With Young at the helm, and a defense consisting of several veteran free agents who joined the team during the previous offseason, San Francisco finished the regular season with a league-best 13–3 record, and led the league in total points scored (505).

The Chargers, on the other hand, were regarded as a "Cinderella" team, and advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting an 11–5 regular-season record and overcoming halftime deficits in both of their playoff wins.

Before the start of the 1994 season, San Diego was not expected to do well because they had so many newcomers via the draft and free agency; the Chargers ended up with 22 new players on their roster, and 10 of them became starters.

Backup quarterback Gale Gilbert, subbing for injured starter Stan Humphries, led the Chargers to a come-from-behind 37–34 win, with John Carney kicking a game-winning field goal in the game's final seconds.

The Chargers' offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who was the Redskins' backup to Mark Rypien during the 1991 season, when they won Super Bowl XXVI.

Their linebacking corps was led by Junior Seau, who was a Pro Bowl selection for the fourth consecutive year, recording 123 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries.

But after head coach George Seifert's team lost two consecutive NFC Championship games to the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993, San Francisco brought in several veteran free agents to strengthen their defense.

Among the players signed were defensive linemen Richard Dent (the MVP of Super Bowl XX), Charles Mann, Rhett Hall, and Rickey Jackson; linebackers Ken Norton Jr. and Gary Plummer; and cornerback Deion Sanders.

The 49ers' offense was led by quarterback Steve Young, who replaced future Hall of Famer Joe Montana as the starter in 1991 and 1992 due to injuries.

But even with his impressive passing statistics, Young was criticized as "not being able to win the big games" as Montana had done in leading the 49ers to Super Bowl victories in XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV.

In the first half, San Diego was limited to only two John Carney field goals, while Miami quarterback Dan Marino threw for over 180 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Chargers then took a 17–13 lead when Martin beat the Steelers secondary (particularly a badly overmatched Tim McKyer) down the right sideline for a 43-yard touchdown reception.

Then Cowboys returner Kevin Williams lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and it was recovered by kicker Doug Brien at Dallas' 35-yard line.

The game was broadcast in the United States by ABC, with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentators Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf.

It was simulcast in Canada on CTV and TVA (in French), in Mexico on Televisa's Canal 5, whose commentators were able to call the game live from San Diego on the last minute,[16] in Germany on Tele 5, in Australia on ABC, in the Philippines on the GMA Network and later aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.

The pregame show held before the game featured country music singer Hank Williams Jr., who performed his theme song for Monday Night Football, which was based on his single "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight".

To honor the NFL's 75th season, four former players all Hall of Fame members, who were named to the league's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team joined the coin toss ceremony: Otto Graham, Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke, and Gale Sayers.

The show featured actors playing Indiana Jones and his girlfriend Marion Ravenwood who were raiding the Vince Lombardi Trophy from the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

The show also had performances by singers Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and the Miami Sound Machine.

The show ended with everybody singing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", the song featured in Disney's (which later acquired ABC) 1994 film The Lion King.

On the third play of the drive, quarterback Steve Young threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice to take an early 7–0 lead.

Rice started off the drive with a 19-yard reception and 10-yard run on a reverse play, while Young added a 12-yard completion to wide receiver John Taylor and a 15-yard scramble.

San Francisco then marched on a 9-play drive, which included two receptions by Rice for 19 yards and ended with Young's fourth touchdown pass, an 8-yard toss to Watters, with 4:44 left in the half, making the score 28–7.

San Diego then took the ensuing kickoff and drove 62 yards from their own 25-yard line to the San Francisco 13, featuring a 17-yard reception by wide receiver Mark Seay, a 10-yard reverse run by wide receiver Shawn Jefferson, and a 33-yard gain on a screen pass from quarterback Stan Humphries to running back Eric Bieniemy, the Chargers' longest play of the game.

The Chargers then drove to their own 46-yard line, but 49ers cornerback Eric Davis intercepted Humphries' third-down pass intended for wide receiver Tony Martin in the end zone for a touchback with 10 seconds left in the half, and the score remained 28–10 at halftime.

After a 33-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Andre Coleman, the Chargers advanced to the San Francisco 33-yard line, aided by a 23-yard reception by tight end Alfred Pupunu, but they turned the ball over on downs when Humphries' 4th-and-7 pass intended for Martin was broken up by Davis.

Then Humphries completed a pass to Seay for a two-point conversion (the first in Super Bowl history; the rule had been adopted by the NFL at the start of the season), but it only cut the deficit to 42–18.

The 49ers were forced to punt on their next drive, but the Chargers ended up turning the ball over on downs again when Means was tackled for a 4-yard loss by safety Merton Hanks on 4th-and-1 from the San Diego 37.

One year later, Barry Switzer would join Johnson as the only head coaches to win championships in both NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) college football and the NFL.

Officials wore a black armband with number 42 to honor umpire Dave Hamilton, who died on January 9 at age 61 due to liver failure.