Prior to 1997, the Oakland Raiders were the NFL's only team to win a Super Bowl as a wild card entry into the postseason.
Since '97, this feat has been repeated by four different teams.
Yet when Oakland did it, it was not only unprecedented, but the Raiders didn't appear to have even the slightest makings of a potential cinderella. They entered 1980 with owner Al Davis locked up in litigation trying to relocate the team. They had missed the playoffs two years in a row, despite reaching the postseason 10 of the 11 years prior. Five weeks into the '80 season, starting quarterback Dan Pastorini broke his leg, and the team was struggling with a 2-3 record.
However, with the way 1980 was shaping up to be a tremulous year outside of football, anything seemed possible.
A Wild Cinderella
After Pastorini's injury, the team appointed 11-year veteran Jim Plunkett to take the reins at quarterback. Plunkett, who had spent the first decade of his career as a backup in both New England and San Francisco didn't raise many hopes in the Bay Area.
A 38-24 week 6 win at home against the San Diego Chargers though brought the Silver and Black up to .500. What followed right after was the beginning of a revitalization, via one man.
With Monday Night football contests always being where the Raiders bring their best game, an October 20th trip to Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium is when and where Plunkett regained all of his confidence from his Heisman-trophy winning days at Stanford in the 60's. Plunkett threw for 243 yards, part of a more than 1,000 yard night for both teams combined, as the Raiders soared to a 45-34 victory.
The rest of the season, Plunkett and the Raiders made winning look easy. They went from 2-3 to 8-3, and finished the year 11-5, the record earned by all five AFC teams in the 1980 postseason. Oakland earned a second-placed wild card spot in the AFC West, by virtue of a tie-breaker with division-winning San Diego.
The Raiders were fortunate enough to host the wild card game in December. Welcoming longtime Raider quarterback Ken Stabler (then the Houston Oilers' starter) back to Oakland for an elimination game was an unusual scene, yet the Oakland faithful cheered their current players on to a 27-7 victory.
A week later the Raiders found themselves in the unfriendly confines of Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. A defensively-powered matchup against the Browns amid the frigid Ohio winter air ended with Raider safety Mike Davis intercepting a Brian Sipe pass in the end zone. The Browns were widely criticized for not kicking a field goal from within the red zone late in the game, as the final score, Davis pick and all, was Oakland 14, Cleveland 12.
Next for the Pride and Poise was the AFC Championship in San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium. The third play of the game saw Plunkett throw a ball through the hands of running back Kenny King, which landed right in teammate Raymond Chester's hands. Chester ran more than half the field for the end zone, the Raiders went up 7-0, and this surprising play proved to be the difference in the game as Oakland earned their third Super Bowl berth courtesy of a 34-27 conquest.
Super Bowl XV
Despite the 1980 Raider roster being 25 faces different from a year earlier (including 14 new starters), Oakland arrived at Super Bowl XV with the same cool, professional attitude that had garnered them success in seasons past.
The big game was undiscovered territory for the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Playing the Raiders however was not a new event, as the Eagles ended the aforementioned six-game Raider win streak in November with a 10-7 win in at the old Veterans Stadium.
Yet as many athletes will say, 'what happens in the regular season has nothing to do with the postseason.'
In this game, the third play from scrimmage again was the positive catalyst for Oakland. Linebacker Rod Martin intercepted a Ron Jaworski pass that set the Raiders up just inside Eagle territory. Plunkett later darted a short pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch for the game's first touchdown.
Later in the first quarter, Philadephia's offense finally seemed to get off the ground. Jaworski appeared to throw a 43-yard touchdown pass, yet it was negated by an illegal motion penalty called on wide receiver Harold Carmichael.
The Raiders soon got the ball back, and made Super Bowl history before the quarter was even over. Plunkett scrambled on a passing play from his own 20-yard line, and then tossed the ball softly to King, who ran 80 yards for another score, setting a Super Bowl record for longest passing touchdown. In the second quarter Philadelphia kicked a field goal, making the halftime score Raiders 14, Eagles 3.
In the third quarter, Plunkett again found Branch in the end zone to make it 21-3. Rod Martin picked Jaworski off again, which led to the Raiders kicking their first field goal. 24-3 Oak.
By the fourth quarter, despite Philadelphia finally finding the end zone, it was too late. The Raiders added another field goal, and Martin collected a third interception, both of which helped seal the Raiders 27-10 victory in Super Bowl XV. Plunkett's 261 passing yards and three touchdowns earned him the game's Most Valuable Player award.
In this unprecedented turn of events, Oakland proved wild cards can often times be wild winners too.
