 After his playoff performances, head coach Joe Gibbs made the decision to start Smith in the Super Bowl, but only told about this to starting quarterback Doug Williams and few of his assistant coaches, in order to avoid rookie Smith being overwhelmed by the pressure.Smith was told about this decision before the pregame warmups.In Super Bowl XXII, Smith set a Super Bowl rushing record in his first career start, gaining 204 yards and scoring 2 touchdowns.