Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 27, 1992 TAG: 9201270151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JIM DUCIBELLA
DATELINE: MINNEAPOLIS LENGTH: Long
'SKINS SLAUGHTER BUFFALO
One day, when people have had a chance to forget, football fans will see that the Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills by just 13 points in Super Bowl XXVI. They'll draw the erroneous conclusion that teams of near-equal strength and ability participated.The truth is that the Redskins gave the tough-talking, two-time AFC champion Bills an old fashioned butt-whipping Sunday.
And the final score - Washington 37, Buffalo 24 - never will make that point adequately.
"I feel very humble," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "I've been blessed with great ownership, a great team and a great organization.
"I felt today like our guys had a great defensive plan and worked very hard. They gave Buffalo a lot of different looks."
The third play Buffalo had the ball, Washington's Jumpy Geathers broke through what turned out to be a tissue-thin Bills line to slam quarterback Jim Kelly to the Metrodome turf. It was one of the few times Kelly hit what he was looking at the whole game.
In what may be the most deceptive performance in Super Bowl history, Kelly completed 28 of a record 58 passes for 275 yards.
Mostly, however, he was a bull's-eye that Redskins defensive marksmen hit at will. Kelly was sacked five times, hurried another 10, and cracked so ferociously by cornerback Martin Mayhew on one fourth-quarter dash that he was out with a mild concussion.
Kelly, supposedly the more mature, experienced quarterback in the game, personally had a hand in all five Buffalo turnovers. He was intercepted four times and lost one fumble. Most often, he threw as though there was an anvil tied to his arm.
Most of his throws wobbled hideously. They had no zip and at one point before the end of a 17-0 first-half Washington lead, Buffalo coach Marv Levy signaled to backup Frank Reich to get loose.
But Levy stayed with Kelly, who said the Redskins' rush forced him to make some errors with fundamentals.
"Give the Redskins their due," Kelly said. "A couple of times I tried to hold the ball and make a big play when maybe I should have gotten rid of it. But credit them.
"Any time you don't step into the throw, it's going to float. They were well-prepared. It was one of those games you expect everybody to give a top-notch effort, and I think we did. We just got outplayed."
Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas, pouty all week because of what he perceived as a lack of respect, carried 10 times for 13 yards. Respectfully, the nicest thing that can be said about his play is that he was no factor.
One final statistic explains Washington's defensive domination. Buffalo, which led the league in rushing, gained 43 yards on the ground. Kenneth Davis gained 17 meaningless yards; Kelly was second with just 1 yard less.
The Bills' vaunted offense averaged a mere 3.5 yards per play and accumulated a paltry 283 yards. Washington was almost twice as good at 5.7 yards per play, totaling 417.
So significant was the performance of the Redskins defense that, in a Super Bowl rarity, safety Brad Edwards garnered some support as the game's most valuable player.
He finished with two of the 11 votes cast, with Washington quarterback Mark Rypien winning with the other nine votes.
Edwards had two interceptions, broke up five passes and separated a couple of Bills receivers from the ball and their senses with his jarring hits.
Meanwhile, Gibbs was guiding his team to its third Super Bowl triumph in the last decade. In doing so, he also became the first coach to win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.
Sunday's passer in residence, Rypien, completed 18 of 33 throws for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
One TD was a 10-yarder in the second quarter to running back Earnest Byner. The irony there was that the Bills had bragged during the week that passes out of the backfield were a weapon they didn't have to worry about because Washington didn't employ that strategy.
When Byner circled out of the backfield, lost Kirby Jackson on an inside fake, then beat strong safety Mark Kelso to the flag, Washington's lead was 10-0 and the rout was on.
Fittingly, Rypien's other touchdown pass came at the most crucial juncture of the game. The Bills had scored 10 consecutive points to slice their deficit to 24-10 with six minutes still to play in the third quarter.
Rypien then guided his offense on an 11-play drive that showed how much he matured this season. Steering the team out of its no-huddle scheme, Rypien called signals at the line of scrimmage, calmly hitting four-of-seven passes.
The last of those was a 30-yarder that dropped gently into Gary Clark's hands about 5 yards deep in the end zone. While cornerback James Williams slapped his helmet in disgust at having been beaten, Rypien raced to the sidelines, comfortable in the knowledge that the Bills weren't going to overcome a 21-point deficit.
"He did an outstanding job, because we harassed him all day," Buffalo defensive end and Norfolk native Bruce Smith said.
"He surprised me, because we got some pressure. I don't know how much it affected him, because he made the plays he needed to make."
The Bills did pressure Rypien, though they never sacked him. And the Redskins' quarterback said that being slammed around a couple of times actually helped him feel more comfortable inside sport's largest pressure-cooker.
"I like getting hit a little," Rypien said. "It gives me a feel for what is happening in the game. It got rid of my jitters."
Had the Redskins' offense not stopped itself early, the final score would have been even more lopsided.
After an apparent 2-yard touchdown pass from Rypien to Art Monk was overturned by instant replay - Monk's right foot grazed the white line behind the end zone - holder Jeff Rutledge fumbled the snap on Chip Lohmiller's field-goal attempt.
Linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who had six tackles and an assist, covered Rutledge and the easy scoring opportunity had been botched.
Almost instantly, there would be another. On the ensuing snap, Kelly's pass for Andre Reed was tipped by Darrell Green and intercepted by Edwards, who returned it to the Buffalo 12.
However, three plays later, Rypien's pass across the middle was tipped by nose tackle Jeff Wright, then intercepted by Jackson at the 10.
That could have rattled a team accustomed to unparalleled success inside an opponent's 25, a team that converted 47 of 54 such opportunities during the regular season and playoffs.
Instead, it fueled a feeling that they were the superior force and that it was only a matter of time.
They were right.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL