NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XVI played on January 24, 1982, was won by the Champions of the NFC the San Francisco 49ers who defeated the AFC Champions the Cincinnati Bengals at the Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan.

The San Francisco 49ers had won the 1981 NFC West Division coached by Bill Walsh with a regular season record of 13-3-0. They had a point scoring average of 22.3 points per game which made their offense 7th best of 28 in the NFL. Their points allowed average figure of 15.6 conceded per game put their defense in 2nd place in the league.

The 49ers postseason games began with the NFC Divisional Playoffs where they met the New York Giants who had finished 3rd in the NFC East Division coached by Ray Perkins with a regular season record of 9-7-0. The Giants had a point scoring average of 18.4 points per game which put their offense 22nd best of 28 in the NFL but they had achieved a better defensive average allowing 16.1 points conceded per game which put their defense 3rd best in the league. They were one of the Wild Card teams and were ranked overall a fair way below the 49ers.

In regular season the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants had played against each other once with the 49ers winning a fairly close game by 17 points to 10.

Once again the 49ers had the upper hand and this time they won by 38 - 24.

The 49ers next playoff game was the NFC Championship Game where they played the Dallas Cowboys who had won the 1981 NFC East Division coached by Tom Landry with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Cowboys point scoring average had been 22.9 points scored per game which put their offense 6th best of 28 in the NFL and their points allowed average was 17.3 points conceded per game putting their defense 7th best overall in the league.

The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys had played against each other once in regular season with the 49ers registering a very easy 45 - 14 home field victory. Taking this game into account and also going by regular season average figures the 49ers looked to be a clear favorite.

However, in the Conference Championship Game it was a far different story. The game was very much a counter attacking type of contest and the teams played well in offense with both sets of defense being given plenty of work to do. The 49ers just managed to edge the victory winning by 28 points to 27.

The San Francisco 49ers opponents in Super Bowl XVI were the Cincinnati Bengals who had finished 1st in the AFC Central Division coached by Forrest Gregg with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Bengals had averaged 26.3 points scored per game which put their offense 3rd best in the league and they had allowed an average of 19 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 12th best in the league.

The Bengals postseason games began with the AFC Divisional playoffs where they played the Buffalo Bills who had reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team. The Bills had finished 3rd in the 1981 AFC East Division coached by Chuck Knox with a regular season record of 10-6-0. They were not a highly ranked team in offense, only 20th best in the NFL with a point scoring average of 19.4 per game but they had a better record in defense with an average points allowed of 17.2 points conceded per game making their defense 6th best overall in the league.

The Bengals and the Bills had met once in regular season with the Cincinnati Bengals winning a tough game 27 points to 24.

The Bengals, had ended regular season the higher ranked team overall but the Bills had made them work for victory when they had clashed and it looked to be set up for an interesting tie.

Once again the Cincinnati Bengals were made to work quite hard for victory and this time they beat the Buffalo Bills by 28 points to 21.

In the AFC Championship Game the Bengals played the San Diego Chargers who had finished 1st in the 1981 AFC West Division coached by Don Coryell with a regular season record of 10-6-0 and had a point scoring average of 29.9 points per game which put their offense 1st of 28 in the NFL. In contrast the Chargers defense allowed an average of 24.4 points conceded and they were ranked 26th in the league.

Even though the Chargers were a very free scoring team they had found the Bengals a tough act when they had played each other once in regular season when the Bengals had won easy by 40 points to 17.

Overall the Bengals had proved themselves to be the better form team and were favorite for the Conference Championship.

The game went by the book and the Bengals, whilst never letting the Chargers offense of the leash won comfortably by 27 points to 7.

Super Bowl XVI appeared to have one team with a somewhat superior level of form and that was the San Francisco 49ers. In regular season the two teams had played each other once with the 49ers winning very easy 21 points to 3. However, with Super Bowl up for grabs could the favorite be backed?

In the game it was the San Francisco 49ers who set the early pace and they had built a 20 - 0 half-time lead.

The Bengals fought like "tigers" and in the second half got themselves back in the game. In the third quarter they scored 7 points to no reply and then after starting the fourth quarter with a Dan Ross touchdown and a Jim Breech kick they were back at 20 - 14.

However, Ray Wersching scored two field goals for the 49ers to bump up their lead to 26 - 14.

With only 16 seconds remaining of the game the Bengals came back again with another Dan Ross touchdown and Jim Breech kick.

The San Francisco 49ers got the game won through their first half performance. They were made to work hard for victory by the Bengals and in the end they were glad to see the clock run down to win Super Bowl XVI by 26 points to 21.

Super Bowl XVI MVP was the San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Joe Montana who completed 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards with one touchdown.

Note
The San Francisco 49ers playoff averages were 30.7 points per game scored (22.3 regular season) and 24 points per game conceded (15.6 regular season).

The Cincinnati Bengals playoff averages were 25.3 points per game scored (26.3 regular season) and 18 points per game conceded (19 regular season).

In Conclusion
Going by the averages it appears that the San Francisco 49ers rolled out a different team for the postseason games!

Throughout the playoffs the 49ers were getting games won and were always looking to score, they were not just trying to avoid defeat. They moved away from being a defensive team to become a very effective offensive team and seemed quite prepared to concede some points just so long as their offense could be released early enough to go on the counterattack.

The Bengals playoff averages were hardly any different from regular season and if anything they got slightly better in defense. They played a very consistent game whilst maybe not being the best team of 1981 they did battle very well and were a tough team to beat.

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
San Francisco 49ers (NFC)	7	13	0	6	-	26
Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)	0	0	7	14	-	21