Super Bowl XXXII
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Super Bowl XXXII took place on January 25, 1998 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.
The final result was Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24.
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The game
In a game that many fans agree was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent years, the Broncos won their first title and snapped a 13-game losing streak for AFC teams in the Super Bowl.
The defending champion Packers were heavy favorites going into the game. On their first drive, Antonio Freeman caught a 22-yard Brett Favre pass to open the scoring.
The Broncos dominated the rest of the first half. Denver came back on their first possession to tie the game with a Terrell Davis one-yard run, then scored another touchdown early in the second quarter with Tyrone Braxton's interception setting up another one-yard run by quarterback John Elway. A Brett Favre fumble set up a Jason Elam field goal to put the Broncos up 17-7.
Late in the half the Packers made it close again with a Mark Chmura touchdown, making it 17-14 at the break.
Green Bay tied it up early in the third quarter when Tyrone Williams recovered a Davis fumble deep in Broncos territory and Ryan Longwell scored a 27-yard field goal. Later in the quarter, Denver regained the lead with a second touchdown by Davis. They had a chance to increase their lead when the Packers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but it was wasted when Elway threw his only interception of the game in the end zone on the next play.
The Packers took that turnover and marched 80 yards to tie it up once again 1:28 into the fourth quarter, with Antonio Freeman's 13-yard score providing the points.
Later in the quarter, with a possible first overtime in Super Bowl history looming, Denver was back in the lead for good. Terrell Davis (who ran for 157 yards total in the game) ran for 17 yards to the one-yard line, then ran into the end zone on the next play with 1:45 left.
A Packers comeback was stifled when John Mobley broke apart a Favre pass intended for Chmura on fourth down with 32 seconds left. After years of frustration, the Broncos won their first championship in team history.
Davis, who scored three touchdowns, was named MVP.
Scoring Summary
- GB- Freeman 22 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
- DEN- Davis 1 run (Elam kick)
- DEN- Elway 1 run (Elam kick)
- DEN- FG Elam 51
- GB- Chmura 6 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
- GB- FG Longwell 27
- DEN- Davis 1 run (Elam kick)
- GB- Freeman 13 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
- DEN- Davis 1 run (Elam kick)
Other Facts about the Game
- This was the first Super Bowl in which both teams scored on their opening drives (both scored touchdowns).
- The game was played in the home stadium of the San Diego Chargers, who failed to make the playoffs that season.
- In the United States, the game was telecast on NBC with Dick Enberg, Phil Simms, and Paul Maguire serving as the announcers. This was the last NFL game that NBC had covered to date as the AFC package would move to CBS in the fall of 1998. NBC will again carry a Super Bowl — Super Bowl XLIII — in 2009.
- The national anthem was sung by Jewel.
- Each player wore a Super Bowl logo patch on their jerseys. This would become a regular practice in later Super Bowls.
- To date this Super Bowl has received the most viewers of any Super Bowl.
See also
| NFL Super Bowls I 1967 | II 1968 | III 1969 | IV 1970 | V 1971 | VI 1972 | VII 1973 | VIII 1974 | IX 1975 | X 1976 XI 1977 | XII 1978 | XIII 1979 | XIV 1980 | XV 1981 | XVI 1982 | XVII 1983 | XVIII 1984 | XIX 1985 | XX 1986 XXI 1987 | XXII 1988 | XXIII 1989 | XXIV 1990 | XXV 1991 | XXVI 1992 | XXVII 1993 | XXVIII 1994 | XXIX 1995 | XXX 1996 XXXI 1997 | XXXII 1998 | XXXIII 1999 | XXXIV 2000 | XXXV 2001 | XXXVI 2002 | XXXVII 2003 | XXXVIII 2004 | XXXIX 2005 | XL 2006 |