1981 Super Bowl XV

About New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans is known for its annual Mardi Gras celebrations and famous jazz music, but this year it would be the home of the biggest football game in the world Super Bowl 15. Residents were busy getting ready as thousands of visitors would be packing into the Louisiana Superdome to watch the Oakland Raiders take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV.

Ticket Sales / Attendance: There were 76135 people in attendance at the game in and it is estimated that another 68.2 million more excited football fans tuned in from their homes or other football parties around the world while tuning into NBC. The ratings the game for the game on this network were 44.4.

Team Pre-Season Stats: After missing the playoffs the previous 2 seasons, head coach Tom Flores was looking to guide his team back to playoff contention this season. QB Jim Plunkett would fight for the starting job for Oakland and trying to get his first since coming over from San Francisco. The Raiders would have a rock solid defence including LB Ted Hendricks and OL Art Shell.

Head coach Dick Vermeil and the Philadelphia Eagles were excited to get another chance this season after losing the previous year to Tampa Bay in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Led once again by quarterback Ron Jaworski the offence would need some help from other players including WR Charlie Smith in order to have a better playoff run this year.

Team Roster: Key players on the Raiders roster included QB Jim Plunkett, TE Dave Casper, DB Lester Hayes, LB Ted Hendricks, RB Kenny King, OL Art Shell, and LB Rod Martin.

The notable players for the Eagles included QB Ron Jaworski, WR Harold Carmichael, DL Charlie Johnson, LB Bill Bergey, DL Dennis Harrison, OL Stan Walters, and OL Woody Peoples.

Game Highlights: The Raiders defence stepped up early in the game as LB Rod Martin intercepted an Eagles pass and returned it to the Eagles 30 yard line setting up a 2 yard touchdown reception by Cliff Branch. Raiders QB Plunkett then threw for a Super Bowl record 80 yard touchdown to RB Kenny King to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. This was a lead that the Eagles would not be able to overcome.

The Raiders added 13 more points in the 2nd half including a touchdown and 2 field goals and this was more than enough to beat the Eagles who scored a total of 10 points in the game. The defence of the Raiders helped them to victory as well as LB Rod Martin intercepted 3 passes setting a Super Bowl record. The Raiders became the first team in NFL history to win the championship after making the playoffs as a Wild Card.

Game MVP: The MVP of the 15th Super Bowl was Raiders QB Jim Plunkett. Plunkett was 13 of 21 passing for 261 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He threw for an 80 yard touchdown in the first quarter which was the longest in Super Bowl history and that would be enough to help the Raiders win the 1981 Superbowl.

Half Time Show: The halftime show was presented by Jim Skinner and the theme was "Mardi Gras Festival" which was an appropriate one in New Orleans. Performers in the show included Southern University Band and Helen O'Connell.

Commercials: The average cost for a 30 second commercial during the 15th Superbowl was $324000. Chrysler had the most ads during the game featuring 5 different ads for their vehicles.

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