49ers Super Bowl History -- Young Gets The Monkey Off His Back In Super Bowl XXIX
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- It had been five years since the San Francisco 49ers had claimed the NFL title and the fans were getting restless -- Was Steve Young good enough to reclaim the team's past glory in Super Bowl XXIX?
Joe Montana, who had brought home four Super Bowl MVP titles, was gone as were many of the other stars who had shined so brightly during the 1980s.
But reviving those glorious ghosts from the past didn't seem to be much of an issue as San Francisco played a dominating three quarters of football to come away with a 49-26 win over the San Diego Charges.
Young seemed completely in command from the opening drive and tossed four scoring passes in the first half. A 44-yard strike to Jerry Rice, a 51-yard and 8-yard scoring pass plays to Rickey Watters and a 5-yard pass to William Floyd. San Diego's defense was so threatened by the deep ball to Rice that it gave up passes to running backs Watters and Floyd and paid the price.
Denver was facing a 14-0 deficit just 5 minutes into the game. The 49ers faithful who had gathered to watch the game in establishments along Miami's South Beach had hardly had time to finish their first drink.
The 49ers went into the lockerroom with a 28-10 lead and quickly expanded it to a 42-10 rout on 9-yard Watters scoring run and a 15-yard TD pass from Young to Rice. The pair would team up one more time before the final whistle.
San Diego attempted to mount a rally in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns, but it proved to be mere window dressing.
As the clock ticked down, a sideline camera crew famously recorded Young as he asked teammates to help "get this monkey off my back." Montana's shadow was gone and Young would eventually end up in the NFL Hall of Fame.
On the sidelines that day was a young Kyle Shanahan, whose father Mike was on the coaching staff. Kyle was a 49ers ball boy.