Super Bowl XXIV was the 25 th Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January, 28 1990 , at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans , Louisiana following the 1989 regular seasons. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos, 55-10. It remains the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history to date. San Francisco 's 55 points broke the previous Super Bowl scoring mark of 46 points by Chicago in Super Bowl XX. San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) for a record third time in his fourth Super Bowl victory. Montana completed 22 of 29 passes for 297 yards and a Super Bowl a record of five touchdowns.

He was masterful in his direction of the 49ers offense leading the team on scoring drives of 66, 69 and 71 yards. Jerry Rice, Super Bowl XXIII most valuable player, caught seven passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns. San Francisco scored touchdowns on four of its six first-half possessions to hold a 27-3 lead at halftime. Interceptions by Michael Walter and Chet Brooks ended the Broncos' first twp possessions of the second half. The 49ers defense proved to be as devastating as the offense. San Francisco harassed Denver quarterback John Elway all game, intercepting him twice and sacking him on six occasions. The 49ers head coach George Seifert was the second rookie head coach to win a super Bowl. The new head coach had no problem picking up were Bill Walsh had left off, and lead the team to its second consecutive Super Bowl victory. The 49ers established a single team Super Bowl record wth461 total yards in this game, as they held the ball for 19 minutes longer than Denver . The 49ers entered the game seeking to win its second straight Super Bowl. The team offense was as dominating as it was during the previous regular season. Joe Montana threw for 3,512 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions, giving him the highest Quarterback rating in NFL history [112.4]. Montana earned both NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.

The Broncos were trying to avoid becoming the second team, after the Vikings, to loose a fourth Super Bowl. After appearing in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXII, the team missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record during the previous season. But they signed several new players in the off-season to help them win 10 of their first 12 games and finish with an 11-5 record. One of the Denver 's new major additions was rookie running back Bobby Humphrey, who rushed for 1,511 yards and caught 22 passes. Humphrey gave the Broncos a powerful running attack that they lacked in their previous Super Bowl seasons. Although Elway's performance in the AFC Championship Game was widely considered his best ever, many sports writers and fans believed that the Broncos' best effort would not be good enough to beat the 49ers. After all Denver had barely defeated the Steelers who only had a 9-7 regular season record. Furthermore, the Elway-led Broncos had already lost two Super Bowls. On their opening possession, Denver was forced to punt after three drive and the 49ers scored on their ensuing drive, marching 66 yards and scoring on a 20-yards touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana to receiver Jerry Rice. The Broncos responded with a 42-yard drive to cut their deficit, 7-3, with a 42-yard field goal from kicker David Treadwell. Denver 's defense forced San Francisco to punt on their next drive.

But then Broncos running back Bobby Humphrey lost a fumble at midfield while being tackled by defensive end Kevin Fagan, and safety Chet Brooks recovered the loose for San Francisco . From then on the 49ers completely took over the game. Denver 's only touchdown, a third-yard run by Elway, came midway through the third quarter. But by then, the 49ers still had the lead 41-10. For the rest of the game, the 49ers continued to stuff Denver's offense as they scored two more touchdowns, on runs by Rathman and running back Roger Craig to make the final score 55-10.