Editing Super Bowl XV (section)

===Oakland Raiders===
{{Main article|1980 Oakland Raiders season}}

Super Bowl XV was the climax of [[Jim Plunkett]]'s revival as an NFL starting quarterback. The 1970 [[Heisman Trophy]] winner was selected with the first pick of the 1971 NFL draft by the [[New England Patriots]] and was later named the 1971 [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Rookie of the Year]]. But Plunkett suffered through five losing seasons with the Patriots and two uneven seasons with the [[San Francisco 49ers]] before being released as a free agent before the 1978 season.

Plunkett was signed by Oakland to be their backup quarterback, and thus he did not see much playing time, throwing no passes in 1978 and just 15 passes in 1979.  Meanwhile, Oakland traded long time starting quarterback [[Ken Stabler]] in the 1979 off-season to replace him with [[Dan Pastorini]], a former high school rival of Plunkett who had been selected two spots below him in the 1971 draft.  After the Raiders started the 1980 season with a 2–3 record, Pastorini broke his leg and suddenly Plunkett was thrust into the starting role. The 33-year-old Plunkett got off to a bad start, throwing 5 interceptions in a 31–17 loss to the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] after relieving Pastorini. However, he recovered and led the Raiders to victory in 9 of their last 11 games in the season, qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team. Plunkett made 165 out of 320 pass completions for 2,299 yards, 18 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. He also contributed 141 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

The Raiders' main offensive deep threat was wide receiver [[Cliff Branch]] (44 receptions, 858 yards, 7 touchdowns), while wide receiver [[Bob Chandler]] contributed 49 receptions for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns. Running back [[Mark van Eeghen]] was the team's top rusher with 838 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also catching 29 passes for 259 yards.  Six games into the season, the Raiders made a surprise trade, sending future Hall of Fame tight end [[Dave Casper]] to the [[Houston Oilers]] for one first round and two second round draft picks.  Veteran tight end [[Raymond Chester]] proved to be a capable starter for the rest of the year, catching 28 passes for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns. Halfback [[Kenny King (running back)|Kenny King]] rushed for 761 yards and catching 22 passes for 145 yards. The Raiders also had an outstanding offensive line led by two future Hall of Famers, tackle [[Art Shell]] and guard [[Gene Upshaw]]. Upshaw became the first player to play in three Super Bowls with the same team in three different decades. He also played in Super Bowls [[Super Bowl II|II]] (1967) and [[Super Bowl XI|XI]] (1976).

Oakland's defense, anchored by defensive linemen [[John Matuszak]] (8 sacks), [[Cedrick Hardman]] (9.5 sacks), and [[Dave Browning]] (6.5 sacks), led the league in forced turnovers (52) and interceptions (35). Defensive back [[Lester Hayes]] led the league in interceptions (13) and interception return yards (273), and was the league's [[National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award|Defensive Player of the Year]].  Safety [[Burgess Owens]] added three interceptions, returning them for 59 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders also had a trio of great linebackers: future [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Ted Hendricks]] (3 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries, 8.5 sacks) [[Pro Bowl]]er [[Rod Martin]] (3 Interceptions), and standout rookie [[Matt Millen]].

The Raiders were led by head coach [[Tom Flores]], the first Hispanic coach to win a Super Bowl.