The Falcons, under former Denver head coach Dan Reeves, were making their first Super Bowl appearance after also posting a 14–2 regular season record.

Aided by quarterback John Elway's 80-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rod Smith, Denver scored 17 consecutive points to build a 17–3 lead in the second quarter from which Atlanta could not recover.

At 38 years old, Elway became the oldest player to be named Super Bowl MVP, a record that stood until Tom Brady surpassed it in 2017 at the age of 39, coincidentally also against Atlanta.

[11] Al Davis made a pitch to keep the game in the Bay Area by moving it over to Oakland Coliseum,[12] but the idea failed to gain any support.

The NFL owners scheduled a vote during the October 31, 1996, meeting in New Orleans, which was to award two Super Bowls, XXXIII and XXXIV.

[17][18] However, the Los Angeles bid was dismissed when their delegation failed to convince the owners that planned stadium renovations would be completed in time.

[19] Owners initially planned on selecting only two hosts (XXXIII and XXXIV), but decided to name three after strong showings by the respective delegations.

[21] The losses to the Giants and Dolphins didn't hurt the Broncos playoff chances as they already had their division (and home-field advantage) locked up.

The 38-year-old quarterback made the Pro Bowl for the 3rd year in a row and the 9th time in his career, throwing for 2,806 yards and 22 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions.

The Broncos also had three Pro Bowlers anchoring their offensive line: center Tom Nalen, guard Mark Schlereth, and tackle Tony Jones.

Reeves was Denver's head coach from 1981 to 1992, leading the Elway-led Broncos to Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV.

Bennett played with the Buffalo Bills when they suffered their four consecutive defeats in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII; and thus was determined to finally get a championship ring that had eluded him in the past.

While driving alone in a rented car along a downtown Miami street, he approached a female undercover police officer posing as a prostitute and offered $40 for oral sex.

Ironically, on the morning of the day Robinson was arrested for the incident, he had received the Bart Starr Award for his "high moral character.

James Brown hosted all the events with help from his then-fellow Fox NFL Sunday cast members Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Cris Collinsworth.

[29] For Super Bowl lead-out programs, Fox first aired the pilot episode of Family Guy, "Death Has a Shadow".

During halftime, USA Network aired a special edition of WWF Sunday Night Heat called Halftime Heat featuring a match between The Rock and Mankind for the WWF Championship in an Empty Arena Match that took place in Arizona and had been taped five days before.

FoxSports.com also ran an online-only Internet halftime show, Webcast live from South Beach Miami, and hosted by then-Fox Sports Net anchorman Keith Olbermann.

The pregame show, narrated by actress Tori Spelling, depicted the adventure of a Caribbean cruise from its festive departure to its journey to exotic destinations.

To honor the 40th anniversary of the 1958 NFL Championship, also known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the following participants of that game appeared during the coin toss ceremony: Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Frank Gifford, Roosevelt Brown, Don Maynard, Sam Huff, and Tom Landry, the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants.

The halftime show was titled "A Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing"[30] and featured Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Stevie Wonder, and Gloria Estefan.

However, linebacker Bill Romanowski sacked quarterback Chris Chandler for a 7-yard loss on third down, forcing Atlanta to settle for kicker Morten Andersen's 32-yard field goal to give them an early 3–0 lead.

Quarterback John Elway's 41-yard completion to wide receiver Rod Smith and two receptions by tight end Shannon Sharpe for a total of 26 yards set up fullback Howard Griffith's 1-yard touchdown run, giving Denver a 7–3 lead.

Aided by Dwight's 42-yard kickoff return and a 23-yard reception by wide receiver Tony Martin, the Falcons responded by driving to the Denver 11-yard line and scoring on Andersen's 28-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 17–6 going into halftime.

The Broncos then drove to the 29-yard line, but Elam missed another field goal attempt wide left, this time from 48 yards.

The Falcons then drove to the Denver 21-yard line on Anderson's two runs for 28 yards and Mathis' 13-yard reception, giving them a chance to cut their deficit to one score.

Two plays later, Elway finished the drive himself with a 3-yard touchdown run, giving the Broncos a 31–6 lead and essentially putting the game away.

Three plays later, a 25-yard completion from Elway to McCaffrey set up Elam's 37-yard field goal, increasing Denver's lead to 34–13 with just over 7 minutes left in the game.

Chamberlain again recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Falcons got the ball back on their own 30-yard line with 1:34 left after forcing a turnover on downs.

Dan Reeves became the fourth head coach to lose four Super Bowls, joining Bud Grant, Don Shula, and Marv Levy.