Super Bowl XXI

Super Bowl XXI

Denver Broncos (2) (AFC) (11–5) New York Giants (1) (NFC) (14–2) 20 39 Head coach: Dan Reeves Head coach: Bill Parcells
1 2 3 4 Total DEN 10 0 0 10 20 NYG 7 2 17 13 39
Date	January 25, 1987 (1987-01-25)
Stadium	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
MVP	Phil Simms, quarterback
Favorite	Giants by 9.5[1][2]
Referee	Jerry Markbreit
Attendance	101,063[3]
Current/Future Hall of Famers
Broncos: Pat Bowlen (owner), John Elway Giants: Wellington Mara (owner/administrator), Bill Parcells (coach), Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor
Ceremonies
National anthem	Neil Diamond
Coin toss	Willie Davis
Halftime show	The Beach Boys performed at halftime"Salute to Hollywood's 100th Anniversary" with Southern California high school drill teams and dancers
TV in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Pat Summerall and John Madden
Nielsen ratings	45.8 (est. 87.2 million viewers)[4]
Market share	66
Cost of 30-second commercial	$600,000
← XX Super Bowl XXII →

Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1986 season. The Giants defeated the Broncos, 39–20, for their first Super Bowl and first NFL title since 1956; the game was played on January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

This was the Broncos' first Super Bowl appearance since the 1977 season. Led largely through the play of quarterback John Elway and a defense that led the AFC in fewest yards allowed, the Broncos posted an 11–5 regular season record and two narrow playoff victories; the Giants, led by quarterback Phil Simms, running back Joe Morris, and their "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" defense, advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting a 14–2 regular season record and only allowing a combined total of 3 points in their two postseason wins.

The game was tight in the first half, with the Broncos holding a 10–9 halftime lead, the narrowest margin in Super Bowl history; the only score in the second quarter, however, was Giants defensive end George Martin's sack of Elway in the end zone for a safety. This began the Giants run of scoring 26 unanswered points through the third and fourth quarters; the Giants also posted a Super Bowl record 30 points in the second half, and limited the Broncos to only 2 net yards in the third quarter. Simms, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, finished the game with 22 of 25 passes completed for 268 yards and three touchdowns, he also had 25 rushing yards on 3 carries. His 22 out of 25 (88%) completion percentage broke both a Super Bowl and NFL postseason record.

The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 87.2 million viewers.^[4] This was one of the first times that a very large, national audience saw what is now the traditional Gatorade shower, where players dump a cooler full of liquid over a coach's head following a meaningful win; the practice was first started by Giants players in 1985 but it did not gain much national prominence until this season.

Background[edit]

NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXI to Pasadena, California on May 24, 1984 during their May 23–25, 1984 meetings in Washington, D.C. Fourteen cities were part of the bidding process, which was scheduled to award four Super Bowls (XXI, XXII, XXIII, and XXIV);^[5] the bidding cities included: Anaheim, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pasadena, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Tempe.^[5] The Philadelphia host committee assembled what was considered a strong, but long-shot bid, hoping to win the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold weather city.^[6]

The balloting for XXI took 13 ballots and over two hours to complete,^[6] with Pasadena finally receiving the winning bid. XXII was also voted on, but the voting for XXIII and XXIV was postponed; this was the fourth time that Pasadena hosted the game, and the sixth time it was held in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Denver Broncos[edit]

The Broncos won the AFC West with an 11–5 regular season record, largely through the play of quarterback John Elway. In just his fourth season in the league, Elway made an impact to the team with his ad-libbing skills. During the regular season, he had thrown for 3,480 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also rushing for 257 yards, the third-leading rusher on the team.

Elway did not really have a particular receiver who caught most of his passes during the regular season, but wide receivers Mark Jackson, Vance Johnson, Steve Watson, and tight end Orson Mobley all combined for 136 receptions and 2,132 yards. Pro Bowl running back Sammy Winder was the Broncos' top rusher with 789 yards and 9 touchdowns, while also catching 26 passes for another 171 yards and 5 touchdowns. Halfback Gerald Willhite rushed for 365 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also leading the team in receptions with 64 (for 529 yards and three touchdowns), and ranking third in the NFL in both punt return yards (468) and yards per return average (11.1). The Broncos also had a powerful offensive line, led by Pro Bowl guard Keith Bishop.

The Broncos' defense led the AFC in fewest rushing yards allowed (1,651); the defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive end Rulon Jones, who recorded 13.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Denver's linebacking corps, led by three-time Pro Bowler Tom Jackson and Karl Mecklenburg, who recorded 9.5 sacks, was viewed as comparable to the Giants' Pro Bowl linebackers. Their secondary was led by Pro Bowl cornerbacks Dennis Smith and Louis Wright, along with Mike Harden, who intercepted 6 passes and returned them for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wright, Steve Foley, and Jackson, the last remnants of Denver's Orange Crush defense of the 1970s, all retired after this Super Bowl.

New York Giants[edit]

The Giants advanced to their first Super Bowl in team history, and were playing for their first league championship since they lost to the Chicago Bears in the 1963 NFL Championship Game; the Giants were led by quarterback Phil Simms, who threw for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdowns (but also 22 interceptions). Simms' main target was tight end Mark Bavaro, who caught 66 passes for 1,001 yards and 4 touchdowns. Although the Giants did not have one great wide receiver, they did have several good ones. Receivers Stacy Robinson, Bobby Johnson, and Phil McConkey combined for 76 receptions and 1,307 yards.

However, running the ball was the Giants' primary offensive attack. Running back Joe Morris finished the regular season with a then-franchise record 1,516 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, while also catching 21 passes for 223 yards and another touchdown. One reason for his success was fullback Maurice Carthon, who provided Morris with excellent blocking and was the team's second leading rusher with 260 yards. Another reason was the play of their offensive line, led by Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Benson and right tackle Karl Nelson. On special teams, punter Sean Landeta made the Pro Bowl with an average of 44.8 gross yards per punt, a net average of 37.1, and 24 punts inside the 20.

The Giants also had a lot of weapons on their defense, nicknamed The "Big Blue Wrecking Crew". After giving up 31 points in a season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants had not given up more than 20 points in a game until the last game of the season, in a 55–24 win over the Green Bay Packers; the Giants' defensive leader was Hall of Fame outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who led the league with 20.5 sacks during the regular season, won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award for the third time in his career, and became just the second defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. At 6'3" and 245 pounds, Taylor was big enough to break through the offensive lines of many teams, but he still had enough speed to chase down running backs; the Giants' other starting linebackers, Gary Reasons, Carl Banks, and Harry Carson, did not get as much media attention as Taylor, but Carson had been selected to play in the Pro Bowl, while Reasons had two interceptions and Banks recorded 6.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Nose tackle Jim Burt and right end Leonard Marshall, who were also both selected to the Pro Bowl, anchored the defensive line. Marshall recorded 12 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception during the season.

With the play of their defense, the running attack led by Morris, and Simms' passing game, the Giants earned a 14–2 regular season record.

Playoffs[edit]

Elway's ability to improvise on the fly, in part, helped Denver to make it through the playoffs, narrowly defeating the New England Patriots 22–17, and the Cleveland Browns 23–20, in the AFC Championship Game; the AFC Championship Game against the Browns was particularly significant because Elway displayed why many NFL experts thought Super Bowl XXI would be the first of many Super Bowls for him. In what became known as The Drive, the Broncos started from their own 2-yard line, trailing 20–13, with 5:32 left to play, but in 15 plays, Elway led Denver 98 yards for a game-tying touchdown pass with 39 seconds left. The Broncos then won in overtime after Elway led them 60 yards in 9 plays to set up kicker Rich Karlis' game-winning field goal.

Meanwhile, the Giants went on to only allow a combined total of 3 points in their playoff victories over the San Francisco 49ers, 49–3, and the Washington Redskins, 17–0, respectively; the dominating performances by the Giants' defense gave the team extra confidence going into their Super Bowl matchup versus the Broncos.

Super Bowl pregame news[edit]

Much of the pregame hype centered around the confrontation between Elway and Taylor, and whether or not Taylor would be able to hurry Elway's throws or sack him; the Giants had narrowly defeated Denver during the regular season, forcing four turnovers in a 19–16 win despite being outgained in total yards 405 to 262. This was the last Super Bowl until Super Bowl XXXIV in which both teams entered the game having never won a Super Bowl before.

Broadcasting[edit]

The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS and featured the broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator John Madden. Brent Musburger of The NFL Today anchored The Super Bowl Today pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. Helping Musburger were reporters Irv Cross and Will McDonough and analysts Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Theismann, CBS News reporter Charles Osgood^[7] and Dan Dierdorf (in his final CBS assignment before moving on to ABC's Monday Night Football for the following season); the game was also the first NFL game to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound and in stereo.^[8] The game was also broadcast in Canada on CTV and in the United Kingdom on Channel 4; the latter had commentary by Frank Gifford and John Smith. This was also the first Super Bowl to be telecast on commercial television in Asia, as the GMA Network in the Philippines aired its first Super Bowl; this game also marked the first Super Bowl to be broadcast live in Rome.^[7]

In the teams' local markets, the game was also broadcast by CBS stations in the New York City and Denver markets, WCBS-TV 2 in New York City and KMGH-TV 7 in Denver.

The postgame show was supposed to feature the song "One Shining Moment" but due to postgame interviews taking so long, CBS never aired it, they ultimately changed the lyrics from "The ball is kicked" to "The ball is tipped" in time for the 1987 Final Four (in which Indiana University won its most recent national title to date), and the song has since then been played at the end of the network's annual NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship coverage (it is also played on Turner Sports when said game airs on that network due to alternating rights with CBS that first started in 2016). CBS also debuted the theme music (composed by Lloyd Landesman) that would later be used for their college football coverage during this game (still used as of the 2018 season), as well as its open that was used through 1990.

This Super Bowl is featured in NFL's Greatest Games under the title Land of the Giants and was narrated by John Doremus.

Nationally on radio, the game was carried over the NBC Radio Network. Don Criqui served as play-by-play with Bob Trumpy his color commentator; this was the last Super Bowl called by Criqui, as NBC Radio lost NFL rights following the season and he returned to his secondary play-by-play role on NBC television. Trumpy would call two more Super Bowls for NBC television (Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII) as part of the network's #1 broadcast team. In the teams' local markets, the game was carried on WNEW-AM in New York City with Jim Gordon and Dick Lynch and KOA-AM in Denver, Colorado with Bob Martin and Larry Zimmer.

Entertainment[edit]

The pregame show was a salute to California and featured the pop music group The Beach Boys. Singer Neil Diamond performed the national anthem; the show was directed and choreographed by Lesslee Fitzmorris. The coin toss ceremony featured Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Willie Davis.

The halftime show was a "Salute to Hollywood's 100th Anniversary" featuring an introduction by George Burns (who was only nine years younger than the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles) and a performance by the Southern California high school drill teams and dancers.

As had been their tradition all season, upon securing their victory, Giants players celebrated by dumping a Gatorade cooler on head coach Bill Parcells; the 1986 Giants were the first team to initiate what has now become a standard post-game celebration, and the Super Bowl telecast enabled a large, national audience to first witness what has become commonplace.

Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms became the first athlete to appear in an "I'm going to Disney World!" television ad, being recorded shouting the phrase while celebrating the team's victory immediately after the game.

Game summary[edit]

First Quarter[edit]

On the Broncos' first play after receiving the opening kickoff, quarterback John Elway faked a handoff, then spun around and ran in the opposite direction for a 10-yard gain to the Denver 34-yard line. Then on third down, his 24-yard completion to receiver Mark Jackson advanced the ball to the Giants' 39-yard line. However, the Giants' defense tightened up and halted the drive at the 30-yard line, forcing Denver to settle for Rich Karlis's 48-yard field goal to give them a 3–0 lead. Karlis's kick tied a game record for longest field goal set by Jan Stenerud of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

The Giants then took the ensuing kickoff and stormed right back on a 9-play, 78-yard drive. First, quarterback Phil Simms completed a 17-yard pass to receiver Lionel Manuel. Then running back Joe Morris ran for 11 yards to the Denver 41-yard line; the Giants then marched to the Denver 6-yard line with Simms' 18-yard pass to receiver Stacy Robinson, and then a 17-yard completion to tight end Mark Bavaro two plays later. Finally, Simms threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zeke Mowatt, giving the Giants a 7–3 lead.

Denver kick returner Ken Bell gave his team great field position by returning the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to the Broncos 42-yard line. Then, Elway completed three consecutive passes: a 14-yard completion to running back Sammy Winder, an 11-yard completion to tight end Orson Mobley, and a 9-yard screen pass to Winder. On the second play to Winder, the Giants were flagged for two 15-yard penalties; the first was a personal foul called on Harry Carson, who was penalized for hitting Winder out of bounds, and the second penalty was an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on Lawrence Taylor, who picked up the first penalty marker and threw it; the penalties moved the ball to the Giants' 6-yard line, and three plays later, Elway ran a quarterback draw for a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 10–7 lead.

Second Quarter[edit]

On Denver's first drive of the second quarter, Elway dropped back to pass from his own 18-yard line on third down; the Giants' pass rush forced him to scramble out of the pocket, but it gave him time to find receiver Vance Johnson, who was wide open, for a 54-yard completion. Elway then moved the Broncos down the field further and after a third down completion to Steve Sewell, the third time Denver converted on the drive (Elway found Mobley for a second first down after the Johnson play), they had the ball on the New York 1 with a chance to go up by 10.

Needing a stop, the Giants stood their ground. First, Elway tried a run-pass option, but Taylor broke through the line and tackled him for a one-yard loss. Carson stopped fullback Gerald Willhite on the next play for no gain on a run up the middle, and Carl Banks chased down Winder as he attempted to score on a sweep, tackling him for a four-yard loss. After losing five yards in three plays, Karlis tried to salvage the drive with a field goal, but he missed from 23 yards, giving him the record for the shortest missed field goal in Super Bowl history.

The first use of instant replay in a Super Bowl game came with approximately three minutes to play in the half. With Denver deep in its own end of the field, Broncos tight end Clarence Kay caught a pass from Elway for a gain of 25 yards. However, the officials conferred and ruled that Kay did not have control of the ball as he had gone down, thus the pass was ruled incomplete. After the ruling, the officials conferred again as Art McNally, the director of officiating, paged the umpire to signal they would take a look at the play; as referee Jerry Markbreit waited for their decision, CBS showed several replays of the play that were inconclusive. After several minutes, Markbreit was given word that the play would stand as called and relayed this to the crowd; this proved crucial, as on the next play, Giants defensive tackle George Martin sacked Elway in the end zone, recording a safety and cutting the Denver lead to 10–9.^[9] To make matters more complicated, CBS' production staff found a reverse angle of the Kay catch that was unavailable to the replay booth, and it clearly showed the reception made by Kay. CBS broadcast this replay toward the end of the half.^[10][11]

With less than a minute remaining in the half, Elway completed a 31-yard pass to receiver Steve Watson and an 11-yard pass to Willhite, giving the Broncos a first down at the Giants 20-yard line, but the Giants defense forced three consecutive incompletions, the last of which saw Elway lead tight end Orson Mobley too far on a throw to the end zone and cause him to collide with the goal post. Then Karlis, who had made 11 of 12 field goals from inside 40 yards during the season, missed the ensuing field goal, ending another Denver drive with nothing to show for it. Karlis later admitted his two misses in the first half were devastating to the Broncos. "Both times I didn't get my hips all the way through the kicks. I was steering the ball, and I know better than that. I felt the team unravel after that. I really hurt them."^[12]

Third Quarter[edit]

In the second half, the Giants dominated the Broncos, outscoring them 30–10 with four touchdowns and a field goal on their first five possessions.

The Giants took the opening kickoff in the third quarter, but faced fourth down and one yard after their first three plays. New York sent their punt formation out onto the field. Parcells had entertained the possibility of running a fake punt and sent Jeff Rutledge, his backup quarterback, onto the field to line up as a third blocking back along with Maurice Carthon and Lee Rouson. Parcells said his reasoning was that if the Broncos were not going to pick up on Rutledge being used as a decoy for a potential fake, he would take advantage; as he had thought, Denver paid no attention to Rutledge, and he moved under center while punter Sean Landeta split out as a receiver and Carthon and Rouson lined up in a split back set behind him. Rutledge then took the snap from center and ran a quarterback sneak to the New York 48-yard line for a first down. On the next play, Simms completed a 12-yard pass to Morris, and then followed it up with a 23-yard completion to Rouson. Three plays later, Simms finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bavaro to give the Giants a 16–10 lead; the Broncos were forced to punt on their next drive, and receiver Phil McConkey returned the punt 25 yards to Denver's 36-yard line. The Broncos managed to keep the Giants out of the end zone, but New York kicker Raul Allegre kicked a 21-yard field goal to increase their lead to 19–10.

Denver was again forced to punt on their ensuing possession. Afterwards, Simms completed a 17-yard pass to Manuel at the Broncos 45-yard line. Two plays later, the Giants executed a flea flicker play for a long gain. Simms handed off to Morris, but before he crossed the line of scrimmage, Morris pitched the ball back to Simms. With the ensuing pass, Simms found McConkey, who was wide open at the Broncos 20-yard line. After eluding one tackler, he was upended just before he reached the goal line, throwing his hands up in mock frustration after being stopped at the 1-yard line. On the next play, Morris scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, increasing New York's lead to 26–10.

Fourth Quarter[edit]

Elway barely avoided a turnover by recovering his own fumble on the last play of the third quarter, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, he threw an interception to Giants defensive back Elvis Patterson. After that, Simms completed a 36-yard pass to Robinson. Four plays later from Denver's 6-yard line, Simms threw a pass to Bavaro in the end zone; the pass bounced off Bavaro's fingertips, but fell right into the hands of McConkey for a touchdown, extending the lead to 33–10.

The Broncos finally managed to get a good drive going on their next possession, advancing the ball 74 yards in 13 plays. Elway completed 5 of 6 passes for 46 yards and rushed for 14, while Karlis finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal, making the score 33–13, but New York recovered his ensuing onside kick attempt and stormed right back for more points. Rouson ran twice for 21 yards, and then Simms ran for a 22-yard gain. On the next play, Ottis Anderson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Giants a 39–13 lead after Allegre missed the extra point.

Denver finally scored a touchdown when Elway found Johnson on a 47-yard bomb later on, which was the 100th recorded Super Bowl touchdown. However, by that point, the game had become so far out of reach that it did not do much good. Elway would eventually be replaced by Gary Kubiak, who took a sack to end the game, and the Giants were victorious in a 39–20 rout of the Broncos.

As the final seconds of the game ticked away, Harry Carson, continuing the recent trend started by the Giants, gave head coach Bill Parcells a Gatorade shower, going as far as to take off his jersey and pads and sneak behind Parcells with a Rose Bowl security team shirt on. Thanks in large part to this particular Gatorade dunking, a tradition of sorts was formed that continues to this day. In addition, Brad Benson and Bart Oates drenched Simms with a cooler of ice water; "I think it was very appropriate to cool the guy down", Oates explained, "as hot as he was in the game."^[12]

Simms finished with a passer rating of 150.92, the highest for one game in Super Bowl history.^[13] Morris was the top rusher of the game, gaining 67 yards, and added another 20 yards on 4 receptions. Robinson was the Giants' top receiver with 3 catches for 62 yards. Bavaro caught 4 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. McConkey caught 2 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, returned a punt for 25 yards, and even got to make a contribution after the game, discovering a dropped police pistol on the field and turning it over to a stadium security guard.^[14] Defensively, while the Broncos managed to bottle up Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks had 14 tackles, 10 of which were unassisted and four of those for negative yardage, while Leonard Marshall had two sacks and forced a fumble. Elway finished the game with 22 out of 37 pass completions for 304 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception, he also was the Broncos' leading rusher in the game, with 27 rushing yards and a touchdown on 6 carries. Denver's Vance Johnson was the top receiver of the game, with 5 receptions for 121 yards, an average of 24.2 yards per catch, and a touchdown.

The Giants' victory in Super Bowl XXI marked the second time in four months that the New York metropolitan area had won a championship in a major professional sport; three months before, the New York Mets had won the 1986 World Series.

Box score[edit]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DEN NYG 1 10:51 8 45 4:09 DEN 48-yard field goal by Rich Karlis 3 0 1 5:27 9 78 5:24 NYG Zeke Mowatt 6-yard touchdown reception from Phil Simms, Raul Allegre kick good 3 7 1 2:06 6 58 3:21 DEN John Elway 4-yard touchdown run, Karlis kick good 10 7 2 2:46 3 –15 0:47 NYG Elway tackled in end zone for a safety by George Martin 10 9 3 10:08 8 63 4:52 NYG Mark Bavaro 13-yard touchdown reception from Simms, Allegre kick good 10 16 3 3:54 9 32 5:07 NYG 21-yard field goal by Allegre 10 19 3 0:24 5 68 2:14 NYG Joe Morris 1-yard touchdown run, Allegre kick good 10 26 4 10:56 6 52 3:50 NYG Phil McConkey 6-yard touchdown reception from Simms, Allegre kick good 10 33 4 6:01 13 73 4:55 DEN 28-yard field goal by Karlis 13 33 4 4:18 5 46 2:43 NYG Ottis Anderson 2-yard touchdown run, Allegre kick no good 13 39 4 2:06 5 69 1:12 DEN Vance Johnson 47-yard touchdown reception from Elway, Karlis kick good 20 39 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 39

Final statistics[edit]

Sources: NFL.com Super Bowl XXI, Super Bowl XXI Play Finder NYG, Super Bowl XXI Play Finder Den

Statistical comparison[edit]

	Denver Broncos	New York Giants
First downs	23	24
First downs rushing	5	10
First downs passing	16	13
First downs penalty	2	1
Third down efficiency	7/14	6/12
Fourth down efficiency	0/0	1/2
Net yards rushing	52	136
Rushing attempts	19	38
Yards per rush	2.7	3.6
Passing – Completions/attempts	26/41	22/25
Times sacked-total yards	4–32	1–5
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Net yards passing	320	263
Total net yards	372	399
Punt returns-total yards	1–9	1–25
Kickoff returns-total yards	5–84	4–53
Interceptions-total return yards	0–0	1–(–7)
Punts-average yardage	2–41.0	3–46.0
Fumbles-lost	2–0	0–0
Penalties-total yards	4–28	6–48
Time of possession	25:21	34:39
Turnovers	1	0

Individual statistics[edit]

¹Completions/attempts ²Carries ³Long gain ⁴Receptions ⁵Times targeted

Records Set[edit]

The following records were set in Super Bowl XXI, according to the official NFL.com boxscore,^[16] the 2016 NFL Record & Fact Book^[17] and the Pro-Football-Reference.com game summary.^[18]
Some records have to meet NFL minimum number of attempts to be recognized.^[17] The minimums are shown (in parenthesis).

Player Records Set [18]
Passing Records
Highest passer rating, game	150.9	Phil Simms
Highest completion percentage, game, (20 attempts)	88.0% (22–25)
Most consecutive completions, game	10
Records Tied
Longest field goal	48 yards	Rich Karlis0(Denver)
Most 40-plus yard field goals, game	1
Most Safeties, Game	1	George Martin0(New York Giants)

Starting lineups[edit]

Source:^[19][20]

Hall of Fame‡

Denver	Position	Position	New York Giants
Offense
Vance Johnson	WR		Lionel Manuel
Dave Studdard	LT		Brad Benson
Keith Bishop	LG		Billy Ard
Billy Bryan	C		Bart Oates
Mark Cooper	RG		Chris Godfrey
Ken Lanier	RT		Karl Nelson
Clarence Kay	TE		Mark Bavaro
Steve Watson	WR		Stacy Robinson
John Elway‡	QB		Phil Simms
Sammy Winder	RB		Joe Morris
Gerald Willhite	FB		Maurice Carthon
Defense
Andre Townsend	LE		George Martin
Greg Kragen	NT		Jim Burt
Rulon Jones	RE		Leonard Marshall
Jim Ryan	LOLB		Carl Banks
Karl Mecklenburg	LILB		Gary Reasons
Ricky Hunley	RILB		Harry Carson‡
Tom Jackson	ROLB		Lawrence Taylor‡
Louis Wright	LCB		Elvis Patterson
Mike Harden	RCB		Perry Williams
Steve Foley	SS		Kenny Hill
Dennis Smith	FS		Herb Welch

Officials[edit]

• Referee: Jerry Markbreit #9 second Super Bowl (XVII)
• Umpire: Bob Boylston #101 first Super Bowl
• Head Linesman: Terry Gierke #72 first Super Bowl
• Line Judge: Bob Beeks #59 fourth Super Bowl (XIV, XVI, XVIII)
• Back Judge: Jim Poole #92 first Super Bowl
• Side Judge: Gil Mace #90 second Super Bowl (XVIII)
• Field Judge: Pat Mallette #82 first Super Bowl
• Alternate Umpire: Hendi Ancich #115 worked Super Bowl XXIV^[21]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Super Bowl official website
• 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. Time Inc. Home Entertainment. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
• Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. Harper Collins. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
• The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
• https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198701250den.htm Super Bowl XXI box score and Large online database of NFL data and statistics
• Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
• All-Time Super Bowl Odds^{[permanent dead link]} from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)