Tag: Joe Montana

Caleb Williams met Joe Montana at USC-Notre Dame game

Caleb Williams met Joe Montana. The Chicago Bears paid attention to that meeting last October in South Bend.

It is fascinating to identify moments when an established sports legend meets a much younger man who is trying to become great in his own right. Will the young player become similarly iconic, or will he fail to reach his potential? We won’t know until the whistle blows on Sundays, and that’s part of the drama of sports. One such meeting — between an established giant of football and a potential future king –occurred last October, when USC went to South Bend to play Notre Dame. USC quarterback Caleb Williams met Notre Dame legend Joe Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The Chicago Bears and general manager Ryan Poles — who did not know at the time they would have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft — were paying attention, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted:

Williams was born in November 2001, nearly seven years after Montana played his last game. Some of his contemporaries wouldn’t even know who Montana was, let alone recognize him in street clothes. But here was Williams, preparing for his final shot at Notre Dame as USC quarterback, compelled to pay homage to one of the game’s greats.

“They went to do some special teams things, he took his helmet off, ran over and shook his hand,” Poles said Thursday. “For a young kid to go up to a quarterback like that, Hall of Famer, and not as an, I’m in the same circle as you, but I look up to you, and, yet, there wasn’t this college fear of talking to an adult. He did it with confidence and swagger, but a ton of respect and humility at the same time—I couldn’t get that out of my mind.”

Here we are, several months later. The Bears did get the chance to draft Williams. That moment in which Caleb handled his Montana meeting with ease and grace was a formative moment which developed his relationship with the Chicago Bears. It’s a lesson for all young athletes: Know your sport’s history. Know that every interaction in public settings matters. Everyone is taking notes all the time.

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Ranking the 5 greatest dynasties in NFL history after Patrick Mahomes’ third Super Bowl title with the Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are officially a dynasty. Here’s where they rank all time in NFL history.

After winning a third championship in five seasons, Patrick Mahomes doesn’t seem to think his Kansas City Chiefs are a “dynasty.” (OK, he does, but not necessarily for the reason you’d expect.)

No matter what happens next, these Chiefs have cemented themselves in NFL lore as a legendary team. They have thrived so much in January and February that they’ve made winning in single-elimination football seem almost impossibly routine. This is definitively their era, their titanic reign sitting on the sport’s biggest throne.

But where do the Mahomes Chiefs rank all time in NFL history? That answer might not be so simple because they’re not the first team to completely envelop half a decade or more.

Let’s take a look at some of the best NFL dynasties ever and where the Chiefs slot in. For what it’s worth, I decided to mainly keep this to the modern Super Bowl era because rewarding teams like the pre-World War II Chicago Bears and post-war Cleveland Browns feels a little silly, considering the league was a literal shell of what it is now.

Notre Dame in the Super Bowl: Joe Montana’s All-Time Super Sunday’s (Gallery Included)

You can’t tell the story of the Super Bowl without quickly speaking about Joe Montana

You can’t tell the history of the Super Bowl without quickly bringing up the name Joe Montana.

Montana helped guide the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, winning three Super Bowl MVPs along the way.

In total, he threw for 11 career Super Bowl touchdowns and 1,142 yards on Super Bowl Sunday, all while not throwing a single interception in a Super Bowl game.

His “Is that John Candy?” heroics in Super Bowl XXIII helped the 49ers to a comeback victory over the Bengals as he led San Francisco on a last minute drive to win the game.

Enjoy a look below at the best photos of Joe Montana at the Super Bowl below:

Check out the Chiefs’ recent history against the 49ers

Take a look at the #Chiefs’ history against the #49ers since 2000 ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs are no strangers to facing the San Francisco 49ers and will compete against the West Coast powerhouse in Super Bowl LVIII for a chance to win back-to-back championships.

While regular season matchups against the 49ers are relatively uncommon for the Chiefs, San Francisco’s has been indelibly tied to Kansas City for decades.

Legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana decided to take his talents to Western Missouri to play for the Chiefs for two seasons in 1993 and 1994. Later in the 90s, Kansas City turned to another San Francisco signal-caller, Steve Bono, to quarterback the Chiefs from 1994 to 1996.

Then, in 2013, Kansas City made one of the most consequential moves in franchise history by trading for quarterback Alex Smith, who helped the Chiefs rebuild before mentoring Patrick Mahomes in 2017.

Clearly, these teams are bound at the hip in NFL history, and their matchups in recent seasons have been battles for the ages.

Check out the recent history dating back to 2000 between the Super Bowl LVIII contenders ahead of their championship matchup in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday:

Super Bowl Stats: All-Time Touchdown Passes by College

How haven’t some of these schools had it happen just once?

In the history of the Super Bowl there have been 154 touchdown passes thrown, a number that is almost certain to grow Sunday when the Chiefs take on the 49ers.

We can all certainly name a good number of the quarterbacks that threw those touchdown passe: Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, and plenty of others – but which colleges have produced the most productive Super Bowl quarterbacks all time?

Below is every touchdown pass in Super Bowl history broken down by the college each quarterback attended (last played college football).

43 different schools have produced a player that has thrown a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl, but not all 146 touchdown passes were thrown by quarterbacks.

Here are the all-time touchdown passes in Super Bowl history thrown by college.  Make sure to go all the way to the bottom to realize some of the powerhouses that never had the feat.

NFL’s All-Time Winningest Playoff Quarterbacks

Plenty of surprising things on this list. What stands out the most to you?

With Super Bowl 58 approaching, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is taking aim at more history.

He’s already as talented of player to ever play quarterback in the NFL and as one would expect, the wins have followed.  By beating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship, Mahomes recorded his 14th career postseason win all-time which tied him for the third-most all-time.

Who else has Mahomes passed with playoff victories over the past couple of seasons?  And how far does he have to go before he catches the two remaining legends ahead of him?

Here is every starting quarterback to win six or more playoff games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.  A somewhat surprising fact – of the 26 players to start and win six or more playoff games, they played their college football at 23 different colleges and universities.  One of just three teams to have more than one player accomplish the feat is Notre Dame – but before scrolling can you guess the other two?

Check it all out below and get your answers!

Every Former Notre Dame Player to Win Super Bowl

Notre Dame has had a long and successful football history but only 45 former players have won a Super Bowl. Here they are.

When you have as long and as distinguished of football tradition as Notre Dame you’re going to have a lot of players who make a good amount of money on Sunday.  How many of those players however reached the pinnacle of football and won a Super Bowl?

A former Notre Dame player will join the club on February 11 when the Chiefs take on the 49ers.  Linebacker [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] of the Chiefs and offensive guard [autotag]Aaron Banks[/autotag] of the 49ers both have a shot at the crown.

Paul Hornung was the first Golden Domer to win a Super Bowl title, which came in Super Bowl I while Ben Skowronek became the 45th to in Super Bowl LVI.  So who were the 43 to win an NFL title in-between?

Here is a quick look at every Notre Dame player to win a Super Bowl.

Please note: Jerome Collins received a ring with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI but was on injured reserve.  Michael Floyd received a ring with the Patriots in Super Bowl LI but was not on the active roster for that game

Notre Dame Football History: The All-Time 25 Leading Passers

Notre Dame’s Top 25 All-Time Passing Leaders. Who was the actual best quarterback?

You can’t tell the history of football as a whole without bringing up the University of Notre Dame and the impact the school had on the college game.  Whether they’re fans or not, no college football program is as known nationally as that of the Fighting Irish.

That specific Notre Dame football history can’t be spoken without discussing the names of some of the best to ever drop back to pass in blue and gold.

Joe Montana, Brady Quinn, Rick Mirer.

Jarious Jackson, Joe Theismann, Tony Rice.

And the list goes on and on.

We break down the top 20 passers in Notre Dame football history. A group that includes a Heisman Trophy winner and plenty of eventual NFL draft picks.