Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25 , 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans , Louisiana to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1980 regular season . The American Football Conference ( AFC ) Oakland Raiders ( 15 – 5 ) defeated the National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion Philadelphia Eagles ( 14 – 5 ) , 27 – 10 , to become the first wild card playoff team to win a Super Bowl . The Raiders jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead in the first quarter , which the Eagles never recovered from . Oakland quarterback Jim Plunkett was named the Super Bowl MVP , completing 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns , while also rushing for 9 yards . Plunkett would be the second Heisman Trophy winner to be named Super Bowl MVP after Roger Staubach in Super Bowl VI . Background . Plunkett ' s revival with the Raiders . Super Bowl XV was the climax of Plunkett ' s revival as an NFL starting quarterback . The 1970 Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by the New England Patriots and was later named the 1971 NFL Rookie of the Year . But Plunkett suffered through 5 losing seasons with the Patriots and 2 uneven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before being released as a free agent before the 1978 season . Plunkett was signed by Oakland to be their backup quarterback , and thus he did not see much playing time , throwing no passes in 1978 and just 15 passes in 1979 . But after the Raiders started the 1980 season with a 2 - 3 record , starter Dan Pastorini broke his leg and suddenly Plunkett was thrust into the starting role . The 33 - year old Plunkett got off to a bad start , throwing 5 interceptions in a 31 - 17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after relieving Pastorini . However , he recovered and led the Raiders to victory in 9 of their last 11 games in the season , qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team . Plunkett made 165 out of 320 pass completions for 2 , 299 yards , 18 touchdown passes , and was intercepted 15 times . He also contributed 141 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground . The Raiders ' main offensive deep threat was wide receiver Cliff Branch ( 44 receptions , 858 yards , 7 touchdown ) , while wide receiver Bob Chandler contributed 49 receptions for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns . Running back Mark van Eeghen was the team ' s top rusher with 838 yards and 5 touchdowns , while also catching 29 passes for 259 yards . Halfback Kenny King rushed for 761 yards and catching 22 passes for 145 yards . The Raiders also had an outstanding offensive line led by 2 future Hall of Famers , tackle Art Shell and guard Gene Upshaw . Upshaw became the first player to play in three Super Bowls with the same team in three different decades . He also played in Super Bowls II ( 1967 ) and XI ( 1976 ) . Oakland ' s defense , anchored by defensive end John Matuszak , was punishing . Defensive back Lester Hayes led the league in interceptions ( 13 ) and interception return yards ( 273 ) , and was the league ' s Defensive Player of the Year . The Raiders also had a trio of great linebackers : future Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks , Pro Bowl er Rod Martin ( 3 Interceptions ) and standout rookie Matt Millen . The Raiders were led by Head Coach Tom Flores , the first minority coach to win a Super Bowl . Philadelphia Eagles . Under Head Coach Dick Vermeil , Philadelphia advanced to their first ever Super Bowl in team history , and had not played in a league championship game since their 1960 NFL championship . The Eagles were led by quarterback Ron Jaworski , who completed 257 out of 451 passes for 3 , 529 yards during the regular season , including 27 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions . Another key player on the Eagles offense was halfback Wilbert Montgomery , who was widely considered one of the top running backs in the NFL and had rushed for over 1 , 200 rushing yards in the last 2 seasons . Injuries during the 1980 regular season had limited him to just 778 yards , but he proved he was fully recovered in the postseason by rushing for 194 yards in the NFC title game . Montgomery was also a superb receiver out of the backfield , recording 50 receptions for 407 yards . The other main deep threats on offense , wide receivers Harold Carmichael and Charlie Smith , along with tight end Keith Krepfle , combined for 125 receptions , 2 , 090 yards , and 16 touchdowns . The Eagles defense led the league in the fewest points allowed during the regular season ( 222 ) . Nose tackle Charlie Johnson anchored the line , and even managed to record 3 interceptions . Defensive end Claude Humphrey led the team in sacks with 14 and a half . Linebackers Jerry Robinson and Bill Bergey excelled at both stopping the run and pass coverage . Philadelphia also had a fine secondary , led by veteran defensive backs Herman Edwards ( 3 interceptions ) and Brenard Wilson ( 6 interceptions ) , along with rookie Roynell Young ( 4 interception ) . The Eagles defense was a major factor in their hard fought 10 - 7 victory over the Raiders in the regular season ; they sacked Plunkett 8 times . Playoffs . The Eagles advanced through the playoffs , defeating the Minnesota Vikings , 31 - 16 , and the Dallas Cowboys , 20 – 7 . Meanwhile , Plunkett and the Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers , 27 – 7 , the Cleveland Browns 14 – 12 on a play known as Red Right 88 , and the San Diego Chargers , 34 – 27 . In doing so , Oakland became the third wild card team to advance to the Super Bowl , and the first wild card team to win three postseason rounds since the NFL expanded to a 10 - team playoff format in 1978 . Super Bowl pregame news and notes . In the days before the game , most sports writers were speculating over whether , if the Raiders won , NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle would present the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the team ' s owner Al Davis . Prior to the season , the league declined to approve the Raiders ' proposal to move from Oakland , California to Los Angeles . In reaction , the team sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws . The conflict caused much friction between Rozelle and Davis ( The Raiders would eventually win the lawsuit , allowing the team to move to Los Angeles before the 1982 season ) . Oakland became the first team to avenge a regular - season loss in the Super Bowl . The Eagles defeated the Raiders 10 – 7 on November 23 at Veterans Stadium . This game marked the first Super Bowl where both teams used the 3 - 4 defensive formation as their base defense . The Raiders were the first team to use the 3 - 4 in the Super Bowl in Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings , although the Miami Dolphins used a version of the 3 - 4 ( " 53 defense " ) in Super Bowl VI , Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII . The 3 - 4 would be used by at least one team in every Super Bowl between Super Bowl XV and game XXVIII . Television and entertainment . The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with Dick Enberg handling the play - by - play duties and color commentator s Merlin Olsen , John Brodie , and Len Dawson ( who wasn ' t in the broadcast booth with Enberg and Olsen ) . Bryant Gumbel and Mike Adamle of " NFL ' 80 " anchored the pregame , halftime and postgame coverage . The pregame festivities honored the end of the Iran hostage crisis ( which was announced 5 days before the game ) , which featured a performance by the Southern University band . A large yellow bow long and wide was attached to the outside of the Superdome , while miniature bows were given to fans . Singer , actress , and dancer Helen O ' Connell later sang the national anthem . The coin toss ceremony featured Marie Lombardi , the widow of Pro Football Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi . The halftime show , featuring singers and dancers , was a " Mardi Gras Festival " . Game summary . Oakland linebacker Rod Martin intercepted Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski ' s first pass of the game and returned it 17 yards to Philadelphia ' s 30 - yard line , setting up Jim Plunkett ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to Cliff Branch 7 plays later . After each team punted once , Jaworski threw a 40 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rodney Parker , but the score was nulified by an illegal motion penalty on wide receiver Harold Carmichael and the Eagles ended up being forced to punt . The Raiders later scored another touchdown with about a minute left in the period . On third down from the Oakland 20 - yard line , Plunkett threw the ball to running back Kenny King at the 39 - yard line as he was scrambling around in the backfield to avoid being sacked . King caught the pass as it carried just over the outstretched arms of defensive back Herman Edwards and took off to the end zone for a Super Bowl record 80 - yard touchdown reception . The Eagles managed to respond on their next drive , with Jaworski completing passes to tight end John Spagnola and Wilbert Montgomery for gains of 22 and 25 yards on a 61 - yard drive that ended with a 30 - yard field goal by Tony Franklin , making the score 14 - 3 just under five minutes into the second quarter . Then with less than 4 minutes left in the period , the Raiders reached the Eagles 27 - yard line , only to have kicker Chris Bahr miss a 45 - yard field goal . The Eagles then drove 62 yards to Oakland ' s 11 - yard line . With just 54 seconds left in the half , Franklin attempted a 28 - yard field goal , but Raiders linebacker Ted Hendricks extended his 6 ' 7 " frame at the line and blocked the kick . The Raiders then took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored quickly . Plunkett completed a 13 - yard pass to King and a 32 - yard completion to receiver Bob Chandler to move the ball to Philadelphia ' s 33 - yard line . Then after a 4 - yard run by running back Mark van Eeghen , Plunkett threw a 29 - yard touchdown pass to Branch , increasing Oakland ' s lead to 21 - 3 . The Eagles responded by driving 56 yards to the Raiders 34 - yard line , but on third down and 3 , Jaworski threw his second interception of the game to Martin . Oakland subsequently drove 40 yards and scored with Bahr ' s 46 - yard field goal , increasing their lead to 24 – 3 . The Eagles finally managed to score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 24 – 10 . Starting from their own 12 - yard line , a 43 - yard reception by receiver Charlie Smith sparked an 88 - yard , 12 - play drive that was capped by Jaworski ' s 8 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Krepfle . But on their ensuing drive , Oakland marched from their own 11 to the Eagles 17 - yard line . Philadelphia kept the Raiders out of the end zone , but Bahr kicked his second field goal , increasing Oakland ' s lead to 27 - 10 . Oakland ' s defense then dominated the rest the game , forcing two turnovers on Philadelphia ' s last 2 possessions of the game to prevent any chance of a comeback . On the Eagles ' next drive , Jaworski lost a fumble . Later , Martin recorded a Super Bowl record third interception , and the Raiders ran out the clock to win the game . Jaworski finished the game with more completions ( 18 ) and yards ( 291 ) than Plunkett , but completed just 18 of 38 attempts and was intercepted 3 times . Van Eeghen was the top rusher of the game with 75 yards . King was the top receiver with 93 yards and a touchdown off of just 2 receptions . Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery led Philadelphia in rushing and receiving with 44 rushing yards and 6 receptions for 91 yards . After the game , the expected heated confrontation between Rozelle and Davis was actually very civil . As Rozelle presented the Lombardi Trophy to Davis , he praised Plunkett , head coach Tom Flores , the players , and the entire Raiders organization for being the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl . Davis thanked Rozelle , then proceeded to also praise the team .