Super Bowl XXVI: Redskins 37 Bills 24

Super Bowl XXVI - Washington Redskins 37 Buffalo Bills 24 - MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien
Super Bowl XXVI: Redskins 37 Bills 24 - MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien

Mark Rypien and his Redskins handed the Bills their second Super Bowl loss (37-24), leading by as much as 37-10. Passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, Rypien tallied more yards in his 33 attempts than did the Bills' Jim Kelly, who threw 58 times in the game. Rypien's 35-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clark in the second half provided some much needed breathing room for Washington.

Mark Rypien and his Redskins handed the Bills their second Super Bowl loss (37-24) to win their third Super Bowl in the 10 years at the time.

Passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, Rypien tallied more yards in his 33 attempts than did Bills QB Jim Kelly, who threw 58 times in the game. Rypien's 35-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clark in the second half provided some muchneeded breathing room for Washington.

Rypien, the game's most valuable player, completed 18 of 33 passes, including a 10-yard scoring strike to Earnest Byner and a 30-yard touchdown to Gary Clark. The latter came late in the third quarter after Buffalo had trimmed a 24-0 deficit to 24-10, and effectively put the game out of reach.

Both teams entered the game as the two highest scoring teams in the NFL, but by the end of the first quarter the game remained scoreless due to miscues.

The opening kickoff had to be redone because Bills kicker Brad Daluiso kicked the ball before referee Jerry Markbreit signaled to begin play. Bills running back Thurman Thomas missed the first two plays of Buffalo's first drive because he couldn't find his helmet.

Later in the first quarter, Washington drove 89 yards and appeared to score a touchdown on a third-down pass from quarterback Mark Rypien to wide receiver Art Monk. But it was overruled by instant replay: the officials ruled that Monk's foot was out of bounds when he caught the ball (the first time a touchdown was overruled by instant replay in a Super Bowl). The Redskins tried to salvage the drive with a field goal attempt, but holder Jeff Rutledge fumbled the snap.

On Buffalo's first play after the botched field goal attempt, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly gave Washington another chance to score by throwing an interception to Redskins safety Brad Edwards, who returned it 21 yards to the Bills 12-yard line. But Rypien promptly gave it back to the Bills by throwing an interception to Bills defensive back Kirby Jackson on the third play of the Redskins' next drive.

In the second quarter, the Redskins began to take over the game.

First, a 41-yard completion from Rypien to wide receiver Ricky Sanders and a 19-yard run by Earnest Byner set up Chip Lohmiller's 34-yard field goal to give Washington a 3--0 lead. The Redskins' defense then forced Buffalo to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and punter Chris Mohr's 23-yard punt sailed out of bounds at the Washington 49-yard line. The Redskins then drove 51 yards in 5 plays capped by Byner's 10-yard touchdown reception. Then, on the Bills next drive, Washington defensive back Darrell Green intercepted a pass from Kelly at the Redskins 45-yard line. Three plays later, Rypien completed a 34-yard pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to the Buffalo 15-yard line. A 14-yard run by Ricky Ervins then set up fullback Gerald Riggs' 1-yard touchdown run to expand the Redskins' lead to 17--0.

The Bills became the 9th team to go scoreless in the 1st half of a Super Bowl, after the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III; the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI; the Redskins in Super Bowl VII, the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII; and the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. All 8 of the previous teams ended up losing the game.

Washington went on to lead by as much as 37-10 before the Bills made it close wih a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes.

Though the Redskins struggled early, converting their first three drives inside the Bills' 20-yard line into only three points, they built a 17-0 halftime lead. And they made it 24-0 just 16 seconds into the second half, after Kurt Gouveia intercepted Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly's pass on the first play of the third quarter and returned it 23 yards to the Bills' 2.

One play later, Gerald Riggs scored his second touchdown of the game to make it 24-0. Kelly, forced to bring Buffalo from behind, completed 28 of a Super Bowl-record 58 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted four tlmes.

Bills running back Thurman Thomas, who had an AFC-high 1,407 yards rushing and an NFL-best 2,038 total yards from scrimmage during the regular season, ran for only 13 yards on 10 carries and was limited to 27 yards on four receptions.

Clark had seven catches for 114 yards and Art Monk added seven for 113 for the Redskins, who amassed 417 yards of total offense while limiting the explosive Bills to 283.

With the win, Washington's Joe Gibbs became only the third head coach to win three Super Bowls. In fact, the Redskins became the first team, and Joe Gibbs the first coach, to win a Super Bowl with three different quarterbacks. Two other teams have since duplicated this feat: the New York Giants ( Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI, Jeff Hostetler in Super Bowl XXV, and Eli Manning in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI) and the Green Bay Packers (Bart Starr in the first two Super Bowls, Brett Favre in Super Bowl XXXI, and Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl XLV).

Super Bowl XXVI - Washington Redskins 37 Buffalo Bills 24 - MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien
Super Bowl XXVI Logo

Super Bowl XXVI MVP: MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien

Super Bowl XXVI MVP: MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien

When you make it to the big game, it's time to have your biggest game.

Mark Rypien did just that for Washington as his passing and leadership guided the Redskins to their third Super Bowl title, a 37-20 victory over Buffalo. Rypien completed 18-of-33 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

After Washington struggled in the first quarter, it took a 17-0 halftime lead on a field goal, a Gerald Riggs TD run and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rypien to running back Earnest Byner. The Redskins never looked back, adding another Riggs run, two field goals, and a 35-yard touchdown pass from MVP Rypien to Gary Clark to seal the victory.

Super Bowl XXVI Scoring

Teams	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Source: NFL
Washington Redskins	0	17	14	6	37
Buffalo Bills	0	0	10	14	24

Qtr	Time	Plays	Yards	Duration	Team	Scoring Summary	WAS	BUF
Source: NFL
2	13:02	7	64	2:40	Redskins	34-yard field goal by Chip Lohmiller	3	0
2	9:54	5	51	2:12	Redskins	Earnest Byner 10-yard TD reception from Mark Rypien (Lohmiller PAT)	10	0
2	7:17	5	55	2:18	Redskins	Gerald Riggs 1-yard TD run (Lohmiller PAT)	17	0
3	14:44	1	2	0:03	Redskins	Riggs 2-yard TD run (Lohmiller PAT)	24	0
3	11:59	11	77	2:45	Bills	21-yard field goal by Scott Norwood	24	3
3	5:58	6	56	2:19	Bills	Thurman Thomas 1-yard TD run (Norwood PAT)	24	10
3	1:24	11	79	4:34	Redskins	Gary Clark 30-yard TD reception from Rypien (Lohmiller PAT)	31	10
4	14:54	4	7	0:57	Redskins	25-yard field goal by Lohmiller	34	10
4	11:36	5	11	2:30	Redskins	39-yard field goal by Lohmiller	37	10
4	5:59	15	79	5:37	Bills	Pete Metzelaars 2-yard TD reception from Jim Kelly (Norwood PAT)	37	17
4	3:55	9	50	2:04	Bills	Don Beebe 4-yard TD reception from Kelly (Norwood PAT)	37	24

Super Bowl XXVI Team Statistics

Statistic	Redskins	Bills
Source: NFL
First downs total	24	25
First downs rushing	10	4
First downs passing	12	18
First downs penalty	2	3
Third down efficiency	6/16	7/17
Fourth down efficiency	0/2	2/2
Net yards rushing	125	43
Rushing attempts	40	18
Yards per rush	3.1	2.4
Passing Completions/Attempts	18/33	29/59
Sacks - total yards	0--0	5--46
Interceptions	1	4
Net yards passing	292	240
Total net yards	417	283
Punt returns - total yards	0--0	3--9
Kickoff returns - total yards	1--16	4--77
Interceptions - total return yards	4--79	1--4
Punts - average yardage	4--37.5	6--35.0
Fumbles - lost	1--0	6--1
Penalties - total yards	5--82	6--50
Time of possession	33:43	26:17
Turnovers	1	5

Super Bowl XXVI: Washington Redskins Player Statistics

Source: NFL
Passing	Comp / Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Mark Rypien	18/33	292	2	1	92.0
Rushing	Carries	Yards	TD	Long	Yards/Carry
Ricky Ervins	13	72	0	21	5.54
Earnest Byner	14	49	0	19	3.50
Gerald Riggs	5	7	2	4	1.40
Ricky Sanders	1	1	0	1	1.00
Jeff Rutledge	1	0	0	0	0.00
Mark Rypien	6	--4	0	2	--0.67
Receiving	Catches	Yards	TD	Long	Target
Gary Clark	7	114	1	34	12
Art Monk	7	113	0	31	10
Earnest Byner	3	24	1	10	5
Ricky Sanders	1	41	0	41	3
Terry Orr	0	0	0	0	1

Super Bowl XXVI: Buffalo Bills Player Statistics

Source: NFL
Passing	Comp / Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Jim Kelly	28/58	275	2	4	44.8
Frank Reich	1/1	11	0	0	112.5
Rushing	Carries	Yards	TD	Long	Yards/Carry
Kenneth Davis	4	17	0	13	4.25
Jim Kelly	3	16	0	9	5.33
Thurman Thomas	10	13	1	6	1.30
James Lofton	1	--3	0	--3	--3.00
Receiving	Catches	Yards	TD	Long	Target
James Lofton	7	92	0	18	17
Andre Reed	5	34	0	12	11
Don Beebe	4	61	1	43	9
Kenneth Davis	4	38	0	12	6
Thurman Thomas	4	27	0	8	5
Keith McKeller	2	29	0	21	5
Al Edwards	1	11	0	11	2
Pete Metzelaars	1	2	1	2	2
Jim Kelly	1	-8	0	-8	1

January 26, 1992

Metrodome (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Attendance: 63,130

National Anthem: Harry Connick, Jr.

Coin Toss: Chuck Noll

Halftime Show: Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill

Network: CBS

Announcers: Pat Summerall and John Madden

Nielsen ratings: 40.3 (est. 79.6 million viewers)

Cost of 30-second commercial: $850,000

Super Bowl XXVI: Redskins vs. Bills Highlights

Super Bowl XXVI: Ticket & Championship Ring

Super Bowl XXVI Championship Ring and Game Ticket

NFL Football: "Super Bowl XXVI - Washington Redskins 37 Buffalo Bills 24 - MVP Redskins QB Mark Rypien "