SANTA CLARA – Though one can spend hours debating which 49er is the greatest of all time, any valid conversation involves Jerry Rice, whose collection of NFL records can fill a warehouse.
No less an authority than the late, legendary coach Bill Walsh described Rice as “the greatest player, ever.”
For at least one night, Rice seemed to step aside for a player most 49er fans would not have recognized a few weeks ago. He’s a member of the Raheem Mostert fan club after the running back’s marvelous performance in a 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game to help the 49ers advance to Super Bowl LIV where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs.
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“He’s been proving himself all season,” Rice told NBC Sports Bay Area after Mostert rushed for a franchise-record 220 yards. “I love his athletic ability, the way he lets things develop and reads exactly what the defense is doing. And then he always makes the right cuts.
“And he’s very physical when he carries the football. He does it all.”
Mostert, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, entered training camp in July as San Francisco’s top special-teams player and its fourth-string running back. But with the top three running backs battling injuries, the five-year veteran emerged as a formidable weapon.
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By November, Mosert was the team’s primary ball-carrier.
“He doesn’t look like he’s 195 pounds; I know I wouldn’t look at him and think he’s 190 pounds,” Rice said. “Not with his physicality. He takes it to a defense. He attacks.
“And with his vision, man ... he’s the man.”
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