The Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV. The game was held at the Superdome in New Orleans on January 25, 1981. After taking a 14-0 lead early in the game, the Raiders became the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl in the history of the league.
Completing three touchdown passes, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett was selected as the Super Bowl MVP. His first half touchdown pass to running back Kenny King covered 80 yards, and at the time was the longest scoring play in Super Bowl history. Linebacker Rod Martin, who had been cut by the Raiders earlier in his career, recorded a record three interceptions.
How They Got There
The Raiders finished the 1980 regular season with a 11-5 record, placing second in the AFC West. They defeated the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card game, then went on to beat the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers to clinch the AFC title.
The Eagles finished the season on top of the NFC East, with a 12-4 record. They defeated the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC title and a trip to the Super Bowl.
Al versus Pete
One of the stories that was playing out behind the scenes was a lawsuit filed to prevent the Raiders from moving to Los Angeles. The NFL was trying to utilize not only their own by-laws to stop the move, but also federal eminent domain rules.
Despite this, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had not trouble handing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Raiders owner Al Davis and shaking his hands following the Raiders victory. Davis thanked Rozelle, called the victory the club's "finest hour" and added a welcome home to the Iran Hostage Crisis hostages.
Game Summary
| Super Bowl XV | |||||||
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 27 | ||
| Philadelphia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | ||
Scoring
FIRST QUARTER
OAK - Cliff Branch 2-yard PASS from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick)
OAK - Kenny King 80-yard PASS from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick)
SECOND QUARTER
PHI - Tony Franklin 30-yard FG
THIRD QUARTER
OAK - Cliff Branch 29-yard PASS from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick)
OAK - Chris Bahr 46-yard FG
FOURTH QUARTER
PHI - Keith Krepfle 8-yard PASS from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick)
OAK - Chris Bahr 35-yard FG
Player Statistics
- NFL.com: Super Bowl XV Box Score & Statistics
References
Fast Facts
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Date
January 25, 1981
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Site
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Location
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Attendance
76,135
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MVP
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Television
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Fact:
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Fact:
Raiders became first Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl
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Fact:
Game played days after conclusion of the Iran Hostage Crisis
