The Raiders were making their third Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–5 regular season record, but losing a tiebreaker to the AFC West division winner San Diego Chargers.

The Eagles were making their first Super Bowl appearance after posting a 12–4 regular season record and postseason victories over the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys.

Oakland linebacker Rod Martin also intercepted Philadelphia quarterback Ron Jaworski three times for a Super Bowl record.

Meanwhile, Oakland traded long time starting quarterback Ken Stabler in the 1979 off-season to replace him with Dan Pastorini, a former high school rival of Plunkett who had been selected two spots below him in the 1971 draft.

Veteran tight end Raymond Chester proved to be a capable starter for the rest of the year, catching 28 passes for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Raiders also had an outstanding offensive line led by two future Hall of Famers, tackle Art Shell and guard Gene Upshaw.

The Eagles were led by quarterback Ron Jaworski, who completed 257 out of 451 passes for 3,529 yards during the regular season, including 27 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions.

Another key player on the Eagles offense was halfback Wilbert Montgomery, who was widely considered one of the top running backs in the NFL after rushing for more than 1,200 yards in each of the previous two seasons.

The other main deep threats on offense, wide receivers Harold Carmichael and Charlie Smith, along with tight end Keith Krepfle, combined for 125 receptions, 2,090 yards, and 16 touchdowns.

Linebackers Jerry Robinson (4 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions) and Bill Bergey excelled at both stopping the run and pass coverage.

In the days before the game, most sports writers were speculating over whether, if the Raiders won, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle would present the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the team's owner Al Davis.

There were three color commentators: Merlin Olsen sat next to Enberg, while John Brodie and Len Dawson worked in a separate broadcast booth.

Pete Axthelm reported on the issue of gambling addiction, via interviews with members of Gamblers Anonymous, in addition to his usual role making picks as to who he felt would win a particular game.

Toward the end of NBC's coverage, a montage of the game, the arrival of the hostages following their release, and the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States aired to the tune of "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang.

The pregame festivities honored the end of the Iran hostage crisis (which was announced 5 days before the game), and featured a performance by the Southern University band.

Raiders linebacker Rod Martin intercepted Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski's first pass of the game and returned it 17 yards to the Philadelphia 30-yard line, setting up quarterback Jim Plunkett's 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch eight plays later, giving Oakland an early 7–0 lead.

On the Raiders' next possession, on third down from their own 20, Plunkett threw the ball to running back Kenny King at the 39-yard line as he was scrambling around in the backfield to avoid being sacked.

After another exchange of punts, with just over four minutes left in the half, the Raiders reached the Eagles 27-yard line, which included an 18-yard reception by Branch, only to have kicker Chris Bahr miss a 45-yard field goal.

On third down, Parker got ahead of safety Odis McKinney and was open on a route into the end zone, but Jaworski overthrew him and the pass was incomplete.

Then with just 54 seconds left in the half, Franklin attempted a 28-yard field goal, but Raiders linebacker Ted Hendricks extended his 6'7" frame at the line and blocked the kick, maintaining Oakland's 14–3 lead at halftime.

Starting from their own 12-yard line, a 43-yard reception by wide receiver Charlie Smith and a 19-yard catch by Parker sparked an 88-yard, 14-play drive that was capped by Jaworski's 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Krepfle.

The Eagles kept the Raiders out of the end zone, but Bahr kicked a 35-yard field goal, increasing Oakland's lead to 27–10 and capping off the scoring.

As Rozelle presented the Lombardi Trophy to Davis, he praised Plunkett, head coach Tom Flores, the players, and the entire Raiders organization for being the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl IV champion Kansas City Chiefs are often thought of as a "wild-card team," but they were not; during 1969, the season before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, the second-place finishers in both divisions of the American Football League qualified for the playoffs.

Kelleher and Veteri became the third and fourth officials to work four Super Bowls, joining Jack Fette and Stan Javie.

The Raiders became the first team since the 1968 Green Bay Packers to post a losing record the year after winning the Super Bowl, going 7–9 in 1981.

Davis won a lawsuit against the NFL in May 1982 and immediately moved the team to Los Angeles, where they remained for 13 seasons before returning to Oakland in 1995.