The Sidelines : AP Names Joe Montana MVP

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana was selected today as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press. Montana also won the award last year.

For leading the 49ers to a 14-2 record and having yet another outstanding season in his 11th year, Montana received 26 of the 80 votes from sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Randall Cunningham of Philadelphia was second with 18 votes, followed by Warren Moon of Houston with 16.

“Simply put, I’m truly honored,” said Montana, the fourth straight quarterback to win the award--Boomer Esiason took it in 1988 and John Elway was the 1987 MVP. “There are so many outstanding players in the NFL . . . both on offense and on defense. This team even has a few of them. It is really a meaningful award.”

This season, Montana was the league’s seventh-leading passer with an 89.0 rating. He completed 61.7% of his passes, tops in the NFC, averaged 7.58 yards per gain and threw for 26 touchdowns.