SUPER BOWL XVIII RETROSPECTIVE

1984 - RAIDERS IN A ROUT 

Jack Squirek on the cover of SI.  The beloved Raiders of my youth won their third Super Bowl in seven (7) years.  I watched the game at my folks house in TC.

Game moves up a week to January 22 and
kick-off is moved up to 4:30 pm EST.

  

Good God these are horrible graphics!   My vote for the worst program cover to date.



BEST QUOTE
 

"I’d run over Russ Grimm's mother, too.” 
-Raiders LB Matt Millen on being told that Redskins' Guard Russ Grimm said he'd run over his mother to win the Super Bowl.




BEST SUPER BOWL AD EVER ?

  

 

 Most critics seem to think that Apple's "1984" commercial introducing the Mac computer is the

 greatest Super Bowl Ad ever aired and perhaps

the best TV ad of all time.

Super Bowl XVIII: Marcus Allen, Rod Martin lead Raiders in rout of Redskins

Allen had two touchdowns, and Martin led a defense that dominated the most prolific offense in NFL history as the L.A. Raiders stuffed the defending world champion Washington Redskins, 38-9.

By Joe Belock / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, January 3, 2014, 10:29 PM

Rod Martin had Super bad timing. 

The Raiders linebacker played two of the greatest defensive games in Super Bowl history. But both of his nights were overshadowed by two of the all-time Super Bowl performances.

In Super Bowl XV, Martin intercepted a Super Bowl-record three passes and recovered a fumble on a kickoff but did not get the MVP award as quarterback Jim Plunkett capped his riches-to-rags-to-riches football rebirth.

For an encore in Super Bowl XVIII, Martin led a defense that dominated the most prolific offense in NFL history as the L.A. Raiders stuffed the defending world champion Washington Redskins, 38-9. Martin had a sack, a fumble recovery, a key pass breakup in the second quarter and a huge stop of John Riggins, the previous year’s Super Bowl MVP, on a big fourth-and-1.

No one seemed to notice as Marcus Allen cut-back his way into history with a Super Bowl-record 191 yards and two touchdowns. The second-year superstar out of USC gained 74 of them on the greatest run in Super Bowl history, cutting back on a broken play from left to right and scampering through the entire Redskin defense for a spectacular third-quarter touchdown. That TD came on the play right after Martin had stuffed Riggins. Allen’s first TD, also in the third quarter, came on another cutback, not nearly as dramatic but still amazing, from five yards out.

Allen’s two TDs put the game away but the defense had put the Raiders in control by that point. The Raiders scored first on a Derrick Jensen blocked punt for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Plunkett threw passes of 50 and 12 yards to Cliff Branch to make it 14-0.

Joe Theismann rallied the Skins, driving them to the Raider 7. But Martin broke up a third-down pass and forced the Skins to settle for a field goal.

The Raiders then had the Skins pinned deep in their own territory right before halftime when backup linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a screen pass and ran it in for a touchdown to make it 21-3.

Theismann drove the Skins 70 yards for a touchdown, a one-yard run by Riggins, to start the second half to make it 21-9 (the extra point was blocked). The Raiders answered with Allen’s first TD, set up by a 38-yard pass interference penalty. Trailing 28-9, the Skins recovered a fumble on the Raider 35. Three plays later, they faced fourth-and-1. In Super Bowl XVII, Riggins broke a 43-yard TD run on fourth-and-1 to give the Skins the lead for good. This time, Martin was there to stuff him. Allen then zigged and zagged his way to immortality. Super Bowl XVIII was over.

 Howie Long & Lyle Alzado.  All natural.

The Redskins had beaten the Raiders in the regular season, 37-35. In November, the Raiders sent two draft picks to the Patriots for the rights to cornerback Mike Haynes, who was sitting out in a contract dispute. Haynes teamed with Lester Hayes to form a shutdown corner duo. In the Super Bowl, the pair silenced Art Monk and Alvin Garrett, leaving the linebackers free to either rush Theismann or help gang up on Riggins. Martin did both, and the Raiders were Super again.

FUN FACTS

The victory improved the Los Angeles Raiders' franchise Super Bowl record to 3-1.
The loss dropped the Washington Redskins' franchise Super Bowl record to 1-2.

The coin toss was performed by Bronko Nagurski.

The Los Angeles Raiders received a winner's share of $36,000.

The Washington Redskins received a loser's share of $18,000.

The average cost of a 30-second commercial was $450,000.

The face value of Super Bowl XVIII tickets was $60.

The Washington Redskins were 3 point favorites.