Super Bowl XVIII – Marcus Allen MVP
In Super Bowl XVIII, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins by the score of 38–9. The Raiders’ 38 points scored and 29-point margin of victory broke Super Bowl records; it remains the most points scored by an AFC team in a Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the first time the Super Bowl was held in that city. This would be the AFC’s last Super Bowl win until Super Bowl XXXII.
The Redskins entered the game as the defending Super Bowl Champions, and finished the 1983 regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, and led the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, and set a then-NFL record in scoring with 541 points. The Raiders posted a 12-4 regular season record in 1983, their second in Los Angeles, having moved there from Oakland in May 1982.
As the favored team, the Redskins’ 38–9 defeat at the hands of the black-jerseyed Raiders led Super Bowl XVIII to be known as “Black Sunday.” The Raiders outgained the Redskins in total yards, 385 to 283. Los Angeles built a 21–3 halftime lead, aided by touchdowns on Derrick Jensen‘s blocked punt recovery, and Jack Squirek‘s 5-yard interception return on a screen pass with seven seconds left in the first half.
Raiders running back Marcus Allen, who became the third Heisman Trophy winner to be named the Super Bowl MVP, carried the ball 20 times for a then-record total of 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a then-record 74-yard run in the third quarter. He also caught 2 passes for 18 yards.