The San Francisco 49ers will look to take one step closer to their sixth Super Bowl title on Sunday. They’ll welcome back a legend who earned four of those rings.
San Francisco announced Joe Montana as the honorary captain for the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. Meanwhile, Detroit will counter with Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders.
4x Super Bowl champion
3x Super Bowl MVP
3x All-Pro
2x NFL MVPHall of Famer @JoeMontana is our honorary team captain for the NFC Championship. pic.twitter.com/FfKgDR4ZR1
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 27, 2024
Montana took the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game six times during 14 years with the team. He also made an AFC conference title game with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The two-time MVP won all four Super Bowl appearances with San Francisco and retired as the all-time leader in postseason passing yards (5,772) and touchdowns (42). Tom Brady has since run away with those records while exceeding Montana’s benchmark with seven Lombardi Trophies.
With Joe Cool in attendance, the 49ers enter Sunday as a touchdown home favorite to win the NFC. They survived a second-round scare with a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Brock Purdy can look to carve his own legacy by culminating his second season with a Super Bowl berth. The quarterback set a single-season franchise record with 4,280 passing yards while matching Montana’s personal high with 31 passing touchdowns.
Of course, the No. 262 pick isn’t remotely close to standing alongside Montana in NFL lore. Yet Purdy can carve his own space in 49ers history by joining Montana and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks to lead them to a Super Bowl triumph.
San Francisco first must take care of Detroit. The NFC Championship Game starts Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX.