It was perhaps, the greatest quarterback controversy in NFL History. For many years, people have compared the storied careers of Joe Montana and Steve Young. As sports fans, comparisons are in our nature. So what I decided to do was take an in-depth look at one of the greatest competitive rivalries in NFL History.
The biggest question, of course, would be to determine who was the greater quarterback. I hit the books an evaluated 13 different aspects of both quarterback's careers in an effort to extensively analyze them.
You will now get an opportunity to see Joe Montana and Steve Young go head-to-head (figuratively) when looking at winning records, regular season passing statistics, regular season rushing statistics, postseason passing statistics, postseason rushing statistics, Super Bowl performances, career (regular and postseason combined) passing statistics, career rushing statistics, blocking support, rushing support, aerial support, defensive support, and accolades.
While this comparison might be quite extensive, it should shed much more light on careers of both Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
1) Winning Record
Joe Montana posted a 117-47 regular season record over the course of his career.
Steve Young posted a 94-49 regular season record over the course of his career.
In this case, Joe Montana managed to win 23 more games than Young, while also losing two fewer. Although Steve Young did not have as many opportunities to win as many games (due to the fact that he played in 21 fewer games), he did not manage to post as impressive a winning record as Joe Montana
Joe Montana posted a 16-7 record in the postseason over the course of his career.
Steve Young posted a 8-6 record in the postseason over the course of his career.
In the postseason, Joe Montana managed to win eight more games than Steve Young, while only losing one more than Young did. At the same time, Steve Young played in nine fewer postseason games during the span of his career. Even so, Joe Montana still holds a substantial edge in terms of his winning record in the postseason.
Joe Montana posted a 133-54 record during the entirety of his career.
Steve Young posted a 102-55 record during the entirety of his career.
It's simple mathematics, while both quarterback posted incredible winning records, the fact that Montana had a better winning percentage in both the regular season and postseason translates into him having the better career winning percentage. Joe Montana won 71-percent of his games while Steve Young won 65-percent of his.
Verdict: Joe Montana is the clear-cut winner when it comes to comparing the winning records that his teams posted when compared to the winning record produced during the career of Steve Young.
2) Regular Season Passing Performance
Joe Montana: 3,409 of 5,391 (63.2 percent) for 40,551 yards (7.5 YPA), 273 touchdowns, and 139 interceptions.
Quarterback Rating of 92.3.
Steve Young: 2,667 of 4,149 (64.3 percent) for 33,124 yards (8.0 YPA), 232 touchdowns and 107 interceptions.
Quarterback Rating of 96.8.
Clearly, both quarterbacks played at an elite level. Both posted impressive statistics in virtually every passing category. However, when taking a closer look at the production, you will find that Steve Young was more accurate (higher completion percentage), produced more yards (higher YPA), more touchdowns (0.055 touchdowns per attempt compared to Montana's 0.050 TPA) and an equal amount of interception frequency (0.025 IPA).
Steve Young's quarterback rating was 4.5 points higher than Montana's. While both quarterbacks rank in the top-ten in terms of quarterback rating (Young first and Montana seventh), the 4.5 quarterback rating points that separate Young and Montana would amount to the same amount of points that separate Dan Marino (86.4) from Neil O'Donnell (81.9). Not to say that Montana's rating wasn't extremely impressive, it's just that Steve Young's is almost unfathomable.
Verdict: While both quarterback produced at a remarkable level during the regular season, Steve Young is the more impressive of the two quarterbacks. He performed at a higher level in virtually every aspect, albeit, not by a large degree in most instances.
3) Regular Season Rushing Performance
Joe Montana: 457 carries for 1,667 yards (3.6 YPC) and 20 touchdowns.
Steve Young: 722 carries for 4,239 yards (5.8 YPC) and 43 touchdowns.
This one isn't even remotely close. Steve Young gained 2,572 more yards and averaged 2.2 more yards per carry. He also scored 23 more touchdowns in the process.
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