the 1980 offseason, star quarterback Ken Stabler attempted to renegotiate his contract with the Raiders. A veteran “gunslinger”, Stabler had won the Raiders' only title until then and had been a mainstay since his 1968 signing with the team as a protégé of Lamonica. Davis angered much of the Raider community by dealing him to the Oilers for quarterback Dan Pastorini, a trade many regarded as selfishly seeking revenge while strengthening the team's top AFC rival. Pastorini was injured in week 5, and the starting role fell to his backup, Jim Plunkett. The former Heisman Trophy winning but little achieved professional led the Raiders to a first-place tie with San Diego for the best AFC West record and the wild card spot for their first playoff appearance since 1977. The Raiders defeated Stabler and the Oilers 27–7 in the AFC wild card game and subsequently became the third second-place team to play in the Super Bowl, joining the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs and the 1975 Dallas Cowboys. They defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27–10 in Super Bowl XV, enabling them to become the very first wild-card team to ever win the Super Bowl. Davis had been a preseason goat in Oakland for the Stabler deal. The Raiders won the AFC semifinal game over the Browns 14–12 at Cleveland in one of the most exciting games, with a key interception of a Brian Sipe pass sealing victory in the freezing cold by Lake Erie. Then they defeated San Diego 34–27 on the road on their march to victory in Super Bowl XV in New Orleans. Marcus Allen benching Marcus Allen, the most valuable player in the Raiders' Super Bowl XVIII victory, was ordered benched by Davis for two years following a contract dispute. Davis only commented, "He was a cancer on the team." Allen said that Davis "told me he was going to get me." He added that "I think he's tried to ruin the later part of my career. He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don't want me to play." Davis called Allen's charges "fraudulent", and then-Raiders coach Art Shell said only he decided who plays. The Raiders released Allen in 1992, and he played the last five years of his 16-year, Hall of Fame career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Davis deals Gruden On February 18, 2002, Davis dealt his head coach Jon