During his illustrious career with the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Montana was known as a master of late-in-the-game comebacks, like the one that hinged on a jaw-dropping, 92-yard drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII in 1989. Here are some other stats about the quarterback whose "Montana Magic" brought his teams to an amazing 31 come-from-behind, fourth-quarter victories.
• He was the top passer in the National Football Conference (NFC) 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1989. On 39 different occasions, he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including seven times in which he surpassed 400 yards. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season are an NFL record.
• In 1994, he became only the fifth quarterback to ever pass for more than 40,000 yards in a career. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in career passing yardage (40,551 yards), attempts (5,391) and passing touchdowns (273).
• After missing 31 consecutive games due to an injury to his throwing arm, Montana made a dramatic comeback in 1992 in the second half of the regular season finale, a Monday Night Football game between the 49ers and the Detroit Lions. Living up to his "magical" reputation, Montana completed 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, spurring the 49ers to a 24-6 win.
