Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders 38 Washington Redskins 9 - MVP Raiders RB Marcus Allen
Super Bowl XVIII: Raiders 38 Redskins 9 - MVP Raiders RB Marcus Allen

Shattering John Riggins' record for rushing yards established the previous year, Allen spun and juked his way to 191 yards rushing in Oakland's 38-9 victory over the Redskins. The agile Allen, who averaged nearly 10.0 yards per rush in this game, scored both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, sealing the victory.

The Raiders were the underdogs as they had been in their two previous Super Bowl wins. The Redskins were the highest scoring team in National Football history and had beaten the Raiders in Washington earlier in the season, 37-35, in the 1983 season's most exciting game.

To get into Super Bowl XVIII, the Redskins demolished the Rams, 51-10, then held off the 49ers 24-21 to win the NFC Championship. The Raiders advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII with a convincing 38-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Championship Game, 30-14.

The Raiders dominated Washington from the beginning in Super Bowl XVIII and achieved the most lopsided victory in Super Bowl history, surpassing Green Bay's 35-10 win over Kansas City in Super Bowl I.

The Raiders took a 7-0 lead 4:52 into the game when Derrick Jensen blocked Jeff Hayes's punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. With 9:14 remaining in the first half, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett (Super Bowl XV MVP) fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch to complete a three-play, 65-yard drive.

Washington cut the Raiders' lead to 14-3 on a 24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley.

With seven seconds left in the first half, Raiders linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted Joe Theismann's pass at the Redskins' 5-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown to give Los Angeles a 21-3 halftime lead.

In the third period, running back Marcus Allen, who rushed for a Super Bowl-record 191 yards on 20 carries, increased the Raiders' lead to 35-9 on touchdown runs of five and 74 yards, the latter erasing the Super Bowl record of 58 yards set by Baltimore's Tom Matte in Super Bowl III.

Allen was named the game's most valuable player.

The victory over Washington raised Raiders coach Tom Flores' playoff record to 8-1, including a 27-10 win against Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV.

The 38 points scored by the Raiders were the highest total by a Super Bowl team. The previous high was 35 points by Green Bay in Super Bowl I.

The Raiders were again Super Bowl Champions. The third time in just eight years.

In accepting the Super Bowl trophy Owner Al Davis appropriately memorialized the team, the organization and the overwhelming victory:

    "Not only, in my opinion, are you the greatest Raider team of all time, I think you rank with the great teams of all times to have ever played any professional sport."

    "Tom Flores isn't just a great coach in our league. With all due respect, he's one of the greatest coaches of all time.

    "I want to say one thing to the fans and great players who wore the Silver and Black in the past all over the country. And I want to pay tribute to my partner, Ed McGah, who died earlier this winter. Again, you were magnificent. You dominated. And I love all of you, and you know that. Just win, baby!"

Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders 38 Washington Redskins 9 - MVP Raiders RB Marcus Allen
Super Bowl XVIII Logo

Super Bowl XVIII MVP: Raiders RB Marcus Allen

Super Bowl XVIII MVP: Raiders RB Marcus Allen
Super Bowl XVIII MVP: Raiders RB Marcus Allen

Shattering John Riggins' record for rushing yards established the previous year in Super Bowl XVII, Allen spun and juked his way to 191 yards rushing in Oakland's 38-9 victory over the Redskins.

The agile Allen, who averaged nearly 10.0 yards per rush in this game, scored both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, sealing the victory. He also had two receptions for 18 yards, giving him more than 200 yards from scrimmage.

As Washington's John Riggins had the year before, running back Marcus Allen made a spectacular run the signature play of the game.

While the Raiders set a Super Bowl record for points and victory margin in their 38-9 win over Washington, it was Allen's 74-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter that was the highlight of the team's impressive victory.

After taking a handoff from quarterback Jim Plunkett, Allen headed around left end. Bottled up there, he reversed field, turned the right corner and evaded several Redskins' tacklers on the way to the end zone. The run broke a record of 58 yards set by Tom Matte in Super Bowl III.

Allen scored his first Super Bowl touchdown midway through the third quarter. His 5-yard run finished off a 70-yard Los Angeles drive. Allen, the Most Valuable Player, broke Riggins' Super Bowl XVII rushing record with 191 yards on 20 carries.

Super Bowl XVIII Scoring

Teams Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Source: NFL
Washington Redskins03609
Los Angeles Raiders71414338

 

1st Quarter

Raiders: Jensen 0-yard blocked punt TD return (Bahr PAT), 4:52

2nd Quarter

Raiders: Branch 12-yard TD pass from Plunkett (Bahr PAT), 5:46

Redskins: Moseley 24-yard Field Goal, 11:55

Raiders: Squirek 5-yard TD interception return (Bahr PAT), 14:53

3rd Quarter

Redskins: Riggins 1-yard TD run (kick blocked), 4:08

Raiders: Allen 5-yard TD run (Bahr PAT), 7:54

Raiders: Allen 74-yard TD run (Bahr PAT), 15:00

4th Quarter

Raiders: Bahr 21-yard Field Goal, 12:36

 

Super Bowl XVIII: Washington Redskins Team Statistics

Source: NFL
Total First Downs19
Rushing First Downs7
Passing First Downs10
Penalty First Downs2
Total Net Yardage283
Total Offensive Plays73
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play3.9
Rushes32
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)90
Average Yards per Rush2.8
Passes Attempted35
Passes Completed16
Had Intercepted2
Tackled Attempting to Pass6
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass50
Yards Gained Passing (Net)193
Punts8
Average Distance32.4
Punt Returns2
Punt Return Yardage35
Kickoff Returns7
Kickoff Return Yardage132
Interception Return Yardage0
Fumbles1
Own Fumbles Recovered0
Opponent Fumbles Recovered2
Penalties4
Yards Penalized62
Total Points Scored 9
Touchdowns 1
Rushing1
Passing0
Returns0
Extra Points 0
Field Goals1
Fields Goals Attempted2
Safeties0
Third-Down Efficiency6/17
Fourth-Down Efficiency0/1
Time of Possession31:18

 

Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders Team Statistics

Source: NFL
Total First Downs18
Rushing First Downs8
Passing First Downs9
Penalty First Downs1
Total Net Yardage385
Total Offensive Plays60
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play6.4
Rushes33
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)231
Average Yards per Rush7.0
Passes Attempted25
Passes Completed16
Had Intercepted0
Tackled Attempting to Pass2
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass18
Yards Gained Passing (Net)154
Punts7
Average Distance42.7
Punt Returns2
Punt Return Yardage8
Kickoff Returns1
Kickoff Return Yardage17
Interception Return Yardage5
Fumbles3
Own Fumbles Recovered1
Opponent Fumbles Recovered1
Penalties7
Yards Penalized56
Total Points Scored 38
Touchdowns 5
Rushing2
Passing1
Returns1
Extra Points 5
Field Goals1
Fields Goals Attempted1
Safeties0
Third-Down Efficiency5/13
Fourth-Down Efficiency0/0
Time of Possession28:22

 

Super Bowl XVIII: Washington Redskins Player Stats

Source: NFL
PassingComp / AttYardsTDINT
Theismann16/3524302
RushingCarriesYardsTDLong
Riggins266418
Theismann31808
J. Washington3805
ReceivingCatchesYardsTDLong
Didier565020
Brown 393060
J. Washington 320010
Giaquinto221014
Monk126026
Garrett117017
Riggins1101
InterceptionsINTYardsLongTD
None
Punting#AVGLongBlocked
Hayes 737.0481
Punt Returns#/FCYardsLongTD
Green1/034340
Giaquinto 1/2110
Kickoff Returns#YardsLongTD
Garrett5100350
Grant132320
Kimball1000

 

Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders Player Stats

Source: NFL
PassingComp / AttYardsTDINT
Plunkett 16/2517210
RushingCarriesYardsTDLong
Allen20191274t
Pruitt517011
King312010
Willis1707
Hawkins3603
Plunkett1-202
ReceivingCatchesYardsTDLong
Branch694150
Christensen432014
Hawkins220014
Allen218012
King2807
InterceptionsINTYardsLongTD
Squirek155t1
Haynes1000
Punting#AVGLongBlocked
Guy742.7530
Punt Returns#/FCYardsLongTD
Pruitt1/3880
Watts1/0000
Kickoff Returns#YardsLongTD
Pruitt 117170

January 22, 1984

Tampa Stadium (Tampa, Florida)

Attendance: 72,290 zzz

National Anthem: Barry Manilow

Coin Toss: Bronko Nagurski

Halftime Show: "Salute to Superstars of the Silver Screen"

Network: CBS

Announcers: Pat Summerall and John Madden

Nielsen ratings: 46.4 (an estimated 77.62 million viewers)

Cost of 30-second commercial: $368,000

Super Bowl XVIII: Raiders vs. Redskins Highlights

 

Super Bowl XVIII: Ticket & Championship Ring

Super Bowl XVIII Championship Ring and Game Ticket

NFL Football: "Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders 38 Washington Redskins 9 - MVP Raiders RB Marcus Allen"