Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League champion for the 1984 season. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by the score of 38–16, to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, the first Super Bowl played in the San Francisco Bay Area. This also became the second Super Bowl after Super Bowl XIV where the game was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants.
The game was hyped as the battle between two great quarterbacks: Miami's Dan Marino and San Francisco's Joe Montana. The Dolphins entered their fifth Super Bowl in team history after posting a 14–2 regular season record. The 49ers were making their second Super Bowl appearance after becoming the first team to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
With Marino and Montana, the game became the first Super Bowl in which the starting quarterbacks of each team both threw for over 300 yards. In addition, the two teams combined for 851 total offensive yards, which at that time was a Super Bowl record. But after trailing 10–7 in the first quarter, the 49ers would end up taking the game in dominating fashion, scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter, and 10 unanswered points in the second half. Montana, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, completed 24 of 35 passes for a Super Bowl-record 331 yards and three touchdowns. He also broke the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards gained by a quarterback with his five rushes for 59 yards and one rushing touchdown. San Francisco set a Super Bowl record with 537 total yards, breaking the previous record of 429 yards set by the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XI.
This was the first Super Bowl to be televised in the United States by ABC, joining the annual broadcasting rotation of the game with CBS and NBC. It was also the first time that the sitting U.S. president participated in the coin toss ceremony; Ronald Reagan appeared live via satellite from the White House and tossed the coin. This Super Bowl was unique in that it fell on the same day that he was inaugurated for a second term; because Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday, Reagan was sworn in privately and the public ceremony took place the following day.
This Super Bowl also began the NFC's run of dominance. From 1984 to 1996, the National Football Conference won 13 consecutive Super Bowls and the average score per game in that span was nearly identical to the result of this game, NFC 38, AFC 17. The NFC scored 490 points and committed only 10 turnovers altogether during their run, while the AFC only scored 219 points and committed 44 turnovers.
Background
Host selection process
NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XIX to Stanford Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California on December 14, 1982, at the owners' mid-season meeting held in Dallas. Near Palo Alto, it was the first Super Bowl to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. It became the fourth primarily collegiate stadium to host a Super Bowl, following Tulane Stadium, then the home of the Saints, Rice Stadium and the Rose Bowl. Owners had tentatively planned to award XIX during the owners' meetings in Detroit on June 3, 1981. Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Pasadena, Detroit, and Dallas each made presentations that day, with Detroit and Dallas expressedly bidding on only XIX. Tampa was selected for XVIII, but with no outstanding options, owners decided to postpone the awarding of XIX until their 1982 meeting.The league eventually reopened the bidding process from scratch. Hosts for both XIX and XX would be selected, and potentially XXI as well. A total of ten cities put in bids: Palo Alto, New Orleans, Miami, Houston, Seattle, Detroit, Pasadena, Tampa, Anaheim, and Jacksonville. Stanford Stadium was picked, despite having no lights at the time, no dressing rooms, and a substandard press box. Stadium officials promised much needed renovations, and the league agreed to provide temporary lighting. Representatives from New Orleans stressed that if they were not selected for XX, due to scheduling conflicts, they would not be able to host again until 1990. As such, the Superdome was subsequently selected for XX. Rice Stadium was speculated for XXI, but ultimately no decision was made for that game. Yet again, Miami was rejected, due to the aging condition of the Orange Bowl. A proposed sales tax levy to pay for a new stadium had failed at the ballot box on November 2, further sinking any chances for South Florida.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins advanced to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in franchise history, but the year began in tragedy as running back David Overstreet was killed in an automobile accident on June 24. The Dolphins joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams to appear in five Super Bowls. Much of the media focus was on Miami's young quarterback, Dan Marino. In just his second year in the league, he broke nearly every NFL single-season passing record. Marino set a record for the most completions in a season and became the first quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards, reaching a total of 5,084. He set the record for the most games throwing for at least 300 passing yards and the most games with 400 yards. Marino's 48 touchdown passes broke the previous record of 36, which was held by both George Blanda for the Houston Oilers in 1961 and Y. A. Tittle for the New York Giants in 1963. And he had the most games and the most consecutive games with at least 4 touchdown passes.Thus going into Super Bowl XIX, many sports writers predicted that it would be the first of many Super Bowls that Marino would play in during his career. Marino had a unique ability to read the defenses quickly before setting up to throw, and his skill of quickly releasing the ball made it very difficult for defenders to sack him. In addition, he had protection given to him by an offensive line led by their All-Pro, and future Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson and Pro Bowl guard Ed Newman. Coming into Super Bowl XIX, Marino had only been sacked 13 times in the regular season and not once in the playoffs.
The Dolphins had a number of offensive threats for Marino to use. Wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper became the first teammates to each gain over 1,300 receiving yards in one season, while Clayton's 18 touchdown catches broke the NFL single-season record of 17 set by Don Hutson in 1942. Receiver Nat Moore caught 43 passes for 574 yards and 6 touchdowns, while tight end Dan Johnson contributed 34 receptions for 426 yards. While Miami's main offensive attack was passing, they still had a trio of great running backs: Tony Nathan, Woody Bennett, and Joe Carter. Both Nathan and Bennett finished the season with over 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards, while Carter contributed 495 rushing yards. Despite Miami's superb offense, punter Reggie Roby still made the Pro Bowl, averaging 44.7 yards per punt with a net gain average of 38.7.
However, the Dolphins' defense was a little suspect. They tied the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings for the most rushing yards allowed during the regular season, and ranked just 19th in fewest yards allowed. The main bright spots on the defense were safeties, brothers Lyle and Glenn Blackwood, along with Pro Bowl inside linebacker A. J. Duhe, Pro Bowl nose tackle Bob Baumhower, and defensive end Doug Betters. Glenn Blackwood had picked off 6 passes during the season and returned them for 169 yards, while Betters recorded 14 sacks and a fumble recovery. Linebacker Charles Bowser was also a big contributor, recording 9 sacks and one fumble recovery.
Despite their defensive flaws, the Dolphins finished 7th in the NFL in points allowed. Their powerful offense led the NFL in scoring and total yards gained, and helped the team reach an AFC best 14–2 regular season record.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers advanced to their second Super Bowl in team history after becoming the first team to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Much of the hype surrounding the team was their offense, which boasted five Pro Bowlers. Quarterback Joe Montana recorded 279 completions out of 432 attempts for 3,630 yards, 28 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions. Fullback Roger Craig was one of the 49ers' major weapons, both rushing and receiving. Craig was the team's second-leading rusher with 649 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns, and also caught 71 passes for 675 yards. Pro Bowl halfback Wendell Tyler, who had rushed for a team record 1,262 yards during the regular season, recorded 7 rushing touchdowns, and also caught 28 passes for 230 yards and 2 touchdown receptions. Tight end Earl Cooper also made an impact with 41 receptions for 459 yards and 4 touchdowns. Fellow tight end Russ Francis was another reliable target, catching 23 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receivers Freddie Solomon and Dwight Clark also were deep threats, gaining a combined total of 1,617 yards and 16 touchdowns. Up front, three of the 49ers' five starting offensive linemen, Randy Cross, Fred Quillan, and Keith Fahnhorst, had been selected to play in the Pro Bowl. Overall, San Francisco's offense finished the season ranked second in the NFL in scoring and fourth in total yards.Although they did not get as much media attention as the offense, the 49ers' defense led the league in fewest points allowed during the regular season. All four of the 49ers' starting defensive backs, Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, Carlton Williamson, and Dwight Hicks, were selected to play in the Pro Bowl. Pro Bowl linebacker Keena Turner was also a major defensive weapon, recording 2 sacks and 4 interceptions for 51 yards. Defensive end Dwaine Board anchored the line, recording 10 sacks and a fumble recovery. Future hall of fame Defensive end Fred Dean missed the first 11 games of the season holding out over a contract dispute, but immediately made his presence felt upon returning, recording 4 sacks in his five games.