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Faithful Flashbacks #64: Joe Montana’s Six-Touchdown Day

In honor of the San Francisco 49ers celebrating their 80th anniversary, Sactown Sports is kicking off a countdown of the 80 greatest moments in the franchise’s illustrious history in reverse order called “Faithful Flashbacks.”

From Super Bowl-winning plays to overperforming teams that had minimal expectations, there’s plenty to choose from the team with five titles under its belt.

The voting was conducted by a handful of the Sactown Sports’ staffers before results were compiled into a full list that will count down to the 49ers’ 2026 NFL regular season debut against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on September 10th.

Faithful Flashbacks -- San Francisco 49ers 80 Best Moments

The 49ers entered the 1990 season chasing something no team had accomplished during the Super Bowl era.

San Francisco had won back-to-back championships and was trying to become the first team to capture three in a row. Joe Montana was already at the center of one of football’s great dynasties, but his performance in Atlanta on Oct. 14 still managed to stand out.

Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville had guaranteed his team would beat the 49ers. Montana and Jerry Rice spent the afternoon making that prediction look increasingly bold.

San Francisco needed only 57 seconds to find the end zone, with Montana connecting with Rice for a 24-yard touchdown. They added another score later in the first quarter before Montana found Mike Sherrard for a 43-yard touchdown early in the second.

Rice caught his third touchdown before halftime, and Mike Cofer closed the half with a franchise-record 56-yard field goal to give San Francisco a 31-21 lead.

Atlanta stayed close enough to keep the game interesting, but its secondary never found an answer for Montana and Rice.

The two connected for two more touchdowns after halftime, bringing Rice’s total to five and giving Montana a franchise-record six touchdown passes in the 49ers’ 45-35 victory.

Montana completed 32 of his 49 attempts for 476 yards, setting single-game franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns. Rice caught 13 passes for 225 yards, while his five touchdown receptions set a 49ers record and tied the NFL’s single-game mark at the time.

“I don’t know if a quarterback can play any better,” Glanville said afterward. “He gave us a lesson.”

The afternoon became one of the clearest examples of how overwhelming the Montana-Rice connection could become. Defenses knew Montana wanted to find Rice, but knowing rarely made the assignment any easier.

San Francisco eventually opened the year with 10 straight wins and finished 14-2. Its pursuit of a third consecutive championship ended with a loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, but Montana’s six-touchdown performance remained one of the defining moments from that final title chase.

For one afternoon in Atlanta, the greatest quarterback-receiver pairing in 49ers history looked nearly untouchable.