By mid-1982, when the Oakland Raiders had moved south for the spring, the next 13 of them to be exact, they had already accomplished much of what NFL connoisseurs still applaud them for today.
They had reached a Super Bowl in the 60's, 70's, and 80's, a well-chronicled feat that earned them the nickname Team of the Decades. They had pulled off the first ever win by a wild card entrant in one of those championships. The Raiders were already Monday Night Football's winningest squad, and had also compiled the best overall win-loss percentage of any team in professional sports circa-1963 (.710 from 1963-83).
So what was left to do in this new era of Los Angeles Raider football, MTV and the message? Win a title in the new city.
The Journey Begins
The Raiders' 1983 campaign, though not remembered for many landmark regular season points of interest, began on a highly winning note. Their 4-0 start included a week 3 drowning of the Miami Dolphins, 27-14 on, of all national stages, Monday Night Football. This sank the Dolphins to 0-9 lifetime against the Raiders in games played in California. L.A. also swept all of their AFC West enemies except Seattle, who swept them.
Throughout that regular year, Raider quarterback Jim Plunkett and second-year running back Marcus Allen carried L.A.'s brightly-lit offensive torches, winning games like a 40-38 victory at Dallas and a 42-10 blasting of the Chargers in L.A. The game at Seattle, though a loss, carried a final of 38-36.
The Silver and Black secured home field advantage throughout the 1983 playoffs courtesy of their 12-4 finish.
In the divisional round, they met up with their biggest postseason foe, Pittsburgh. It was the sixth playoff meeting between the two rivals...and the first since 1976. Many famous Steeler faces remained from the 70's, like fullback Franco Harris, and wide receiver John Stallworth. Yet no opponent intimidated the Raiders, who slaughtered the Steelers 38-10, knotting up the teams' head-to-head playoff record at 3-3.
A week later, Seattle, looking to "three-peat" against L.A. were denied so in the AFC Championship. Raider cornerback Lester Hayes' first quarter interception and subsequent touchdown set the tone for a delightful AFC title day as the Raiders won 30-14 in front of their new fans.
Against All Odds
As was the case three years earlier, the Raiders were big underdogs in the big dance. Not only had the NFC-winning Washington Redskins defeated them 37-35 in week 5, but the Skins were the defending Super Bowl Champions. Add to that the fact that they scored an NFL record 541 points in 1983, and they looked destined to repeat as champs.
The Raiders, having always talked a mean game, were especially ready to play one on the day that later became known as Black Sunday. Redskin offensive lineman Russ Grimm said he'd 'run over his own mother to win a Super Bowl.' Raider linebacker Matt Millen heard this, and added that he'd run over Grimm's mother too to win a Super Bowl. Oakland was angry with the Raiders for moving away, the NFL disdained team owner Al Davis for beating them in court years before, and as it usually is, most of the football-loving world wanted the Raiders to lose Super Bowl XVIII anyway.
This prompted Davis to render the now famous slogan, "Just Win, Baby!"
In the first quarter, the Redskins set up to punt. Raider specialist Derrick Jensen cut through Redskin blockers and did blocking of his own...of the punted football. Jensen chased the pigskin into the end zone, where he recovered it for a touchdown. 7-0, Raiders.
Plunkett later went to work, completing short passes throughout the first period, and then finding wide receiver Cliff Branch for a 50-yard gain early in the second. Two plays after that, he found Branch again for a touchdown. The favored yet frustrated Redskins' only answer was a field goal.
With 12 seconds to go in the first half, most people watching expected Washington to run out the clock, as they had the ball on their own 12 yard line. Raider Assistant Coach Charlie Sumner though suspected something, which is why he replaced Millin with Jack Squirek, a pass defense specialist. The result? Redskin quarterback Joe Theismann dropped back to attempt a little screen pass to Joe Washington, which was valiantly picked off by Squirek and run in for the Raiders' second non-offensive touchdown, making it 21-3 L.A. at the half.
Super Bowl XVIII's second half belonged to the game's Most Valuable Player, Marcus Allen. He scored twice in the third quarter, including what became the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history, a 74-yard run. It began as a busted play, in which he tried to run left, yet saw Washington's Ken Coffey coming to tackle him. He made a u-turn, ran right, and kept on running, making it 35-9 Raiders. His sprints led L.A. to a field goal in the fourth quarter, and Allen finished the day with 191 yards rushing, another Super Bowl record.
A 38-9 victory in Super Bowl XVIII silenced the world's Raider haters.
Four presidential elections passed before the next AFC victory in a Super Bowl; January 1998 when Denver beat Green Bay.
