What are your "San Francisco 49ers 10 Greatest Games of All-Time"?

So I got this for my buddy for Christmas. He is a big Dallas Cowboys fan having grown up in Dallas.

Dallas Cowboys 10 Greatest Games

So my question is this. If the NFL were to do a DVD set like this for the San Francisco 49ers, which games would you rank among the top 10 of all-time?

I think it is a given that the 5 Super Bowl games would need to be included. And I must add that it would be sick to have these complete games on a professional quality DVD. Anyways, which games would you put into the remaining 5 slots and why?

Here are a couple that I would choose.

The Catch
The game that got the San Francisco 49ers dynasty going. Montana to Clark set everything in motion.

1998 Season NFC Wildcard Game
Young to Owens with 8 seconds left on the clock to lift the 49ers to a dramatic last second win over the Green Bay Packers.

2002 Season NFC Wildcard Game
Jeff Garcia leads the 49ers to a huge comeback win over the New York Giants.

Those are the more recent ones I can remember. Not sure what other games I might include as there are so many great ones. Maybe the 1994 Season NFC Championship?

Here are mine in no particular order.

1998 The Catch 2. Young to Owens, we finally defeat the Packers, and our last true team that had a shot at winning the Super Bowl.

1989- San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Montana is getting killed by a great Philly D. The 49ers eventually overcome, defeating the Eagles 38-28.

1994 NFC Championship- San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys. We jump on the Cowboys 21-0 within the first 10 minutes. The 49ers finally defeat Dallas and go on to win their 5th Super Bowl.

1981- San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys. The Catch. Need I say more?

1992- San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills- I think we lost this game, but it was an offensive explosion. No punts. Reminds me of another classic played by my college team, the Hurricanes vs. Boston College in 84 where both teams put up 500 yards of offense.

1992- San Francisco vs. Atlanta Falcons- After Jerry Glanville bragged about the Falcons sweep over all California teams in 1991, we stomp the Falcons into the ground in our first regular season match-up. We score 42 points in the first half alone. Final score, 56-17.

1997- San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos. Monday Night Football. Young vs. Elway. Montana gets his jersey retired. Rice makes his return to the 49ers. The 49ers start slow, but get going after a Jerry Rice touchdown. We overcome the eventual world champions 34-17.


1998- San Francisco 49ers vs. NY Jets- Garrison Hearst, 96 yard TD run in OT. I honestly can't remember much else about the game.

How about that Monday-nighter when after almost two years out with injury, Joe Montana comes in the game and I think throws two TDs and wins the game. I was like Eleven at the time, so I dont remember the details but Im going to look it up right now after I post this

118.4 passer rating Joe had in that final game of the year in 1992. That was such a touching game for me to see Montana come back on that field after two years. One of the best 49er games ever

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:


1992- San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills- I think we lost this game, but it was an offensive explosion. No punts. Reminds me of another classic played by my college team, the Hurricanes vs. Boston College in 84 where both teams put up 500 yards of offense.

1992- San Francisco vs. Atlanta Falcons- After Jerry Glanville bragged about the Falcons sweep over all California teams in 1991, we stomp the Falcons into the ground in our first regular season match-up. We score 42 points in the first half alone. Final score, 56-17.

The games that made me a Niners fan, yes I was a bandwagon but I was 7 and didn't want to be a Browns fan like my dad cuz even then I knew they sucked.

[ Edited by PA9erFan on Feb 9, 2009 at 20:55:16 ]

#1 1981 season NFC title game.. "The Catch"

#2 1988 season Superbowl - not greatest game but I've never been as happy at the end of a game

#3 1984 Superbowl.. Montana shows Marino who really IS the best

#4 1981 Superbowl Great first half - terrible 2nd but NINERS ARE CHAMPS

#5 1994 Superbowl Youngs redemption. DOMINANCE!!!!!!!!!

#6 1989 Superbowl 2 in a row for first time.. Best team Niners ever had

#7 1988 Season - NFC title game.. go into Chicago in below freezing temps and dominate the favored Bears

#8 SF-Cincy reg season - Bill Walsh skipping off the field game

#9 WIld Card SF over GB FINALLY! TO doesnt drop the big one

#10 1994 season NFC title game DALLAS IS DETHRONED!

The 93 playoff game vs NYG when Ricky Watters scored 5 TDs

The 2 wins over Dallas in 94 were amazing

The win over Green Bay in the 98 Wildcard game

The 02 win over NYG, I was shaking for hours after that game!

And one for me was the Superbowl in 94.... Seeing Young FINALLY get his ring was a great moment because he overcame so much to obtain that championship.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
Here are mine in no particular order.

1998 The Catch 2. Young to Owens, we finally defeat the Packers, and our last true team that had a shot at winning the Super Bowl.

1989- San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Montana is getting killed by a great Philly D. The 49ers eventually overcome, defeating the Eagles 38-28.

1994 NFC Championship- San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys. We jump on the Cowboys 21-0 within the first 10 minutes. The 49ers finally defeat Dallas and go on to win their 5th Super Bowl.

1981- San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys. The Catch. Need I say more?

1992- San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills- I think we lost this game, but it was an offensive explosion. No punts. Reminds me of another classic played by my college team, the Hurricanes vs. Boston College in 84 where both teams put up 500 yards of offense.

1992- San Francisco vs. Atlanta Falcons- After Jerry Glanville bragged about the Falcons sweep over all California teams in 1991, we stomp the Falcons into the ground in our first regular season match-up. We score 42 points in the first half alone. Final score, 56-17.

1997- San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos. Monday Night Football. Young vs. Elway. Montana gets his jersey retired. Rice makes his return to the 49ers. The 49ers start slow, but get going after a Jerry Rice touchdown. We overcome the eventual world champions 34-17.


1998- San Francisco 49ers vs. NY Jets- Garrison Hearst, 96 yard TD run in OT. I honestly can't remember much else about the game.

"1997- San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos. Monday Night Football. Young vs. Elway. Montana gets his jersey retired. Rice makes his return to the 49ers. The 49ers start slow, but get going after a Jerry Rice touchdown. We overcome the eventual world champions 34-17."

I can't believe you could actually mention that game; Rice blew out his other knee and we got punked by Green Bay three weeks later...God, both those days were horrible! Especially that 23-10 ass whipping by GB in the championship at the stick. That was the most misreable day at the stick of my life.





I like and remember those other games really well though, except for the catch; I was one. Man I have a lot of memories of 9er games...haven't missed 60 minutes of one of them since I was like 5 or 6 years old.

I will always bleed red and gold...GO NINERS BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The So-Called Vindication Bowl. Joe vs Steve, even though we lost seeing our two wizards on the field competing against each other was great.

I didn't start to seriously watch football until the 92, but here are the best I've seen.

1998 - Wild Card game vs. Packers. I think everyone had it with Favre and the Packers beating us every time we played them. I still get goosebumps watching the end on ESPN.

Unfornately, this game turned Terrell Owens from unknown #3 receiver into T.O.

2002 - Our last playoff win vs. the Giants. What a game. I was a senior in high school, and My mom's aunt died and I had to go to the funeral home during the comeback, I was in there for about 5 minutes, shook everyone's hands, and went back out my car to listen to the game until it was time to go, then had to take my sister to her boyfriend's and insisted on watching the last 2 minutes there.

1994 NFC Championship, we kicked the Cowboys asses after losing to them two years in a row, need I say more.

The game in 2000 vs. Dallas when TO spiked the star. It was the first meaningless 49ers-Cowboys game in a long time but the rivalry was still alive.

The Monday night game vs. Denver in 97 when Rice returned and Montana's number was retired.

OT win @ Oakland in 2002, knocking off eventual AFC champ Oakland at their home field.

Alirght, this one's a weird one, and the only from the Erickson "era." The comeback win vs. Arizona in 2004. We were down 28-12 in the 4th and rallied back to win the game 31-28. Even though it was one of two wins that season, it was just nice to win one cuz we looked destined for 0-16. (We beat them again later that year).

The 56-17 win over Atlanta in 92. The were a cocky team with Deion and Glanville, and that was the West Coast Offense at it's finest, and like I said, one of the games that got me to love the Niners. Then came the 41-3 beatdown later that year, which was also the first game at the Georgia Dome, what a way to bring it in.

The 38-20 beatdown at Dallas in 95. The 8-1 Cowboys mouthed off as always after the Niners lost two in a row to the lowly Saints with Tommy Hodson at QB and expansion Panthers at HOME, scoring just 7 points in both games with Elvis Grbac at QB. Grbac and the Niners came into Dallas with something to prove, jumping to a 31-7 lead at halftime and showed they were still an elite team in football.

Last but not least Super Bowl XXIX, it was never out of reach, but it was a great day for Steve Young and the Niners.

[ Edited by PA9erFan on Feb 9, 2009 at 21:37:34 ]

Missing a good one.

1980 - Joe leads the Niners over the winless Saints in SF.

"The Saints, winless at the time, took a 35–7 lead at halftime. At the start of the fourth quarter, New Orleans still led by a score of 35–21, but San Francisco tied the game by the end of regulation play. In overtime, Ray Wersching kicked a field goal to win the game for San Francisco."

That was the beginning, my friends.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:


1989- San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Montana is getting killed by a great Philly D. The 49ers eventually overcome, defeating the Eagles 38-28.

1992- San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills- I think we lost this game, but it was an offensive explosion. No punts. Reminds me of another classic played by my college team, the Hurricanes vs. Boston College in 84 where both teams put up 500 yards of offense.

Two great games and I am glad to say I was at both!

A 49er fan buying "Dallas Cowboys 10 Greatest Games"? There is something wrong about that, seriously.

Dont forget Super Bowl XXIII with the last second TD to Taylor, the 1988 game against the Giants with a TD to Rice between defenders on the last play to win the game and the 1987 game in Cincinnati where a hail mary to Rice on the last play wins the game. If you haven't seen those games, try and find a copy online--whew!!!!!

Oh--and I am sure it was mentioned, but the 1989 MNF game against the Rams--comeback from a 27-10 deficit with TWO 90+ yd TDs off of short completions to John Taylor. SICK.