Super Bowl XVIII

Super Bowl XVIII

Washington Redskins (1) (NFC) (14–2) Los Angeles Raiders (1) (AFC) (12–4) 9 38 Head coach: Joe Gibbs Head coach: Tom Flores
1 2 3 4 Total WAS 0 3 6 0 9 LA 7 14 14 3 38
Date	January 22, 1984 (1984-01-22)
Stadium	Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
MVP	Marcus Allen, halfback
Favorite	Redskins by 3[1][2]
Referee	Gene Barth
Attendance	72,920[3]
Ceremonies
National anthem	Barry Manilow
Coin toss	Bronko Nagurski
Halftime show	"Salute to Superstars of the Silver Screen"
TV in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Pat Summerall and John Madden
Nielsen ratings	46.4 (an estimated 77.62 million viewers)[4]
Market share	71
Cost of 30-second commercial	$368,000
Radio in the United States
Network	CBS Radio
Announcers	Jack Buck and Hank Stram
← XVII Super Bowl XIX →

Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Los Angeles Raiders to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1983 season. The Raiders defeated the Redskins, 38–9. The Raiders' 38 points scored and 29-point margin of victory broke Super Bowl records; it remains the most points scored by an AFC team in a Super Bowl, later matched by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. This is the first time the city of Tampa hosted the Super Bowl and was the AFC's last Super Bowl win until Super Bowl XXXII, won by the Denver Broncos.

The Redskins entered the game as the defending Super Bowl XVII champions, finished the 1983 regular season with a league-best 14–2 record, led the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, and set a then-NFL record in scoring with 541 points. The Raiders posted a 12–4 regular-season record in 1983, their second in Los Angeles, having moved there from Oakland in May 1982.

The Raiders dominated Super Bowl XVIII outgaining the Redskins in total yards, 385 to 283, and built a 21–3 halftime lead, aided by touchdowns on Derrick Jensen's blocked punt recovery, and Jack Squirek's 5-yard interception return on a screen pass with seven seconds left in the first half. This is also the second out of five Super Bowls where the winning team outscored the losing team in every quarter. Los Angeles's defense also sacked Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann six times and intercepted him twice. Raiders halfback Marcus Allen, who became the third Heisman Trophy winner to be named the Super Bowl MVP, carried the ball 20 times for a then-record total of 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a then-record 74-yard run in the third quarter. He also caught 2 passes for 18 yards. Allen was the first running back who was a halfback to be named Most Valuable Player. All previous running backs who won the MVP were fullbacks.

The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 77.62 million viewers.^[4] The broadcast was notable for airing the famous "1984" television commercial, introducing the Apple Macintosh. The NFL highlight film of this game is the final voiceover work for famous NFL narrator John Facenda.

As of the 2023 season, this is the Raiders' most recent Super Bowl championship, and it was also the only time that a Los Angeles–based team had won the Super Bowl until their then cross-town rival Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.^[5]