Super Bowl XXII

Super Bowl XXII

Washington Redskins (3) (NFC) (11–4) Denver Broncos (1) (AFC) (10–4–1) 42 10 Head coach: Joe Gibbs Head coach: Dan Reeves
1 2 3 4 Total WAS 0 35 0 7 42 DEN 10 0 0 0 10
Date	January 31, 1988 (1988-01-31)
Stadium	Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
MVP	Doug Williams, quarterback
Favorite	Broncos by 3[1][2]
Referee	Bob McElwee
Attendance	73,302[3]
Ceremonies
National anthem	Herb Alpert
Coin toss	Don Hutson
Halftime show	Chubby Checker and The Rockettes, USC and San Diego State Marching Bands
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf
Nielsen ratings	41.9 (est. 80.14 million viewers)[4]
Market share	62
Cost of 30-second commercial	$645,000
Radio in the United States
Network	CBS Radio
Announcers	Jack Buck and Hank Stram
← XXI Super Bowl XXIII →

Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1987 season. The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1988, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, which was the first time that the Super Bowl was played there. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl the year before.

This Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was shortened by a players' strike. Each team only missed one regular season game due to the labor dispute, but three games were played mostly with replacement players until the dispute was settled. This proved particularly costly for the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, who lost all three of their "replacement player games" and failed to make the playoffs. The Broncos were making their second consecutive (and third overall) Super Bowl appearance, after posting a 10–4–1 regular season record, largely through the strength of their quarterback, John Elway. The Redskins, who were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, posted an 11–4 regular season record. Washington was led by quarterback Doug Williams, who entered the season as a backup, and was 0–2 as a starter during the regular season. He ended up leading Washington to their two playoff victories. In doing so, he was the first African American quarterback ever to start in an NFL league championship game, let alone a Super Bowl.

After trailing 10–0 at the end of the first quarter of the game, the Redskins scored 42 unanswered points, including a record-breaking 35 points in the second quarter, setting several other Super Bowl records. Williams, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, completed 18 of 29 passes for a Super Bowl record 340 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception. He also became the first player in Super Bowl history to pass for four touchdowns in a single quarter, and four in a half. Williams was the first African American starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.^[5][6]