Super Bowl XXVI pitting the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) against the Buffalo Bills at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN.

The Redskins came in with the NFL's best record at 14-2 and most balanced team, leading the league in points with 485 and gave up the second fewest points allowed with 224; aided by quarterback Mark Rypien having a career year with 3564 yards and 28 touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions and the 2nd best passer rating in the league (97.9); receivers Gary Clark (70 rec., 1340 yards, 10 TD); veteran Art Monk (71 rec., 1049 yards, 8 TD - Monk would finish 1991 18 catches behind Steve Largent for the then-career receptions record) and Ricky Sanders (Sanders - who broke out with his performance in Washington's last Super Bowl - caught 45 passes for 580 yards and 5 scores); running backs Earnest Byner (Byner - arriving in 1989 from Cleveland - ran for 1048 yards {5th best in the NFL} along with catching 34 passes for 308 yards and 5 total touchdowns); rookie Ricky Ervins (680 rushing yards; 16 rec., 181 yards) and fullback/short-yardage back Gerald Riggs (248 yards, 11 TD). Up front, Washington's offensive line - known as the Hogs (consisting of tackles Jim Lachey and original Hog Joe Jacoby; guards Raleigh McKenzie and Mark Schlereth and center Jeff Bostic {Bostic - like Jacoby and future Hall-of-Famer Russ Grimm; the last of who was a backup this season - were the only remaining original Hogs}) had perhaps their best season in giving up a league-low 9 sacks. Defensive stars on a unit giving up 4638 yards (3rd fewest) included cornerback Darrell Green (the NFL's Fastest Man; Green tied for the team lead with 5 interceptions); linebacker Wilber Marshall (a former Bear who joined Washington in 1988; Marshall intercepted 5 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown along with 4 forced fumbles and 5.5 sacks); defensive ends Charles Mann (11 sacks, 1 fumble recovery) and Fred Stokes (6.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception) and safety Brad Edwards (4 interceptions)

Meanwhile, Buffalo - hoping to rebound from their heartbreaking loss in the previous Super Bowl - raced to a 13-3 record and their second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl on the strength of their "K-Gun" no-huddle offense (458 points, 2nd only to Washington and a league-high 6525 yards); with quarterback Jim Kelly throwing for 3844 yards and a league-high 33 touchdowns vs. 17 interceptions and a 97.6 passer rating and running back Thurman Thomas - who won NFL Offensive Player of the Year and NFL MVP honors - running for 1407 yards (3rd most in the league); caught 62 passes for 620 yards and scored a total of 12 touchdowns while leading the league in total yardage (2067) for the 3rd straight years. Other offensive contributors included backup running back Kenneth Davis (624 yards; 20 rec., 118 rec. yards, 5 touchdowns) and receivers Andre Reed (81 rec., 1113 yards, 10 TD); James Lofton (57 rec., 1072 yards, 8 TD - Lofton was also approaching an NFL record; finishing 1991 55 yards short of the career receiving yards record, also held by Steve Largent); tight end Keith McKeller (the actual namesake of the "K-Gun"; 44 rec., 434 yards) and speedy Don Beebe (32 rec., 414 yards, 6 TD); while Buffalo's offensive line was led by center Kent Hull; veteran guard Jim Ritcher and left tackle Will Wolford. Defensively, though, the Bills struggled; finishing with just 31 sacks while falling to 19th in points allowed and 27th (next to last) in yards allowed - with a major factor being that nose tackle Jeff Wright and especially star defensive end Bruce Smith missed much of the 1991 season with injuries (both would play in this Super Bowl; but neither were close to 100 percent). Several Bills did have solid seasons; led by linebackers Cornelius Bennett (Bennett - who picked up much of the pass rushing slack while Smith was hurt - finished with 78 tackles, 9 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries) and Darryl Talley (team-leading 90 tackles, 5 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries) along with cornerback Nate Odomes (66 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 interceptions {tied with Talley for the team lead} for 120 yards and a touchdown)

The game got off to a sloppy start (Bills kickoff specialist Brad Daliuso had to redo the opening kickoff because he kicked the ball before referee Jerry Markbreit signaled to begin play; Thurman Thomas missing the first two Bills plays due to misplacing his helmet; a promising Redskins drive ending when what was initially ruled a touchdown pass from Rypien to Monk was overturned by instant replay after an angle showed Monk's right foot was on the end line {making him out of bounds}; followed by holder Jeff Rutledge mishandling the snap on a field goal try and Buffalo and Washington trading interceptions); Washington - who had their 35-point explosion in the 2nd quarter of game XXII - scored 17 unanswered 2nd quarter points (on a 34-yard Chip Lohmiller field goal; a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rypien to Byner {which allowed some personal redemption for Byner, who had to overcome fans remembering him for "The Fumble" at the end of the 1987 AFC Championship Game when Byner - then with the Cleveland Browns and who had played well in that game - had the ball stripped from him by Denver Broncos corner Jeremiah Castille when it appeared Byner was on his way to the game-tying touchdown} and a 1-yard score by Riggs). Buffalo's most promising drive of the quarter ending in controversy. The Bills drove to Washington's 20-yard line with just under 2 minutes left; only for a Marshall sack to be followed by a controversial no-call in which Edwards clobbered Andre Reed before the ball arrived (no flag was thrown for that; but Reed drew a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after Reed threw his helmet to the turf in disgust, taking the Bills out of field goal range and leading to Bills head coach Marv Levy screaming "You've been bought" to field judge Ed Merrifield as the teams went to the locker room at halftime)

After an interception by Kurt Gouveia (replacing Matt Millen at middle linebacker; Millen was hoping to be the first player to start a Super Bowl for three different teams) set up another Gerald Riggs 2-yard touchdown run early in the 3rd quarter; giving the 'Skins a 24-0 lead. Buffalo's offense then woke up; driving 77 yards (43 on a strike from Jim Kelly to Don Beebe) to set up a 21-yard field goal by Bills kicker Scott Norwood (Norwood, who had struggled in 1991 following his "Wide Right" missed field goal in Super Bowl XXV, would not play again after this Super Bowl); and the following drive (aided by a pass interference penalty in the end zone against Washington's other starting cornerback, Martin Mayhew) ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by Thomas to cut Washington's lead to 24-10; only for the Redskins to drive 79 yards before Rypien threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clark to put the game out of reach 31-10 late in the 3rd quarter. Washington would convert a Jim Kelly fumble (recovered by Stokes) and Brad Edwards' 2nd interception into 25 and 39 yard field goals by Lohmiller to make the score 37-10 before Kelly threw two garbage time touchdown passes (a 2-yard score to backup tight end Pete Metzelaars and - following an onside kick - a 4-yard score to Beebe) to make the final score 37-24; as Washington recovered the second onside kick and ran all but the last few seconds off the clock.

Calling the game are CBS' Pat Summerall and John Madden; with Lesley Visser reporting from the sidelines as well as hosting the Lombardi Trophy presentation (the first and only woman to do so). The Super Bowl Today was hosted by Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw (who took over the NFL Today position after the shakeups that took place on that and CBS Sports on a larger scale in 1990) alongside guest contributor Dan Fouts (who succeeded Bradshaw on CBS' #2 crew alongside Verne Lundquist); with other contributors including Jim Gray (the only Super Bowl he worked for a network other than NBC); Pat O'Brien; Randy Cross and feature segments from CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg and Mike Francesca.

Commercials, the halftime report (but not the halftime show; see Notes) and most of the postgame show are included.

NOTES

1. Copy from an uncle containing the game 

2. Redskins QB Mark Rypien would close the best season of his career with MVP honors; throwing for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns vs. 1 interceptions. Other stars for Washington included Ricky Ervins (a game-high 72 rushing yards); Earnest Byner (49 rushing yards; 3 rec., 24 yards and a touchdown); Gary Clark (tied with teammate Art Monk and Buffalo's James Lofton with a game-high 7 receptions; 114 yards and 1 touchdown); Art Monk (Monk - in the only winning Super Bowl where Monk was a major contributor {missed Super Bowl XVII with injuries and had been activated from the injured list in time for game XXII but catching only one pass} - finished with a nearly-identical stat line with 7 catches for 113 yards and came just shy of a touchdown) and free safety Brad Edwards (who was coming home; as Edwards started his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Edwards finished with 4 tackles, 2 interceptions for 56 yards and broke up 5 passes). Buffalo's two brightest stars on offense - Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas - had terrible performances (Kelly throwing a Super Bowl-record 58 passes but completed 28 for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns {the only touchdown passes for Kelly in a Super Bowl} but a then-Super Bowl record-tying 4 interceptions while also losing a record-tying 3 fumbles; Thomas carrying the ball just 10 times for 13 yards and a touchdown along with 4 catches for 27 yards). James Lofton finished with 7 catches for 92 yards but Andre Reed was held to 5 receptions for 34 yards. Kenneth Davis led the team with just 17 yards on 4 carries plus 4 catches for 38 yards; while Don Beebe caught 4 passes for 61 yards and the game's final touchdown. Kirby Jackson's interception early was the one major defensive highlight for the Bills.

3. When the network rotation was originally announced; this game would have been carried on NBC, only for CBS (which would have gotten Super Bowl XXVII) to request that - with the network carrying the 1992 Winter Olympics less than two weeks later - they swap games with NBC to give CBS a lead-in; which the NFL granted (this would not be the last time that a network carried both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics. ABC had done so four years earlier; and the way the current rotation works out - and has since 2018 - NBC has carried the Super Bowl in years they also aired the Winter Olympics)

4. Halftime entertainment (which my uncle didn't record) was titled "Winter Magic" and featured singer Gloria Estefan (in the midst of her comeback from near-paralysis in a 1990 auto accident); skaters Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill; the University of Minnesota Marching Band and the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team (the "Miracle on Ice" team). However, upstart FOX decided to counter-program by airing a special live episode of its sketch comedy show "In Living Color" (partly as a result of the successful counter-programming gambit; the NFL - for better or worse - began focusing on high-profile performers for halftime in the years to come, starting with the following year's Super Bowl halftime show featuring Michael Jackson)

5. Speaking of FOX; this would mark the last time CBS carried the Super Bowl until game XXXV in 2001, as following the 1993 season FOX beat out CBS for the NFC coverage rights that CBS had (dating to the pre-merger era) since 1956; poaching much of CBS' on-air crew in the process. CBS would not carry the NFL again until 1998, when they beat out NBC for AFC coverage. 

6. Pregame events of note included STS-42 on Space Shuttle Discovery; which was in orbit above the Metrodome, allowing for a satellite downlink where the astronauts demonstrated a human coin toss during the pregame show; which crooner Harry Connick Jr. performed the National Anthem in a style perhaps meant to contrast with Whitney Houston's famed rendition of a year prior (this was also the first National Anthem performance in a Super Bowl to also have sign language). Finally, the coin toss was done by recently-retired Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll. 

7. CBS introduced a new graphics scheme that would remain in use until 1996 (and remains in my opinion one of the best-looking graphics ever used for TV) along with a new theme by Frankie Vinci titled "Super Bowl" (that theme would remain in use until CBS lost NFL coverage after the 1993 season; with remixes used from the time CBS regained NFL coverage in 1998 until 2002; after which E.S. Posthumus' "Posthumus Zone" became the CBS NFL theme, which is still used as of 2022) 

8. This was the second of three major sporting events to be held in the Metrodome between October 1991 and April 1992 (following the 1991 World Series between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves and preceding the 1992 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four; which saw the Duke Blue Devils repeat as national champions by beating the Michigan Wolverines 71-51); all of which aired on CBS and whose home market station, WCCO-TV 4, would be acquired by CBS later in 1992