Super
Bowl XV
Super
Bowl XV
Location: Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Date: January 25, 1981
Attendance: 76,135
MVP: Jim Plunkett, QB, Oakland
This Raider squad took the hard road to Super Bowl Sunday, starting out on wild-card weekend and beating the Oilers, then the Browns and finally the Chargers. The Eagles had made it to the Super Bowl under the watchful eye of head coach Dick Vermeil. But they gave little resistance or effort as the Raiders cruised to a 27-10 victory and dominated the contest. LB Rod Martin picked off three Ron Jaworski passes. Raider quarterback Jim Plunkett passed for three touchdowns, including an 80-yard strike to Kenny King, as the Raiders became the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl.
Plunkett's touchdown bomb to King - the longest play in Super Bowl History - gave Oakland a decisive 14-0 lead with nine seconds left in the first period. The Eagles never recovered from those early deficits, managing only Tony Franklin's field goal and a 8-yard touchdown pass from Jaworski to Keith Krepfe.
Plunkett, who became a starter in the sixth game of the season, completed 12 or 21 tosses for 261 yards and no interceptions. At the conclusion of Super Bowl 15, Plunkett was named the MVP. Oakland won 9 of 11 games with Plunkett as their starter during the season but that was only good enough for a second place finish in the AFC West. The Raiders had only 2 All-Pros:
LB Ted Hendricks
CB Lester Hayes
