6 NFL superstars who won league and Super Bowl MVP in same season ft. Joe Montana
The NFL has long been defined by stars who dazzled during the regular season but further elevated their games in the Super Bowl when the lights were shining brightest with everything on the line.
Over the last 65 years, the Associated Press has presented an award recognizing the NFL's top player. Since the 1957 season, only a handful of players have taken that home while also winning the Super Bowl MVP in the biggest game of the season.
Here are 6 NFL superstars who won league and Super Bowl MVP in same season
Bart Starr, 1966
In 1966, Bart Starr became the first player in the league's history to win both the regular season and Super Bowl MVP honors after throwing for 2,257 yards, 14 touchdown passes, and three interceptions.
As great as he was on the field, he has since been honored with the Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award. This award is given annually by a panel of judges, to an NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership on the field and in the community.
Terry Bradshaw, 1978
12 years after Bart Starr became the first player to win the Super Bowl MVP following an MVP regular season, Terry Bradshaw did the same for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While the 'Steel Curtain' defensive front was Pittsburgh's signature painmaker that year, Bradshaw's 2,915 passing yards and 28 touchdowns equally helped to propel the Steelers past 17 of their 19 opponents that season.
Lawrence Taylor, 1986
Lawrence Taylor's most enduring NFL memory will always be his massive sack on Joe Theismann, who ended the quarterback's 12-year-career in 1985. However, his most successful individual season came a year later.
In 1986, he was named the NFL’s MVP, becoming the first defensive player to do so since 1971. Taylor recorded a career-high 20.5 sacks, 105 total tackles, five passes defensed, and two forced fumbles that season.
Also Checkout:- Joe Montana Rookie Card
Joe Montana, 1989
Joe Montana had one of the greatest statistical passing seasons in NFL history in 1989, setting an NFL record at the time with a passer rating of 112.4. He owned a completion percentage of 70.2% on a 26/8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Montana solidified his historic 1989 MVP campaign with an emphatic cherry on top in the form of a brilliant 1989 Super Bowl performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.
23 years ago today, the 49ers retired Joe Montana's No. 16 jersey.
We can't even list all of his accomplishments in one tweet 🤯
4× Super Bowl Champ
3× Super Bowl MVP
2× NFL MVP
6x All-Pro
8× Pro Bowl
2× NFL Passing TDs Leader
5x NFL Comp % Leader
Pro Football HOF https://t.co/gB5QBDxVBb
With 3:20 left, Montana led the 49ers 92 yard game winning drive, throwing for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left. It was one of the 31 fourth-quarter comeback attempts in his career.
Brett Favre, 1996
Brett Favre led the NFL in touchdown passes for the second of three consecutive seasons in 1996, but it was that middle season that was the most pivotal to his career. It would be one that would eventually spill over into New York and Minnesota following several retirements and unretirements.
Favre lifted the Packers to a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Though he passed for a career-high 4,413 yards in 1995, it was the 1996 season where he entrenched himself into the record books. He won MVP of the regular season and the Super Bowl.
Kurt Warner, 1999
In Kurt Warner's first three seasons, the St. Louis Rams went 35-8 from 1999 to 2001. It was his debut season in the league that will forever define Warner's career.
Reminder: The last regular season MVP to win the Super Bowl in the same season was Kurt Warner in 1999
Going 325/499 on his passing attempts, good for a 65.1 completion percentage, as well as 4,353 yards through the air, and 41 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions. Warner capped off one of the most successful first seasons as a starter ever by defeating the Titans for the new millenium's first championship in February 2000.
Warner would go on to have a great second act, bringing the Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2008. He was then inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2017 with a career 67-49 record as a starter.