The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game has been played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the eponymous coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Because the NFL restricts the use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is held is commonly referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday".
Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1992 season. The Cowboys defeated the Bills by the score of 52–17, winning their third Super Bowl in team history, and their first one in 15 years. This game is tied with Super Bowl XXXVII as the fourth-highest scoring Super Bowl with 69 combined points, as of 2023. The Bills became the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls, and just the second of three teams to play in three straight. The following 1993 season, the Bills became the only team to both play and lose four consecutive Super Bowls. The game was played on January 31, 1993, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and is the last NFL championship game to date to be held in a non-NFL stadium. It was also the seventh Super Bowl held in the Greater Los Angeles Area, which did not host another until Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1993 season. The Cowboys defeated the Bills, for the second straight year, by a score of 30–13, winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers for most Super Bowl wins. The Buffalo Bills became the only team to both play and lose four consecutive Super Bowls for a 0-4 franchise Super Bowl record, and as of 2023, remains the team's most recent Super Bowl appearance. This is also the most recent consecutive Super Bowl rematch. The game was played on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Since the 1993 regular season was conducted over 18 weeks, the traditional bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl was not employed; the last time this had happened was before Super Bowl XXV.
Bruce Bernard Smith is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies, where he was a twice All-American, and was selected with the first overall pick by the Bills in the 1985 NFL draft.
Ottis Jerome Anderson is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he set the school record for rushing yards, and was selected eighth overall in the 1979 NFL draft by the Cardinals.
Andre Darnell Reed is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Kutztown Golden Bears and was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 1985 NFL draft with the 86th overall selection. Following 15 seasons with the Bills, where he earned Pro Bowl honors seven times, Reed spent his final season as a member of the Washington Redskins in 2000.
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34–7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1.
Aaron Matthew Taylor is an American former professional football player who was a guard for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was a two-time All-American. A first-round pick in the 1994 NFL draft, he played professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers of the NFL. Taylor works as a college football analyst and television sportscaster. He is the Founder of the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football - the only major college football award going to a group versus an individual. Taylor is a speaker on teamwork and performance at summits, events, corporate retreats, universities. In 2021, Taylor was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
Riki Morgan Ellison is a New Zealand-American former professional player of American football who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known as Riki Gray while playing college football for the USC Trojans, earning all-conference honors in the Pac-10 in 1982. He is the first New Zealander to play in the NFL and the first New Zealander to win a Super Bowl. Ellison is also the founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance and the Youth Impact Program.
Howard Edward Cross Jr. is an American former professional football player and current broadcaster. He spent 13 seasons as a tight end for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL), and was a member of two Super Bowl teams, Super Bowl XXV in 1991 and appearing in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. Since 2007, he has served as a broadcaster for the New York Giants radio network, and a broadcaster for the YES Network.
Thomas "Pepper" Johnson is an American football coach and former linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, the first seven of which were for the New York Giants. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants before playing for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and New York Jets.
Dale Robert Hellestrae is an American former professional football long snapper in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
William Patrick Polian Jr. is an American former professional football executive. He rose to league prominence as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, building a team that participated in four straight Super Bowls—the most consecutive appearances by any team—but lost each time. Following his stint in Buffalo, Polian went on to become the general manager of the expansion Carolina Panthers. He then served as general manager and team president of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) from 1998 to 2011, where they reached two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XLI. He subsequently served as an NFL analyst for ESPN. Polian was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Polian co-founded the now-defunct Alliance of American Football in 2018.
John Joseph Fina is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 11 years in the National Football League (NFL), 10 of those with the Buffalo Bills, and a one-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals. Fina attended Salpointe Catholic High School where he was first-team All-State his senior year, and is one of the several players in school history to have their jersey retired. Fina attended the University of Arizona where he was a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round, 27th overall, in the 1992 NFL draft. He played in two Super Bowls, XXVII and XXVIII, however the Bills lost both of them to the Dallas Cowboys. He now resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Ronald Dwayne Pitts is an American former professional football player and current sportscaster. He played cornerback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers, and played college football at UCLA.
Mark Alan Kelso is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls with the Bills from 1990 to 1993, and served as the color commentator for the Buffalo Bills Radio Network from 2006 until 2019.
Steven John McLaughlin is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, earned All-American honors and won the Lou Groza Award. He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 1995 NFL draft. He also played for five different arena football teams over an 11-year career.
Michael Timothy Lodish is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the tenth round of the 1990 NFL draft. A 6'3", 270-lb. defensive tackle and nose tackle from UCLA, Lodish played in 11 NFL seasons from 1990-2000 for the Bills and Denver Broncos.
