Thrill of victories, agony of defeats
Franchise tallies three wins in five appearances
The Raiders are no strangers to the Super Bowl, having played in five and winning three.
In fact, they go so far back on the sport’s biggest stage that they played in one of them before pro football came up with the name Super Bowl.
That would have been what is now known as Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers.
Here is a recap of the Raiders’ appearances in the Super Bowl:
Super Bowl II: Packers 33, Raiders 14
The Raiders were representing the American Football League in what was then referred to as the AFL-NFL World Championship game.
The Raiders finished the season 13-1, having lost only to the New York Jets.
Nevertheless, they weren’t given much of a chance against the mighty Packers, who represented the much more established National Football League and were coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi.
In what would be Lombardi’s final game with the Packers, the Raiders kept things close for the first two quarters and trailed 16-7 at halftime.
But it all came crashing down in the second half, punctuated by Packers secondary ace Herb Adderley picking off Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica and returning the interception 60 yards for a touchdown. It buried the Raiders in a 33-7 fourth-quarter hole.
Super Bowl XI: Raiders 32, Vikings 14
The early to mid-1970s were a bittersweet time for the Raiders, who had risen to elite-level status in the NFL but continually fell short of the Super Bowl. That included three straight losses in the AFC championship game before they finally broke through in 1976.
The John Madden-led Raiders were a fabulously talented team that lost only one game and was ready to seize the moment against the Vikings and their Purple People Eaters on the defensive line.
The Raiders ran roughshod on the Vikings for a then-record 266 yards rushing. Clarence Davis was the workhorse with 137 yards on 16 carries, but the real heroes were the Raiders’ historically great offensive line led by Gene Upshaw and Art Shell.
That line kept quarterback Kenny Stabler clean all day, and he chewed up the Vikings by completing 12 of 19 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown.
The game produced one of the all-time greatest moments when cornerback Willie Brown snatched a pass from Fran Tarkenton and raced 75 yards for a backbreaking touchdown. Brown’s pick-six is still shown on replay to this day.
Super Bowl XV: Raiders 27, Eagles 10
Now coached by Tom Flores, who became the first minority coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship, the Raiders entered the playoffs as a wild-card team.
They then beat the Oilers in the wild-card round in Oakland, then went on the road to defeat the favored Browns and Chargers to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
Led by Jim Plunkett, who was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing for three touchdowns, the Raiders raced to a 24-3 lead over the Eagles.
While Plunkett was named MVP, perhaps the most dominant performance was from linebacker Rod Martin, who set a Super Bowl record that still stands with three interceptions.
Super Bowl XVIII: Raiders 38, Redskins 9
Now the Los Angeles Raiders, they met a Washington team that had beaten them in overtime in the regular season.
The rematch wasn’t close. Marcus Allen rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and was named the game’s MVP. And the defense sacked quarterback Joe Theismann six times and shut down a Redskins offense that set a record for points scored in the season.
The Raiders again produced one of the most famous plays in NFL history when Allen zigzagged his way down the field for a 74-yard touchdown run to give the Raiders a 35-9 lead.
Super Bowl XXXVII: Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21
In a way, the Raiders stepped into a trap against the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay was coached by Jon Gruden, who had been the Raiders’ coach the previous four seasons before being traded to the Buccaneers.
The matchup was the worst possible for the Raiders, whose former coach knew all of their plays and conveyed their calls and tendencies to his defense.
The results were disastrous. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon was intercepted a Super Bowl-record five times.
The Raiders were in a 34-3 hole but cut the deficit to 34-21 with six minutes left before disaster struck. Derrick Brooks picked off Gannon and returned the interception for a touchdown, followed by another pick-six, this one by Dwight Smith.