Super Bowl XVI Championship

Lore & Background

For the first time since Super Bowl III, both teams were making their first Super Bowl appearance. The 49ers posted a 13–3 regular season record, and playoff wins over the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, and had postseason victories over the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers. Cincinnati's 356 yards of offense to San Francisco's 275 marked the first time in Super Bowl history that the losing team outgained the winning team in total yards. However, the Bengals committed four turnovers to San Francisco's one, and this was a major factor in the outcome. The 49ers scored 20 of their 26 points off of Bengals turnovers.

In Their Own Story

Inside the Pontiac Silverdome, the air hung heavy with humidity and electric tension. The snap came. The pocket collapsed instantly around him, but instead of panicking, he stepped up into the chaos, buying a split second. With surgical precision, he fired a laser toward the corner of the end zone. There, Dwight Clark leaped, his fingertips magnetically pulling the ball from the air just as the defender's hands grazed his jersey. The crowd erupted in a deafening roar, but Montana remained stone-faced; he knew this wasn't a victory lap until the clock hit zero.

Reader's Guide

Super Bowl XVI was initially dominated by the 49ers. Three Cincinnati turnovers helped San Francisco build a then-Super Bowl record 20–0 halftime lead on a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown from quarterback Joe Montana and two field goals by Ray Wersching. The Bengals rallied in the second half with quarterback Ken Anderson's 5-yard touchdown run and 4-yard touchdown pass, but a third-quarter goal-line stand by the 49ers defense and two more Wersching field goals ultimately decided the game. The Bengals managed to draw within less than a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining but could not recover the ensuing onside kick. Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP, completing 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Cincinnati tight end Dan Ross recorded a then-Super Bowl record 11 receptions (still the most ever by a tight end in a Super Bowl) for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

Did You Know?

• Super Bowl XVI was the first Super Bowl to be held in a cold-weather city.
• The game was played at the Pontiac Silverdome, a domed stadium that saved the crowd from cold and snowy weather.
• For the first time since Super Bowl III, both teams were making their first Super Bowl appearance.
• Cincinnati's 356 yards of offense to San Francisco's 275 marked the first time in Super Bowl history that the losing team outgained the winning team in total yards.
• The 49ers scored 20 of their 26 points off of Bengals turnovers.