- Super Bowl XVIII
Infobox SuperBowl
sb_name = XVIII
visitor =Washington Redskins
home = Los Angeles Raiders
visitor_abbr = WAS
home_abbr = LA
visitor_conf = NFC
home_conf = AFC
visitor_total = 9
home_total = 38visitor_qtr1 = 0
visitor_qtr2 = 3
visitor_qtr3 = 6
visitor_qtr4 = 0home_qtr1 = 7
home_qtr2 = 14
home_qtr3 = 14
home_qtr4 = 3date =
January 22 ,1984
stadium = Tampa Stadium
city = Tampa, Florida
attendance = 72,920
odds = Redskins by 2 1/2
MVP =Marcus Allen ,Running back
anthem =Barry Manilow
coin_toss =Bronko Nagurski
referee =Gene Barth
halftime = "Salute to Superstars of the Silver Screen" with theUniversity of Florida andFlorida State University Bands
network =CBS
announcers =Pat Summerall and John Madden
rating = 46.4
share = 71
commercial = $368,000
last = XVII
next = XIXSuper Bowl XVIII was an
American football game that was played onJanuary 22 ,1984 atTampa Stadium inTampa, Florida to decide theNational Football League (NFL) champion following the 1983 regular season. TheAmerican Football Conference (AFC) champion Los Angeles Raiders (15-4) defeated theNational Football Conference (NFC) championWashington Redskins (16-3), 38–9. The Raiders' 38 points and their 29 point margin of victory were bothSuper Bowl records untilSuper Bowl XX . They also outgained the Redskins in total yards 385 to 283.The win gave the city of Los Angeles its first NFL championship since the 1951
Los Angeles Rams and the city's only Super Bowl championship.The fact that the Redskins had come into the game as the favored team but left with such a humiliating defeat led Super Bowl XVIII to be known as "Black Sunday," in reference to the Raiders' team colors. It is also an indirect reference to the Thomas Harris novel and 1977 film
Black Sunday , which centered around a threatened terrorist attack against a Super Bowl.Raiders'
running back Marcus Allen was theSuper Bowl MVP , carrying the ball 20 times, for a then-record total of 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a spectacular 74-yard run in the third quarter. His 74 yard run was also a record (now 2nd toWillie Parker 's 75-yard TD run in Super Bowl XL), and his 9.6 yards per carry average was the second highest in Super Bowl history. He also caught 2 passes for 18 yards, giving him 209 total yards from the line of scrimmage in the game. Marcus Allen became just the thirdHeisman Trophy winner to be named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.Background
NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XVIII to Tampa on
June 3 ,1981 . This was first time Tampa hosted the game, thus making it the first Super Bowl to be played in Florida in a city other thanMiami .Washington Redskins
The Redskins entered the game appearing to be even better than they were during the previous season when they defeated the
Miami Dolphins , 27-17, inSuper Bowl XVII . The Redskins finished the regular season with a 14-2 record, the best in the NFL, and their 2 losses were only by one point each. In addition, the Redskins set a new scoring record with 541 points (since broken by the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, who were later topped by the 2007 New England Patriots), and had the top rated defense against the run.The Redskins had a number of offensive weapons. Quarterback
Joe Theismann won theNFL Most Valuable Player Award for being the 2nd rated passer in the league behind Steve Bartkowski, completing 276 out of 459 (60.1 percent) of his passes for 3,714 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 234 yards and another touchdown. Washington's main deep threats were wide receivers Charlie Brown (78 receptions, 1,225 yards, and 8 touchdowns) andArt Monk (47 receptions, 746 yards, and 5 touchdowns), with the latter fully healthy after last year's injury that caused him to miss the entire postseason. Wide receiverAlvin Garrett , who replaced Monk during that time, emerged as a significant contributor, catching 25 passes for 332 yards. FullbackJohn Riggins once again was the team's top rusher with 1,347 yards, and also set a then-NFL record by scoring the most rushing touchdowns in a season (24). Multi-talented running backJoe Washington recorded 772 rushing yards, while also catching 47 passes for 454 yards and 6 touchdowns. KickerMark Moseley led the NFL in scoring with 161 points, while Riggins ranked second with 144, making them the first teammates to finish a season as the NFL's top two scorers since 1951.The Redskins defense led the league in the fewest rushing yards allowed (1,289).
Pro Bowl defensive tackleDave Butz recorded 11.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. On the other side of the line, defensive endDexter Manley recorded 11 sacks and an interception. Defensive back Mark Murphy led the NFL with 9 interceptions, while the other starters in the secondary,Vernon Dean , Anthony Washington andKen Coffey , along with rookie nickel backDarrell Green , combined for 13 interceptions.Los Angeles Raiders
Meanwhile, the Raiders, in their second season in Los Angeles after moving from
Oakland, California , made it to their fourth Super Bowl in team history after posting a 12-4 regular season record. Raiders quarterbackJim Plunkett completed 230 out of 379 (60.7 percent) of his passes for 2,935 yards and 20 touchdowns. His favorite target was tight endTodd Christensen , who led the NFL with 92 receptions for 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wide receiversCliff Branch andMalcolm Barnwell combined for 74 receptions, 1,209 yards, and 6 touchdowns. But the largest impact offensive player was halfbackMarcus Allen . In just his second NFL season, Allen led the team in rushing yards (1,014), and total yards from scrimmage (1,604), while also ranking second on the team in receptions (68) and touchdowns (11). But Allen was not the only key running back on the team. Running backsKenny King andFrank Hawkins also combined for 1,119 total rushing and receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns.On defense, their 3-man front was led by
Pro Bowl defensive linemenHowie Long andLyle Alzado . The linebacking corps was led by Pro BowlersRod Martin andMatt Millen . Plus, cornerbacksLester Hayes and Mike Haynes were widely considered to be the best defensive backs in the NFL.Playoffs
The Raiders only allowed a combined total of 24 points in their playoff victories over the
Pittsburgh Steelers , 38-10, and theSeattle Seahawks (who had beaten the Raiders twice during the regular season), 30-14. Allen had been exceptionally effective in the playoffs, gaining a total of 375 combined yards and scoring 3 touchdowns. And the defense limited Seahawks running backCurt Warner , the leading rusher in the AFC (1,449 yards), to just 26 yards on 11 carries.Meanwhile, the Redskins crushed the
Los Angeles Rams , 51-7, and then narrowly defeated theSan Francisco 49ers , 24-21, with kickerMark Moseley kicking the game winning field goal with just 40 seconds left in the final period. Just like the previous postseason, Riggins was a key contributor, rushing for a combined playoff total of 242 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 2 games. In doing so, Riggins extended his NFL record of consecutive playoff games with at least 100 rushing yards to 6. Brown also was a key contributor in both playoff wins, recording a combined total of 11 receptions for 308 yards and a touchdown. Washington's defense was also just as effective at stopping their postseason opponent's rushing attack as they had been during the regular season, limiting running backsEric Dickerson andWendell Tyler to a combined total of 60 rushing yards. Dickerson was the NFL's leading rusher with 1,808 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season, but could only gain 16 yards on 10 carries against the Redskins defense.uper Bowl pregame news
Coming into Super Bowl XVIII, the Redskins were favored to win because of their offense, their number one rated defense against the run, their league best 14-2 regular season record, and their Super Bowl win from last season. Also, the Redskins had defeated the Raiders during an
October 2 regular season game, 37-35, by scoring 17 points in the final 6 minutes of the game.Television and entertainment
The game was broadcast in the
United States byCBS and featured the broadcast team of play-by-play announcerPat Summerall andcolor commentator John Madden.The pregame festivities featured the
University of Florida Fightin' Gator Band and theFlorida State University Marching Chiefs .Singer Barry Manilow performed the national anthem. The coin toss ceremony featuredPro Football Hall of Fame fullback and defensive tackleBronko Nagurski .The halftime show was a "Salute to Superstars of Silver Screen" featuring the
University of Florida andFlorida State University Bands.Apple's famous "1984" television commercial, introducing the
Apple Macintosh computer and directed byRidley Scott , ran during a timeout in the third quarter. The advertisement changed how the Super Bowl would be used as a media advertising platform.Voice-over work for the highlight package to Super Bowl XVIII was
John Facenda 's final project forNFL Films . Facenda died a little more than eight months after the game.Following the game, CBS aired the pilot episode of "
Airwolf ".Game summary
During the first half the Raiders scored on offense, defense and special teams, becoming the first team to score two non-offensive touchdowns in a Super Bowl. Less than five minutes into the game, Los Angeles' Derrick Jensen blocked a Redskins'
Jeff Hayes punt deep in Washington territory and recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead, somehow managing to outrunLester Hayes to the ball. On their ensuing drive, Washington was forced to punt, but Los Angeles punt returner Ted Watts muffed the kick and Washington safetyGreg Williams recovered the ball at the Raiders 42-yard line. However, the Redskins could only advance to 27-yard line and came away with no points after kickerMark Moseley missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.Early in the second quarter, Raiders quarterback
Jim Plunkett completed a 50-yard pass to wide receiverCliff Branch , advancing the ball to the Redskins' 15-yard line. Two plays later, Plunkett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Branch, increasing the lead to 14-0. Cliff Branch became just the 4th player to catch a touchdown in two different Super Bowls.On their next drive, the Redskins moved the ball 73 yards in 12 plays to the Raiders 7-yard line, with
Joe Theismann completing a 17-yard pass to receiverAlvin Garrett and 3 passes to tight endClint Didier for 50 yards. However, linebackerRod Martin broke up Theismann's third down pass attempt, forcing Washington to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Moseley. Los Angeles took the ensuing kickoff and drove 41 yards to the Redskins 39-yard line. The drive stalled when Plunkett's 3rd down pass fell incomplete, butRay Guy 's 27-yard punt pinned Washington back at their own 12-yard line with 12 seconds left in half. On the first play of their drive, Coach Joe Gibbs had Theismann run a screen play called "Rocket Screen", but Raiders linebackerJack Squirek intercepted the pass and returned it for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 21-3 halftime lead. The defense was prepared for the play, as Theismann had successfully completed an identical screen pass toJoe Washington for a 67-yard gain in their 37-35 victory over the Raiders onOctober 2 . In fact, Los Angeles linebackers coach Charlie Sumner had sent Squirek onto the field as a last second substitution specifically to cover Washington. "I was mad," said linebackerMatt Millen , who had to run off the field to avoid a penalty. "I'd called a blitz, and I was cranked up for it, but he told Jack to play the screen and sent him in. I guess Charlie knows what he's doing, huh?" [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/features/superbowl/archives/18/]The Redskins regrouped in the second half, and scoring on their opening drive by marching 70 yards in 9 plays. First, Garrett returned the opening kickoff 35 yards from 5 yards deep in the end zone to the Washington 30-yard line. Then, Theismann completed a 23-yard pass to receiver Charlie Brown to the Raiders' 47-yard line. Eight plays later, fullback
John Riggins finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. (Riggins became the second player to run for touchdowns in back-to-back Super Bowls. He had one inSuper Bowl XVII en route to winning that game's Super Bowl MVP). Moseley's extra point attempt was blocked by reserve tight endDon Hasselbeck , but the Redskins had cut the score to 21-9 and were just 2 touchdowns away from taking the lead.However the Raiders completely took over the rest of the game, preventing any chance of a Washington comeback. On the ensuing drive, Washington defensive back
Darrell Green was called for a 38-yard pass interference penalty while trying to cover Raiders receiverMalcolm Barnwell , setting up running backMarcus Allen 's 5-yard touchdown run 7 plays later to make the score 28-9. Late in the third quarter, the Redskins had an opportunity to score after defensive back Anthony Washington forced and recovered a fumble from Branch at the Raiders 35-yard line. They moved the ball 9 yards in their next 3 plays, and then faced fourth down and 1. Washington attempted to convert the fourth down with a run by Riggins, just like their successful fourth down conversion against theMiami Dolphins in the previous Super Bowl. But this time, Riggins was tackled by Martin for no gain.On the next play, the last play of the third quarter, Plunkett handed the ball off to Allen, who started to run left as the play was designed. But after taking an unusually wide turn in that direction, Allen then he saw a lot of defenders in front of him and cut back to the middle before taking off for a then-Super Bowl record 74-yard touchdown run, increasing Los Angeles' lead to 35-9.
In the final period, the Raiders sacked Theismann 3 times, forcing him to fumble once, and intercepted a pass. Meanwhile, a 39-yard run from Allen set up a 21-yard field goal from kicker
Chris Bahr to make the final score of the game 38-9.Plunkett finished the game with 16 out of 25 pass completions for 172 yards and a touchdown. Theismann threw for more yards then Plunkett (243), but was just 16 out of 35 and was intercepted twice. He was also sacked 6 times. Branch was the top receiver of the game with 6 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. Guy punted 7 times for 299 yards (42.7 avg), with 244 net yards (34.8 avg) and planted 5 of his 7 punts in the 20. for Martin recorded a sack, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery. Riggins was the leading rusher for the Redskins with 64 yards and a touchdown. Brown was their top receiver with 3 receptions for 93 yards. Tight end
Clint Didier caught 5 passes for 65 yards. Garrett recorded 100 yards on kickoff returns, and one reception for 17 yards.The Raiders were the first team to appear in, and win, the Super Bowl reprersenting two different cities. They were also the first team to score an offensive, defensive and special teams touchdown in the same Super Bowl. The Redskins became the second defending champion to lose a Super Bowl (their divisional rivals, the
Dallas Cowboys , were the first, losingSuper Bowl XIII after winningSuper Bowl XII ).coring summary
*LA - TD: Derrick Jensen recovered blocked punt in end zone (Chris Bahr kick) 7-0 LA
*LA - TD: Cliff Branch 12 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick) 14-0 LA
*WAS - FG: Mark Moseley 24 yards 14-3 LA
*LA - TD: Jack Squirek 5 yard interception return (Chris Bahr kick) 21-3 LA
*WAS - TD: John Riggins 1 yard run (kick blocked) 21-9 LA
*LA - TD: Marcus Allen 5 yard run (Chris Bahr kick) 28-9 LA
*LA - TD: Marcus Allen 74 yard run (Chris Bahr kick) 35-9 LA
*LA - FG: Chris Bahr 21 yards 38-9 LAtarting lineups
L.A. Raiders Washington OFFENSE
Cliff Branch 21 WRArt Monk 81Bruce Davis 79 LTJoe Jacoby 66Charley Hannah 73 LGRuss Grimm 68Dave Dalby 50 CJeff Bostic 53Mickey Marvin 65 RGMark May 73 Henry Lawrence 70 RTGeorge Starke 74Todd Christensen 46 TEDon Warren 85Malcolm Barnwell 80 WR Charlie Brown 87Jim Plunkett 16 QBJoe Theismann 7Kenny King 33 RBJohn Riggins 44Marcus Allen 32 RB/TERick Walker 88 DEFENSEHowie Long 75 LETodd Liebenstein 79Reggie Kinlaw 62 NT/LTDave Butz 65Lyle Alzado 77 RE/RTDarryl Grant 77Ted Hendricks 83 LOLB/REDexter Manley 72Matt Millen 55 LILB/LLBMel Kaufman 55 Bob Nelson 51 RILB/MLBNeal Olkewicz 52Rod Martin 53 ROLB/RLBRich Milot 57Lester Hayes 37 LCB Anthony Washington 24 Mike Haynes 22 RCBDarrell Green 28 Mike Davis 36 SSKen Coffey 48Vann McElroy 26 FS Mark Murphy 29*Referee:
Gene Barth
*Umpire: Gordon Wells
*Head Linesman: Jerry Bergman
*Line Judge: Bob Beeks
*Field Judge: Fritz Graf
*Side Judge: Gil Mace
*Back Judge: Ben Tompkinsee also
*
1983 NFL season
*NFL playoffs, 1983-84 References
* [http://www.superbowl.com/ Super Bowl official website]
*cite book | title=2006 NFL Record and Fact Book | publisher=Time Inc. Home Entertainment | id=ISBN 1-933405-32-5
*cite book | title=Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League | publisher=Harper Collins | id=ISBN 1-933405-32-5
*cite book | title=The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 | id=ISBN 0-89204-523-X
* http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/super/superbowl-plays.htm Super Bowl play-by-plays] fromUSA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
* [http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/superbowl/2005/superbowl-alltime-odds.htm All-Time Super Bowl Odds] from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
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