Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28 , 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans , Louisiana to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1989 regular season . The National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion San Francisco 49ers ( 17 – 2 ) won their fourth Super Bowl by defeating the American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Denver Broncos ( 13 – 6 ) , 55 – 10 . It remains the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history to date . The 49ers ' 55 points were the most ever scored by one team , and their 45 - point margin of victory was the largest ever . The 49ers are the only team in a Super Bowl to score at least two touchdowns in each quarter . Their 2nd of 8 touchdowns ended with a missed extra point however . They are also the only team to score 8 touchdowns in a Super Bowl . This marked the first time in 10 years that a team won back - to - back Super Bowls , the last time being when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowls XIII and XIV following the 1978 and 1979 seasons . The Broncos became the second team to lose three Super Bowls in four years after losing Super Bowls XXI and XXII , both by considerable margins as well . The Vikings also lost three Super Bowls in four years ( VIII , IX and XI ) . The Buffalo Bills are the only team to lose four Super Bowls in four years . Joe Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP , his third award in his fourth Super Bowl victory . He completed 22 of 29 passes for a total of 297 yards and a Super Bowl record 5 touchdowns , while also rushing for 15 yards . Montana ' s 75 . 9 completion percentage was the second highest in Super Bowl history , and he also set a record by completing 13 consecutive passes during the game . Head coach George Seifert was the second rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl . Montana became the third player in league history to win both the Super Bowl MVP and the AP Most Valuable Player Award during the same season . Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw also won both after the 1966 and 1978 seasons , respectively . This was the first of four nationally televised meetings between the Broncos and 49ers . Their 1994 , 1997 , and 2000 meetings were also nationally televised , by NBC , ABC , and Fox respectively ( the 1997 game , won by the 49ers , became infamous after Bill Romanowski spat in the face of J . J . Stokes ) . This game has been featured on NFL ' s Greatest Games under the title " Coronation " . Background . NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXIV to New Orleans , Louisiana during their March 10 – 15 , 1985 meetings . This would be a record 7th time that New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl . Tulane Stadium was the site of Super Bowls IV , VI , and IX ; while the Louisiana Superdome previously hosted XII , XV , and XX . Originally , the selection was to be voted on during the May 23 – 25 , 1984 meetings . However , after balloting for XXI took more than two hours , voting for XXIV was rescheduled . Twelve cities were part of the bidding process , which was scheduled to award two Super Bowls ( XXIII and XXIV ) The bidding cities included : Anaheim , Detroit , Houston , Jacksonville , Miami , Minneapolis , New Orleans , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Seattle , Tampa , and Tempe . New Orleans entered as the favorite . San Francisco 49ers . The 49ers entered the game seeking to win their second straight Super Bowl . Bill Walsh retired as head coach after San Francisco ' s 20 – 16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the previous year ' s Super Bowl XXIII but rookie head coach George Seifert did not miss a beat as he guided the 49ers to a league best 14 – 2 regular season record . Their 2 losses were only by a combined margin of 5 points . The 49ers offense was just as dominating as it was during the previous regular season . Quarterback Joe Montana threw for 3 , 512 yards , 26 touchdowns , and only 8 interceptions , giving him what was then the highest quarterback rating in NFL history ( 112 . 4 ) . Montana also rushed for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns , and earned both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award . Wide receiver Jerry Rice had another outstanding season , catching 82 passes for 1 , 483 yards and 17 touchdowns . Running back Roger Craig was the team ' s leading rusher with 1 , 054 yards and 6 touchdowns , and he recorded 49 receptions for 473 yards and another touchdown . But other stars on the 49ers offense began to emerge , enabling the team to spread the ball around . After being used primarily as a punt returner during his first 2 seasons , wide receiver John Taylor had a breakout season , catching 60 passes for 1 , 077 yards and 10 touchdowns , while also returning 36 punts for 417 yards . Tight End Brent Jones recorded 40 receptions for 500 yards . Fullback Tom Rathman had the best season of his career , rushing for 305 yards and catching 73 passes for 616 yards . Kicker Mike Cofer scored 136 points while making a career high 80 . 6 % of his field goals . Even Montana ' s backup , quarterback Steve Young , had a great year , throwing for 1 , 001 yards and 8 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions , while also rushing for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns . With all of these weapons , San Francisco ' s offense led the league in total yards from scrimmage ( 6 , 268 ) and scoring ( 442 points ) . The 49ers defense ranked third in the NFL in fewest points allowed ( 253 ) . Defensive end Pierce Holt recorded 10 . 5 sacks , as did linebacker Charles Haley . In addition to Haley , their linebacking corps was anchored by Keena Turner , Matt Millen , and Bill Romanowski . Future Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott led the team with 5 interceptions . Defensive backs Eric Wright and Chet Brooks also combined for 5 interceptions between them . Denver Broncos . The Broncos were trying to avoid becoming the second team , after the Vikings , to lose a fourth Super Bowl . After appearing in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXII , the team missed the playoffs with an 8 – 8 record during the previous season . But they signed several new players in the off - season to help them win 10 of their first 12 games and finish with an 11 – 5 record . One of Denver ' s new major additions was rookie running back Bobby Humphrey , who rushed for 1 , 151 yards , caught 22 passes for 156 yards , and scored 8 touchdowns . Humphrey gave the Broncos a powerful running attack that they lacked in their previous Super Bowl seasons . Also new to the team was rookie kicker David Treadwell , who made the pro bowl with an 81 . 8 % field goal percentage and ranked third in the NFL with 120 points . The defense had a new weapon as well : rookie free safety Steve Atwater . Together with veteran defensive backs Dennis Smith , Wymon Henderson and Tyrone Braxton , the Broncos secondary combined for 14 interceptions . Braxton lead the team with 6 , which he returned for 103 yards and a touchdown , while also recovering 2 fumbles . Another new addition was defensive end Ron Holmes , who recorded 9 sacks . Holmes , along with veteran linebackers Karl Mecklenburg ( 7 . 5 sacks and 4 fumble recoveries ) and Simon Fletcher ( 12 sacks ) gave Denver one of the top defensive lines in the AFC . Veteran receiver Vance Johnson had the best season of his career , catching 76 passes for 1 , 095 yards and 7 touchdowns , while also returning 12 punts for 118 yards . However , quarterback John Elway played inconsistently during the regular season , throwing just as many interceptions as touchdowns ( 18 ) and recording only a 73 . 7 passer rating . Playoffs . Despite his regular season problems , Elway ended up playing his best during the playoffs . First , he led the Broncos on a last minute touchdown drive to narrowly defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers , 24 – 23 . The Steelers held a 17 – 10 halftime lead before Elway ' s 37 - yard touchdown pass to Vance Johnson tied the game in the third quarter . Then after Pittsburgh scored 2 field goals to take a 23 – 17 fourth quarter lead , Elway led the Broncos on a 71 - yard drive to score on the Melvin Bratton ' s 1 - yard game winning touchdown run . On the ensuing drive , Randy Robbins then recovered a Steelers fumble on third down with 2 : 02 left to clinch the victory . The Broncos then defeated the Cleveland Browns , 37 – 21 , in the AFC Championship Game . This was the third time in the last four years that both teams faced each other in AFC Championship , and the previous two resulted in two of the most famous games in NFL Lore : The Drive and The Fumble . In this game , the Broncos seemed to be in complete control at first , building up a 24 – 7 lead . But Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar rallied his team back with 2 third quarter touchdowns , cutting the lead to 24 – 21 going into the final period . Some observers began to wonder if this game would become known as " The Comeback " . However , Elway destroyed any chance of a Browns comeback by leading the Broncos 80 yards and scoring with a 39 - yard touchdown pass to Sammy Winder on the first drive of the fourth quarter . Denver then scored field goals on each of their next 2 drives to put the game away . Elway finished the game with 385 passing yards , 3 touchdowns , and no interceptions , while also leading Denver in rushing with 5 carries for 39 yards . Meanwhile , San Francisco started out their postseason by blowing out the Minnesota Vikings , 41 – 13 . Minnesota started out the game by marching 70 yards on their opening drive and scoring a field goal to take a 3 – 0 lead . But the 49ers dominated the rest of the game . On their first play from the line of scrimmage , Montana completed a short pass to Rice , who then took it all the way to the end zone for a 72 - yard touchdown reception . The next time they had the ball , Montana led them on another touchdown drive , scoring on a short pass to Jones . Then defensive back Chet Brooks intercepted a pass from Vikings quarterback Wade Wilson and returned it 28 yards , setting up Montana ' s third touchdown pass on an 8 - yard toss to Taylor . Then just before half ended , Montana threw another touchdown pass to Rice , giving the 49ers a 28 – 3 halftime lead . Then in the fourth quarter , San Francisco scored 2 more touchdowns to put the game away : a 53 - yard interception return by Lott and a 4 - yard run by Craig . Montana finished the game with 241 passing yards , 4 touchdowns , and no interceptions . Wilson was held to just 9 completions for 74 yards and intercepted twice . The 49ers then entered the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams , who had defeated San Francisco in one of their two regular season games against them and were coming off postseason wins against two of the NFC ' s toughest teams , the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles . The Rams scored first to take a 3 – 0 lead . However , the 49ers took over in the second quarter , scoring 21 unanswered points on 2 touchdown passes by Montana and touchdown run by Craig . By the time the first half ended , San Francisco had a commanding 21 – 3 lead and went on to a surprisingly easy 30 – 3 win and their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance . Montana had another superb performance , compiling 262 passing yards and 2 touchdowns , again without throwing an interception . Rams quarterback Jim Everett was held to 163 yards and threw 3 interceptions . Super Bowl pregame news . Although Elway ' s performance in the AFC Championship Game was widely considered his best ever , many sports writers and fans believed that the Broncos ' best effort would not be good enough to beat the 49ers . After all , Denver had barely defeated the Steelers who only had a 9 – 7 regular season record . Furthermore , the Elway - led Broncos had already lost two Super Bowls . On the other hand , the Montana - led 49ers with their powerful offense had already won 3 Super Bowls . Montana came into this game with a 7 - 0 record as a starting quarterback at the Superdome due to the 49ers ' dominance of their then - NFC West rival New Orleans Saints . The 49ers ' only loss in the Superdome in the 1980s came in 1986 , when Mike Moroski started for an injured Montana . Television and entertainment . The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS and featured the broadcast team of play - by - play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator John Madden . Brent Musburger hosted all the events with help from his then - fellow cast members of " The NFL Today " Irv Cross , Dick Butkus and Will McDonough , then - CBS Sports analysts Terry Bradshaw , Ken Stabler and Dan Fouts , and then - Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka . CBS Sports reporter Pat O ' Brien , meanwhile , was stationed in San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana ' s hometown of Monongahela , Pennsylvania . Unbeknownst to Musburger , this would be the last Super Bowl he hosted for CBS , as he was fired on April 1 , 1990 . Cross would also be dropped from pregame coverage after this game and moved to the broadcast booth for the remainder of his tenure at CBS , while Bradshaw moved from the broadcast booth to co - host of " The NFL Today " with Musburger ' s replacement , Greg Gumbel . In addition , Butkus would step down to return to acting and various philanthropic work , while McDonough would exit for a similar position on NBC ' s " NFL Live ! " pregame show . CBS debuted a new graphical package and theme song for their NFL coverage ; the graphics became part of " The NFL Today " open while the theme was used until mid - January 1992 . The game drew a national Nielsen rating of 39 . 0 for CBS , the lowest rating for a Super Bowl game since Super Bowl III in 1969 . This Super Bowl was simulcast in Canada on CTV and in Mexico on Televisa ' s Canal de las Estrellas , and later aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 . This was the last Super Bowl to be broadcast before the current time of the 6 : 00 pm Eastern . Pregame ceremonies . The pregame show was a salute to Mardi Gras and featured musician and singer David Clayton - Thomas Soul and R & B singer ( and New Orleans native ) Aaron Neville later sang the national anthem . The coin toss ceremony featured the recent inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame : defensive back Mel Blount , quarterback Terry Bradshaw , offensive lineman Art Shell , and safety Willie Wood . Shell , who was then the head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders , became the first active head coach or player to join the coin toss ceremonies . Halftime show . The halftime show was a salute to both New Orleans and the 40th anniversary of the comic strip Peanuts . The show featured performances by clarinetist Pete Fountain , fiddle player Doug Kershaw , and singer Irma Thomas – all Louisiana natives . The finale featured a float that was dressed up as a riverboat that rose several stories high . The float was so huge that one of the goal posts had to be moved so it could be put on the field . Game summary . The 49ers blew out the Broncos by gaining 461 yards of total offense , holding the ball for 39 : 31 , and scoring on six of their first eight drives . The San Francisco defense also limited the Broncos to 167 yards , 12 first downs , and a time of possession to 20 : 29 . On their opening possession , Denver was forced to punt after three plays and the 49ers scored on their ensuing drive , marching 66 yards and scoring on a 20 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana to receiver Jerry Rice . The Broncos responded with a 49 - yard scoring drive , mainly on plays by running back Bobby Humphrey , who rushed 4 times for 22 yards and caught a 27 - yard shovel pass , Elway ' s longest completion of the game . Kicker David Treadwell finished the drive with a 42 - yard field goal to cut the Broncos deficit to 7 – 3 . Denver ' s defense forced San Francisco to punt on their next drive after 3 plays , and receiver Vance Johnson gave his team good field position with a 7 - yard return to the Broncos ' 49 - yard line . But then Humphrey lost a fumble at midfield while being tackled by defensive end Kevin Fagan , and safety Chet Brooks recovered the loose ball for San Francisco . From then on , the 49ers completely took over the game . Ten plays after the fumble recovery , the 49ers scored on a 7 - yard pass from Montana to tight end Brent Jones . Kicker Mike Cofer missed the extra point attempt , keeping the score at 13 – 3 , but it turned out to be the only miscue the 49ers would make for the rest of the game . Once again , the Broncos were forced to punt three plays after the ensuing kickoff , and the 49ers advanced 69 yards in 13 plays to score another touchdown . The key player on that drive was fullback Tom Rathman , who caught 3 passes for 39 yards , kept the drive alive with a successful run on a fourth down conversion , and capped it off with a 1 - yard touchdown to make the score 20 – 3 . Later in the second quarter , wide receiver John Taylor ' s 17 - yard punt return gave the 49ers the ball near midfield , and they scored another touchdown with a 38 - yard completion from Montana to Rice , increasing their lead to 27 – 3 at the end of the half . When the second half started , the 49ers picked up right where they left off . Linebacker Mike Walter intercepted Broncos quarterback John Elway ' s first pass of the third quarter , and Montana threw a 28 - yard touchdown reception to Rice on the next play . Then Elway was intercepted again on the Broncos ' ensuing drive , this time by Brooks , who returned the ball 38 yards to the Denver 37 - yard line . Two plays later , Montana fooled defensive back Steve Atwater with a pump fake in Rice ' s direction , and then threw a 35 - yard touchdown pass to Taylor , making the score 41 – 3 . Denver ' s lone touchdown came on their next possession , a 61 - yard , 5 - play drive . First , Broncos defensive back Darren Carrington returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the 39 - yard line . Elway ' s 13 - yard completion to Johnson , a 34 - yard run from Humphrey , and a pass interference penalty on 49ers linebacker Bill Romanowski moved the ball to the San Francisco 1 - yard line . Elway then capped off the drive with a 3 - yard touchdown run on third down , cutting their deficit to 41 – 10 . However , the 49ers continued to dominate the Broncos . San Francisco responded to Denver ' s score with an 11 - play , 75 - yard drive that took 6 : 56 off the clock , and ended with Rathman ' s 3 - yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter . Then after the ensuing kickoff , Elway was sacked for a 6 - yard loss by defensive end Danny Stubbs . Then after an offsides penalty on the 49ers , cornerback Don Griffin sacked Elway , forcing a fumble . Stubbs recovered the loose ball and returned it 15 yards to Denver ' s 1 - yard line . 49ers running back Roger Craig then closed out the scoring with a 1 - yard touchdown run on the next play to make the final score of the game 55 – 10 . Rice finished the game with 7 receptions for 148 yards and a Super Bowl record 3 receiving touchdowns ( he joined teammate Roger Craig as the only players to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl ; Craig did it in Super Bowl XIX – 2 receiving and 1 rushing ) . Craig was the leading rusher of the game with 69 rushing yards and a touchdown , while also catching 5 passes for 34 yards . Rathman rushed for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns while also catching 4 passes for 43 yards . Taylor caught 3 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown , and added another 38 yards on 3 punt returns . Elway was held to just 10 completions out of 26 attempts for 108 yards with no touchdowns , and was intercepted 2 times . Elway also ran for a touchdown , and fumbled twice ( although he recovered one of them ) . Humphrey was Denver ' s leading rusher and receiver , with 61 rushing yards and 3 receptions for 38 yards . Carrington returned 6 kickoffs for 146 yards .