The Redskins defeated the Bills by a score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the now Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls.

The Bills finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl, largely through the play of quarterback Jim Kelly and their "K-Gun" no-huddle offense.

On the other side of the field, wide receiver Art Monk, playing in his 12th NFL season, was just as reliable, catching 71 passes for 1,049 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Their only other defeat was a meaningless loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of the regular season in which they rested most of their starters because they had already clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed.

One of the few bright spots on the Bills' defense was Pro Bowl linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who recorded 78 tackles, 9 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries.

[11] Buffalo then played against the Denver Broncos, who were coming off a 26–24 win over the Houston Oilers, in which quarterback John Elway led them on an 87-yard drive to set up kicker David Treadwell's game-winning field goal with only 16 seconds left.

Bills linebacker Carlton Bailey also made a big impact late in the 3rd quarter, intercepting a screen pass from Elway and returning it 11 yards for Buffalo's only touchdown of the game.

The performance also gave an opportunity for Gibbs and the Redskins' coaches to devise a strong game plan to exploit their Super Bowl opponent's weaknesses.

During the CBS telecast, it was mentioned that Leonard Smith (the Bills' regular starting strong safety) couldn't play as a result of an infection in his knee.

With a few minor tweaks, the red, white, and blue graphic displays stayed in place until 1996, when CBS rolled out a new orange and yellow package.

Super Bowl XXVI was telecast in over 100 countries around the world, including Australia (Network Ten), Canada (CTV), Mexico (Canal 13) and the United Kingdom (Channel 4).

Super Bowl XXVI was featured in the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Lisa the Greek", which aired three days prior to the game, and correctly predicted that Washington would win.

[23] This was followed by a salute to the 1992 Winter Olympics athletes, with Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill skating to the song "One Moment in Time", on sheets of Teflon that were embedded on the tops of large platforms that were placed on the field for the show.

First, the opening kickoff had to be redone because Bills kicker Brad Daluiso kicked the ball before referee Jerry Markbreit signaled to begin play.

Then after Washington was forced to punt on their opening possession, Bills running back Thurman Thomas missed the first two plays of Buffalo's first drive because he misplaced his helmet.

After running back Gerald Riggs was stopped for no gain on two rushing attempts, Rypien appeared to complete a 2-yard touchdown pass to Monk.

However, instant replay determined that after Monk caught the ball, his right foot stepped out of bounds, deeming the pass incomplete, and bringing up fourth down.

Washington then tried to salvage the drive with a 19-yard field goal attempt by kicker Chip Lohmiller, but holder/backup quarterback Jeff Rutledge fumbled the snap, turning the ball over on downs and keeping the game scoreless.

But three plays after the turnover, the Bills got the ball right back when Rypien threw a pass that was deflected by nose tackle Jeff Wright and intercepted by Jackson.

The Redskins' defense then forced the Bills to a three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and Chris Mohr's 23-yard punt sailed out of bounds at the Washington 49-yard line.

The Redskins then drove 51 yards in 5 plays, which included a 16-yard reception by wide receiver Gary Clark and a roughing the passer penalty on Buffalo linebacker Cornelius Bennett.

Washington did not gain any net yards during the possession, but narrowly avoided a safety on second down when Wright appeared to tackle Byner in the end zone.

After Rypien threw an incomplete pass on third down, Buffalo got the ball back after cornerback Cliff Hicks returned Kelly Goodburn's 42-yard punt 2 yards to the Washington 41-yard line.

In disgust, Reed threw his helmet to the ground, drawing a mandatory 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that took the Bills out of field goal range and forced them to punt.

The blitz that forced Kelly's rushed throw and led to the turnover had been drawn up by the Redskins' defensive coaches on the pregame bus ride to the Metrodome, as they came up with an idea to use their superior speed rushers against the powerful but not-that-mobile interior Bills' offensive line.

After forcing Washington to punt on their next possession, the Bills drove 56 yards in 6 plays, aided by a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Redskins cornerback Martin Mayhew in the end zone.

The Redskins kept the Bills out of the end zone for the first two plays, but Thomas scored the first Buffalo touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run to cut Washington's lead to 24–10.

Three plays after receiving the ensuing kickoff, cornerback Alvoid Mays stripped the ball from Kelly, and it was recovered by defensive end Fred Stokes on the Buffalo 14-yard line.

After the turnover, the Redskins drove to the Bills' 7-yard line on a 17-yard reception by Monk and increased their lead to 34–10 on Lohmiller's 25-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.

On the Bills' ensuing drive, Kelly was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Stokes, then threw an incomplete pass, and then his fourth interception of the game to Edwards, who returned it 35 yards to the Buffalo 33.