An American Tailspin : Allen Could See Super Sundays Ahead When Raiders Won Second Title in Four Years, but They Went South and Rest of the AFC Followed

Time was running down in Super Bowl XVIII and Marcus Allen was ready to call it a day.

As he walked slowly toward the Raiders’ sideline in Tampa Stadium, a calm expression came over his face. Allen knew that his performance against the Washington Redskins spoke volumes.

At the end of his second season as a pro, Allen was on top of the NFL world on Jan. 22, 1984.

He had just completed an MVP performance, gaining a then-Super Bowl-record 191 yards in 20 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

It was important for him to prove that he could play his best in the NFL’s biggest game, and he did just that. However, some in the Raider organization wanted him to stay in the game.

“Yeah, some people did tell me that I should go for over 200 (yards), but I wanted Greg (Pruitt) to have an opportunity to play,” Allen said this week.

So, Allen took himself out of the game to give Pruitt, a veteran running back winding up his NFL career with the Raiders, a chance to play in the Super Bowl.

Allen, who won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 1981 and was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1982, wanted to share the Super Bowl experience.

“I really felt at that time that we’d be returning to many more Super Bowls,” Allen said. “Boy, was I wrong.”

Since then, the Raiders’ rock-solid slogan, “Commitment to Excellence,” has slowly crumbled, in part because of the disintegration of Allen’s relationship with Raider owner Al Davis.

The Raiders’ 38-9 rout of the Redskins was not only the team’s last Super Bowl appearance, it also marked the last time an AFC team has won the NFL championship.

So, why has the AFC had to endure nine years of drought?

“Basically, the Raiders were the last NFC-style team to play in the Super Bowl for the AFC,” said Joe Theismann, who was Washington’s quarterback in Super Bowl XVIII and is now an analyst for ESPN. “The size of their offensive and defensive teams then was a lot larger than the teams that have represented the AFC since.”

Theismann should know because he spent most of Super Bowl XVIII running from an aggressive Raider defense that dominated the Redskin offense.

Going into the game, Washington was favored to win its second consecutive Super Bowl championship. NFL experts pointed to the Redskins’ offensive line--called “the Hogs”--and to fullback John Riggins. They also assumed that the Raiders’ large defensive backs could not keep up with Washington’s trio of small “Smurf” receivers.

“At the time, we felt that we had the better team,” Theismann said. “But all I remember is that I got my . . . handed to me.”

With Lester Hayes and Michael Haynes as cornerbacks, the Raiders blanketed Washington’s receivers. It was Raider football at its finest as defensive linemen Reggie Kinlaw, Lyle Alzado and a young Howie Long controlled the line of scrimmage.

After the game, Long, who along with defensive end Greg Townsend, center Don Mosebar and Allen are the only members of that team still with the Raiders, said: “I could see the frustration on Riggins’ face. I could see the fear in Theismann’s.”

The Raiders dominated from the opening kickoff. They took a 7-0 lead 4:52 into the game when Derrick Jensen blocked Jeff Hayes’ punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

Midway through the second quarter, the Raiders struck again with a 12-yard touchdown pass play from Jim Plunkett to Cliff Branch. Then, after a field goal by the Redskins, linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted Theismann’s screen pass and returned it five yards for a touchdown with seven seconds to play in the first half.

“We just were on a roll,” said Plunkett, who completed 18 of 25 passes for 172 yards that day. “Our defense was just superb, and our offense really moved the ball on them.”

In the second half, Allen took over, scoring on touchdown runs of five and 74 yards.

“Since we put the game away so early, it was anticlimactic when it finally ended,” Allen said. “It really didn’t have the impact I thought it would at the time.”

After their easy victory, many thought that a mini-dynasty was within the Raiders’ grasp. They had just won their second Super Bowl title in four years, giving reason for such optimism.

However, the years since then have been difficult for Allen, the Raiders and the AFC.

In the nine seasons that followed, Allen has seen his role go from Pro Bowl tailback to renegade. In 1992, the feud between him and Davis came to a boiling point, making his future with the team bleak because he becomes a free agent on Feb. 1.

While Allen has had to fight for respect and playing time, the Raiders have struggled to stem the erosion of their once-proud status .

Since 1984, the Raiders have reached the playoffs four times but have won only one of their five postseason games. In ‘92, they finished with a 7-9 record and out of the playoffs.

Theismann said that there might be a connection between the AFC’s recent problems in the Super Bowl and the decline of the Raiders.

“I feel that if the Raiders could have gotten some consistent play from their quarterback position, they would have been right there,” he said. “That has been a tremendous problem for them.”

In the years since their Super Bowl victory, the Raiders have had more than their share of quarterbacks--from Plunkett to Marc Wilson to Rusty Hilger to Steve Beuerlein to Jay Schroeder to Todd Marinovich.

Theismann said the Raiders’ biggest mistake was a move they didn’t make a year ago.

“I know that a deal for (quarterback) Steve Young (of the San Francisco 49ers) was available for the Raiders, and they didn’t take it,” he said. “I don’t know what (the Raiders) felt, but I’m surprised that they didn’t go for it. In my opinion, nothing could have been too much for them (to sacrifice).”

Plunkett, now a radio commentator for the Raiders, agreed, saying: “I think that the Raiders basically have had all the ingredients except at the quarterback spot. The nucleus has been there, but they haven’t had someone to step forward and take charge.”

The most prevalent theory on why the AFC has not won a Super Bowl since 1984 is that the losing lineup of Denver (three times), Buffalo (twice), Cincinnati, Miami and New England had one thing in common: They lost to more physical teams.

To back this theory, Plunkett points to the three Super Bowl appearances by the Broncos.

“There have been some awfully good AFC teams that did not get to the Super Bowl,” he said. “But Denver did, and their offensive and defensive lines were not as large or as physical.”

Allen agreed with Plunkett that the more physical teams have won the Super Bowl in recent years. However, he does not contend that the NFC is a more dominant conference.

“It just appears like that, but in reality the more balanced teams won,” Allen said. “You can’t say that the 49ers overpowered teams. They just were tremendously well balanced. In truth, both the Bills and the Bengals had chances to win, but lost close games. The AFC has had a couple of opportunities.”

Sunday, it will be up to the Bills to end their own two-game Super Bowl winless streak and halt the AFC’s eight-game slump. If they fail, the AFC may have to wait until the Raiders win the conference title again--and that may take awhile.