Super Countdown series: 49ers, Cowboys star in 3rd decade of game,
As we move closer to Super Bowl 50, the Orlando Sentinel is taking a look back at the history of football’s biggest game. Today, we review the third decade of Super Bowl showdowns.
SUPER BOWL XXI
New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20
Jan. 25, 1987 at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Coaches: NYG: Bill Parcells (Colgate); DEN: Dan Reeves (South Carolina) MVP: New York QB Phil Simms (Morehead State) – 22 of 25 passing for 268 yards, 3 TDs
How it played out: Giants trailed 10-9 at halftime before scoring 24 in a row to take the lead for good. Simms threw touchdowns to Mark Bavaro (Notre Dame) and Phil McConkey (Navy), Joe Morris (Syracuse) ran for a 1-yard score, and Raul Allegre (Texas) kicked a field goal during the change in momentum.
Did you know: Parcells coached linebackers at Florida State from 1970-72. … Giants defensive coordinator
Bill Belichick (Wesleyan) was an assistant with the Broncos in 1978. Giants RB
Ottis Anderson (Miami) carried the ball just 24 times in eight games in New York after being acquired midseason from the St. Louis Cardinals. He scored on a 2-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
SUPER BOWL XXII
Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10
Jan. 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego
Coaches: WAS: Joe Gibbs (San Diego State); DEN: Dan Reeves (South Carolina) MVP: Washington QB
Doug Williams (Grambling State) – 18 of 29 for 340 yards, 4 TDs, INT
How it played out: Denver led 10-0 before Washington scored 35 points in the second quarter. Williams threw touchdown passes of 80 yards to Ricky Sanders (Texas State) and 27 yards to
Gary Clark (James Madison) to give the Redskins the lead for good. Washington intercepted three passes and recorded five sacks.
Did you know: Sanford
Seminole High’s Reggie
Branch (East Carolina) was a reserve RB for the Redskins. … Williams started 67 games at QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1978-82. He led the Redskins to three straight postseason
wins in place of Jay
Schroeder (UCLA) in 1987 after appearing in only five regular season games. Williams briefly left the game with a knee injury late in the first quarter.
SUPER BOWL XXIII
San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16
Jan. 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami
Coaches: SF: Bill Walsh (San Jose State); CIN: Sam Wyche (Furman) MVP: San Francisco WR
Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) – 11 receptions for 215 yards, TD
How it played out: San Francisco trailed 13-6 entering the fourth quarter. Rice tied the game on a 14-yard
reception from Joe Montana (Notre Dame) before Cincinnati retook the lead on a 40-yard kick by Jim
Breech (California) following a 49-yard miss by Mike
Cofer (North Carolina State). Montana’s 10-yard pass to John Taylor (Delaware State) with 34 seconds left was the decisive score.
Did you know: Super Bowl XXIII marked the third Super Bowl rematch. … Rice’s 215 yards receiving remains a Super Bowl record. … Walsh stepped down after the game and did not return to the sidelines until 1992 as head coach at Stanford, where he also coached from 1977-78.
SUPER BOWL XXIV
San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10
Jan. 28, 1990 at Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans
Coaches: SF: George Seifert (Utah); DEN: Dan Reeves (South Carolina) MVP: San Francisco QB
Joe Montana (Notre Dame) – 22 of 29 for 297 yards, 5 TDs
How it played out: Montana connected with Jerry
Rice (Mississippi Valley State) for a 20-yard touchdown on San Francisco’s first possession. He later tossed a touchdown of seven yards to Brent Jones (Santa Clara) to give the 49ers a 13-3 lead after one quarter. Denver turned the ball over four times and yielded six sacks.
Did you know: The 49ers joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as one of two teams to win four Super Bowls while the Broncos joined the Minnesota Vikings in becoming one of two franchises to lose four Super Bowls. … Danny
Stubbs (Miami) recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble, while Kevin Fagan (Miami) tallied a sack for the 49ers. … Alphonso Carreker (Florida State) finished with a sack in his first season with the Broncos.
SUPER BOWL XXV
New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
Jan. 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium
Coaches: NYG: Bill Parcells (Colgate); BUF: Marv Levy (Harvard) MVP: New York RB
Ottis Anderson (Miami) – 21 carries for 102 yards, TD
How it played out: Giants took the lead for good with eight minutes remaining on a 21-yard field goal by
Matt Bahr (Penn State). Buffalo took over at its own 10 with 2:16 to play after punts by both teams. Eight plays later a 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood (James Madison) sailed wide to the right.
Did you know: Osceola
High’s Maurice Carthon (Arkansas State) won his second Super Bowl with the Giants as a reserve running back. … Parcells, in his last game with the Giants, became the eighth coach to win multiple Super Bowls.
SUPER BOWL XXVI
Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24
Jan. 26, 1992 at Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.
Coaches: WAS: Joe Gibbs (San Diego State);
BUF: Marv Levy (Harvard) MVP: Washington QB Mark Rypien (Washington State) – 18 of 33 for 292 yards, 2 TD, INT
How it played out:
Washington led 17-0 at halftime and extended its lead when Gerald Riggs (Arizona State) rushed for his second touchdown early in the third. Chip Lohmiller (Minnesota) gave the Redskins a 37-10 advantage with a 39-yard field goal, his third of the game. Buffalo turned the ball over five times.
Did you know: Gibbs became the third coach to win at least three Super Bowls, along with Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll (Dayton) and San Francisco’s Bill
Walsh (San Jose State). His third title was the first one he earned during a nonstrike shortened season. … Titusville’s Wilber Marshall (Florida) recorded a sack for the Redskins.
SUPER BOWL XXVII
Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17
Jan. 31, 1993 at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Coaches: DAL: Jimmy Johnson (Arkansas); BUF: Marv Levy (Harvard)
MVP: Dallas QB Troy Aikman (UCLA) – 22 of 30 passing for 273 yards, 4 TDs
How it played out: Aikman connected with Michael Irvin (Miami) for touchdowns of 19 and 18 yards before halftime to give Dallas a 28-10 lead. The Cowboys reached the end zone three more times in the fourth quarter. Buffalo turned the ball over a Super Bowl-record nine times and lost QB Jim Kelly (Miami) to injury in the second quarter.
Did you know: Buffalo became the first team to lose three Super Bowls in a row and become the first franchise since the Miami Dolphins (1971-73) to make three straight appearances. … Johnson became the first coach to win both a Super Bowl and NCAA championship. He went 52-9 as head coach at the University of Miami from 1984-88, winning a title in 1987.
SUPER BOWL XXVIII
Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13
Jan. 30, 1994 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta
Coaches: DAL: Jimmy Johnson (Arkansas); BUF:
Marv Levy (Harvard) MVP: Dallas RB Emmitt Smith (Florida) – 30 carries for 132 yards, 2 TDs; 4 catches for 26 yards
How it played out: Buffalo turned the ball over three times in the second half after leading 13-6 at the break. James Washington (UCLA) returned a forced fumble by Leon Lett (Emporia State) 48 yards for a touchdown on the first possession of the second half and Smith ran for touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters.
Did you know: Super Bowl XXVIII marked the fourth Super Bowl rematch and remains the only time the same teams played in consecutive years. … Buffalo appeared in the Super Bowl for a record fourth straight year, losing each time to tie the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos for most losses. … Johnson became the fourth coach to lead a team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in his final game with the Cowboys.
SUPER BOWL XXIX
San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26
Jan. 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami
Coaches: SF: George Seifert (Utah); SD: Bobby Ross (VMI) MVP: San Francisco QB
Steve Young (BYU) – 24 of 36 passing for 325 yards, 6 TDs; 5 carries for 49 yards
How it played out:
Young threw four touchdown passes in the first half
to help put San Francisco in front 28-10 at the break.
Ricky Watters (Notre Dame) rushed for a 9-yard touchdown and Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) caught a 15-yard TD to extend the lead in the third. San Diego turned the ball over three times. Did you know: San Diego
WR Shawn Jefferson became the first UCF player to appear in a Super Bowl. Jefferson caught two passes for 15 yards and carried once for 10 yards. … Deion Sanders (Florida State) intercepted a pass in the Super Bowl in his first season with the 49ers after spending five years with the Atlanta Falcons.
SUPER BOWL XXX
Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Jan. 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Coaches: DAL: Barry Switzer (Arkansas); PIT: Bill Cowher (NC State) MVP: Dallas DB Larry Brown (TCU) – 2 interceptions
How it played out: Dallas led 13-0 in the second quarter. The Cowboys got two interceptions by Brown and two rushing touchdowns from Emmitt Smith (Florida) in the second half, the last of which came after Pittsburgh got within 20-17. Steelers QB Neil O’Donnell (Maryland) was picked off three times.
Did you know: Smith’s five career rushing touchdowns in three Super Bowls is a record. … Dallas became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls in four years. … Jones High alum
Nate Newton started along the offensive line for the Cowboys in all three wins. …
Deion Sanders (Florida State) made a 47-yard reception for Dallas and won back-to-back Super Bowls after winning with San Francisco the previous season. … Chan Gailey (Florida), who later coached the Cowboys from 1998-99, coached Pittsburgh’s WRs.