Super Bowl XXII

"1988 Super Bowl" redirects here. For the Super Bowl that was played at the completion of the 1988 season, see Super Bowl XXIII.

Super Bowl XXII
DateJanuary 31, 1988 (1988-01-31)
StadiumJack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
MVPDoug Williams, quarterback
FavoriteBroncos by 3[1][2]
RefereeBob McElwee
Attendance73,302[3]
Ceremonies
National anthemHerb Alpert
Coin tossDon Hutson
Halftime showChubby Checker and The Rockettes, USC and San Diego State Marching Bands
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
AnnouncersAl Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf
Nielsen ratings41.9
(est. 80.14 million viewers)[4]
Market share62
Cost of 30-second commercial$645,000
Radio in the United States
NetworkCBS Radio
AnnouncersJack Buck and Hank Stram

Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1987 season. The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1988, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, which was the first time that the Super Bowl was played there. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl the year before.

This Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was shortened by a players' strike. Each team only missed one regular season game due to the labor dispute, but three games were played mostly with replacement players until the dispute was settled. This proved particularly costly for the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, who lost all three of their "replacement player games" and failed to make the playoffs. The Broncos were making their second consecutive (and third overall) Super Bowl appearance, after posting a 10–4–1 regular season record, largely through the strength of their quarterback, John Elway. The Redskins, who were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, posted an 11–4 regular season record. Washington was led by quarterback Doug Williams, who entered the season as a backup, and was 0–2 as a starter during the regular season. He ended up leading Washington to their two playoff victories. In doing so, he was the first African American quarterback ever to start in an NFL league championship game, let alone a Super Bowl.

After trailing 10–0 at the end of the first quarter of the game, the Redskins scored 42 unanswered points, including a record-breaking 35 points in the second quarter, setting several other Super Bowl records. Williams, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, completed 18 of 29 passes for a Super Bowl record 340 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception. He also became the first player in Super Bowl history to pass for four touchdowns in a single quarter, and four in a half. Williams was the first African American starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.[5][6]

  1. ^ DiNitto, Marcus (January 25, 2015). "Super Bowl Betting History – Underdogs on Recent Roll". The Linemakers. Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Super Bowl History". Vegas Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "Super Bowl Winners". NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  4. ^ Gorman, Bill. "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967–2009". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  5. ^ McEvoy, Colin (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". Biography. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Garber, Greg (January 29, 2013). "Doug Williams embraces history". ESPN. Retrieved September 29, 2013.