Quarter 1

• The nervous Eagles needed a strong start, but it didn't take long for the defense that led the NFL with 35 interceptions long to squelch that hope. Philly began solidly, gaining a first down at the 35 on runs by Wilbert Montgomery for 8y and Leroy Harris for three. So offensive coordinator Sid Gillman called his first pass play and immediately regretted it. Following the game plan to stay away from LOLB Ted Hendricks, Ron Jaworski dropped back and threw to TE Steve Spagnola on the other side. But ROLB Rod Martin stepped in front of the receiver, caught the ball, and ran it back 17y to the Philly 30. Watch the interception ...
  
  Rod Martin runs back his first interception as Matt Millen throws a block.
  35 is CB Dwayne O'Steen.
  Coury explained from the press box, "They went Cover 6, and the linebacker came off."
  "Threw it right to him," said Vermeil on the sideline.
  Martin explained, "We played mostly man to man, but on that first series, we played zone. With Montgomery and Spagnola running routes in my direction, I felt the play coming my way, turned, saw the ball in the air, stepped in front of the tight end, and picked it off. It was a situation where he thought he'd just drill the ball in there."
  Assistant coach Wampfler said, "When we looked at the film, Ron normally wouldn't have done that. Threw it right to the defender. I really think it was a tension thing where he was trying so damn hard."
  Jaworski admitted after the game, "I made some poor decisions. I tried to force a few balls into spots where I shouldn't. I read the coverage, I knew I should lay the ball off, but I wanted to make the big play. When you play in that game the first time, it makes you anxious. Anybody who says it's just another game is lying. It is not just another game. It is more like another world."
  Hendricks recalled: "I didn't get but three plays run my way."
  As Jim Plunkett ran out on the field, he thought to himself, "After 10 years of thinking I'd never get here, I am here and I'm not going to be denied." It took seven plays, but the Raiders turned the turnover into seven points although they needed a break to make their initial first down. On third-and-eight, Plunkett threw incomplete to RB Kenny King. But DE Carl Hairston was flagged for offside. So instead of the field goal unit coming on, FB Mark van Eeghen took a handoff 4y for a first down at the 19. Plunkett then hit WR Cliff Branch coming over the middle for 14y. van Eeghen ran twice but gained just 3y. So Plunkett dropped back and, with no one rushing up the middle, waited for Branch to come open in the middle of the end zone and hit him for the first score of the game. Matt Bahr converted. Oakland 7 Philadelphia 0 (8:56)
  
  Jim Plunkett finds Cliff Branch (21) breaking open in the end zone.
  LB John Bunting claimed a mistake allowed Plunkett to escape the pass rush. "We had an opportunity to stop them down there. We had a huge blunder by one of our players. It was a big mental error that gave Plunkett the time to throw that touchdown pass to Cliff Branch. We had a three-man rush instead of a four-man rush, and one of our rushers would have been right in his face."
  Plunkett: "I had scrambled quite a bit that year, and against San Diego, when we were on the five and everybody was covered, a hole opened up and I took off and scored. I'm sure the Eagles saw that on film, and when I made my move, their linebackers started to converge to stop me before I reached the goal line. They left Cliff open and I was just able to dart it over to him really quickly."
  When Jaworski's third down pass under pressure was broken up by greasy CB Lester Hayes, the Eagles had to punt.
  Knowing they could not fall 14 or even 10 points behind, the Philly defense forced a three-and-out by stonewalling Plunkett's sneak on third-and inches at the Oakland 31.
  The Eagle offense finally started moving on their next possession. Coury gave Jaworski easy throws to help him get into a groove. The first one went to TE Keith Krepfle for 8y. After Montgomery gained three for the Eagles' initial first down, Wilbert took a screen pass 13y for another one. NT Reggie Kinlaw displayed his quickness and hustle when he pulled the ball carrier down from behind. On third-and-10, Jaworski scrambled out of the pocket and threw long to WR Rodney Parker, a New Orleans native, in the end zone. But an illegal motion penalty on WR Harold Carmichael negated the score. Jaws tried Parker again on third-and-15, but CB Otis McKinney broke it up.
  Carmichael was called for the penalty that negated the touchdown as he went in motion. "It was really not so much of a turn," he explained. "My shoulders went up. Normally, we would go to a certain spot. I was trying to go right on time with it, but I went a little too early."
  Wampfler pointed to the penalty on the touchdown as a huge setback. "Even more than tying the score, think what it [would have done] to the confidence level. It changed the momentum of the game."
  Oakland linebackers coach Charlie Sumner praised the Raiders nose tackle. "Kinlaw was big in that game. We just moved him off the ball a little bit so nose-to-nose they couldn't push him off. He stopped the run pretty good by himself."
  Facing third-and-four from 20, the Raiders pulled off the most memorable play of the game. Flushed from the pocket, Plunkett scrambled to his left and flipped to King just over the fingers of leaping CB Herman Edwards, who reacted back to Kenny a second too late. King raced untouched down the sideline for a new Super Bowl record for longest touchdown pass. Oakland 14 Philadelphia 0 (0:09) View the scoring play ...
  
  Bob Chandler looks for someone to block as Herm Edwards chases Kenny King in vain.
  Plunkett explained, "Kenny King was supposed to come out of the backfield and run a few yards downfield to clear out or maybe catch a dump-off if nobody was open deep. I dropped back and couldn't find anyone open. The clock went off in my head and I couldn't expect my blockers to hold off the Eagles' rush any longer, so I tried to get more time by scrambling to my left. All good receivers are taught to scramble with the quarterback and go to the side he's on and try to help him out, so both Kenny and Bobby [Chandler] went to the left." Chandler escorted King all the way to the end zone.
  The Eagles were furious with the officials, who missed a blatant hold by RG Mickey Marvin. The play still stuck in Vermeil's craw decades later. "On the touchdown pass to King, Carl Hairston is pulled down by the face mask. And he was one step away from a sack and one of the Oakland linemen just dragged him down. The official was right there, but there was no call. They got a touch­down. A play like that just kills you."

Quarter 2

• The Eagles responded with a 61y, eight-play scoring drive. The key plays were two Jaworski completions, the first to Spagnola for 22y to the Oakland 44 and the second over the middle to Montgomery, flanked out as a wide receiver, for 25y to the 19. But on third-and-four, the pass rush forced Jaworski to throw incomplete to Wilbert. So barefoot K Tony Franklin booted a 30y field goal. Oakland 14 Philadelphia 3 (10:28)
  The Eagles missed a golden opportunity on the ensuing kickoff. Keith Moody fumbled when hit by Ron Baker, but Johnny-on-the-spot Martin fell on the ball at his own 20.
  Martin: "I went back to block for him. I heard this collision. The ball was right there, so I jumped on the ball and tried to save us. If they would have recovered the ball, they would have been close to the goal line."
  After the sides exchanged punts following consecutive three-and-outs, the next Raiders possession started with two first downs, van Eeghen gaining the first one on two runs and Plunkett passing to Branch for 18y to the Eagle 35. After King gained four, Edwards broke up a pass to Branch. Then Jim had to run to evade the rush but was downed 2y short of the line to gain. Bahr tried a 45y field goal that was short and wide right with 3:34 on the clock.
  Plunkett recalled, "We didn't really have a different blocking scheme than in the first game when the Eagles sacked me so often. I still dropped straight back on passing plays ... Maybe I tried to get rid of the ball a little quicker and scrambled better to avoid the rush, but it was more of a matter of the guys up front making up their minds that they wouldn't let it happen again."
  
  Ron Jaworski escapes John Matuszak's tackle.
  Jaworski quickly moved the Eagles into enemy territory by completing a 29y pass to Carmichael sprinting over the middle to the 44. After two incompletions, Ron went to Montgomery in the left flat for 16y to the 11. The Eagles called their second timeout with 1:07 left. When play resumed, Jaworski passed three straight times to no avail. First, he overthrew Montgomery at the right pylon. Then SS Mike Davis broke up a throw to Krepkle. Then Parker beat press coverage by nickel back Odis McKinney at the line and was wide open into the end zone. But Jaworski's throw wasn't even close. So Franklin came in for a chip-shot 28y field goal. But the Eagles were frustrated one more time when Tony drilled the kick so low that 6'7" Hendricks hardly had to jump to knock it down. DT Willie Jones tried to pick up the ball and run with it but couldn't control it and was lucky that teammate Matt Millen fell on it.
  Hendricks credited a former teammate for the kick block. "That was one of the things I picked up when I played for the Colts with Bubba Smith. Get a good push on one of the weakest linemen and bring two other guys with you. If Willie Jones had any hands at all, he would have recovered and ran it for a touchdown."
  END FIRST HALF: Oakland 14 Philadelphia 3

The first half statistics suggested that the score should be closer. The Eagles led in first downs eight to six and in time of possession 16:31-13:29. The two sides had exactly the same total yardage - 164.

The halftime show, fittingly, was a Mardi Gras Party with the Southern University Marching Band and floats.

The two locker rooms provided just as much of a contrast as the two head coaches' game week regimens.

• The Raider coaches basically said, Keep doing what you're doing. The offense had been much better prepared for the Eagles' defensive schemes than they had been November 23. "Their scheme was really unique," said Flores. "It was very disciplined and very effective. They'd zone one side and man the other. You could beat it, but you had to have time to do it. We used play-action to buy some time."
  RT Henry Lawrence, who had been burned by DE Humphrey for three and a half sacks in the first meeting, played much better this time. "We made some blocking adjustments," Upshaw said. They worked on aggressively jamming the Eagle front to wall them off before they got into their stunts.
  Vermeil would give a very different reason why the Oakland O-line did so much better in the Superdome. "They held more in the Super Bowl. They probably figured out that the officials aren't as likely to call holding in a Super Bowl, so they did it on almost every play."
• When Bergey, the leader of the defense, tried to inspire his teammates for the second half, he found their response depressing. "Everybody was like zombies. I just said, 'This game is over. There is just no way we're going to win this game.'" LB John Bunting agreed. "There was not enough energy. I don't think there was a lot of hooting and hollering, but I don't think there were enough positive things going on in our minds at that point in time."
  To add to their woes, the Eagles found out at halftime that their Joe Kuharick, their coach from 1964-68, had died in Philadelphia earlier in the day at age 63.