In that 42-10 Washington win over the Denver Broncos, Smith rushed 22 times for 204 yards and scored twice. Doug Williams earned Super Bowl MVP with 340 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Washington wide receiver Ricky Sanders set records with 193 receiving yards, 235 total yards, and two receiving scores.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Sal Iacono framed the record as potentially unbreakable: “Is this an unbreakable record? This is a 38-year-old record. He did it in 22 carries. It feels unbreakable.” Those remarks underscore how rare it has become for teams to rely on a dominant ground game in the modern NFL.
The broader game has shifted away from ground-heavy offenses. No player has cracked the Super Bowl rushing Top 10 in 23 years, dating to Michael Pittman’s 124-yard performance in Super Bowl XXXVII (2003). And no one has run for more than 100 yards in a Super Bowl since Damien Williams had 104 in Super Bowl LVI (2020). By contrast, the top passing performances in Super Bowl history include only two pre-2000 quarterbacks beyond Williams and Joe Montana in the all-time Top 10.
Smith’s pro career never lived up to the early promise of that title game breakout. A fifth-round pick from Texas Tech in 1987, he reportedly clashed with Washington over a contract, reported to camp overweight, and saw limited playing time before being released prior to the 1989 season. He also spent brief stints with the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, attempted a 1994 CFL comeback, and later faced legal trouble, including a 2005 arrest for attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover officer, resulting in a prison sentence.
The record’s durability and Smith’s turbulent career together frame a larger story about how the NFL has evolved. The 204-yard Super Bowl performance remains a landmark achievement, frequently cited as one of the sport’s most enduring feats, while the era of a workhorse rushing attack in the biggest game has effectively passed. This lasting milestone continues to captivate fans and analysts as Super Bowl lore—and the record—endures.
