Jerry Rice explains why he would take Joe Montana over Tom Brady 'any day'

Tom Brady is set to play in his 14th career conference championship game this weekend, and with a win will earn his 10th trip to the Super Bowl, giving him the chance to extend his record number of championships to seven. But despite the 43-year-old holding nearly every playoff record imaginable, Jerry Rice said he would still take Joe Montana over Brady in a clutch situation. Why? Because Montana did it in an era where quarterbacks aren't protected the way they are now.

"It's a whole different era, and I would go with Montana any day because he was Joe Cool, and he was in an era where he was not as protected," Rice said on 95.7 The Game.

Of course, Rice is probably a little bit biased in choosing his old teammate over Brady, but it's hard to deny that the game used to be a lot rougher for offensive players, especially quarterbacks. And Montana certainly has one of the most impressive playoff résumés of all-time, having led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowls during his career while racking up three Super Bowl MVPs and two regular-season MVPs.

However, even someone with accolades as impressive as Montana has a hard time competing with Brady. Along with his six Super Bowls, Brady is a four-time Super Bowl MVP and three-time regular-season MVP. Plus, he holds the record for nearly every postseason passing stat imaginable, including yards, touchdowns and wins. Put it all together, and it's nearly impossible to pretend like Brady has not had the greatest career in NFL history.