NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XXIII played on January 22, 1989, was won by the Champions of the NFC the San Francisco 49ers who defeated the AFC Champions the Cincinnati Bengals at the Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida.

The San Francisco 49ers had finished 1st in the 1988 NFC West Division coached by Bill Walsh with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The 49ers point scoring average had been 23.1 points per game which made their offense 7th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 18.4 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 8th in the league.

The San Francisco 49ers postseason games began with the NFC Divisional Playoffs where their opponents were the Minnesota Vikings who had finished 2nd in the 1988 NFC Central Division coached by Jerry Burns with a regular season record of 11-5-0. The Vikings point scoring average had been 25.4 points per game which made their offense 4th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 14.6 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 2nd in the league.

The Minnesota Vikings had got through to playoff season by beating the Los Angeles Rams 28 - 17 in the NFC Wild Card Game.

During the course of regular season the 49ers and the Vikings had played against each other once when the 49ers had won a fairly tight game by 24 points to 21.

Despite the Vikings being only a Wild Card they had actually achieved better averages for points scored and conceded than the 49ers.

With the Vikings having the better averages and the 49ers with the confidence boosting regular season victory under their belts the NFC Divisional Playoff looked to be an open tie and one that could go either way.

However, it was in no way as close as it had looked to be on paper as the 49ers won easy after trouncing the Vikings by 34 points to 9.

The San Francisco 49ers opponents in the NFC Championship Game were the Chicago Bears who had finished 1st in the 1988 NFC Central Division coached by Mike Ditka with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Bears point scoring average had been 19.5 points per game which made their offense 18th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 13.4 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 1st in the league.

The Chicago Bears had been a rock solid defensive team in regular season and had not given points away easily. The Bears problems lay with their offense, they just didn′t score enough.

The San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears had played against each other once in regular season when the Bears had won a very close game by 10 points to 9.

The 1988 NFC Championship Game went the way of the 49ers though after they found the key to the Bears defense. The 49ers won by 28 points to 3.

The San Francisco 49ers opponents in Super Bowl XXIII were the Cincinnati Bengals who had finished 1st in the 1988 AFC Central Division coached by Sam Wyche with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Bengals point scoring average had been 28 points per game which made their offense 1st best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 20.6 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 16th in the league.

The Cincinnati Bengals playoff games began in the AFC Divisional Playoffs where their opponents were the Seattle Seahawks who had finished 1st in the 1988 AFC West Division coached by Chuck Knox with a regular season record of 9-7-0. The Seahawks point scoring average had been 21.2 points per game which made their offense 12th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 20.6 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 16th in the league.

In regular season the Bengals and the Seahawks had not played against each other but as the Bengals were a consistent winning team and had a far better offense the job of beating the Seahawks looked straightforward enough.

The Bengals won their AFC Divisional Playoff Game without too much fuss by 21 points to 13.

In the 1988 AFC Championship the Cincinnati Bengals opponents were the Buffalo Bills who had finished 1st in the 1988 AFC East Division coached by Marv Levy with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Bills point scoring average had been 20.6 points per game which made their offense 14th best of 28 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 14.8 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 3rd in the league.

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills had played against each other once during the course of regular season when the Cincinnati Bengals had won 35 - 21.

Going by averages there did not look to be a lot between the Bengals and the Bills. One was good in offense and not so good in defense and the other team was the opposite not so good in offense but a good defense.

The AFC Championship Game went to the form team. The Bengals had already shown that they could beat the Bills once and I don′t think it was too much trouble for them to do so again as they won by 21 points to 10.

Super Bowl XXIII looked to be quite a tight match between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The two teams had not played against each other in regular season.

The 49ers averages for points scored and conceded could possibly have put them marginally ahead of the Bengals but the Bengals had the better win record (12-4-0 as opposed to 10-6-0).

The game itself was every bit as tight as it had looked to be beforehand.

In the first quarter the 49ers took the early lead by 3 - 0 after a field goal by Mike Cofer but in the second quarter the Bengals evened things up with a field goal of their own from Jim Breech.

At half-time honors were even 3 - 3 and nothing much was being given away by either side.

However, in the third following two more field goals, one from either side, it was the Bengals who went ahead following a Stanford Jennings touchdown and a Jim Breech kick. The Bengals led 13 - 6 at the end of the third quarter.

With it all to play for in the fourth the San Francisco 49ers pushed forward and scored two touchdowns. One from Jerry Rice and another by John Taylor along with two converted kicks at goal by Mike Cofer.

The Bengals had little to give in response and only managed another field goal by Jim Breech.

Super Bowl XXIII was won by the San Francisco 49ers 20 points to 16.

San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver Jerry Rice was named Super Bowl XXIII Most Valuable Player after he caught 11 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown.

Note
The San Francisco 49ers playoff averages were 27.3 points scored per game (23.1 regular season) and an average of 9.3 points conceded per game (18.4 regular season).

The Cincinnati Bengals playoff averages were 19.3 points scored per game (28 regular season) and an average of 14.3 points conceded per game (20.6 regular season).

In Conclusion
The 49ers form held together well through their postseason games and their averages proved to be the credentials of a Champion. Their regular season record had not been that impressive but it was as if they learned from those games, weighing up oppostion and as a result they made hardly any mistakes throughout the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals registered very impressive averages in offense during regular season but not so good in defense. However, for the playoffs it looks like they worked very hard to get it right in defense. This was achieved alright but they forgot about the scoring side of the game.

The 49ers sure did their homework!

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)	0	3	10	3	-	16
San Francisco 49ers (NFC)	3	0	3	14	-	20