After 15 games in warm weather climates, Super Bowl XVI was played in the Pontiac, Michigan. Pontiac Silverdome, 25 miles from Detroit. While surrounding areas shivered in below zero chill factors, 81,270 fans enjoyed 72 degree comfort in the huge, 5-year-old stadium. That the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengal's were in the Super Bowl was quite remarkable in itself. For more than 30 years, the 49ers had strained and struggled in a bid for distinction, but their best efforts produced only three division titles. On each occasion they were eliminated by the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengal's, admitted to the American Football League in 1968, won a Central Division title in the realigned NFL in 1970, but succumbed to Baltimore in the playoffs. In 1973, the division champion Bengal's were beaten by the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs. The emergence of this two teams into title form was unexpected and unprecedented. San Francisco posted the best record in the National Football League (NFL) at 13-3, thanks to an influx of new talent, while the Bengal's registered a convincing 12-4 record, good enough for best in the American Football Conference (AFC). The Bengal's defeated Buffalo, 28-21, and San Diego, 27-7, in the American Football Conference (AFC) playoffs, while the San Francisco 49ers were busy knocking off the New York Giants, 38-24, and the Dallas Cowboys, 28-27.

A last minute Joe Montana pass to Dwight Clark, now known simply as "The Catch", allowed San Francisco to squeak by the Cowboys in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game. San Francisco began Super Bowl XVI in just about the worst way possible. Amos Lawrence fumbled the opening kickoff and the Bengal's' John Simmons recovered it at the 26-yard line. But things quickly turned in the 49ers favor when Dwight Hicks intercepted a Kenny Anderson pass at the five yard line and returned the football 27 yards to the San Francisco 32. Montana quickly led the 49ers 68 yards in 11 plays, with the first score of the game coming on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Early in the second quarter, the Bengal's were at the San Francisco 27 and driving when Anderson completed a 19-yard pass to Cris Collinsworth. As he was tackled by Eric Wright, the ball came loose, and Lynn Thomas recovered on the 8-yard line. Once again, the opportunistic 49ers took advantage of the turnover, and twelve plays later, they capped off a Super Bowl record 92-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Earl Cooper. The Bengal's continued to shoot themselves in the foot, allowing the 49ers to close out the first half by scoring two field goals within 13 seconds. With 18 seconds remaining before halftime, Ray Wersching kicked a 22-yard field goal, increasing the 49ers lead to 17-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Archie Griffin had trouble corralling the ball at the 15, and Milt McColl of the 49ers covered it at the four. After an illegal procedure penalty, Wershing kicked a 26-yard field goal to boost San Francisco's halftime lead to 20-0. The Bengal's rebounded in the second half, closing the gap to 20-14 on quarterback Ken Anderson's 5-yard run and Dan Ross's 4-yard reception from Anderson, who established Super Bowl passing records for completions (25) and completion percentage (73.5 percent on 25 of 34). Wersching added early fourth-period field goals of 40 and 23 yards to increase the San Francisco 49ers'lead to 26-14. The Bengal's managed to score on an Anderson to Ross 3-yard pass with only 16 seconds remaining. Ross set a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions for 104 yards. Joe Montana, the game's most valuable player, completed 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards. Cincinnati compiled 356 yards to San Francisco's 275, which marked the first time in Super Bowl history that the team that gained the most yards from scrimmage lost the game. Ray Wersching's Super Bowl record tying four field goals and Joe Montana's controlled passing helped lift the San Francisco 49ers to their first National Football League (NFL) championship with a 26-21 victory over Cincinnati Bengal's. The CBS telecast achieved the highest rating of any televised sports event ever, 49.1 with a 73.0 share. The game was viewed by a record 110.2 million fans. CBS Radio reported a record 14 million listeners for the game.