Super Bowl XVIII - Game Summary

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 Jeff Hayes' punt deep in Washington territory and recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead. On their ensuing drive, Washington was forced to punt, but Los Angeles punt returner Ted Watts muffed the catch and Washington safety Greg Williams recovered the ball at the Raiders 42-yard line. However, the Redskins could only advance to the Raider's 27-yard line and came away with no points after kicker Mark Moseley missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.

Early in the second quarter, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett completed a 50-yard pass to wide receiver Cliff 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 fourth 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 receiver Alvin Garrett and three passes to tight end Clint Didier for 50 yards. However, linebacker Rod 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 third down pass fell incomplete, but Ray Guy's 27-yard punt pinned Washington back at their own 12-yard line with 12 seconds left in the half. On the first play of their drive, Coach Joe Gibbs had Theismann run a screen play called "Rocket Screen", but Raiders linebacker Jack 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 to 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 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?"

The Redskins regrouped in the second half and scored on their opening drive by marching 70 yards in nine 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 in Super Bowl XVII en route to winning that game's Super Bowl MVP). Moseley's extra point attempt was blocked by reserve tight end Don Hasselbeck, but the Redskins had cut the score to 21-9 and were just two 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 receiver Malcolm Barnwell, setting up running back Marcus 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 nine yards in their next three plays, and then faced fourth down and one. Washington attempted to convert the fourth down with a run by Riggins, just like their successful fourth down conversion against the Miami 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 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. This play would later be immortalized by one of the last great lines from John Facenda who said, "Here comes Marcus Allen, running with the night."

In the final period, the Raiders sacked Theismann three 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 than Plunkett (243), but was just 16 out of 35 and was intercepted twice. He was also sacked six times. Branch was the top receiver of the game with six receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. Guy punted seven times for 299 yards (42.7 average), with 244 net yards (34.8 average) and planted five of his seven punts in the 20. 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 three receptions for 93 yards. Tight end Clint Didier caught five passes for 65 yards. Garrett recorded 100 yards on kickoff returns, and one reception for 17 yards.

After the game, Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard said that Hayes and Haynes were the difference in the game. Haynes was still a Patriot during the teams' regular season matchup, and his addition gave the Raiders two shutdown corners. According to Beathard, Hayes and Haynes "changed our whole game plan." Hayes had only one tackle, but had the left side of the field covered so effectively that Theismann hardly bothered to throw there. Haynes had two tackles, one interception, and two pass breakups.

The Raiders were the first team to appear in, and win, the Super Bowl representing 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, losing Super Bowl XIII after winning Super Bowl XII).