WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 1981 SUPER BOWL?

Following an owner’s meeting that was held in Honolulu on June 14, 1979, Super Bowl XV was awarded to New Orleans.

Super Bowl XV was played between the AFC’s Oakland Raiders and NFC’s Philadelphia Eagles on January 25, 1981, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to decide which team would be crowned champions of the 1980 football season.

The Raiders successfully fended off the Eagles with a score of 27-10, earning them the title of the first wild card playoff team to ever win the Super Bowl title

Thanks to Jim Plunkett’s passes for two touchdowns, one of which was an 80-yard strike, the Raiders established a solid 14-0 lead during the first quarter of Super Bowl XV that the Eagles were never able to recover from. Rod Martin, the Oakland linebacker also set a Super Bowl record for intercepting Ron Jaworski, the Philadelphia quarterback, three times.

The Eagles never looked like a serious contender following the Raider’s early lead. During the remaining game, they managed only a field goal from 30 yards thanks to Tony Franklin and an eight-yard pass from Jaworski to Keith Krepfle.

The game’s leading rusher was Oakland’s Mark van Eeghen who clocked up 75 yards on 18 carries.

Martin completed the game with a Super Bowl record for 3 interceptions.

Plunkett completed 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, earning him the vote for MVP

Final Score: Oakland Raiders (AFC) – 27 Vs. Philadelphia Eagles (NFC) – 10
Date: January 25, 1981
Stadium: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP: Jim Plunkett, Quarterback
Favorite: Eagles by 3
Referee: Ben Dreith
Attendance: 76,135

Super Bowl XV was played on the 25th January 1981; five days after the Iran hostage crisis formally came to an end. As such, the pregame ceremonies took a distinctly patriotic angle to mark the end of the crisis. In the spirit of the event, an 80-foot yellow bow was displayed on the exterior of the Superdome, and all the attendees were given miniature bows to wear.

National anthem: Helen O’Connell
Coin toss: Marie Lombardi, widow of Vince Lombardi
Halftime show: Jim Skinner Productions presents “Mardi Gras Festival”