Allen Was Super for the Raiders Vs. Washington
Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is less than two weeks away. Still, all members of Raider Nation can do when it comes to the National Football League’s ultimate game is recall some of the great moments in Silver and Black history.
Probably the greatest individual performance in Raiders’ history came from Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen in Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
All Allen did on January 22, 1984, was rush for a then-Super Bowl record of 191 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns on his way to being chosen the game’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Los Angeles Raiders to a 38-9 trouncing of favored Washington before 72,920 spectators.
In addition, Allen caught two passes for 18 yards on his only targets by quarterback Jim Plunkett as the Silver and Black embarrassed Washington, which was 16-2 that season before running into the Raiders.
Allen’s 191 yards still rank second in Super Bowl history, as Timmy Smith of Washington broke his record with 204 yards in a 42-10 rout of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
However, Raider Nation will take Allen’s performance every day.
Despite his great runs in that game, Allen remembers something unusual about that Super Bowl Sunday.
“I didn’t know any better because this was my first Super Bowl,” Allen recalled. “Most guys take a cab or the bus. I took my rental car. So I pulled up to the stadium and said: ‘Where do the players park?’ The parking attendant asked if we had a parking pass, and I said: ‘No.’ She said: ‘Well, you can’t get in. I said: ‘Seriously, ma’am, I’m with the Raiders. I’m playing in this game.’
Marcus Allen was Super for the Raiders vs. Washington in the Super Bowl
© Manny Rubio | 1984 Jan 22
“She said: ‘I don’t care, if you don’t have a parking pass you can’t get in.’ And I was with my teammate, Odis McKinney. I backed the car up, pulled it against the curb. This is a true story. I looked at him, he looked at me, he grabbed his bag, I grabbed mine, and we took off to the locker room. To this day, I don’t know what happened to that rental car.”
So, it appears that Allen was just as elusive off the field as he was on it.
Allen ran five yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 28-9 lead over Washington with 3:46 left in the third quarter and broke the game open the next time the Silver Black had the ball.
The Raiders stopped fullback John Riggins on fourth-down-and-one at the Los Angeles 26-yard-line on a tackle by linebacker Rod Martin, and on the next play, Allen got the ball going left. There was nothing open that way, so he cut back to the right, and behind an incredible block by tackle Henry Lawrence that took out half the defensive line, Allen broke free and ran 74 yards for a touchdown.
“I felt someone grab me from behind, but I pulled away, and then there was an alley,” said Allen, whose score made it 35-9 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. “(Cornerback) Darrell Green did not see me go by, and I felt like I could outrun the rest of the guys. (Wide receiver) Cliff Branch blocked someone downfield . . . it was the greatest run I have ever had on this level.
“You always dream of something like that happening. I never stopped to think about what to do. I just let the instincts take over.”
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Allen was selected by the Raiders with the 10th overall pick of the 1982 NFL Draft out of USC and rushed for 12,243 yards with 123 touchdowns in his 16 NFL seasons with the Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.
Allen is the only player in history to win a Heisman Trophy, a national college football championship, a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl MVP award, and the NFL MVP award.
The Raiders have another outstanding back now, 2022-23 NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs, but he is a free agent this offseason, and the Silver and Black must sign him because he might be able to take them to Super Bowl greatness the way Allen did.
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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