SUPER BOWL XXVI / WASHINGTON REDSKINS 37, BUFFALO BILLS 24 : NOTES : One Misperception Cleared: Redskins Are a Passing Team

There were two surprises in the first half Sunday when, first, the Washington Redskins couldn’t run the ball on Buffalo and when, second, their pass offense opened an easy 17-0 lead and eventually won it, 37-24.

But Matt Millen wasn’t surprised. The inactive Washington linebacker, who led the cheers for the Redskins in civilian clothes, said: “There is a misperception that this is a running team. It’s not. It’s a passing team. They will run the ball, but they win by passing.”

The relevant numbers on Super Sunday were 72, 25, 19, 0, 4, 35 and 23. A lottery winner? Not in Minnesota.

The numbers are what they were bragging about at the Metrodome:

At the kickoff, the temperature was 72 inside and 25 outside, where a wind was blowing 19 m.p.h., and where the windchill reading was 0.

In Washington, where they had four inches of snow, the temperature was 35. In Buffalo, it was 23.

Of the three NFL players who have gone to three Super Bowls with three different teams, two were with the veteran Redskin team Sunday.

They were Millen and holder Jeff Rutledge, who fumbled away a field goal. Rutledge was with the Rams in Super Bowl XIV and with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI. Millen was in 1980s Super Bowls with the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.

In an earlier era, Preston Pearson wore three uniforms--those of the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers--to Super Bowls.

Said Millen, who bailed out of San Francisco in time to get on the Joe Gibbs bandwagon: “I’m not surprised to be (in Minneapolis). When I was deciding what to do (last winter), I thought it was about time for (the Redskins) to get back in the Super Bowl.”

Giant General Manager George Young on Raider owner Al Davis’ ascent to the Hall of Fame: “I’m not a big Hall of Fame guy, but (Davis) has made a lot of positive contributions to our business. If they saw fit to vote him in, more power to him.”

On the same subject, Dr. Dan Towler, the Rams’ fullback on their 1951 champions, now a Cal State Los Angeles associate professor of education: “It’s about time.”

Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas has been the media favorite this week, coming up with an outrageous statement a day and then misplacing his helmet in the Metrodome--costing him a place in the starting lineup. But it’s all old hat to the Bills.

“You have to understand Thurman,” Buffalo tackle Will Wolford said. “If you don’t know him, you’d think he was an idiot. We’ve known him for two or three years, and now we know he’s an idiot.”