![]() ![]() After all, it wasn't as if they had lucked their way into the Super Bowl. The 49ers had every right to feel slighted. But you couldn't argue with Dan's statistics. "You don't mind being overlooked that much, but sometimes it seemed they (reporters) forgot there were two teams in the game," Montana said. Yet there comes a point when enough is enough. For Montana, who is not particularly comfortable in the spotlight, it was a welcome relief to have Marino and the Dolphins capture the bulk of the pregame publicity. Stationed in Oakland, across the bay from the 49ers, the Dolphins were anything but lost amid the hometown hysteria of fans in the San Francisco area. Even the news that he was engaged failed to cool down his adoring female fans. So, it was no surprise that wherever the blond wonder boy went during Super Bowl week, he generated the kind of excitement that usually is associated with rock stars. Marino was the conductor of one of the most proficient offenses in NFL history, one that was averaging more than four touchdowns per game. Entering the Super Bowl, he had passed for at least one touchdown in each of his last 22 games, including four in an overwhelming performance against Pittsburgh in the American Conference championship game. He led the league in pass attempts, average yards per completion and efficiency rating. He shattered the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season with 48, and his 362 completions and four 400-yard games also were league records. ![]() Marino became the first player ever to throw for 5,000 yards (5,084) in a season. A second-year quarterback, Marino still should have been learning the game, but instead he was collecting unprecedented passing totals that pinpointed him as the best quarterback in the league. This was the same Marino who had shown absolutely no respect for the NFL's regular-season record book. They demolished the Dolphins, 38-16, in Super Bowl XIX, and in so doing taught football fans two valuable lessons: One, even the most promising of Super Bowl matchups seldom live up to expectations, and two, defenses still hold the key to these championship games.Īs good as Montana was - and he was astonishingly effective and productive - it was the 49er defense that performed the miracle of Super Bowl XIX, thereby taking the luster off Marino's rising star. What grace, what class, what an award-winning performance. ![]() The Dolphins gave more than 115 million TV viewers and 84,059 spectators at Stanford Stadium a B movie at best.Īh, but the San Francisco 49ers. Nor did the Miami Dolphin defense, which found itself vastly overmatched against a quiet guy named Joe Montana and an excellent supporting cast. Matinee idol Dan Marino didn't win an Oscar for his performance. Instead of getting the drama of "Gone With the Wind" and the excitement of "Ben-Hur," the largest viewing audience in television sports history was treated to a high-budget production of "Godzilla Meets the Sea Mammals." It was a laugher. Unfortunately, real life isn't like old-time Hollywood, where dreams come true and everyone rides off into the sunset for a happy ending. You wanted points? You wanted excitement? Tune in. (January 20, 1985) - No question about it, this was one Super Bowl that couldn't miss.įorget about all the past Super Bowls that had turned out to be one-sided flops not only were the two best teams in the National Football League in 1984 matched, but so were the two best quarterbacks. The San Francisco 49ers captured their second Super Bowl title with a dominating offense and a defense that tamed Miami's explosive passing attack and won by a score of 38-16.
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