Super Bowl XXIV — 1989 Season
January 28, 1990 · New Orleans, LA (Louisiana Superdome)
Super Bowl XXIV result: SF4San Francisco 49ers def. DBDenver Broncos, 55-10, January 28, 1990, at New Orleans, LA (Louisiana Superdome).
Result
| Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | SF4San Francisco 49ers | 55-10 |
| Runner-up | DBDenver Broncos |
Super Bowl MVP
Joe Montana (QB, San Francisco 49ers)
Starting lineups
Starting offense
| San Francisco 49ers | Denver Broncos |
|---|---|
| Joe Montana (QB) | John Elway (QB) |
| Roger Craig (RB) | Bobby Humphrey (RB) |
| Tom Rathman (FB) | Steve Sewell (RB) |
| Jerry Rice (WR) | Mark Jackson (WR) |
| John Taylor (WR) | Vance Johnson (WR) |
| Brent Jones (TE) | Orson Mobley (TE) |
| Bubba Paris (LT) | Gerald Perry (LT) |
| Guy McIntyre (LG) | Jim Juriga (LG) |
| Jesse Sapolu (C) | Keith Kartz (C) |
| Bruce Collie (RG) | Doug Widell (RG) |
| Harris Barton (RT) | Ken Lanier (RT) |
Starting defense
| San Francisco 49ers | Denver Broncos |
|---|---|
| Pierce Holt (DE) | Alphonso Carreker (DE) |
| Michael Carter (NT) | Greg Kragen (NT) |
| Kevin Fagan (DE) | Ron Holmes (DE) |
| Charles Haley (LB) | Mike Brooks (LB) |
| Matt Millen (LB) | Rick Dennison (LB) |
| Mike Walter (LB) | Karl Mecklenburg (LB) |
| Keena Turner (LB) | Simon Fletcher (LB) |
| Darryl Pollard (CB) | Tyrone Braxton (CB) |
| Don Griffin (CB) | Wymon Henderson (CB) |
| Chet Brooks (S) | Dennis Smith (S) |
| Ronnie Lott (S) | Steve Atwater (S) |
Box score
Passing
| Team | Player | Comp/Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | Joe Montana | 22/29 | 297 | 5 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | John Elway | 10/26 | 108 | 0 | 2 |
Rushing
| Team | Player | Car | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | Roger Craig | 20 | 69 | 1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Tom Rathman | 11 | 38 | 2 |
| Denver Broncos | Bobby Humphrey | 12 | 61 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | John Elway | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Receiving
| Team | Player | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | Jerry Rice | 7 | 148 | 3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Roger Craig | 5 | 34 | 0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | John Taylor | 3 | 49 | 1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Tom Rathman | 4 | 43 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | Bobby Humphrey | 3 | 38 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | Steve Sewell | 2 | 22 | 0 |
Game context
Super Bowl XXIV was, statistically, the most one-sided game in Super Bowl history to that point, as George Seifert's 49ers, in his first season as head coach after succeeding Bill Walsh, dismantled John Elway's Broncos 55-10. San Francisco led 13-3 after the first quarter and never let up, scoring in every quarter and finishing with 461 total yards while controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes against Denver's barely 20. The Broncos, appearing in their third Super Bowl in four seasons and seeking to avoid becoming the second franchise (after the Minnesota Vikings) to lose four Super Bowls, were overwhelmed from the opening series and never threatened. Joe Montana was named MVP for the third time in his career, tying Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl MVP awards, after completing 24 of 32 passes for 297 yards and five touchdowns without a single interception, spreading the ball to five different receivers. Jerry Rice caught seven passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns, a Super Bowl record for receiving touchdowns in a single game, giving him back-to-back dominant Super Bowl performances after his MVP effort the year before. San Francisco scored touchdowns on eight of its eleven possessions, an almost unheard-of level of offensive efficiency, while the 49ers' defense smothered Denver's attack, holding Elway to just 10 of 26 passing for 108 yards, a 19.4 passer rating, and two interceptions. Denver managed only 167 total yards for the entire game. The 55 points scored by San Francisco and the 45-point final margin both set Super Bowl records that stood for years afterward, and the game is often cited among the most anticlimactic and least competitive title games ever played, with television ratings and viewer interest reportedly dropping noticeably as the rout became apparent by halftime. Denver's loss extended a miserable run for the franchise in the championship game: after losing Super Bowl XXI to the Giants and Super Bowl XXII to Washington by similarly lopsided margins, the Broncos had now been outscored 136-40 across three Super Bowl defeats in four seasons, a stretch of championship-game futility matched by few other franchises in league history. For San Francisco, the victory delivered a second consecutive championship and the franchise's fourth title of the 1980s, making the 49ers just the second team in NFL history to repeat as champions, following the Steelers of the 1970s. It also validated Seifert's transition into the head-coaching chair, proving the 49ers' sustained excellence was not solely dependent on Walsh. Montana, Rice, and a defense that had allowed a league-low number of points that season combined to produce one of the most dominant single-game performances in Super Bowl history, and the 1989 49ers are still frequently discussed among the greatest teams to ever play the sport, a fitting final chapter to the franchise's remarkable decade of championship success.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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