Jayden Daniels' breakout moment in the NFL caught the attention of seemingly everyone, including Joe Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.
Montana was watching the night of Sept. 23, when Washington's rookie quarterback capped off his brilliant night with a gorgeous, 27-yard, game-winning touchdown pass that sealed a Commanders win. For Montana, that play symbolized what has led to Daniels' historic start and what separates him from other quarterbacks whose careers started off in similar fashion.
"You have to understand you're going to get hit," Montana said during a one-on-one interview with CBS Sports. "The guys who make the difference are guys who are accurate knowing you're going to get hit."
Daniels' game-winning touchdown pass in Cincinnati symbolized his ability to do just that. While his perfectly-thrown pass to Terry McLaurin has been rightfully celebrated, Daniels' ability to make that throw in the face of such pressure is the play's real highlight.
"They didn't show it, but he got smacked as he let it go right over the top of the defender in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown," Montana said of the play. "I thought that was probably his best throw of the night. I mean, what did he have, a 90 percent completion percentage? Can't complain with that. He's fun to watch."
JAYDEN DANIELS. TERRY MCLAURIN. THE COMMANDERS.
— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
📺: #WASvsCIN on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bP5qrpGN8q
Montana isn't surprised by Daniels' strong start to his NFL career. But unlike other quarterbacks whose careers started fast before fizzling out, Montana feels that Daniels' early success is sustainable.
"Without naming names, there were a lot of high draft choices that came out of similar-type systems that he came out of that got off to great starts," Montana said. "I can find 20 guys who can throw the ball through that wall, but they can't complete a pass because they aren't accurate enough or they don't have the touch. He seems to have all of that in one package, plus the guy can run."
While history tends to forget, Montana was a deceptively good athlete whose athleticism played a major role in his Hall of Fame career. Montana's 59 rushing yards in Super Bowl XIX (his second of four Super Bowl wins) stood as the single game Super Bowl record for a quarterback for 15 years and is still the fifth-highest total in Super Bowl history. Montana's 331 passing yards that day was also a Super Bowl record at the time.
Five years later, Montana threw a then-Super Bowl record five touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Broncos by 45 points, which is still the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history. Sandwiched between those games was his historic, 92-yard, game-winning drive against the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.
30 years ago today @JoeMontana led one of the greatest game-winning drives of all time to secure the #49ers third Lombardi Trophy. #SuperBowl MVP @JerryRice's 215 yards are still a Super Bowl record. pic.twitter.com/EkV6odwn7R
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 22, 2019
Montana can't pick between his favorite Super Bowl wins, saying that each one was unique in its own right. He can, however, state which of his 49ers teams he feels was the best.
"I have a debate with Ronnie all the time" Montana said while alluding to former teammate and Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott. "He thinks the '84 team was better. I think the '89 team was better, only because offensively we had we had different weapons than we did in '84. Even though we scored a bunch of points in that '84 Super Bowl, a different style of offense happened once Jerry Rice, John Taylor and Brent Jones got there. Things were just different in how we attacked, where we attacked.
"Ronnie still thinks '84 was the best team. I can't argue. We had a great team on both sides of the ball, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They were tremendous."
Speaking of defense, Montana is doing his part to protect himself against pneumococcal pneumonia—a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can strike any time of year. Montana got vaccinated to help protect himself against this disease and is encouraging everyone to talk to your doctor or pharmacist and visit VaxAssist.com to schedule a vaccination.
"We're trying to get the word out there that, hey look, there's a way to help prevent this and that's through vaccination," Montana said. "Hopefully, we're helping people avoid this."