Super
Bowl History 1980 - 1989
Super Bowl XIV
Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers
would repeat to win Super Bowl 14 at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, California on January 20th, 1980 against
Ray Malavasi's LA Rams. Terry Bradshaw took home MVP
for the second straight year as the Steelers won their 4th
Super Bowl before any other team had won three. John Stallworth
and Lynn Swan each caught touchdowns, while Franco
Harris ran for two. Dave Elmendorf, Rod Perry, and
Eddie Brown intercepted three Bradshaw passes, but it wasn't
enough. Lawrence McCutcheon connected with Ron Smith
on a halfback pass but quarterback Vince Ferragamo couldn't
make the big throw for the Rams. Unsung hero, Larry Anderson,
had 162 return yards setting up the Steeler win, 31-19.
Super Bowl XV
Tom Flores' Oakland Raiders beat
Dick Vermeil's Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in
Super Bowl 15 on January 25th, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome
in New Orleans. Ron Jaworski had 291 yards, but was
intercepted by linebacker Rod Martin three times. Jim Plunkett
threw three touchdowns in Super Bowl Fifteen; an 80 yard
bomb to Kenny King, and two shorter scores to Cliff
Branch. An Eagle defense led by John Bunting and Herman
Edwards couldn't slow Plunkett and Mark Van Eeghen (75 yards).
Ted Hendricks, Matt Millen, Dave Browning, and Martin led
the stout Raider defense.
Super Bowl XVI
On January 24, 1982 Super Bowl 16 was played
in Pontiac, Michigan at the Pontiac Sliverdome. Bill
Walsh's San Francisco 49ers faced Forrest Gregg's Cincinnati
Bengals. MVP, Joe Montana, inched his Forty-Niners
into Super Bowl Sixteen by completing a last second touchdown
to Dwight Clark in the NFC Title Game, known as "The
Catch". Montana took home MVP honors, throwing one
touchdown to Earl Cooper, while running for another. Ray Wersching
had a Super Bowl record 4 field goals. Ken Anderson
brought the Bengals roaring back with a touchdown run and
pass to Dan Ross. But early turnovers by Chris Collinsworth
and Anderson were too much to overcome as Eric Wright,
Lynn Thomas, Ronnie Lott, and Dwight Hicks
led San Francisco's defense to victory.
Super Bowl XVII
On January 30th, 1983, Joe Gibbs' Washington
Redskins beat Don Shula's Miami Dolphins 27-17
at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Super Bowl
17 MVP, John Riggins, rushed for a record 166 yards, and Joe
Theismann threw two touchdowns, to Alvin Garrett and Charlie
Brown, leading the Redskin comeback in the second half.
Miami's 17 Super Bowl Seventeen points came in the first half;
a 76 yard touchdown pass from David Woodley to Jimmy
Cefalo, a short field goal by Uwe Von Schamann, and
a 98 yard kickoff return by Fulton Walker. Vernon
Dean and Mark Murphy led the Washington defense that held
Woodley and Don Strock to 4-17 passing.
Super Bowl XVIII
Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins were
back as Defending Champs for Super Bowl 18 in Tampa, Florida
on January 30th, 1983. Super Bowl Eighteen was different for
Joe, as Tom Flores' Los Angeles Raiders blew-out Joe
Theismann (2-ints), John Riggins (64-yds) and the rest
of the Redskins, 38-9, in the Super Bowl's most
lopsided contest yet. Marcus Allen literally ran away
with Super Bowl MVP, compiling over 200 total yards
and two touchdowns, with a record 192 rushing. Derrick Jensen
blocked a punt for a touchdown and linebacker Jack Squireck
returned an interception for a score to end the half. Jim
Plunkett tossed a TD to Cliff Branch adding fuel to
the fire.
Super Bowl XIX
On January 20th, 1985 Don Shula's
Miami Dolphins played Bill Walsh's San Francisco
49ers in Super Bowl 19 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford,
California. Two of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks of
all time, Dan Marino and Joe Montana, led their
respective teams into what promised to be an offensive explosion.
But Walsh's Nickel Defense held Marino well below season
averages while the Dolphins couldn't coral Super Bowl Nineteen
MVP Joe Montana (361 yards, 4 total touchdowns), Roger
Craig (3 scores), and Dwight Clark, as the Niners nailed Miami,
38-9. Manu Tuiasosopo, Ronnie Lott, and Eric C. Wright
halted Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, Tony Nathan,
and the Dolphins.
Super Bowl XX
In Super Bowl 20, on January 26th, 1986,
Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears destroyed Raymond Berry's
New England Patriots 46-10, in the Louisiana Superdome
in New Orleans. The Bear's "46 Zone" that
helped Chicago to a 15-1 record, recorded 7 sacks, holding
Steve Grogan, Tony Eason, Morgan Stanley, and the Patriots
to 10 points and just 7 yards rushing. One of the most
popular teams of all time, the Bears were led by Jim
McMahon, Walter "Sweetness" Payton, Mike Singletary,
Super Bowl MVP Richard Dent, Willie Gault, and rookie William
"Refrigerator" Perry. Their famous "Super
Bowl Shuffle" rap song peaked at #41 on the Billboard
charts. Their nearly perfect season, tagged the Bears one
of the greatest teams of all time.
Super Bowl XXI
On January 25th, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in
Pasadena, California, Dan Reeves' Denver Broncos
lost 39-20 to Bill Parcells' New York Football Giants
in Super Bowl 21. Super Bowl Twenty-One MVP, Phil Simms was
22-25, for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 88% completion
percentage is a Super Bowl record. John Elway
led the Broncos in rushing and passing, throwing for 304 yards.
Vance Johnson led the game with 121 yards, but neither could
bring home the Broncos' first Super Bowl. Joe Morris
and Mark Bevaro helped Simms control the second half as a
record 8 different players caught passes for the N.Y. Giants.
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl 22, played on January 31st, 1988
at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, saw
Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins maim Reeves' Denver
Broncos 42-10. John Elway threw a 56 yard touchdown
to Ricky Nattiel and Rich Karlis' field goal put the Broncos
up 10-0. It was false hope for Denver as the Redskins ran
off 42 unanswered points to win Super Bowl Twenty-Two.
MVP Doug William's had a record tying 4 touchdowns to Ricky
Sanders (2), Clint Didier (1), and Gary Clark (1).Two records
fell as Sanders had 193 yards receiving and rookie
runner Timmy Smith rushed for 204 yards. Led
by Barry Wilburn and Alvin Walton the Redskins held
Denver scoreless for the last three quarters.
Super Bowl XXIII
On January 22nd, 1989 at Joe Robbie
Stadium in Miami, Florida, Sam Wyche's Cincinnati
Bengals lost to Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers
in Super Bowl 23, 20-16. Super Bowl Twenty-Three MVP,
Jerry Rice, set a Super Bowl record with 215 yards receiving
and Joe Montana had a record 357 yards. Boomer Esiason,
Anthony Munoz, Tim McGee and Icky Woods all struggled against
Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley, Tim McKyer, and the 49er defense.
But, the Bengals' D, led by Jason Buck, Leon White
and Solomon Wilcots, made big plays when they had to,
as Cincinnati found themselves up 16-13 with 3:20 remaining.
Montana led an 11 play, 92 yard, game winning drive
that ended with a 10 yard touchdown pass to John Taylor
with 34 seconds remaining.
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