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In front of a 100,000-plus crowd at the Rose Bowl in the Redskins 27-17 win, John Riggins turned in one of the most memorable rushing performances in NFL championship history.

Highlighted by a bruising 43-yard touchdown run on a fourth and one situation, Riggins carried the ball a Super Bowl record 38 times for 166 yards, which was also a record at the time. In the process of wearing down a tough Miami defense, Riggins put an exclamation point on one of the most prolific postseason performances ever; the bruising back rushed for over 100 yards in each of Washington's four playoff victories.

The win marked Washington's first NFL title since 1942, and was only the second time in Super Bowl history NFL/NFC teams scored consecutive victories (Green Bay did it in Super Bowls I and II and San Francisco won Super Bowl XVI).

The Redskins, under second-year head coach Joe Gibbs, used a balanced offense that accounted for 400 total yards (a Super Bowl-record 276 yards rushing and 124 passing), second in Super Bowl history to 429 yards by Oakland in Super Bowl XI.

The Dolphins built a 17-10 halftime lead on a 76-yard touchdown pass from quarterback David Woodley to wide receiver Jimmy Cefalo 6:49 into the first period, a 20-yard field goal by Uwe von Schamann with 6:00 left in the half, and a Super Bowl-record 98-yard kickoff return by Fulton Walker with 1:38 remaining.

Washington had tied the score at 10-10 with 1:51 left on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Joe Theismann to wide receiver Alvin Garrett. Mark Moseley started the Redskins' scoring with a 31-yard field goal late in the first period, and added a 20-yard kick midway through the third period to cut the Dolphins' lead to 17-13.

Riggins, who was voted the game's most valuable player, gave Washington its first lead of the game with 10:01 left when he ran 43 yards off left tackle for a touchdown in a fourth-and-1 situation.

Wide receiver Charlie Brown caught a 6-yard scoring pass from Theismann with 1:55 left to complete the scoring.

The Dolphins managed only 176 yards (142 in first half).

Theismann completed 15 of 23 passes for 143 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. For Miami, Woodley was 4 of 14 for 97 yards, with one touchdown, and one interception. Don Strock was 0 for 3 in relief

SUPER BOWL XVII MVP: John Riggins RB, Washington Redskins

Down 17-13 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XVII and needing a big play, the Redskins turned once again to running back John Riggins, who had been making big plays for them all season. Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from the Miami 43. After taking a handoff, Riggins broke through the line and rumbled all the way for a touchdown to give Washington its first lead of the game. The Redskins went on to win 27-17.

The 43-yard run by Riggins, the game's Most Valuable Player, was immortalized in one of NFL Films's most memorable images. Coming straight toward the camera, the rugged running back fills the screen for several seconds as he chugs to a place in Super Bowl history. While helping Washington win its first NFL title since 1942, Riggins set a Super Bowl record with 166 yards on 38 carries.

The Super Bowl marked the end to one of the finest postseason rushing performances in NFL history. Riggins had rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the Redskins' four postseason victories.

 

Super Bowl XVII

 

SUPER BOWL XVII SCORING

 

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Miami Dolphins	7	10	0	0	17
Washington Redskins	0	10	3	14	27

 

1st Quarter

MIA Cefalo 76 pass from Woodley (Von Schamann kick), 6:49

2nd Quarter

WAS FG Moseley 31, 0:21

MIA FG Von Schamann 20, 9:00

WAS Garrett 4 pass from Theismann (Moseley kick), 13:09

MIA Walker 98 kick return (Von Schamann kick), 13:22

3rd Quarter

WAS FG Moseley 20, 6:51

4th Quarter

WAS Riggins 43 run (Moseley kick), 4:59

WAS Brown 6 pass from Theismann (Moseley kick), 13:05

 

MIAMI DOLPHINS - Team Statistics

Total First Downs	9
Rushing	7
Passing	2
Penalty	0
Total Net Yardage	176
Total Offensive Plays	47
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play	3.7
Rushes	29
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)	96
Average Yards per Rush	3.3
Passes Attempted	17
Passes Completed	4
Had Intercepted	1
Tackled Attempting to Pass	1
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass	17
Yards Gained Passing (Net)	80
Punts	6
Average Distance	37.8
Punt Returns	2
Punt Return Yardage	22
Kickoff Returns	6
Kickoff Return Yardage	222
Interception Return Yardage	0
Fumbles	2
Own Fumbles Recovered	1
Opponent Fumbles Recovered	0
Penalties	4
Yards Penalized	55
Total Points Scored	17
Touchdowns	2
Rushing	0
Passing	1
Returns	1
Extra Points	2
Field Goals	1
Fields Goals Attempted	1
Safeties	0
Third-Down Efficiency	3/11
Fourth-Down Efficiency	0/1
Time of Possession	23:45

WASHINGTON REDSKINS - Team Statistics

Total First Downs	24
Rushing	14
Passing	9
Penalty	1
Total Net Yardage	400
Total Offensive Plays	78
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play	5.1
Rushes	52
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)	276
Average Yards per Rush	5.3
Passes Attempted	23
Passes Completed	15
Had Intercepted	2
Tackled Attempting to Pass	3
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass	19
Yards Gained Passing (Net)	124
Punts	4
Average Distance	42.0
Punt Returns	6
Punt Return Yardage	52
Kickoff Returns	3
Kickoff Return Yardage	57
Interception Return Yardage	0
Fumbles	0
Own Fumbles Recovered	0
Opponent Fumbles Recovered	1
Penalties	5
Yards Penalized	36
Total Points Scored	27
Touchdowns	3
Rushing	1
Passing	2
Returns	0
Extra Points	3
Field Goals	2
Fields Goals Attempted	2
Safeties	0
Third-Down Efficiency	11/18
Fourth-Down Efficiency	1/1
Time of Possession	36:15

MIAMI DOLPHINS - Player Statistics

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
Woodley	4/14	97	1	1
Strock	0/3	0	0	0
Rushing	NO	YDS	TD	LG
Franklin	16	49	0	9
Nathan	7	26	0	12
Woodley	4	16	0	7
Vigorito	1	4	0	4
Harris	1	1	0	1
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
Cefalo	2	82	1	76t
Harris	2	15	0	8
Interceptions	INT	YDS	LG	TD
L. Blackwood	1	0	0	0
Duhe	1	0	0	0
Punting	NO	AVG	LG	BLK
Orosz	6	37.8	46	0
Punt Returns	NO/FC	YDS	LG	TD
Vigorito	2/1	22	12	0
Kickoff Returns	NO	YDS	LG	TD
Walker	4	190	98t	1
L. Blackwood	2	32	17	0

WASHINGTON REDSKINS - Player Statistics

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
Theismann	15/23	143	2	2
Rushing	NO	YDS	TD	LG
Riggins	38	166	1	43t
Garrett	1	44	0	44
Harmon	9	40	0	12
Theismann	3	20	0	12
Walker	1	6	0	6
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
Brown	6	60	1	26
Warren	5	28	0	10
Garrett	2	13	1	9
Walker	1	27	0	27
Riggins	1	15	1	15
Interceptions	INT	YDS	LG	TD
Murphy	1	0	0	0
Punting	NO	AVG	LG	BLK
Hayes	4	42.0	54	0
Punt Returns	NO/FC	YDS	LG	TD
Nelms	6/0	52	12	0
Kickoff Returns	NO	YDS	LG	TD
Nelms	2	44	24	0
Wonsley	1	13	13	0

 

January 30, 1983
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
Attendance: 103,667

 

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