

Twenty years from now, when NFL historians look back at Brady, they’ll be forced to mention Montana in the same sentence. Why? Because Montana is the only quarterback capable of coming close in the G.O.A.T. discussion. There are others worthy of mention, sure. But Montana is the only realistic name to throw alongside Brady when figuring out the best quarterback ever.

And those who know the stats will certainly call out the differences in passer rating, Montana’s zero Super Bowl interceptions and a perfect 4-0 record in the big game.

Montana can’t touch Brady’s regular-season numbers. And the fact the latter is playing well into his 40s also deserves mentioning. To counter, though, those same historians will recall how the game was vastly different in the hard-hitting, defensively potent era of the 1980s and early 1990s. Brady has certainly benefited from an era in which opposing defenses are limited by rule changes and an emphasis on player safety. It’s interesting to think what Montana’s career would look like had he played today.

That said, the same rules (at least in theory) are applied to every other quarterback today. Only a handful have ever come close to Brady, in terms of what his legacy will be. So, it’s the proverbial “if Brady is given all this success because of easier rules, why isn’t everyone else doing it?” argument.

Montana came close at a time when it wasn’t anywhere near as easy to do so. People will appreciate that. They really will.

And as long as Brady’s legacy remains astounding, Montana will be right there in the discussion point.