Joe Montana says Super Bowl 23 highlight of career
Wednesday 11 January 2017 10:46, UK
Halfway through the 2016 NFL season, thoughts inevitably begin turning towards the play-offs and February's Super Bowl.
With no promotion, relegation or cup competitions, every team in the NFL strives for just one prize, and San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana, who led his franchise to victory in Super Bowls 16, 19, 23 and 24, reveals some of the keys to victory.
"It helps when you have a good team around you," iconic quarterback Montana explained in an interview with Touchdown magazine.
"But we also knew how to relax and stay loose. If you don't have fun and you get a little too uptight, you can't play to the best of your ability."
Montana, nicknamed "Joe Cool" for his late-game comebacks and calmness under pressure, set a number of records, including becoming the first player to win three Super Bowl MVP awards.
But it's clear the Super Bowl wins - and one in particular - mean more to him than anything else he achieved.
"As a quarterback, there is no better way to end the season than to throw the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl," Montana says, referring to a pivotal pass to John Taylor with 35 seconds remaining in Super Bowl 23. "So that would be the highlight of my career."
The quarterback led his team 92 yards in under three minutes, before connecting with Taylor to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16. Despite throwing for a Super Bowl record 357 yards, Montana was overlooked as MVP, but the drive will be remembered as an iconic moment in NFL history.
For the full Super Bowl feature, plus exclusives from Odell Beckham and Andrew Luck, and a ranking of the top 50 players in the NFL today, compiled by Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds, order Touchdown issue 2 here.
