This past Tuesday, the NFL posted video recapping the longest touchdown pass for each team dating back to 2000. Given the 49ers poor history for much of that stretch, I’m not all that surprised their pairing for this video is not all that sexy.
Every team's longest TOUCHDOWN pass since 2000! #TDTuesday pic.twitter.com/hHn2WEPkNp
— NFL (@NFL) May 22, 2018
On September 25, 2005, Tim Rattay connected with Brandon Lloyd for an 89-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. It was not a short pass turned long. Instead, Lloyd was out near the 50 when he caught the ball behind the Cowboys coverage. He caught the ball on the left side of the field, and then angled to the opposite pylon to out-run the Cowboys secondary.
49ers wide receiver Pierre Garçon shows up twice on the video, once with the Indianapolis Colts, and once with Washington. On October 3, 2011, he hauled in an 87-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter, and on September 9, 2012, he caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Robert Griffin III.
I did some research on the longest passes in NFL history, and the 49ers have some interesting numbers. The longest touchdown pass in team history was a 97-yarder from Steve Young to John Taylor in 1991 against the Atlanta Falcons. Young tossed it up into double coverage and Taylor managed to break through them to turn it into the touchdown.
Joe Montana has the next two passes on this list, with a 96-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice against the San Diego Chargers in 1988, and a 95-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor in 1989. The latter was crazy because he also connected with Taylor for a 92-yard touchdown pass. Taylor finished the day with 11 catches for 286 yards and the two touchdowns.