In 1983, division winners in the AFC were Miami in the East, Pittsburgh in the Central, and Los Angeles in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Seattle and Denver. In the NFC, it was Washington in the East, Detroit in the Central, and San Francisco in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Dallas and Los Angeles. In the Wild-Card games, the Seahawks would crush the Broncos 31-7 in the AFC, and the Rams would defeat the Cowboys 14-17. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Seahawks would defeat the Dolphins 27-20, while the Raiders would have no trouble with the Steelers 38-10. In the NFC, the 49ers needed Montana to lead another fourth quarter comeback against the Lions, to give them a 24-23 lead with 1:23 left on the clock, showing once again why Montana is one of the greats. In the other game, the
Redskins crushed the Rams by scoring on their first 5 possessions, on their way to an easy 51-7. In the conference championship games, the Raiders built a 20-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 30-14 win over the Seahawks. Meanwhile, in the NFC, the Redskins took a 21-0 lead into the fourth quarter and nearly blew the game. The 49ers came back to tie the game at 21-21, but Washington closed the game out with a 13-play, 78-yard drive that took 6:12 off the clock and set up Moseley's 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds left in the game. This would set up the match-up for Super Bowl XVIII. The Raiders defeated the Redskins by the score of 38–9.  The game was played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. As the favored team, the Redskins' 38–9 defeat at the hands of the black-jerseyed Raiders led Super Bowl XVIII to be known as "Black Sunday". The Raiders outgained the Redskins in total yards, 385 to 283. Los Angeles built a 21–3 halftime lead, aided by touchdowns on Derrick Jensen's blocked punt recovery, and Jack Squirek's 5-yard interception return on a screen pass with seven seconds left in the first half. Raiders running back Marcus Allen, who became the third Heisman Trophy winner to be named the Super Bowl MVP, carried the ball 20 times for a then-record total of 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a then-record 74-yard run in the third quarter.