Why I Think Joe Montana Is Still the Greatest Quarterback of All Time

With Patriots quarterback Tom Brady capturing his sixth Super Bowl ring, the most ever for a NFL player, many in the sports media are not only calling Brady the greatest quarterback of all time, but are now debating whether he is a better athlete than Michael Jordan.

Call me crazy, but I still believe that Joe Montana is best quarterback of the all time.

Before you put your panties in a wad, let me give you four reasons why I think Montana is still the GOAT(that’s an acronym for Greatest of All Time for you old folks out there).

1. The eras are different

Montana's stats might not look as impressive as Brady because it was a more difficult time for quarterbacks when Montana played.

This one is the most obvious reason as Montana played in a much tougher era for quarterbacks than Brady has.

Back in the day, quarterbacks were destroyed and receivers had a tougher time getting open, even though rule changes in 1978 allowed for no contact with a receiver beyond five yards past the line of scrimmage.

Now today, if you even breathe wrong on a quarterback you’ll get called for a roughing the passer penalty.

Imagine if Brady got a hit like Montana did in the 1990 NFC Championship Game; that player would have been suspended for multiple games while Leonard Marshall didn't even get a penalty for his hit on Montana.

The same goes for receivers as it seems the slightest touch will draw some type of penalty(pass interference, holding, illegal contact).

Just look at this stat for 5,000 yard passing seasons: there was only one during Montana’s career and that was by Dan Marino in 1984, while they have been eight during Brady’s time in the NFL, including one by Tom himself, back in 2011 when he threw for 5,235.

Another stat to point out the boom in passing yards while Brady has been in the league: the 4-time Super Bowl MVP has had ten seasons in which he threw for at least 4,000 yards while Montana never had 4,000 yard passing season, with 3,944 in 1990.

Brady has more impressive stats but they have come in a era where it is much easier for quarterbacks compared to when Montana played.

2. The Super Bowl

Montana ran for 59 yards in Super Bowl XIX, 26 more than Brady has in his eight combined Super Bowl appearances.

While Brady has set numerous Super Bowl records, including most career touchdown passes and most passing yards in a Super Bowl, he has never been dominant or close to perfection as Montana was in his Super Bowls.

Both Brady and Montana’s stats in their first Super Bowl appearances were rather miniscule even though both won MVP honors: Montana was 14-of-22 for 157 yards with two touchdowns(one passing and one rushing) and zero interceptions while Brady was 16-of-27 for 145 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

But after that first Super Bowl, Montana would threw 10 more touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

Let me repeat zero interceptions in four Super Bowls.

While Brady has been great, he has not been perfect as he has thrown six interceptions in his nine Super Bowl appearances following his win in Super Bowl XXXVI and has been sacked 19 times in his Super Bowl career, two games where he was  sacked five times, while Montana was only sacked seven times in his four Super Bowl games.

Plus, there is the quarterback rating, where Brady’s average is 94.8, with his highest rated performance being a 115.4 in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, while Montana’s lowest rating was 100.0 in Super Bowl XVI as he had a quarterback rating of at least 100 in all four Super Bowls(100-XVI, 127.2-XIX, 115.2-XXIII, 147.6-XXIV) for an average of 127.8.

Brady has been great in the Super Bowl but he has never had the dominance that Montana had in a Super Bowl.

3. Career-Threatening Injuries

Montana had to play with numbness in his left leg for the second half of his career after a career-threatening back injury.

Both Brady and Montana have dealt with serious injuries, but Montana lost more time due to his severe injuries compared to Brady.

In the first game of the 1986 season, Montana ruptured a disc in his lower back which required surgery to be removed.

Some doctors thought he would never play but after missing half the season, Montana came back and helped lead the 49ers to the playoffs.

Then five years later, Montana suffered an elbow injury in the final game of the 1991 preseason that caused him to miss two years and his starting job as the 49ers quarterback, though he would get another opportunity(I’ll get that to later).

Now, Brady has come back from a serious injury when his ACL and MCL in his left knee were torn in a hit by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard in the first game of the 2008 season, causing him to miss the rest of that season.

However, there was very little doubt that Brady would return successfully from his injury while Montana’s career was threatened not once but twice.

4. Montana took two different franchises to the promised land

In his two years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Montana threw for 5,247 yards and 29 touchdown passes.

After the elbow injury and losing his starting quarterback job to Steve Young, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1993 offseason.

All Montana did was lead the Chiefs to two playoff victories and to the AFC Championship Game, the closest that franchise has come to returning to the Super Bowl since they won Super Bowl IV back in January 1970.

In fact, the Chiefs have a dismal record in the playoffs of 4-14 since the AFL-NFL merger, with Montana leading Kansas City to two of those victories.

What I’m saying is that Brady has had more stability in his career as he played for one team(the Patriots) and one coach(Bill Belichick)who some argue might be more responsible for the Patriots’ dynasty, while Montana had to go to a different franchise in the twilight of his career and played for three different head coaches(Bill Walsh, George Seifert, Marty Schottenheimer).

Now, Brady does have a strong argument, not just because of his six Super Bowl titles, but of the constant revolving door at receiver and running back throughout his career, while Montana had Roger Craig for three of his Super Bowl wins and perhaps the greatest player in NFL history, Jerry Rice from 1985-1990.

But I still believe with the era that he played in, plus his dominance in his Super Bowl performances, and the fact that he had to overcome two career-threatening injuries and almost led the bad-luck Chiefs to a Super Bowl, that makes Joe Montana the greatest NFL quarterback of all time.

In my opinion.