Now it's time for Super Bowl XXVI from the Metrodome in Minneapolis:
After the Oilers went three-and-out to start the game, the Redskins caught a break when Greg Montgomery's punt was short and went almost straight up in the air. It only took a short return by Brian Mitchell to set up the Washington offense at the Houston twenty-two. Two short running plays set up third and five, when Mark Rypien hit Art Monk in the back of the end zone for the game's first touchdown. Chip Lohmiller added the extra point, and with 11:37 left in the opening period the Redskins led 7-0.
The Oilers answered with a field goal. Running back Gary Brown picked up fifteen yards on a draw play, and later in the drive Allen Pinkett busted off left tackle for fourteen more. The longest pass on the march was just eleven yards, as Warren Moon connected with wideout Haywood Jeffires for a first down at the Washingto twenty-four. The drive fizzled out at the sixteen, but kicker Al Del Greco made a thirty-three yard field goal to bring the Oilers within 7-3 with six minutes left in the opening period.
The Oilers had crossed midfield again when the first quarter ended, as cornerback Cris Dishman had leveled Redskins wide receiver Ricky Sanders after a catch, then recovered his own fumble at the Houston forty-two. Brown gained fourteen yards up the middle on the first play from scrimmage, and Moon had just connected with fullback Lorenzo White on a screen pass for twelve yards and a first down at the Skins' twenty-nine when the first quarter ended with the Redskins still leading 7-3. The Oilers drove as far as the thirteen before Moon was sacked on back-to-back plays, first by defensive tackle Bobby Wilson for six yards, then by fellow defensive tackle Eric Williams for five more. The Oilers thus had to settle for a forty-one yard attempt by Del Greco, which he converted to cut the Washington lead to 7-6 with 10:41 to play in the first half.
The Redskins answered with a field goal of their own on their next drive. Rypien found Gary Clark for twenty-one yards and a first down in Oilers' territory, and two plays later running back Gerald Riggs took a pitchout from Rypien and cut back to the right, then turned on the speed and gained thirty yards before being brought down at the Houston seventeen. From there, Rypien tried to hit Monk twice, but one fell at his feet and one lost two yards thanks to alert coverage by Oilers strong safety Bubba McDowell. Earnest Byner could only gain a yard on third down, so Lohmiller was called on from thirty-five yards out. He converted, and the Skins now led 10-6 with 6:26 to play in the first half.
The next shot in what was rapidly becoming a battle of field goals belonged to the AFC champs. White gained fourteen yards on a sweep to the left, and Moon converted a key third down by hitting Ernest Giivins over the middle for seventeen yards and a first down. at the Skins' thirty-five. After fellow wideout Curtis Duncan dropped a sure touchdown pass three plays later, it was up to Del Greco from the thirty, an attempt of forty-seven yards. Holder Montgomery juggled the snap, but managed to get it down just in time, and the kick was good as we hit the two-minute warning with 1:58 left in the half. Our score: Redskins 10, Oilers 9.
The Skins retaliated by showing the quick-strike capability that had been the Oilers' stock in trade all year. First, Byner barged through a gaping hole in the middle of the Oilers' defense for forty-one yards. Then, reserve tight end Terry Orr turned a short toss in the flat into a bruising thirty-two yard catch-and-run before being forced out of bounds at the Houston nine-yard line. On first and goal, Rypien hit Clark on the same play that he'd run with Monk for the Skins' first touchdown, and the result was identical. Lohmiller added the extra point, and just like that the Washington lead was 17-9 with 1:17 still left before halftime.
At this point, the Oilers' aggressive reputation got them in trouble. From his own twenty following a touchback on the kickoff, Moon tried to throw the bomb three straight times, overshooting Jeffires twice and fellow receiver Drew Hill once. Rather than punt on fourth down, the Oilers relied on Pinkett to break a big run off of a short toss, but he was tackled after a gain of only eight yards. The Skins were already in Lohmiller's range as they took over, and on the final play of the half Chip (a former Minnesota Golden Gopher) was good from forty-four yards out to extend Washington's halftime lead to 20-9. "We may have just seen the end of the Oilers today," warned CBS's John Madden. "Giving up those last ten points as easily as they just did is something even good teams have a hard time coming back from."
But a comeback they tried. After forcing a three-and-out following the second half kickoff, the offense set up shop at its own thirty-eight. The key play of the drive was Moon's twenty-five yard strike to Jeffires, which gave them a first down at the Washington twenty-eight. But after a short pass to Duncan gave them a second and one, Moon was again sacked on back-to-back plays, first by linebacker Monte Coleman for six yards, then by defensive tackle Charles Mann for four more. That left the Oilers at the twenty-nine, which meant a forty-six yard attempt by Del Greco. This one hooked just inside the left upright, and with 8:43 left in the third quarter the Oilers had cut their deficit to 20-12.
That was all the scoring in the third quarter, but the Oilers maintained their momentum by stopping what could have been a game-sealing drive by the Skins. Mitchell's kickoff return had given them the ball on their own forty-three, and a fifteen-yard pass to Monk brought the ball across midfield. Later, Byner took a sweep and cut back to the left, picking up twenty-five yards before being brought down at the Houston two-yard line. A touchdown figured to be a foregone conclusion, but Riggs was stopped by linebacker Lamar Lathon at the line of scrimmage on first down, then was forced out of bounds for no gain on second down. Ricky Ervins got the call on third down, but left defensive end William Fuller almost had his arms around Ervins before he got the ball, and the play was stopped cold. Byner finally got the ball again on fourth down, but this time it was right defensive end Sean Jones who stopped the play almost before it got started. A Lohmiller chip shot would have put the Skins up 23-12 with a little more than a quarter left against a Houston offense that hadn't come close to scoring a touchdown all day.
Unfortunately, the Oilers couldn't capitalize on their lucky break. Once again, Moon tried to use the passing game to gain big yardage, and once again it failed him. Givins was running before he'd caught Moon's first down pass, and it hit him in the shoulder pads. Hill juggled and dropped his second down pass, and another try for Givins on third down was badly overthrown. The resulting punt and return set up the Skins at the Oilers' thirty-eight, but they couldn't get a first down, and Lohmiller's forty-nine yard attempt hooked wide left. We reached the end of the third quarter with the Redskins holding on to a 20-12 lead.
The teams traded three-and-outs until midway through the final quarter, when a Rypien pass intended for Monk was picked off by McDowell, who returned the gift to the Skins' forty-yard line. On second and nine from the twenty-seven, Moon faked to Pinkett, then fired for Jeffires, who dove to catch the slightly underthrown ball and stabbed it just before he went down in the end zone. After a breathless moment, the touchdown signal was given. Del Greco's extra point made it a 20-19 game with 6:50 to play in regulation.
After forcing another three-and-out, Luv Ya Blue got the ball back with a little more than five minutes left. Two attempted runs by Pinkett lost four yards, but Moon kept the drive alive by connecting with Hill for seventeen yards and a first down. Pinkett picked up three more on first down, which set up a second and seven at the Houston forty-two. Moon dropped back, but had to unload with Mann's hand right in his face, and the badly underthrown pass fluttered into the arms of cornerback Martin Mayhew, who returned it to the Oilers thirty-three. The Skins could now smell their first Super Bowl in six tries, and wasted no time putting the game away. Here's Pat Summerall with how they did it:
"First and ten from the Oilers' thirty-three, 3:30 to play in the game. Rypien with the pitch to Byner, who cuts back to the right. Twenty-five, twenty, makes a move at the fifteen, the ten, and he'll score!...…….The Redskins look to have just won their first Super Bowl after six tries, and Lohmiller's extra point will make this a two-score game with three minutes and sixteen seconds to play."
Madden: "Earnest Byner has been the heartbeat of the Washington offense all year long, and it's only fitting that he scores the clinching touchdown. Power, speed, he's shown it all this year, and he also has moves, which he uses to fake out Dishman, the last Oiler who could catch him."
Lohmiller added the crucial extra point, and we had our final score. The Oilers' last desperation drive ended with a fourth-down sack by Mann, and after a few kneeldowns the Skins' long wait was over. After five straight losses, they'd finally won their first Super Bowl and their first overall NFL title since 1942. Final score: Washington 27, Houston 19.
Byner was named Super Bowl MVP after gaining 136 yards on seventeen carries. Rypien wasn't nearly as prolific as he was in real life, but he was effective, completing ten of his thirteen passes for 114 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Clark was his leading receiver with three catches for forty-three yards and a touchdown. The defense was relentless, sacking Moon seven times and holding him to fifteen of thirty-one for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Mann led the way with a pair of sacks. Jeffires was the game's leading receiver with four catches for sixty-nine yards and a touchdown, and Brown led the ground game with forty-three yards on just three carries. Pinkett carried thirteen times, but was held to just thirty-six yards.
We've now contested twenty-seven Super Bowls, and the NFC leads the AFC in all-time victories 16-11.
Next: We go back to the 1993 playoffs with an AFC Wild Card Game.
Thoughts?
