The Oakland Raiders had the opportunity of becoming the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl. The Raiders lost the game in which Pastorini was injured, bowing to Kansas City, 31-17, but the following Sunday, with Plunkett at quarterback, they upset San Diego, 38-24, and then beat Pittsburgh, 45-34, on Monday Night Football. Jim Plunkett and the Oakland Raiders were on their way. Losing only to Philadelphia, 10-7, and to Dallas, 19-13, the Raiders compiled an 11-5 record for the season and qualified for a wild-card berth in the AFC playoffs. For the season, Plunkett completed 165 passes in 320 attempts, passed for 18 touchdowns and was intercepted 15 times, ranking ninth among AFC quarterbacks. The Raiders swept past Houston, 27-7, in the AFC wild-card matchup and then won at Cleveland, 14-12, and at San Diego, 34-27, to earn their third Super Bowl invitation and second in five years. The Philadelphia Eagles, with a 12-4 season record, defeated Minnesota, 31-16, and Dallas, 20-7, to qualify for their first Super Bowl.

The Eagles had not contested for a title since 1960 when they won the NFL championship. Ron Jaworski's first pass of the game was picked off by outside linebacker Rod Martin who returned it 17 yards, to the Philadelphia 30. Several minutes later, Raiders' quarterback Jim Plunkett hit Cliff Branch on third down for a two-yard touchdown. Both teams failed to move the ball on their next possession. But with nine seconds left in the first quarter, Plunkett hit running back Kenny King near the sideline. King, accompanied by wide receiver Bob Chandler, took the pass 80 yards to give the Raiders a 14 point lead. Tony Franklin's 30-yard field goal in the second quarter put Philadelphia on the board for the first time, but his 28-yard attempt with 54 seconds left in the half was blocked by linebacker Ted Hendricks. The Raiders went into the locker room with a 14-3 lead. Oakland took the second-half kickoff and quickly marched down the field, setting up a 29-yard touchdown pass from Plunkett to Branch. The extra point conversion made the game 21-3. Jaworski was intercepted again by Rod Martin on the Eagles next possession, setting up another Matt Bahr field goal. This one, from 46 yards, put the Raiders up by three touchdowns with just over a quarter to play.

The Eagles put together a nice drive to end the third quarter, and on the fourth play of the fourth quarter, Jaworski hit tight end Keith Krepfle from eight yards out cutting the lead to 24-10 and giving the Eagles hopes of a comeback. However, after the ensuing kickoff, Oakland drove 72 yards to set up another Bahr field goal for the last score of the game. Oakland's Mark van Eeghen was the game's leading rusher with 75 yards on 18 carries. Philadelphia's Wilbert Montgomery led all receivers with six receptions for 91 yards. Branch had five for 67 and Harold Carmichael of Philadelphia five for 83. Jim Plunkett passed for three touchdowns, including an 80-yard strike to Kenny King. Plunkett's touchdown bomb to King, is the longest play in Super Bowl history. Plunkett, who became a starter in the sixth game of the season, completed 13 of 21 for 261 yards and was named the game's most valuable player. Oakland defeated Philadelphia 27-10 in Super Bowl XV at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.