Remember When?: Super Bowl XVI

(With the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday, I will look at the five Super Bowls that the 49ers played in. Why the 49ers you ask and not other Super Bowls, because this is my blog and I'm a 49ers fan. So deal with it.)

Super Bowl XVI
San Francisco 26 Cincinnati 21
Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
Date: January 24, 1982
MVP: Joe Montana
Favorite: San Francisco by 1
National Anthem: Diana Ross
Coin Toss: Bobby Layne
Network: CBS
Announcers: Pat Summerall and John Madden
Nielsen Ratings: 49.1

Super XVI was notable for different reasons. It was the first game played in a Northern City Pontiac, Michigan where the weather would wreck havoc on the traffic trying to get to the game. It was the first Super Bowl that Pat Summerall and John Madden called together. It was also the start of the 49ers dynasty that would last for over 20 years.

Background:
The 49ers surprised many in the league by going 13-3 on the season. Joe Montana emerged as a star quarterback in his third season in the league. Montana's favorite targets where Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon. The leading rusher was Rickey Patton and Earl Cooper was the first pure West Coast Offense running back serving as a running and receiving threat. The Niners defense was lead by 3 rookie defensive backs in Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, and Carlton Williamson. The defense was also lead by veterans Jack Reynolds and Fred Dean.

The Cincinnati Bengals were also a surprise team going 12-4 on the season and never winning a playoff game in the teams history. The offense was lead by NFL MVP Ken Anderson who's deep threat was rookie Cris Collinsworth. Tight End Dan Ross and fullback Pete Alexander rounded out the offense that was protected by hall of fame lineman Anthony Munoz.

The conference championship games leading up to the Super Bowl were instant classics. The Chargers would go to Cincinnati after playing in The Epic in Miami. When San Diego arrived in Cincinnati to play the Bengals, the temperatures where -9 degrees with a wind chill of -50 degrees. Needless to say the cold weather Bengal team thrashed the Chargers 27-7.

The Niners on the other hand played an instant classic against the Dallas Cowboys. With the Niners losing 27-21 with time running out in the fourth quarter, Joe Montana lead the Niners down the field. With 51 seconds left in the game, Joe Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown which would be forever known as "The Catch" sending the Niners to their first Super Bowl.



Super Bowl Pre-game Notes:
- The Niners were favorites heading into the game despite being pretty evenly matched with the Bengals.

- Cincinnati head coach Forrest Gregg became the second person to have played and coached in a Super Bowl. Former Raiders coach Tom Flores was the first.

- This was the first Super Bowl to feature first-time Super Bowl participants since Super Bowl III.

- This was also the first Super Bowl to feature two teams who had losing records the previous year.

- This was the first Super Bowl to be played in a northern city and the only Super Bowl played in the Pontiac Silverdome.

Game Summary:
1st Quarter
The game started with the Niners fumbling the opening kickoff giving the ball to Cincinnati on the Niners 26-yard line. The Bengals wouldn't be able to captilize as Ken Anderson threw an interception to Dwight Hicks at the 5-yard line. Montana would drive the Niners down the field and would score a 1-yard touchdown on a QB sneak. The Niners lead 7-0 at the end of halftime.

2nd Quarter
Cincinnati would once again blow another scoring opportunity. Rookie Cris Collinsworth fumbled a pass from Ken Anderson at the five-yard line that was recovered by the Niners. Montana drove the Niners on a Super Bowl record 92-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Earl Cooper to make the score 14-0 Niners. With 4 minutes left in the half, the Niners went on another scoring drive that ended with a Ray Werching field goal to make the score 17-0 Niners. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Archie Griffin muffed the squib kick, giving the Niners the ball on the Bengals four-yard line. A offsides penalty on the Niners prevented them from scoring a touchdown, so Ray Werching kicked another field goal to make the score 20-0 at halftime. That would be the biggest lead in Super Bowl history.

3rd Quarter
The late field goal by the Niners would actually give the Bengals confidence heading into the 2nd half. Anderson lead the Bengals down the field and ran for a five-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 20-7 Niners. The Bengals defense, now inspired, held the Niners to only 8 plays and 4 yards on offense in the entire third quarter.

Late in the the quarter, the Bengals drove all the way down to the Niners three-yard line. What would ensue would be the greatest goal line stand in Super Bowl history. On first-and-goal, Pete Johnson took the handoff and was stoned at the one-yard line. On 2nd down, Johnson ran up the middle and lost a yard. On third-and-goal Niners linebacker Dan Bunz made one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. Anderson faked a run to Johnson and threw a swing pass to Charles Alexander who was isolated by Bunz. Bunz was able to tackle Alexander at the one-inch line and prevent him from scoring. Rather than kicking the field goal, the Bengals decided to run Johnson up the middle once again. And once again he was stoned at the one-yard line giving the Niners the ball and the momentum.



4th Quarter
The Niners didn't do much with the ball and had to punt. Cincinnati would drive down the field and end the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to tight end Dan Ross. The Niners lead 20-14.

The Niners ensuing drive would drain a huge amount of time off the clock and ended with another Werching field goal to make the score 23-14 Niners. With five minutes left in the game, Anderson threw an interception to Niners cornerback Eric Wright which set up another Wersching field goal to make the score 26-14 Niners. Anderson would throw another touchdown to Dan Ross to make the score 26-21, but it would be too late for the Bengals.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI.

Post Game Notes:
- Joe Montana was the game's MVP throwing for 157 yards one touchdown and rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown run.

- This is the only Super Bowl where the losing team scored more touchdown than the winning team. (Bengals 3, 49ers 2)

- Ray Wersching tied a Super Bowl record with 4 field goals.

- Cincinnati tight end Dan Ross made history by catching 11 passes for two touchdowns.

- Super Bowl XVI is still the most watched Super Bowl ever with 85 million viewers and is only second behind the series finale of MASH.

(Sources: Wikipedia, SI Vault, TV by the Numbers,)