Super Bowl XVI also became one of the most watched broadcasts in American television history, with more than 85 million viewers, and a final national Nielsen rating of 49.1 (a 73 share).

Detroit received rousing support from several NFL owners, including George Halas, Art Rooney, and Paul Brown.

Much of San Francisco's success was aided by its offensive line of Dan Audick (LT), John Ayers (LG), Fred Quillan (C), Randy Cross (RG), and Keith Fahnhorst (RT).

Three-year veteran defensive back Dwight Hicks led the team with nine interceptions, which he returned for 239 yards and a touchdown, giving the secondary a total of 23 picks.

The Bengals' main deep threat was rookie wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, who caught 67 passes for 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns.

A big reason for Cincinnati's production on offense was their line, led by future Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Muñoz and guard Max Montoya.

The Bengals earned their first playoff victory in team history by defeating the Buffalo Bills 28–21, then beating the San Diego Chargers 27–7 in a game known as the Freezer Bowl because of the −59 °F (−51 °C) wind chill conditions at Riverfront Stadium.

Some observers also pointed out that Ken Anderson was an established 11-year veteran who had just had the best season of his career, while Montana was only just starting to emerge as a top-notch quarterback.

Fourteen of the previous 15 Super Bowls took place in either Miami, Florida, New Orleans, Louisiana or in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

On the day of the game, a 49ers bus which had Bill Walsh and Montana on board was stuck in traffic due to bad weather and a motorcade carrying then-Vice President George H. W. Bush.

The trainer’s calling the plays.’"[18] The game was televised in the United States by CBS, featuring the broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator John Madden.

Hosting coverage for The Super Bowl Today pregame (90 minutes), halftime, and postgame shows was the NFL Today crew of Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George, and Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, with studio analysis from then-Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw (who had faced these very same 49ers during the regular season and lost 17–14) and Roger Staubach, along with reports by Pat O'Brien reporting from San Francisco, Sandy Hill reporting from Cincinnati, and CBS News correspondent Charles Osgood.

Locally, Super Bowl XVI was broadcast by KCBS-AM in San Francisco with Don Klein and Wayne Walker and by WLW-AM in Cincinnati with Phil Samp and Andy MacWilliams.

As of 2025[update], Super Bowl XVI remains the highest rated championship game in the history of the National Football League.

Quarterback Ken Anderson then started the drive off with a completion to wide receiver Isaac Curtis for 8 yards, and fullback Pete Johnson's 2-yard run then picked up a first down.

However, running back Charles Alexander was unable to move the ball forward on first down, and then Anderson was sacked by defensive end Jim Stuckey on second down for a 6-yard loss.

Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 11, Anderson tried to connect with Curtis in the end zone, but 49ers safety Dwight Hicks intercepted the pass at the 5-yard line and returned it 27 yards to the 32.

After forcing the Bengals to punt, the 49ers got the ball back at their own 10-yard line and nearly committed a turnover when Montana's pass intended for wide receiver Dwight Clark was nearly intercepted by cornerback Ken Riley.

Cincinnati threatened to tie the game early in the second quarter when they got the ball back at their own 49 and advanced across the San Francisco 30-yard line on an 18-yard reception by wide receiver Cris Collinsworth.

San Francisco then drove for a Super Bowl record 92 yards on Montana's passes to Solomon and Clark for 20 and 12 yards, respectively, as well as a 14-yard run by fullback Earl Cooper (playing in what would be his final game as a fullback, Cooper would be converted to a tight end before the 1982 season, a position he would play for the rest of his career).

Following Cooper's touchdown came a squib kick by kicker Ray Wersching that was finally recovered by Bengals wide receiver David Verser, who was quickly tackled at the 2-yard line.

According to the NFL's highlight film for the game, the 49ers had discovered Wersching's ability to effectively use the squib during their 1981 season opener when a leg injury kept him from fully powering into the football; because that game was also played at the Silverdome, Walsh felt that Wersching would be able to recreate the crazy bounces of a squib on the hard AstroTurf by shortening his stride and seeing what happened.

The Bengals managed to escape a safety when Anderson completed a 10-yard pass to Ross from his own end zone, but they could only advance to their 25 before having Pat McInally boot a 47-yard punt, and with just over 4 minutes left in the half, Montana led the 49ers on another scoring drive.

As they lined up for a field goal attempt, a false start penalty against San Francisco's offensive line pushed them back 5 yards, but Wersching connected from 26 yards, increasing the 49ers' lead to 20–0, which was the largest halftime lead in Super Bowl history to that date, breaking the previous record of 17 points set by Miami in Super Bowl VIII.

Two penalties and a 4-yard sack by 49ers defensive end Fred Dean pushed the Bengals back to their own 37, but on 3rd-and-23, Anderson's 49-yard pass to Collinsworth (the longest play of the game) moved the ball to the San Francisco 14.

On that play, the 49ers only had 10 players on the field because linebacker Keena Turner, who was seriously ill with chicken pox during Super Bowl week, missed a call to enter the game.

Highlights showed that Alexander was supposed to have entered the end zone before making his cut, and his early turn prevented a touchdown pass.

But cornerback Ronnie Lott and linebackers Bunz and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds tackled him for no gain, giving the ball back to the 49ers.

Wersching ended the drive with a 40-yard field goal to put San Francisco back up by two scores, 23–14, with just 5 minutes left in the game.

The Bengals tried an onside kick, but Clark recovered the ball for the 49ers, allowing San Francisco to run out the clock and claim their first Super Bowl title.