Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20 , 1985 at Stanford Stadium , on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford , California , to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1984 regular season . The National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion San Francisco 49ers ( 18 - 1 ) defeated the American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Miami Dolphins ( 16 - 3 ) , 38 – 16 , to win their second Super Bowl . The game had been hyped as the battle between two great quarterback s , Miami ' s Dan Marino and San Francisco ' s Joe Montana - and indeed this was the first Super Bowl ever in which the starting quarterbacks of each team both threw for over 300 yards . In addition , the two teams combined total of 851 offensive yards was a Super Bowl record ( later broken in Super Bowl XXII & Super Bowl XXXVIII ) . But the 49ers would end up taking the game in dominating fashion . It would be Marino ' s only trip to the Super Bowl during his 17 year career . Montana , who was named the Super Bowl MVP , completed 24 of 35 passes for a Super Bowl record 331 yards and three touchdowns . He also had 5 rushes for 59 yards and 1 rushing touchdown . His 59 rushing yards were the most rushing yards gained by a quarterback in the Super Bowl , at that time . Going into the game the two teams had combined for 33 wins - a Super Bowl record . This Super Bowl was unique in that it fell on the same day that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States . Because January 20 fell on a Sunday , Reagan was sworn in privately and the public ceremony took place the following day . It was one of the most watched games in history with an estimated 115 . 9 million viewers . This game also was the first time television commercials ran for a million dollars a minute . It is the only Super Bowl where the host region was victorious , albeit not on their home field . Background . NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XIX to Stanford University Stadium in Palo Alto , California on December 14 , 1982 . It became the fourth primarily college stadium to host a Super Bowl , following Tulane Stadium , then the home of the New Orleans Saints ( 1970 , 1972 , and 1975 ) , Rice Stadium ( 1974 ) and the Rose Bowl . San Francisco 49ers . The 49ers advanced to their second Super Bowl in team history after becoming the first team ever to win 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16 - game schedule in 1978 . Much of the hype surrounding the team was their offense , which boasted 5 Pro Bowl ers . Quarterback Joe Montana recorded 279 out of 432 completions for 3 , 630 yards , 28 touchdowns , and only 10 interceptions . Running back Roger Craig was one of the 49ers ' major weapons , both rushing and receiving . Craig was the team ' s second leading rusher with 649 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns , and also caught 71 passes for 675 yards . Pro Bowl running back Wendell Tyler , who had rushed for a team record 1 , 262 yards during the regular season , recorded 7 rushing touchdowns , and also caught 28 passes for 230 yards and 2 touchdown receptions . Wide receivers Freddie Solomon and Dwight Clark also were deep threats , gaining a combined total of 1 , 617 yards and 16 touchdowns . Up front , 3 of the 49ers ' 5 starting offensive linemen , Randy Cross , Fred Quillan , and Keith Fahnhorst , had been selected to play in the Pro Bowl . Overall , San Francisco ' s offense finished the season ranked second in the NFL in scoring ( 475 points ) and fourth in total yards ( 6 , 544 ) . Although they did not get as much media attention as the offense , the 49ers defense led the league in fewest points allowed during the regular season ( 227 ) . All 4 of the 49ers ' starting defensive backs , Ronnie Lott , Eric Wright , Carlton Williamson , and Dwight Hicks , were selected to play in the Pro Bowl . Pro Bowl linebacker Keena Turner was also a major defensive weapon , recording 2 sacks and 4 interceptions for 51 yards . Defensive end Dwaine Board anchored the line , recording 10 sacks and 1 fumble recovery . Miami Dolphins . As the Dolphins advanced to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in franchise history , much of the media focus was on Miami ' s young quarterback Dan Marino . In just his second year in the league , he broke nearly every NFL single season passing record . Marino set a record for the most completions in a season ( 362 ) and became the first quarterback ever to throw for over 5 , 000 yards , reaching a total of 5 , 084 . He set the record for the most games throwing for at least 300 passing yards ( 9 ) and the most games with 400 yards ( 4 ) . Marino ' s 48 touchdown passes broke the previous record of 36 , which was held by both George Blanda for the Houston Oilers in 1961 and Y . A . Tittle for the New York Giants in 1963 . And he played the most games with at least 4 or more touchdown passes ( 6 ) and the most consecutive games with at least 4 touchdown passes ( 4 ) . Thus going into Super Bowl XIX , many sports writers predicted that it would be the first of many Super Bowls that Marino would play in during his career . Marino had a unique ability to read the defenses quickly before setting up to throw and his skill of quickly releasing the ball made it very difficult for defenders to sack him . In addition , he had protection given to him by an offensive line led by all - pro center Dwight Stephenson and Pro Bowl guard Ed Newman . Coming into Super Bowl XIX , Marino had only been sacked 13 times in the regular season and not once in the playoffs . The Dolphins had a number of offensive threats for Marino to use . Wide receivers Mark Clayton ( 73 receptions , 1 , 389 yards , 18 touchdowns ) and Mark Duper ( 71 receptions , 1 , 306 yards , 8 touchdowns ) became the first teammates ever to each gain over 1 , 300 receiving yards in one season , while Clayton ' s 18 touchdown catches broke the NFL single season record of 17 set by Don Hutson in 1942 . Receiver Nat Moore caught 43 passes for 574 yards and 6 touchdowns , while tight end Dan Johnson contributed 34 receptions for 426 yards . While Miami ' s main offensive attack was passing , they still had a trio of great running backs : Tony Nathan , Woody Bennett , and Joe Carter . Both Nathan and Bennett finished the season with over 1 , 000 combined rushing and receiving yards , while Carter contributed 495 rushing yards . Despite Miami ' s superb offense , punter Reggie Roby still made the pro bowl , averaging 44 . 7 yards per punt with a net gain average of 38 . 7 . However , the Dolphins defense was a little suspect . They tied the Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings for the most rushing yards allowed during the regular season ( 4 . 7 yards per attempt ) , and ranked just 19th in fewest yards allowed ( 5 , 759 ) . The main bright spots on the defense were safeties brothers Lyle and Glenn Blackwood , along with Pro Bowl ILB A . J . Duhe , Pro Bowl NT Bob Baumhower , and DE Doug Betters . Glenn Blackwood had picked off 6 passes during the season and returned them for 169 yards , while Betters recorded 14 sacks and a fumble recovery . LB Charles Bowser was also a big contributor , recording 9 sacks and one fumble recovery Despite their defensive flaws , the Dolphins ' powerful offense led the NFL in scoring ( 513 points ) and total yards gained ( 7 , 064 ) , and helped the team reach an AFC best 14 - 2 regular season record . Playoffs . The Dolphins gained 405 yards of total offense in their 31 - 10 playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks , and over 500 yards as they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers , 45 - 28 , in the AFC Championship Game . In the victory over the Steelers , Marino completed 21 of 32 passes for 421 yards and 4 touchdowns , with 1 interception . Meanwhile , the 49ers ' underrated defense allowed the team to blitz through the playoffs . Although Montana threw a combined total of 5 interceptions in their 2 games , they only gave up a combined total of 10 points and zero touchdowns in their victories over the New York Giants , 21 - 10 , and the Chicago Bears , 23 - 0 . At 33 - 3 , the combined records for the two teams coming into the game were and still are the best in Super Bowl history . The 49ers were 17 - 1 and the Dolphins 16 - 2 including their playoff games . Pregame news and notes . This was the second time a team could have been considered a home team for a Super Bowl with Stanford just 30 miles away from San Francisco . Promotion for the Super Bowl also contributed to that feeling with many photographs of the Vince Lombardi trophy near San Francisco landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge . Thus , the 49ers may be considered the only team to have won the Super Bowl at home . The Los Angeles Rams also played near home at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , Calif . in Super Bowl XIV , but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers . Television . As a result of the 1982 television contract signed by the NFL with the three networks , this game was the first Super Bowl to be televised in the United States by ABC , as they earned their first turn at the Super Bowl , with a new alternation process started for the 1983 game . Previously , the Super Bowl telecast alternated between CBS and NBC , while the networks simulcast the first AFL - NFL World Championship Game . ABC ' s NFL program , " Monday Night Football " , happened to be celebrating its 15th season in 1984 . Two more ABC - aired Super Bowls would occur during major anniversary seasons for " MNF " - Super Bowl XXIX ( also won by the 49ers ) closed out the 25th anniversary season ( 1994 ) , and Super Bowl XXXIV ( won by the St . Louis Rams , bitter rivals of the 49ers ) closed out the 30th anniversary season ( 1999 ) . Announcers . Frank Gifford was the play - by - play announcer , while then - ABC Sports analyst Don Meredith and then - Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann served as color commentator s . Al Michaels and Jim Lampley hosted the pregame , halftime , and postgame ( Lampley presided over the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony ) coverage for ABC . Michaels and Lampley were joined by analysts O . J . Simpson ( who would normally have been the second color commentator ) and Tom Landry . Also helping out with ABC ' s coverage were Jack Whitaker , Ray Gandolf , Stone Phillips , Dick Schaap , Jeff Greenfield , Judd Rose , Donna de Varona , and Bill Redeker . This would be the only ABC Super Bowl for Gifford as play - by - play announcer , the final game for Don Meredith and the second ( and last ) time a commentator for the Super Bowl ( Theismann ) was an active player ( Jack Kemp in Super Bowl II was the only other active player to provide commentary ) . Michaels would call ABC ' s next six Super Bowls , until the network lost NFL rights in 2006 . Pregame . The pregame festivities featured a tribute to the NFL and an appearance by various team mascots . Later , a mega - choir formed by members of the San Francisco Children ' s Chorus , San Francisco Boys Chorus , San Francisco Girls Chorus and Piedmont Children ' s Choir performed the national anthem under well known choir director Louis Magor . In honor of Inauguration Day , Reagan , himself a California native and former Governor of the state from 1967 – 75 , became the first president to participate in a Super Bowl coin toss ceremony . However , he did it from the White House via satellite . Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Hugh McElhenny was on the field during the ceremony . Halftime . The halftime show was titled " World of Children ' s Dreams " and featured Tops In Blue , an elite performing tour ensemble consisting of members from the U . S . Air Force . Aftergame . ABC featured " MacGruder and Loud " after the game . Overseas broadcasts . Shown on Channel 4 , the XIX Super Bowl was the first to be broadcast live and in its entirety in the United Kingdom . The experiment was not repeated . Super Bowl XIX was simulcast in Canada on CTV . In popular culture . Actress Teri Hatcher was a 49ers cheerleader at the time , she can be seen on several close ups during the game . Also , in a Strong Bad e - mail cartoon from the Homestar Runner website , a flier advertising this particular game washes up in a bottle on a deserted island that Strong Bad and Homestar happen to be stranded on . Clips from this game can be seen in the movie " " as the character Ray Finkle is in reality Dolphins kicker Uwe von Schamann . Von Schamann made three field goals and an extra point in this game , but Finkle missed the game - winning field goal in a fictional Super Bowl XVII . Also , in the " Sliders " episode " Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome " , Quinn recognized he was not home on his Earth due to a newspaper headline that showed the 49ers had beaten the New York Jets in Super Bowl XIX . The " NFL ' s Greatest Games " episode " Masters of the Game " focuses on Super Bowl XIX . The Oliver Stone film , Any Given Sunday , the final game of the film , albeit not the climax , features a Miami team losing to a San Fransisco team , both heralding strong quarterbacks , is purposefully reminiscent of Super Bowl XIX . Game summary . Instead of the predicted shootout between Dan Marino and Joe Montana , the game was mostly one - sided . The 49ers defense only allowed 25 rushing yards and 16 Dolphins points . San Francisco also intercepted Marino 2 times and sacked him 4 times . The Dolphins set a Super Bowl record for least rush attempts in a game ( 9 ) . 1st half . But in the opening minutes of the game , it seemed that the game " would " live up to the hype . On the opening kickoff , 49ers rookie kick returner Derrick Harmon caught the ball too close to the sidelines and stepped out of bounds at the San Francisco 6 - yard line . The 49ers managed to advance to the 41 - yard line but were forced to punt , and Dolphins defensive back Fulton Walker returned the punt 9 yards to the Miami 36 - yard line . Then on their first play of the drive , Marino completed a 25 - yard pass to Tony Nathan . Five plays later , Miami reached the San Francisco 23 - yard line . But on third down , 49ers cornerback Eric Wright tackled wide receiver Mark Clayton 2 yards shy of the first down . Miami had to settle for a 37 - yard field goal from Uwe von Schamann . The Dolphins ' 3 - 0 lead did not last long , as the 49ers stormed down the field on their next possession . San Francisco drove 78 yards in 8 plays , culminating in a 33 - yard touchdown pass from Montana to reserve running back Carl Monroe to give them a 7 - 3 lead . But Miami retook the lead on their ensuing drive . After a 5 - yard rush by Nathan , the Dolphins went into a no - huddle offense , preventing the 49ers from making substitutions and keeping their run defense on the field . Marino completed five consecutive passes , hitting Clayton for 18 yards , Mark Duper for 11 , Clayton again for 13 , and tight end Dan Johnson for 21 . On the next play , Marino finished the drive by hitting Johnson for a 2 - yard touchdown pass , giving the Dolphins a 10 - 7 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter . In the second quarter , the 49ers began to take control of the game . Bill Walsh switched to a 4 - 1 - 6 ( or dime defense ) to slow down Miami ' s passing attack , with Keena Turner as the sole linebacker . Miami tried to run against the 4 - 1 - 6 alignment , to no avail . Safety Dwight Hicks broke up two consecutive Marino passes , and the Dolphins were forced to punt from their own 10 - yard line . Then after taking the ball at the Miami 47 - yard line , Montana scrambled for a 19 - yard run , and then completed a 16 - yard pass to wide receiver Dwight Clark to reach the 12 - yard line . From there , Wendell Tyler rushed for 4 yards , and then Montana threw an 8 - yard touchdown pass to Roger Craig , giving the 49ers a 14 - 10 lead . Miami then had to punt again on their ensuing possession , and San Francisco defensive back Dana McLemore returned the ball 28 yards to the 49ers ' 45 - yard line . After advancing 15 yards with 2 running plays , Montana completed a pair of passes to tight end Russ Francis to move the ball 29 yards to the Miami 11 - yard line . Craig ran for 5 yards on the next play , and then Montana ran the final 6 yards to the end zone for a touchdown , making the score 21 - 10 . After the ensuing kickoff , Miami again was forced to punt after 3 plays , and McLemore returned Reggie Roby ' s 39 - yard punt 10 yards to the 49ers ' 48 - yard line . Montana was sacked for a 5 - yard loss by Doug Betters on the first play of the ensuing drive , but he struck back with a 20 - yard completion to Craig and a 7 - yard run over the next two plays . On the next play , wide receiver Freddie Solomon caught a pass from Montana , took one step , and then lost the ball due to a hit from safety Lyle Blackwood . Blackwood quickly recovered the ball and took off for the 49ers end zone , but field judge Bob Lewis blew the play dead , ruling that Solomon ' s fumble was an incomplete pass . Bill Quinby , the side judge , who was nearest to the play , did not make any call . Five plays later , Craig finished the nine play , 52 - yard drive with his second touchdown on a 2 - yard run , increasing the 49ers lead to 28 - 10 . With about two minutes left in the half , the Dolphins finally managed to get a good drive going on their next possession . Marino completed 7 out of 9 passes , the last one being a 30 - yard pass to tight end Joe Rose , to reach the 49ers 12 - yard line . But San Francisco ' s defense tightened up on the next 3 plays , forcing 2 incompletions and a completed pass for no gain , and Miami was forced to settle for Von Schamann ' s second field goal of the game to cut their deficit to 28 - 13 with 12 seconds left in the half . Then Miami caught a break as the 49ers botched the ensuing kickoff . San Francisco lineman Guy McIntyre received Van Schamann ' s short kick and was about to down the ball , but then changed his mind at the last second and decided to return it . This turned out to be a big mistake . McIntyre lost a fumble while being leveled by rookie Joe Carter , and Jim Jensen recovered the ball for Miami at the 49ers 12 - yard line . After that , Von Schamann kicked his third field goal on the last play of the half , cutting the score to 28 - 16 . " I can laugh about the play now , but it wasn ' t funny at the time , " McIntyre said after the game . " My first instinct when I got the ball was to fall down . Then I heard everyone yelling , ' Get up ! Get up ! ' So I got up , and here comes someone sneaking underneath me , and he hit the ball . " 2nd half . But any thoughts of a Miami comeback ended early in the third quarter . On the first play second half , 49ers defensive end Dwaine Board tackled Nathan for a 1 - yard loss . Then after Marino threw an incompletion , Board sacked him for a 9 - yard loss on third down . For the fourth time in the game , Roby had to punt , and again McLemore gave the 49ers good field position with an 8 - yard return to San Francisco ' s 47 - yard line . The 49ers then drove 43 yards and scored on kicker Ray Wersching ' s 27 yard field goal . On the Dolphins ' ensuing drive , they were forced to punt again after Marino was sacked twice ( once by defensive lineman Manu Tuiasosopo and once by Board ) . Starting their own 30 - yard line after a 5 - yard return by McLemore , Montana completed a 40 - yard pass to Tyler , followed up with a 14 - yard completion to Francis . Three plays later , Craig scored his third touchdown on a 16 - yard reception to make the score 38 - 16 . The score proved to be the last one from either team , as the defenses of both teams took over for the rest of the game - especially the 49ers ' defense , who intercepted Marino twice . Highlights . Overall , San Francisco gained a Super Bowl record 537 yards , breaking the Oakland Raiders record of 429 yards in Super Bowl XI , while limiting Miami to 314 , with just 25 rushing yards . San Francisco ' s 38 points also tied a Super Bowl record set by the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII . The 49ers ' 288 offensive yards in the first half also tied the Raiders in Super Bowl XI for the most offensive yards in a half during a Super Bowl . Marino finished the game with 29 out of 50 pass completions for 318 yards , 1 touchdown , and 2 interceptions . Clayton was the top receiver of the game , with 6 receptions for 92 yards . Walker returned 4 kickoffs for 93 yards and gained 15 yards on 2 punt returns . Nathan was the Dolphins leading rusher with 18 yards , while also catching 10 passes for 83 yards . Craig had 58 rushing yards , 77 receiving yards , and 3 touchdowns . He was the first player ever to score 3 touchdowns in a Super Bowl , and his 2 touchdown catches also tied a Super Bowl record . Tyler led San Francisco in rushing with 65 yards , and also caught 4 passes for 70 yards . Clark caught 6 passes for 77 yards . Board recorded 2 sacks . McLemore recorded 51 punt return yards , the second most in Super Bowl history . Reactions . After the game , Blackwood criticized the referee ' s ruling of Solomon ' s fumble as an incomplete pass . " You don ' t want the game to hinge on that play , but you never know , " Blackwood said . " I could have taken the ball up the sideline . That ' s a 14 - point swing . " However , other Dolphins were not convinced . " We were dominated to the point where one play didn ' t make much of a difference " , said Dolphins coach Don Shula . " Our major objective was to contain Montana , and we did a terrible , terrible job of it " added defensive coach Chuck Studley . Even Roby , who averaged only 39 . 3 yards per punt and didn ' t place any of his 6 punts in the 20 , took some responsibility for the loss . " I was trying to kill the ball , and I kicked it bad , " he said . " I didn ' t hit one well . I was scared - - scared to make a mistake . It was the worst game of my life , counting high school , college , counting everything . " Meanwhile in the 49ers locker room , Montana had his own explanation for the win . " As far as my own game , well , I ' d have to admit it was pretty close to the best I ' ve ever played . I didn ' t throw anything I didn ' t have confidence in . We got in sort of a groove . Once you get going like that you gain confidence , and it carries over to the defense , and then back to the offense . It ' s a snowball kind of thing . "