Super Bowl XVI - Game Summary

Game Summary

First Quarter The Bengals had the first opportunity to score early in the game. After returning the opening kickoff 17 yards, San Francisco's Amos Lawrence was hit by Bengals linebacker Guy Frazier and fumbled at his own 26-yard line (the first time in a Super Bowl that a turnover took place on the opening kick), where John Simmons recovered for Cincinnati. Quarterback Ken Anderson then started the drive off with a completion to wide receiver Isaac Curtis for 8 yards, and followed it up with an 11-yard pass to tight end Dan Ross. Fullback Pete Johnson's 2-yard run then moved to ball to the 5-yard line. However, Anderson threw an incomplete pass on first down, then was sacked by defensive end Jim Stuckey on second down for a 6-yard loss. Facing third down, Anderson tried to connect with Curtis in the end zone, but 49ers safety Dwight Hicks intercepted the ball at the 5-yard line and returned it 27 yards to the 32.

From there, quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers offense to the Cincinnati 47-yard line with 3 consecutive completions. Then, the 49ers ran a fake reverse – flea flicker play that involved wide receiver Freddie Solomon and ended with Montana completing a 14-yard pass to tight end Charle Young at the 33. Three running plays and Montana's 14-yard completion to Solomon moved the ball to the 1-yard line. Finally, Montana scored from there on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, giving San Francisco a 7-0 lead.

Second Quarter The Bengals threatened to score early in the second quarter when they advanced across the San Francisco 30-yard line. But after catching a 19-yard pass from Anderson at the 5-yard line, wide receiver Cris Collinsworth lost a fumble while being tackled by 49ers defensive back Eric Wright. After recovering the fumble, the 49ers drove for a Super Bowl record 92 yards, scoring on an 10-yard pass from Montana to fullback Earl Cooper, increasing their lead to 14–0. The play Cooper scored on had not been called by Bill Walsh for 2 years. Cooper's leaping, celebratory spike of the football after scoring became the photo Sports Illustrated used for its post-game cover.

With just over 4 minutes left in the half, Montana lead the 49ers on another scoring drive. First, he completed a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Dwight Clark at the Cincinnati 49-yard line. Then, running back Ricky Patton ran twice, advanced the ball to the 39-yard line. Montana's next two completions to Clark and Solomon moved the ball to the 5-yard line. But then Montana threw 2 straight incompletions, forcing the 49ers to settle for kicker Ray Wersching's 22-yard field goal to increase their lead to 17-0.

With just 15 seconds left in the half, Ray Wersching's ensuing squib kick was muffed by Bengals running back Archie Griffin, and the 49ers recovered the ball on the Bengals 4-yard line. According to the NFL's highlight film for the game, the 49ers had discovered Wersching's ability to effectively use the squib during their 1981 season opener when a leg injury kept him from fully powering into the football. A false start penalty against San Francisco prevented them from attempting to score a touchdown, but Wersching kicked a 26-yard field goal, increasing the 49ers' lead, 20–0, which was the largest halftime lead in Super Bowl history to that date.

Third Quarter After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, the Bengals drove 83 yards in 9 plays, scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by Anderson to cut the deficit to 20–7. This seemed to fire up Cincinnati's defense, who limited the 49ers to only 8 plays and 4 offensive yards for the entire third quarter.

Later in the quarter, Bengals defensive back Mike Fuller's 17-yard punt return gave the Bengals the ball at midfield. 2 penalties and a 4-yard sack pushed them back to their own 37, but on third down, Collinsworth's 49-yard reception from Anderson moved the ball the San Francisco 14-yard line. Johnson then later successfully converted on a fourth down run, giving the Bengals a first down on the 3-yard line. On that play, the 49ers only had 10 players on the field because LB Keena Turner, who was seriously ill with the chicken pox during Super Bowl week, missed a call to enter the game.

On first down, Johnson drove into the line and gained 2 yards down the 49ers 1-yard line. The Bengals then tried to run Johnson into the line on second down, but lost a yard when a charging rush prevented the Bengals from executing their blocking assignments. Cincinnati receiver David Verser also missed a blocking audible by Anderson. On third down, 49ers linebacker Dan Bunz made probably the key defensive play of the game. Anderson faked to Johnson and threw a swing pass out to running back Charles Alexander, who was isolated on Bunz. Bunz, however, corralled Alexander at the line of scrimmage on an open-field tackle and kept him from reaching the end zone. Highlights showed that Alexander was supposed to have entered the end zone before making his cut and his early turn prevented a touchdown pass.

Rather than attempting a field goal on fourth down, the Bengals sent Johnson into the middle of the line one last time. But San Francisco linebackers Dan Bunz, Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds and cornerback Ronnie Lott tackled him for no gain, giving the ball back to the 49ers.

Fourth Quarter The 49ers only gained 8 yards on their ensuing drive, and Bengals got the ball back after receiving Jim Miller's 44 yard punt at their own 47-yard line. Taking advantage of their great starting field position, the Bengals marched 53 yards in 7 plays and scored a touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Anderson to Ross. With the score, the deficit was cut to 20-14 with 10:06 left in the fourth quarter.

But the 49ers countered with a 50-yard, 9-play drive that took 4:41 off the clock, and included Montana's 22-yard pass to receiver Mike Wilson and 7 consecutive running plays. Wilson's reception was a play Bill Walsh specifically designed for the Super Bowl that capitalized on the Bengals' doing a long-run coverage on Wilson anytime he ran a pass route over 20 yards; Wilson simply ran 25 yards straight out and then cut back to receive Montana's precision pass. Wersching ended the drive with a 40-yard field goal to give San Francisco a 23-14 lead with just 5 minutes left.

On the Bengals first play after receiving the ensuing kickoff, Wright intercepted a pass from Anderson. After returning the interception 25 yards, Wright fumbled while being tackled by Bengals guard Max Montoya, but San Francisco linebacker Willie Harper recovered the ball at the Bengals 22-yard line.

The 49ers then ran the ball on 5 consecutive plays, taking 3 minutes off the clock, to advance to the Cincinnati 6-yard line. Wersching then kicked his fourth field goal to increase the 49ers lead to 26–14 with less than 2 minutes left in the game. Wersching's 4 field goals tied a Super Bowl record set by Green Bay Packers kicker Don Chandler in Super Bowl II. Because of his 4 field goals and the close score, this is the only Super Bowl in which the losing team scored more touchdowns than the winning team (Cincinnati 3, San Francisco 2).

Anderson completed 6 consecutive passes on the Bengals ensuing drive, the last one a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ross, to make the score 26–21, but with less than 20 seconds left in the game. The Bengals tried an onside kick, but Clark recovered the ball for the 49ers, allowing San Francisco to run out the clock to win the game.