NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XVIII played on January 22, 1984, was won by the Champions of the AFC the Los Angeles Raiders who defeated the NFC Champions the Washington Redskins at the Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

The Los Angeles Raiders had won the 1983 AFC West Division coached by Tom Flores with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Raiders had a point scoring average of 27.6 per game which put their offense 3rd best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 21.1 per game conceded making their defense 13th overall in the league.

The Raiders first postseason playoff game was in the AFC Divisional Playoffs where their opponents were the Pittsburgh Steelers who had won the AFC Central Division coached by Chuck Noll with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The Steelers point scoring average in regular season was 22.2 per game making their offense 14th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 18.9 points conceded per game ranking their defense 7th overall in the league.

The Raiders and the Steelers had not met in regular season. However, the Raiders had lost both home and away to the Seattle Seahawks who the Steelers had beaten whilst the Raiders had beaten the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals both of whom the Steelers had lost to so "honors" were fairly even. Going by averages the Raiders were ranked a little bit better than the Steelers but not by much.

In the Divisional Playoff Game though it was as though a totally different Raiders team had turned up. The Raiders put the Steelers to the sword and cut them to pieces in a one-sided game to win 38 - 10.

The Los Angeles Raiders played against the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Championship. The Seahawks had finished 2nd in the AFC West Division coached by Chuck Knox with a regular season record of 9-7-0. Their point scoring average was not too bad and was 25.2 points per game ranking their offense 6th best of 28 in the NFL whilst their points allowed average was 24.8 points conceded per game ranking their defense a very low 24th in the league. The Seattle Seahawks were a Wild Card team and were only about mid-div in the NFL in terms of ability.

Nevertheless, it was the Seahawks who had proved to be something of a nemesis for the Raiders in the course of regular season. The Seahawks had beaten the Raiders twice, both home and away, in very close narrow margin games.

Going by averages though the Seattle Seahawks should not have been causing problems for the Raiders. LA Raiders were a superior team overall in both offense and defense and one could be forgiven for thinking that it surely must be the Raiders time to overturn the Seahawks in the Conference Championship.

Like in the Divisional Playoffs the Raiders made very short work of their opponents and won the AFC Championship by 30 points to 14.

The Los Angeles Raiders opponents in Super Bowl XVIII were the Washington Redskins who had won the NFC East Division coached by Joe Gibbs with a very near perfect regular season record of 14-2-0. The reason that I write "very near perfect" is because the two games they lost, one to the Dallas Cowboys the other to the Green Bay Packers were both by only 1 point. The Redskins had a point scoring average of 33.8 points per game which ranked their offense 1st in the NFL of 28 and their points allowed average was 20.8 points conceded per game making their defense 11th best in the league.

The Redskins opponents in the NFC Divisional Playoffs were the Los Angeles Rams who had finished 2nd in the NFC West Division coached by John Robinson with a regular season record of 9-7-0. The Rams had a point scoring average of 22.6 points per game which ranked their offense 11th best in the NFL of 28 and their points allowed average was 21.5 points conceded per game making their defense 15th best in the league.

The Rams only qualified for the postseason games as a Wild Card team and shouldn′t have realistically posed any problems for the Redskins. They had played against each other once in regular season with the Redskins winning easy by 42 points to 20.

True to form the Rams were no sort of match and the Redskins won the NFC Divisional Playoff very comfortably by 42 points to 20.

The Redskins next playoff opponents were the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers had won the NFC West Division coached by Bill Walsh with a regular season record of 10-6-0. Their point scoring average was 27 points per game which ranked their offense 4th best in the NFL of 28 and their points allowed average was 18.3 points conceded per game making their defense 4th best in the league.

In regular season the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers had not played against each other although the Washington Redskins had beaten the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and the Atlanta Falcons all of whom the 49ers had lost to. Nevertheless, the 49ers had comprehensively beaten the Dallas Cowboys whom the Redskins were beaten by (albeit by only 1 point).

One thing that must be pointed out though is that although the 49ers were a good side they did have too many defeats in 1983 to be at the real top of the tree and were quite beatable. Nevertheless, as the Redskins were the number 1 ranked team in offense and the 49ers ranked very high in both offense and defense it promised to be a good game.

Fans were not to be disappointed. The Washington Redskins won the 1983 NFC Championship Game after a very tight game by 24 points to 21.

Super Bowl XVIII looked set for an exciting clash between two of the very top offense teams in the NFL who both appeared to be in scintillating postseason form. The Los Angeles Raiders and the Washington Redskins had played against each other once in regular season which had been a very close run thing with the Redskins winning 37 - 35 and going by the book there did not look a lot between them.

In the Super Bowl itself though it was never the game anticipated. The Los Angeles Raiders dominated from start to finish and "won" all four quarters. The Redskins never got a look in and it proved to be one of the most one-sided Super Bowl′s there has ever been. The Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII by 38 points to 9.

Los Angeles Raiders Running Back Marcus Allen was named Super Bowl XVIII Most Valuable Player after he ran for 191 yards, caught 2 passes for 18 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.

Note
The Los Angeles Raiders playoff averages were 35.3 points scored per game (27.6 regular season) and an average of 11 points conceded per game (21.1 regular season).

The Washington Redskins playoff averages were 28 points scored per game (33.8 regular season) and an average of 22 points conceded per game (20.8 regular season).

In Conclusion
What a revelation the Los Angeles Raiders were throughout the 1983 NFL Season. OK, they′d been good in offense but the overall package did not look the "real deal" and they were obviously a sleeping giant that awoke for the playoffs. They just annihilated their postseason opponents and showed great improvement from regular season in both offense and defense.

Not least of those teams in the wake of the Raiders were the Washington Redskins who just fell apart in Super Bowl XVIII. Their playoff averages were looking good after the Divisional Playoffs and the Conference Championship that is until Super Bowl when those figures just disintegrated.

The Redskins, who were the defending Super Bowl Champions just got brushed aside with utter contempt by Super Bowl XVIII winners the Los Angeles Raiders!

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Washington Redskins (NFC)	0	3	6	0	-	9
Los Angeles Raiders (AFC)	7	14	14	3	-	38