Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Los Angeles Raiders to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1983 season. The Raiders defeated the Redskins, 38–9. The Raiders' 38 points scored and 29-point margin of victory broke Super Bowl records; it remains the most points scored by an AFC team in a Super Bowl, later matched by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. This is the first time the city of Tampa hosted the Super Bowl and was the AFC's last Super Bowl win until Super Bowl XXXII, won by the Denver Broncos.
"1984 Super Bowl" redirects here. For the Super Bowl that was played at the completion of the 1984 season, see Super Bowl XIX.
Washington Redskins (1)
(NFC)
(14–2)
January 22, 1984
72,920[3]
"Salute to Superstars of the Silver Screen"
46.4
(an estimated 77.62 million viewers)[4]
71
$368,000
Jack Buck and Hank Stram
The Redskins entered the game as the defending Super Bowl XVII champions, finished the 1983 regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, led the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, and set a then-NFL record in scoring with 541 points. The Raiders posted a 12–4 regular-season record in 1983, their second in Los Angeles, having moved there from Oakland in May 1982.
The Raiders dominated Super Bowl XVIII outgaining the Redskins in total yards, 385 to 283, and built a 21–3 halftime lead, aided by touchdowns on Derrick Jensen's blocked punt recovery, and Jack Squirek's 5-yard interception return on a screen pass with seven seconds left in the first half. This is also the second out of five Super Bowls where the winning team outscored the losing team in every quarter. Los Angeles's defense also sacked Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann six times and intercepted him twice. Raiders halfback Marcus Allen, who became the third Heisman Trophy winner to be named the Super Bowl MVP, carried the ball 20 times for a then-record total of 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a then-record 74-yard run in the third quarter. He also caught 2 passes for 18 yards. Allen was the first running back who was a halfback to be named Most Valuable Player. All previous running backs who won the MVP were fullbacks.
The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 77.62 million viewers.[4] The broadcast was notable for airing the famous "1984" television commercial, introducing the Apple Macintosh. The NFL highlight film of this game is the final voiceover work for famous NFL narrator John Facenda.
As of the 2023 season, this is the Raiders' most recent Super Bowl championship, and it was also the only time that a Los Angeles–based team had won the Super Bowl until their then cross-town rival Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.[5]
Background[edit]
Host selection process[edit]
The NFL awarded Super Bowl XVIII to Tampa on June 3, 1981, at the owners' meetings in Detroit. This was the first time Tampa hosted the game, and it was the first Super Bowl to be played in Florida in a city other than Miami. Tampa Stadium won the rights to host the game in a landslide, earning 24 out of the 26 votes (there were two abstentions).[6][7] Three other cities submitted bids for XVIII: Pasadena (Rose Bowl), Miami (Orange Bowl), and New Orleans (Superdome). Detroit (Silverdome) and Dallas (Cotton Bowl) also made presentations, but stated they were only interested in bidding for Super Bowl XIX. Detroit, in particular, was a long shot, as they were slated to host Super Bowl XVI in just over six months, and owners were not ready to award them a second game before they finished their first.[8]
Tampa entered the meeting as a heavy favorite to land the game, representing a new market for the Super Bowl.[6][7] The representatives led by Tampa mayor Bob Martinez and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse touted the local hotels, proximity to Walt Disney World, and the availability of luxury boxes at the stadium. They even hired Pat Summerall to narrate their film presentation.[9][10] They also received praise from the other owners for their fan support. The Buccaneers had joined the league as an expansion team in 1976, but despite starting 0–26, maintained a loyal fanbase. Pasadena received only one vote, owing much to the fact that they were already slated to host XVII. New Orleans fell out of consideration after a lackluster reception five months earlier at XV. Meanwhile, Miami, back in the running, was also voted down, in an apparent effort to continue providing Dolphins owner Joe Robbie with leverage to build a new stadium.[11][12][13][14] With no outstanding options, owners decided to postpone the awarding of XIX until the 1982 meeting.[6][7]
Broadcasting[edit]
The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS, the last Super Bowl before ABC was added to the annual broadcasting rotation with the next game the following year (this was added to it as part of a new television contract that began with the 1982 season and a new alternation process that began with the previous game on NBC at the end of that season). The CBS broadcast team consisted of play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator John Madden. Hosting pregame coverage for The Super Bowl Today was Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George (in her final assignment for CBS), and Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder. Other contributors included Jim Hill, sports director of CBS station KNXT in Los Angeles; Charlsie Cantey; Pat O'Brien; Dick Vermeil; Tom Brookshier; Hank Stram; John Tesh; and CBS News correspondent Charles Osgood. During this game, CBS introduced a new theme and open that would later be used for their college football coverage until it was replaced by the current college football theme introduced on Super Bowl XXI (the next Super Bowl CBS aired at the end of the 1986 season).
CBS Radio had the game nationally with Jack Buck and Hank Stram. Dick Stockton would serve as pregame host for CBS Radio coverage; while Musburger would also contribute halftime commentary in addition to hosting CBS television coverage[16] Locally, Bill King and Rich Marotta called the game on KRLA in Los Angeles; and Frank Herzog, Sam Huff, and Sonny Jurgensen were on WMAL-AM on Washington, D.C.
CBS's Super Bowl lead-out program was the pilot episode of Airwolf.
The game was simulcast in Canada on CTV and in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.
Apple's famous "1984" television commercial, introducing the Macintosh computer and directed by Ridley Scott, ran during a timeout in the third quarter. The advertisement changed how the Super Bowl would be used as a media advertising platform.
The highlight package to Super Bowl XVIII was voiceover artist John Facenda's final project for NFL Films. Facenda died eight months after the game. An expanded version of Black Sunday (the highlight film's title) has appeared on NFL's Greatest Games, containing an additional hour of game footage and more audio play-by-play from both the local KRLA and WMAL radio broadcasts.
Entertainment[edit]
The pregame festivities, which paid tribute to George Halas, featured the University of Florida Fightin' Gator Marching Band and the Florida State University Marching Chiefs. After a moment of silence for Halas, singer Barry Manilow performed the national anthem. The coin toss ceremony featured Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback and defensive tackle Bronko Nagurski.
The halftime show was a "Salute to Superstars of Silver Screen."
Game summary[edit]
First quarter[edit]
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. After both teams forced punts to start the game, Los Angeles tight end Derrick Jensen blocked Jeff Hayes' punt deep in Washington territory and recovered the ball in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game to give the Raiders a 7–0 lead. On their ensuing drive, the Redskins were forced to punt, but Raiders cornerback Ted Watts unknowingly deflected the ball with his arm during a block, and Redskins safety Greg Williams recovered the ball at the Raiders 42-yard line. However, Washington was only able to advance to the Los Angeles 27-yard line and came away with no points after kicker Mark Moseley missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide left. After the teams traded punts again, Raiders running back Marcus Allen ran 20 yards in two plays to reach the Redskins 42 before the end of the first quarter.
Second quarter[edit]
However, the Raiders could not go any further than the Washington 39 and were forced to punt again to start the second quarter. During the kick, Los Angeles punter Ray Guy prevented a disaster when he leaped to pull in a high snap one-handed, before punting through the end zone for a touchback. After the Redskins were forced to punt, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett completed a 50-yard pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch, advancing the ball to the Redskins' 15-yard line. Branch said that the Raiders took advantage of the tailwind after the teams switched sides.[17] Two plays later, Plunkett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Branch, increasing Los Angeles' lead to 14–0. One of the key contributors on the touchdown play was center Dave Dalby. After snapping the ball, Dalby had no one in front of him to block, so he backpedaled into the backfield and spotted linebacker Rich Milot coming at Plunkett from the left side, managing to throw a block against him just in time to prevent a sack and enable Plunkett to throw the ball. Branch became just the fourth player to catch a touchdown pass in two different Super Bowls (after Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, and Butch Johnson).
On their next drive, the Redskins moved the ball 73 yards in 12 plays to the Raiders 7-yard line, with quarterback Joe Theismann completing a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Alvin Garrett on 3rd-and-17 and three passes to tight end Clint Didier for a total of 50 yards. However, linebacker Rod Martin broke up Theismann's third-down pass attempt, forcing Washington to settle for Moseley's 24-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 14–3. Los Angeles took the ensuing kickoff and drove 41 yards to the Redskins 40-yard line. The drive stalled when Plunkett's third-down pass fell incomplete, but Guy's 27-yard punt pinned Washington back at their own 12-yard line with 12 seconds left in the half. From there, head coach Joe Gibbs had Theismann run a screen play called "Rocket Screen", but Raiders linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted the pass and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown to give Los Angeles a 21–3 halftime lead. The defense was prepared for the play, as Theismann had successfully completed an identical screen pass to running back Joe Washington for a 67-yard gain in their 37–35 victory over the Raiders on October 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 Raiders linebacker Matt 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?"[18]