My Favorite Team of All-Time: The 1994 49ers

For a long time, I didn’t look to actors, musicians or athletes as heroic or inspirational. Well, that is until I came across a left-handed, Fran Tarkenton-like scrambling quarterback named Steve Young.

Young reminded me of one of my other favorite athletes, Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton. Young, like Stockton, was not flamboyant and he didn’t do things to draw attention to himself; rather, he let his play on the field speak for him.

Naturally, my fondness for Steve Young pushed me into the San Francisco 49ers fandom. Each Niners victory and defeat sent me on a roller coaster of emotions and any loss to the Dallas Cowboys was twice as jarring.

Fortunately, when Steve Young took over the helm from Joe Montana, the 49ers were a good team, but they were on the verge of being a great team, again.

The 1993-1994 season was a giant step for the post-Montana 49ers; unfortunately, their season ended after a 17-point shellacking courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys. That season and in particular, that conference championship loss crystallized everything that naysayers said about Steve Young.

To them, he wasn’t prolific enough, he ran too much, he couldn’t win the so-called ‘big game,’ and above all else, he was not Joe Montana.

As a team, the 49ers weren’t balanced: they possessed the highest-scoring offense and a middling, at best, defense.

Sensing their nearness to a championship, front office honchos Carmen Policy and Eddie DeBartolo, Jr., left no big-name defensive player stone unturned, adding Rickey Jackson, Gary Plummer, Richard Dent, Deion Sanders, and Ken Norton.

Armed with a robust offense and a newly augmented defensive unit, the 1994-95 version of the 49ers managed to turn potential into payoff. And, the sea change was instantaneous.

Minus a 40-8 hiccup against Philadelphia, the 49ers played consistently throughout the season and into the playoffs, ending the regular season with a 13-3 record.

What’s more, the defensive acquisitions paid off, the 49ers defense ended the season ranked in the top 10.

Once again, the Niners high-octane offense ranked first in the league, which left even the most seasoned spectators aghast.

“In all my years in football, it is the most impressive offense I have seen,” said Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram.

The 49ers opened their playoff run with a 44-15 victory over the Chicago Bears, which set up another showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. This time, the 49ers overcame the Cowboys 38-28, avenging the previous year’s conference championship loss.

The San Diego Chargers, a team engineered by Bobby Beathard, coached by Bobby Ross and led by perennial All-Pro Junior Seau, was the only thing that stood in between the Niners and realized greatness.

Not surprisingly, the Niners were the favored against San Diego, but their biggest opposition was seemingly, themselves.

Fresh from dispatching contemporary rival Dallas, the Super Bowl was an opportunity for Steve Young to emerge from the shadow of Joe Montana that loomed large and even, for head coach George Seifert to etch his own place in Niners lore, setting himself aside the shadow of Niners legend Bill Walsh that loomed even larger.

The Niners played the Super Bowl as they had played all season: determined and at times, defiant. Young opened up the game with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice and followed that with a 51-yard touchdown pass to running back Ricky Watters.

Young and Watters hooked up for one more score, and Rice scored twice more. Rice finished with 10 receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns, but it was Young who took home the Super Bowl MVP trophy, as the Niners defeated the Chargers 49-26.

Young threw for 325 yards and a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes. With the victory, Steve Young had quelled the Montana murmurs, and the moment wasn’t lost on him.

“All along, I felt I was playing against the past,” Young said after the victory. “Honestly, I have distanced myself from all (the Montana comparisons). I did so a couple of years ago. I want my performance to stand for myself and my teammates. It does a disservice to the team when it’s talked about that way.”

The 1994-95 San Francisco 49ers might not have been the best team ever, but they were one of the most complete teams ever. Their offense shattered records, while their defense stymied offensive coordinators.

They dispatched opponents and critics alike and their Super Bowl victory was the culmination of determination and living up to expectations.

As a team, the 49ers built upon the successes of past San Francisco teams, while Young forged a legacy of his own. He was not Joe Montana, but like Montana, he was a champion.