The Los Angeles Raiders dominated the Washington Redskins 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 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 Game 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 Game I.
SCORING
Washington 0 3
6 0 -- 9
L.A. Raiders 7 14 14 3 -- 38
RAI- Jensen 0 blocked punt return (Bahr kick),
4:52 1st
RAI- Branch 12 pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick),
5:46 2nd
WAS- FG Moseley 24, 11:55 2nd
RAI- Squirek 5 interception return (Bahr kick),
14:53 2nd
WAS- Riggins 1 run (kick blocked),
4:08 3rd
RAI- Allen 5 run (Bahr kick), 7:54 3rd
RAI- Allen 74 run (Bahr kick), 15:00 3rd
RAI- FG Bahr 21, 12:36 4th
TEAM STATISTICS
Wash. Rai.
Total First Downs
19 18
Rushing
7
8
Passing
10
9
Penalty
2
1
Total Net Yardage
283 385
Total Offensive Plays
73 60
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play 3.9
6.4
Rushes
32 33
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) 90
231
Average Yards per Rush 2.8
7.0
Passes Attempted
35 25
Passes Completed
16 16
Had Intercepted
2
0
Tackled Attempting to Pass 6
2
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass 50
18
Yards Gained Passing (Net) 193
154
Punts
8
7
Average Distance
32.4 42.7
Punt Returns
2
2
Punt Return Yardage
35
8
Kickoff Returns
7
1
Kickoff Return Yardage 132
17
Interception Return Yardage 0
5
Fumbles
1
3
Own Fumbles Recovered
0
1
Opponent Fumbles Recovered 2
1
Penalties
4
7
Yards Penalized
62 56
Total Points Scored
9 38
Touchdowns
1
5
Rushing
1
2
Passing
0
1
Returns
0
1
Extra Points
0
5
Field Goals
1
1
Field Goals Attempted
2
1
Safeties
0
0
Third-Down Efficiency
6/17 5/13
Fourth-Down Efficiency
0/1 0/0
Time of Possession
31:38 28:22
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Washington
No. Yds. LG
TD
Riggins
26 64
8 1
Theismann
3 18
8 0
J. Washington 3
8 5 0
L.A. Raiders No.
Yds. LG TD
Allen
20 191 74t
2
Pruitt
5 17 11
0
King
3 12 10
0
Willis
1 7
7 0
Hawkins
3 6
3 0
Plunkett
1 -2
2 0
Passing
Washington Att. Comp.
Yds. TD Int.
Theismann 35
16 243 0
2
L.A. Raiders Att. Comp.
Yds. TD Int.
Plunkett 25
16 172 1
0
Receiving
Washington
No. Yds. LG
TD
Didier
5 65 20
0
Brown
3 93 60
0
J. Washington 3
20 10 0
Giaquinto
2 21 14
0
Monk
1 26 26
0
Garrett
1 17 17
0
Riggins
1 1
1 0
L.A. Raiders No.
Yds. LG TD
Branch
6 94 50
1
Christensen 4
32 14 0
Hawkins
2 20 14
0
Allen
2 18 12
0
King
2 8
7 0
Interceptions
Washington
No. Yds. LG
TD
None
-- --
-- --
L.A. Raiders No.
Yds. LG TD
Squirek
1 5
5t 1
Haynes
1 0
0 0
Punting
Washington
No. Avg. LG
Blk.
Hayes
7 37.0 48
1
L.A. Raiders No.
Avg. LG Blk.
Guy
7 42.7 53
0
Punt Returns
Washington No.
FC Yds. LG TD
Green
1 0 34
34 0
Giaquinto
1 2 1
1 0
L.A. Raiders No. FC
Yds. LG TD
Pruitt
1 3 8
8 0
Watts
1 0 0
0 0
Kickoff Returns
Washington No.
Yds. LG TD
Garrett
5 100 35
0
Grant
1 32 32
0
Kimball
1 0
0 0
L.A. Raiders No.
Yds. LG TD
Pruitt
1 17 17
0
Washington Redskins Los Angeles Raiders
==
Offense ==
Bostic, Jeff C Dalby, Dave
C
Grimm, Russ G Hannah,
Charley G
May, Mark G
Marvin, Mickey G
Jacoby, Joe T Davis,
Bruce T
Starke, George T Lawrence, Henry
T
Walker, Rick TE Christensen, Todd
TE
Warren, Don TE Barnwell,
Malcolm WR
Brown, Charlie WR Branch, Cliff
WR
Monk, Art WR Allen,
Marcus RB
Riggins, John RB King, Kenny
RB
Theismann, Joe QB Plunkett, Jim
QB
== Defense ==
Butz, Dave DT Kinlaw,
Reggie NT
Grant, Darryl DT Alzado, Lyle
DE
Liebenstein, Todd DE Long, Howie
DE
Manley, Dexter DE Hendricks, Ted
OLB
Kaufman, Mel OLB Martin, Rod
OLB
Milot, Rich OLB Millen, Matt
ILB
Olkewicz, Neal MLB Nelson, Bob L.
ILB
Green, Darrell CB Hayes, Lester
CB
Washington, Anth. CB Haynes, Mike
CB
Murphy, Mark H. FS McElroy, Vann
FS
Coffey, Ken SS Davis, Mike
SS
== Substitute ==
Anderson, Stuart Bahr, Chris
Brooks, Perry Barnes,
Jeff
Carpenter, Brian Byrd, Darryl
Coleman, Monte Caldwell, Tony
Cronan, Pete Davis,
James
Dean, Vernon Guy,
Ray
Didier, Clint Hasselbeck,
Don
Evans, Reggie Hawkins,
Frank
Garrett, Alvin Hill, Kenny
Giaquinto, Nick Humm, David
Hayes, Jeff
Jensen, Derrick
Huff, Ken
Jordan, Shelby
Jordan, Curtis McKinney, Odis
Kimball, Bruce Montgomery,
Cleotha
Kubin, Larry
Mosebar, Don
Mann, Charles Muhammad,
Calvin
McGee, Tony
Pickel, Bill
Moseley, Mark Pruitt,
Greg
Simmons, Roy
Robinson, Johnny D.
Washington, Joe Squirek, Jack
Williams, Greg Stalls, Dave
Williams, Michael Sylvester, Steve
Wonsley, Otis Townsend,
Greg
Watts, Ted
Williams, Dokie
Willis, Chester
Wilson, Marc
==
Did Not Play ==
Holly, Bob
Laufenberg, Babe
McGrath, Mark
Seay, Virgil