Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1981 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26–21 to win their first Super Bowl. The game was played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city. The domed stadium saved the crowd at the
Super Bowl V didn't put us into any holes we couldn't get out of". Colts defensive end Bubba Smith would later refuse to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the "sloppy" play. Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl. The feat was not repeated until George Seifert led the San Francisco 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIV. McCafferty was also the first Super Bowl-winning coach who did not wear coat and tie, opting for a short-sleeved T-shirt with a mock turtleneck. Two rule changes that were adopted before the 1974 season were: These would