Signature Game
Jan. 22, 1989 - Joe Montana drove San Francisco for the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII, and the 49ers' other wide receiver, John Taylor, caught his decisive pass. But it was Jerry Rice who was named MVP for his performance in the 49ers' 20-16 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Six days before the game, Rice turned his right ankle during a workout, aggravating an injury he had been nursing for three months. But there was no way he was going to miss his first Super Bowl.
By the time the game ended, it was the Bengals' defensive backs who felt the pain after a futile attempt to defend Rice, who caught 11 passes, tying Dan Ross' Super Bowl record. They accounted for 215 yards, the only time a receiver has bettered 200 yards in the Super Bowl. His 14-yard touchdown reception 57 seconds into the fourth quarter tied the game, 13-13.
Rice was held in such high esteem that Bengals safety David Fulcher said, "We didn't do a bad job on him. He only scored one touchdown."
Trailing 16-13, the 49ers took over on their own eight with 3:10 left. Montana hit Rice for seven and 17 yards in the drive. On second-and-20 at the Bengals' 45, Montana again connected with Rice, who was double-covered, on a square-in. The pass was for 13 yards and Rice ran for another 14, moving the ball into field-goal range at the Bengals' 18.
On the winning touchdown, Rice went in motion and decoyed into the left flat. Taylor broke free over the middle and Montana hit him with a 10-yard strike with 34 seconds left.
Odds 'n' Ends
Unlike many college stars, Rice was not spoiled at Mississippi Valley State. He says he had just one uniform and he had to wash it after practice on his own.
The 49ers traded up to pick Rice with the 16th choice of the 1985 draft. He was the third receiver taken, behind Al Toon (Jets) and Eddie Brown (Bengals).
When Rice was a rookie, dropping more passes than he should have, one newspaper headline read: "Snap, Crackle, Drop."
Rice's most embarrassing moment came during the 1986 playoffs when, running behind the Giants defense, he dropped the ball without being hit. Instead of a touchdown and an early SF lead, the Giants recovered and went on to crush the 49ers, 49-3.
When he led the league with 138 points in his Player of the Year season of 1987, he was the first wide receiver to lead the NFL since "Crazylegs" Hirsch in 1951.
Rice's 38-yard touchdown reception from Montana with 40 seconds left in the first half broke open Super Bowl XXIV, giving the 49ers a 27-3 lead over Denver. Rice caught a Super Bowl-record three TD passes in the 55-10 rout.
Rice broke his tie with Steve Largent for the career touchdown receiving record with No. 101 on a 12-yarder from Steve Young in a 27-3 San Francisco win over Miami on Dec. 6, 1992. Largent played 14 years and 196 games; Rice set the record in eight years and 121 games.
He became the all-time touchdown leader when he scored three against the Raiders before a national TV audience on Monday Night Football (Sept. 5, 1994). His 127th TD, one more than Jim Brown and two more than Walter Payton, came when he made a spectacular catch over cornerback Albert Lewis at the goal line and tumbled into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown in SF's 44-14 win.
On the fourth play of the 49ers' 49-26 victory in Super Bowl XXIX, Rice got free for a 44-yard TD pass from Young. Though he had a bad case of the flu and suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter, Rice caught 10 passes for 149 yards and tied his Super Bowl mark with three touchdowns.
Among the career Super Bowl records Rice holds are 28 receptions, 512 receiving yards, 42 points and seven TD catches.
In October 2004, Rice was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round draft choice.
Of Rice's 208 touchdowns, 197 came on receptions, 10 were rushing and one was on a fumble recovery.
When Rice wasn't featured in his team's offense, he became annoyed. "I'm not a selfish player," he said, "but I want the opportunity to prove to myself that I can do it."
Rice made the final cut at the 1997 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
He can be obsessive about his appearance (he dresses GQ-style with his designer clothes) and his surroundings. His wife Jackie has said that he sometimes comes home from a game and cleans the house. He sometimes takes three showers a day and it took him about 30 minutes to put on his uniform, making sure it looked just right.
Jerry and Jackie have three children: Jaqui Bonet, Jerry Jr. and Jada Symone. They live in Atherton, Cal.
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