Super Bowl XXIII, 20 - 16

Super Bowl XXIII, 20 - 16
01/22/1989 AD defeated

The NFC 49ers defeated the AFC Bengals 20–16, at Joe Robbie Stadium.

This was the second meeting between these two teams in the Super Bowl; their first meeting was seven years earlier. The game was also the third rematch between Super Bowl teams after Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XVII.

This was the Bengals' second Super Bowl appearance after finishing the regular season with a 12–4 record. The 49ers were making their third Super Bowl appearance after posting a 10–6 regular season record.

The game is best remembered for the 49ers' fourth-quarter game-winning drive. Down 16–13, San Francisco got the ball on their own 8-yard line with 3:10 on the clock and marched 92 yards down the field in under three minutes. They then scored the winning touchdown on a Joe Montana pass to John Taylor with just 34 seconds left in the game. The game was tight throughout. The teams combined for five field goals, and battled to a 3–3 score by the end of the second quarter, the first halftime tie in Super Bowl history. Cincinnati's only touchdown, a 93-yard kickoff return by Stanford Jennings in the third quarter, was quickly answered by a four-play, 85-yard drive that ended with San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice's 14-yard touchdown reception. The touchdown came one play after Cincinnati cornerback Lewis Billups dropped what would have been a drive-ending interception in the end zone.

Jerry Rice was named the Super Bowl MVP. He caught 11 passes for a Super Bowl record 215 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing once for five yards.

Miami, FL

Lattitude: 25.7617° N
Longitude: 80.1918° W
Region: North America

Modern Day United States

Events in 1989 MORE