January 11, 1981: Oakland Raiders 34, San Diego Chargers 27
No wild-card team had won it all until the Raiders beat the Eagles, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV. At the time, Al Davis’ team was in a fight with NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle over the franchise’s eventual move to Los Angeles, and on the field, the Raiders were in transition from the John Madden era. Coached by Tom Flores, the 1980 Raiders beat the Oilers at home in the wild-card round, and then beat the Browns in Cleveland in the divisional frame. That set up a conference title matchup with Don Coryell’s Chargers, the most explosive offensive team of the era. The Chargers won the AFC West over the Raiders that year, and were four-point favorites at home, but Jim Plunkett’s two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown gave Oakland just enough to get by Coryell’s squad. San Diego tried furiously to come back from a 28-7 first-half deficit to no avail.