SAN FRANCISCO — Legendary San Francisco 49ers player Steve Young spoke to ABC10 and gave his take on the upcoming NFL playoff game between his former team and the Green Bay Packers.
"If you told me we were going to play the Packers a few months ago I would have been like, 'Oh come on, that's too easy' but the Packers have gotten really good really fast, especially last week," said Young. "We are rested, we are the best team in football and we've just got to go take care of business."
Young was at the forefront of the rivalry between the two teams during his days with the 49ers.
49ers-Packers rivalry
When Young and the rest of the 49ers met the Packers in the 1995 playoffs, the Niners racked up five championship titles in 14 seasons:
- 1981
- 1984
- 1988
- 1989
- 1994
By this time, the coach who tutored Young now worked for the Packers training a young Brett Favre.
With Favre and coach Mike Holmgren, along with free agent acquisition Reggie White, the Packers beat the Niners at Candlestick Park on Jan. 6, 1996.
When the teams met the next year, Young was knocked out in the first quarter with an injury and the Packers won 35-14, well on the way to a Super Bowl title.
The Niners finally had a breakthrough the following year thanks to one of the most memorable plays of the series in San Francisco’s only playoff win over Favre.
On Jan. 3, 1999, Terrell Owens lost a fumble and dropped a potential TD pass early before delivering late.
With eight seconds left and the Niners trailing by four, Young stumbled, dropping back from center and then threaded a 25-yard pass between an army of Packers to Owens, who somehow managed to hold onto it despite being hit by two defenders, for a 30-27 win.
Now, with a new generation of 49ers including up-and-coming star quarterback Brock Purdy, Young says he's confident in a Niners win Saturday.
"I am the last person who is going to try and tell him what to do, he's on his own now," Young said. "The training wheels are off, he's doing fine."
