1989 San Francisco 49ers season The San Francisco 49ers 1989 season was their 44th season in the National Football League . Joe Montana and the 49ers franchise cemented their reputation as the best team of the decade . After going 14 - 2 in the regular season , the 49ers completed the season with the most dominant playoff performance in NFL history , outscoring opponents 126 - 26 and winning their fourth Super Bowl victory . In 2007 , ESPN . com ' s Page 2 ranked the 1989 49ers as the greatest team in Super Bowl history . Regular season . 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 . 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 was ranked # 3 in the NFL . Three starters from the Defense made the 1989 All - Pro Team : ( Ronnie Lott , Don Griffin , and Michael Walter ) Playoffs . NFC Divisional Playoff . Scoring Summary 1st Quarter MIN - Rich Karlis 38 yard field goal MIN 3 - 0 SF - Jerry Rice 72 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 7 - 3 2nd Quarter SF - Brent Jones 8 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 14 - 3 SF - John Taylor 8 yard pass from Joe Montana ( kick failed ) SF 20 - 3 SF - Jerry Rice 13 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 27 - 3 3rd Quarter MIN - Rich Karlis 44 yard field goal SF 27 - 6 4th Quarter SF - Ronnie Lott 58 yard interception return ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 34 - 6 SF - Roger Craig 4 yard rush ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 41 - 6 MIN - Rick Fenney 3 yard rush ( Rich Karlis kick ) SF 41 - 13 NFC Championship . Scoring Summary 1st Quarter LA - Mike Lansford 23 yard field goal LA 3 - 0 2nd Quarter SF - Brent Jones 20 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 7 - 3 SF - Roger Craig 1 yard rush ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 14 - 3 SF - John Taylor 18 yard pass from Joe Montana ( Mike Cofer kick ) SF 21 - 3 3rd Quarter SF - Mike Cofer 28 yard field goal SF 24 - 3 4th Quarter SF - Mike Cofer 36 yard field goal SF 27 - 3 SF - Mike Cofer 25 yard field goal SF 30 - 3 Super Bowl XXIV . Scoring summary 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter