Super Bowl XV (15) Oakland VS Philadelphia Recap

Super Bowl XV Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10 Recap

Oakland Defeats Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV. Jim Plunkett named MVP

The Raiders' win set up one of the great diplomatic moments in NFL history: During the post-game ceremonies, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle presented the Lombardi Trophy to his nemesis, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. Davis was in the process of suing the NFL for the right to move his Raiders to Los Angeles. The controversy overshadowed Oakland's stellar performance as the Raiders became the only wild-card team to win the Super Bowl. Plunkett, who had thrown only 15 passes in the two previous seasons, passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns, including an 80-yard TD pass to Kenny King at the end of the first quarter that broke the game open.

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.

Linebacker Rod Martin had set up Oakland's first touchdown, a 2-yard reception by Cliff Branch, with a 17-yard interception return to the Eagles' 30-yard line. The Eagles never recovered from that early deficit, managing only Tony Franklin's field goal (30 yards) and an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ron Jaworski to Keith Krepfle.

Plunkett, who became a starter in the sixth game of the season, completed 13 of 21 for 261 yards and was named the game's most valuable player.

Oakland won 9 of 11 games with Plunkett starting, but that was good enough only for second place in the AFC West, although they tied division winner San Diego with an 11-5 record. The Raiders, who had previously won Super Bowl XI over Minnesota, had to win three playoff games to get to the championship game. Oakland defeated Houston 27-7, Cleveland 14-12, and San Diego 34-27.

Oakland's Mark van Eeghen was the game's leading rusher with 75 yards on 18 carries. Philadelphia's Wilbert Montgomery led all receivers with six receptions for 91 yards. Branch had five for 67 and Harold Carmichael of Philadelphia five for 83.

Martin finished the game with a Super Bowl record 3 interceptions.

Scoring Information

                       1  2  3  4  Final
                       _________________
Oakland               14  0 10  3     27
Philadelphia           0  3  0  7     10

Oakland      - Branch 2 pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick)
6:04 into the 1st

Oakland      - King 80 pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick)
14:51 into the 1st

Philadelphia - FG Franklin 30                
4:32 into the 2nd

Oakland      - Branch 29 pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick)
2:36 into the 3rd

Oakland      - FG Bahr 46                      
10:25 into the 3rd

Philadelphia - Krepfle 8 pass from Jaworski (Franklin kick)
1:01 into the 4th

Oakland      - FG Bahr 35                      
6:31 into the 4th

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Quick Facts

Score:

Super Bowl XV

Oakland 27
Philadelphia 10

Location:
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
January 25, 1981
Attendance: 76,135

MVP:
Jim Plunkett, Quarterback
of the Oakland Raiders

Coaches
OAK Tom Flores
PHI Dick Vermeil

Super Bowl XV Ring, Oakland 27 vs Philadelphia 10, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, MVP Jim Plunkett, Quarterback of the Oakland Raiders

Super Bowl XV Ring