Montana Leads 49ers to Victory in Super Bowl

With the San Francisco defense making Dan Marino look merely mortal, 49er quarterback Joe Montana enjoyed a record-setting day while leading a 38-16 rout of the Miami Dolphins Sunday in the Super Bowl at Stanford Stadium.

Montana completed 24 of 35 passes for 331 yards and three touchdown passes. He also ran out of the pocket five times for 59 yards, including a six-yard touchdown.

His passing yardage broke the Super Bowl record of 318 yards set by Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw.

For his efforts, Montana was named the game’s most valuable player. He was also the most valuable player when the 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl two years ago.

Roger Craig also played a big role in the rout by scoring a Super Bowl record of three touchdowns on pass receptions of eight and 16 yards and a two-yard run.

The 49ers’ defense, meanwhile, made it a long afternoon for Dolphin quarterback Marino, who in his second NFL season had set league records for completions, passing yardage and touchdowns.

Marino, who had been sacked only 13 times all season, went down four times at the hands of San Francisco’s pass rushers, and threw two interceptions on the 49ers’ goal line.

The 49ers trailed, 10-7, after one quarter but took charge of the game in the second period by holding Marino and the Dolphin offense to only three plays on three successive series. Meanwhile, Montana led the 49ers to three touchdowns and a 28-16 half-time lead.