Finally the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, with the designated home team based on an annual rotation by conference.
Seattle scored on the opening drive of the game, with Warner carrying the ball on six of eight plays and Krieg hitting wide receiver Steve Largent for a 17-yard touchdown pass.
However, Kerry Justin intercepted DeBerg's underthrown pass and returned the ball 45 yards to set up Norm Johnson's 37-yard field goal, giving the team a 10–7 lead.
The Broncos responded with a drive to the Seattle 5-yard line, but once again they failed to score as running back Gerald Willhite lost the ball while being tackled by linebacker Shelton Robinson and safety Paul Moyer recovered it with less than two minutes left in the half.
The Seahawks went on to score two more touchdowns, an 18-yard pass from Krieg to Paul Johns on the first play of the fourth quarter, and a 2-yard run by the reserve fullback David Hughes with 9:34 remaining in the game.
The Cowboys then tied the game with 23 seconds left in the half after quarterback Danny White capped a 70-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Hill.
Los Angeles' Mike Wilcher recovered a muffed punt from Gary Allen at the Dallas 16-yard line, setting up wide receiver Preston Dennard's 16-yard touchdown reception.
[2] at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Despite their dominant win in the wild card round, the 9–7 Seahawks hardly seemed a significant obstacle for the defending AFC champion Dolphins (12–4).
Seattle running back Zachary Dixon returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards to set up Dave Krieg's 6-yard touchdown pass to fullback Cullen Bryant and the Seahawks led 7–6.
In the fourth quarter, Seahawks cornerback Kerry Justin's interception of a Marino pass was converted into a 27-yard field goal by Norm Johnson, increasing the lead to four at 17–13.
[4] Seattle receiver Steve Largent, who had no receptions up to this point, caught a pair of passes from Krieg for gains of 16 and 40 yards as they drove to retake the lead 24–20 on Warner's 2-yard touchdown run with under two minutes left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Miami returner Fulton Walker fumbled and rookie reserve linebacker Sam Merriman recovered, setting up Johnson's 37-yard field goal to extend the lead to seven at 27–20.
Danielson then rallied the Lions back with six completions on a 10-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Sims' 11-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 17–16 with 13:36 left in the fourth quarter.
Detroit then drove 49 yards to set up a game-winning 43-yard field goal attempt for Murray in the closing seconds, but his kick was wide right by a narrow margin, enabling San Francisco to win the game.
Nick Giaquinto then returned a punt 48 yards to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Riggins to give the Redskins a 24–0 lead only a minute into the second quarter.
Then in the fourth quarter, defensive back Darrell Green intercepted a pass from Ferragamo after it bounced off Eric Dickerson and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown.
Later on, after Los Angeles received a Steelers punt with 1:02 left in the half, Allen's 21-yard run and Plunkett's 17-yard completion to Branch set up a 45-yard field goal from Chris Bahr, giving the Raiders a 17–3 halftime lead.
[2] at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. After the 49ers erased a 21–0 fourth quarter deficit, two controversial penalties against San Francisco led to the Redskins' kicker Mark Moseley overcoming an awful day and kicking the winning field goal.
After forcing a punt, Joe Theismann's 46-yard completion to tight end Clint Didier moved the ball to the 49ers 18-yard line, setting up a 4-yard touchdown run by fullback John Riggins with 6:16 left in the half.
Later in the quarter, the Redskins drove deep into San Francisco territory, featuring a fourth down run by Jeff Hayes on a fake punt, but once again Moseley sent a field goal attempt wide right, this time from 35 yards, and the score remained 7–0 at the end of the half.
Midway through the third quarter, San Francisco receiver Freddie Solomon lost a fumble while being tackled by Green that linebacker Rich Milot recovered on the 49ers 36-yard line.
A few plays later, a pass interference penalty on defensive back Ronnie Lott moved the ball to the 6-yard line, and Riggins took it the final six yards to the end zone with three more runs, making the score 14–0.
Still, the Redskins were unable to capitalize, failing to get a first down and once again coming up empty when Moseley missed his fourth field goal attempt of the day, this time short from 41 yards.
This possession was aided by two controversial penalties: The 49ers got the ball back one last time, but Montana attempting a Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Vernon Dean on the final play of the game, sealing Washington's victory.
The Raiders outgained Seattle in total yards 405–197, intercepted five passes, jumped to a 20–0 halftime lead, and overcame four turnovers of their own en route to a 30–14 victory.
With 1:02 left in the half, Seattle desperately tried to put some points on the board before halftime, but defensive back Mike Davis intercepted a pass from Krieg at his own 40-yard line.
The start of the fourth quarter saw the Seahawks blow another scoring chance when Vann McElroy intercepted a pass from Zorn after the team had recovered Plunkett's fumbled pitch to Allen on the Los Angeles 25-yard line.
Holy Toledo, what a start!Bill King of KRLA - calling a touchdown by Cliff Branch in Super Bowl XVIII in 1984 for the Raiders.
A marvelous piece of zig-zag dancing!Bill King of KRLA - calling the second touchdown of Marcus Allen in Super Bowl XVIII in 1984 for the Raiders.
- Plunkett giving to Allen, setting a wide left... he has to reverse his field... he now gets away for a moment... cuts back into the 30... 35... 40... races past two men into the 50... down to the 40... picking up a blocker... to the 20... to the 10... to the 5... TOUCHDOWN RAIDERS!