Los Angeles Bandits vs. Cleveland Browns
Held in Raiders' Stadium in Oakland, the Super Bowl crowd seemed to favor the Bandits in this one.  Predictions were that this would be a high-scoring affair as the second and third highest scoring teams in the NFL faced off.

The first drive of the game delivered on those expectations as the Browns drove 80 yards to score on a one yard dive by Reggie Bush.  The Bandits struck right back as Vince Young hit TE Gary Warren on a 58 yard pass on the third play of the Bandits' first drive, knotting the score at 7.  Warren isn't even the best TE playing in the game and doesn't have particularly good speed, but he dodged a couple tackles as he rumbled to the house.

Following that score, the Bandits D came up with the game's first stop, forcing the Browns to punt.  Vince Young again made the Browns defense look silly, tossing a 50 yard bomb to WR Michael Nichols.  The Bandits had come out aggressive through the air, but that aggressiveness would later cause them trouble.

The Browns would respond with a long drive in the second quarter and tie up the game on a 1 yard pass from Carson Palmer to FB J.D. Runnels, capping a 14 play drive.  The Bandits came back aggressively, but Young's deep pass was picked off, giving the Browns excellent field position.  The Browns capitalized on that field position, driving the 38 yards to the end zone and scoring on a 6 yard pass to TE Vernon Davis with less than a minute left in the half.

The Bandits put together a strong two-minute drill, marching down the field, but Young tossed his second pick of the game, giving the Browns the ball back with 30 seconds to play in the half.  With all of their timeouts left, the Browns decided to try to add to their lead.  Palmer hit Davis several times as the Browns drove into Bandits territory, but the team settled for a 27 yard John Coker field goal with 3 seconds in the half.  At half, the score was 24-14.

The third quarter saw the defensive units step up and hold both offenses scoreless.  It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Bandits broke the stalemate as Young hit HB T.J. Matthews on a 48 yard pass for a score, pulling the Bandits within a field goal.  The Bandits would get the ball back just over a minute later on an interception by FS Justin Monroe.  They managed to get into field goal range, and trusty Neil Rackers booted a 34 yarder to tie it up at 24 with 3:18 to play.

It took only two plays for the tie to be broken.  On the ensuing drive, Palmer hit Davis for a second TD score, this one going for 67 yards.  The Browns were back in the lead, but had left 2:30 on the clock.  With plenty of time left, the Bandits' O took the field.  Things were looking good as the Bandits picked up a first down, and when Young hit Jermaine Miller for another first down, Browns fans began sweating, but Miller had the ball stripped as he was going down and the Browns pounced on it.

Bandits' coach Bill Belichick had a decision to make.  Challenge the call, which his receiver insisted was incorrect, or save all his timeouts to stop the clock on the Browns' drive.  The ball was inside Bandits' territory, right on the edge of field goal range, so Belichick took the chance and threw the red flag.  After inspection, the head umpire declared there was no indisputable visual evidence that the call was wrong, and the Browns kept the ball.  Still, the Bandits had a chance to get it back, they just had to stop Reggie Bush.  That, however, proved to be mission impossible as Bush battered his way for a first down, allowing the Browns to run out the clock and pick up their second Super Bowl title in three years.

It was a hard-fought battle, but the story of the day was big plays, with four scores of 48 yards or more.  The Bandits in particular relied on the big play, as the team managed a meager 9 first downs in the game.  The difference in the game was turnovers.  The Bandits gave the ball away four times to the Browns' one.

Stats:
Passing
QB Vince Young (LA) 12-23, 224 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
QB Carson Palmer (CLE) 16-26, 275 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT

Rushing
HB T.J. Matthews (LA) 14 carries, 74 yds
QB Vince Young (LA) 3 carries, 24 yds
HB Reggie Bush (CLE) 27 carries, 111 yds, 1 TD

Receiving
WR Michael Nichols (LA) 3 rec, 55 yds, 1 TD
WR Jermaine Miller (LA) 3 rec, 47 yds, 1 fum
TE Vernon Davis (CLE) 6 rec, 142 yds, 2 TD
FB J.D. Runnels (CLE) 3 rec, 29 yds, 1 TD

Defense
FS Justin Monroe (LA) 6 tak, 1 INT
DE Kendrell Bell (LA) 4 tak, 1 sack, 1 FF
OLB D'Qwell Jackson (CLE) 6 tak, 1 sack
SS Adrian Wilson (CLE) 6 tak, 1 FF, 2 INT

Super Bowl MVP: TE Vernon Davis