I had a conversation with a co-worker of mine back home before the current NFL season began.

"I'm just glad Joe Montana's playing again," he said, "because that'll prove once-and-for-all that he's the most overrated quarterback in the NFL."

I wonder what he's thinking now?

For the 29th time in his career, Montana engineered a fourth-quarter comeback, this time to put the Kansas City Chiefs into the AFC Championship game for the first time in 24 years.

And the legend continues . . .

I've heard for so long that Joe Montana is not the quarterback everybody makes him out to be. It was always Jerry Rice and John Taylor who made him look so good, critics say.

True, Rice and Taylor are two of the finest receivers in the game -- possibly in the game's history -- but just imagine if a guy like Jim Everett was throwing them the ball. They wouldn't be making all the catches.

Well, now Montana has a different set of receivers. He has a new offensive line around him. He is faced with a conference-worth of new opponents, new defensive schemes and new pass rushers.

He has come to a team known in recent years for its defensive secondary and its running game.

And all he's done is lead the Chiefs to the AFC Western Division title and the AFC Championship game.

Overrated? I don't think so.

Case in point: The Chiefs played the Houston Oilers earlier this season. Very early in the season, back when a quality Division II football team could have taken the Oilers. The Chiefs, with Dave Krieg calling the signals, were blasted 30-0. On Saturday, with Montana at the helm, the Chiefs downed the Oilers, 28-20.

And the legend continues . . .

I remember following Montana's career since the early '80s. Who could ever forget "The Pass" to Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone in the waning seconds of the 1981 NFC Championship game? Or the rope he threw to John Taylor with 34 seconds left in Super Bowl XXIII? In fact, can any collection of all-time great NFL plays ever be complete without Joe Montana?

He has led the NFC in passing yardage five times. Through the 1991 season, he was the all-time leader in passing efficiency, seventh all-time in touchdowns with 242 (and he's moved up since then).

He is a two-time Associated Press player of the year and winner of the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia and Pro Football Writers' Association player-of-the-year award in 1990.

And those four Super Bowl rings say a lot as well. Not too shabby for a third-round draft pick who was dismissed as being too small and too slow.

But all those awards and accomplishments came before a two-year respite while his elbow healed. And in the sports world, when you're already 35, two years is usually career-ending.

But not Montana. His love for the game would not allow him to go out like that. He had to come back as long as he felt he still had something to give to the game.

And the legend continues . . .

True, Montana's getting up there in age. He's lost a step or two. He's easily injured.

That still puts him way ahead of most quarterbacks in the league.

Like Brett Favre. Or Warren Moon. Or Troy Aikman.

And now Montana is one win away from a possible matchup against his successor on the 49ers, Steve Young. Am I the only one who is dying to see that one?

Because Montana has a Super Bowl ring for every finger on his right hand. He just might add one for his thumb.

I still have my No. 16 49ers jersey. I still wear it proudly. It may be a little bit outdated. It may be old. But I prefer to think of it as a classic.

Just like Joe Montana.