Will this be the year the Cowboys FINALLY MAKE IT BACK TO THE SUPER BOWL?
By Ron Howell,
It has been over 25 years since my beloved Dallas Cowboys have played in the Super Bowl.
And as I write this story, there is certainly no guarantee this will finally be the year that streak of bad luck and misery ends. But at the time I am writing this in early January 2023, there are encouraging signs. Dallas won 12 regular season games for the second straight year. The last time the Cowboys won at least 12 games in consecutive years was from 1992 through 1995, a four-year period that saw Dallas reach — and win — its last three Super Bowls.
So for those of you counting, it has officially been 27 years since Dallas beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 on Jan. 28, 1996 to win Super Bowl XXX under coach Barry Switzer in its last appearance.
Despite that unusually long dry stretch, only the Steelers and New England Patriots have more Super Bowl wins (6) than the Cowboys, who are 5-3 in the big game. And only New England (11 times) has appeared in the Super Bowl more often. Dallas’ eight trips are tied for second place with Pittsburgh and the Denver Broncos. Still, for “America’s Team,” it’s time to get back in the Game.
So as I await that inevitability (though maybe not this year), forgive me for reminiscing about those past Cowboys Super Bowl appearances when I was a much younger man. Yes, I have seen all eight of them.
Here is a recap of each of those Super Bowls, in chronological order.
SUPER BOWL V (Jan. 17, 1971) Baltimore 16, Dallas 13
ORANGE BOWL, MIAMI, FLORIDA — In the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL-NFL merger and also the first played on artificial turf, Dallas never trailed until Baltimore’s rookie kicker Jim O’brien made a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left in the game.
However, the game was close throughout as the Colts never trailed by more than seven points and tied the game twice, at 6-6 and 13-13.
After two field goals by Mike Clark, the Cowboys took a 13-6 lead into halftime by scoring their only touchdown on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Craig Morton to rookie running back sensation Duane Thomas. But they never scored again, allowing the Colts — who would later relocate to Indianapolis — to eventually pull out a dramatic win.
But the game has long been regarded as one of the worstplayed Super Bowls, with the two teams combining for 11 turnovers, five of them in the fourth quarter. Baltimore had seven of the turnovers, plus a missed extra point after its first touchdown, but Dallas also hurt itself with 10 penalties for 133 yards. There were numerous missed scoring chances by both teams as well. The Cowboys also became the only losing team in Super Bowl history to have a player, linebacker Chuck Howley, named as the game’s MVP thanks to his two interceptions.
Although this was Dallas’ first Super Bowl appearance, it had won more games (52) than any other team in pro football from 1966 through 1970. But the Cowboys had developed a reputation for not being able to win the big game after narrow losses to the Vince Lombardi-led Green Bay Packers in the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship games which denied them a spot in the first two Super Bowls. They then failed to reach the championship game in 1968 and 1969, due to first-round playoff losses, after winning their division both years.
Baltimore, on the other hand, got some redemption for its historic 16-7 loss in 1969 to the Joe Namath-led New York Jets which gave the old
American Football League its first-ever victory in Super Bowl III, after Green Bay of the NFL won the first two games handily.
This was yet another frustrating ending for Dallas, which had overcome a quarterback controversy — alternating Morton and Roger Staubach much of the season before coach Tom Landry finally settled on Morton — plus the loss prior to the playoffs of running back Calvin Hill (to injury) and wide receiver Lance Rentzel (deactivated following an indecent exposure charge). Dallas was only 5-4 until winning its last five regular season games to capture the NFC East title, then beating Detroit (5-0) and San Francisco (17-10) to reach the Super Bowl. The Cowboys’ main strength was their famed “Doomsday Defense” led by future Hall of Famers Bob Lilly, Herb Adderley, Mel Renfro and Cliff Harris.
SUPER BOWL VI (Jan. 16, 1972) Dallas 24, Miami 3
TULANE STADIUM, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA— The Cowboys’ breakthrough win in Super Bowl VI was as dominating as the final score suggested, though Dallas led just 10-3 at halftime.
In a matchup coached by two future Hall of Famers (Tom Landry of Dallas and Don Shula of Miami), the Cowboys became the first team to win the Super Bowl after losing it the previous year and shed its label of “next year’s champion.” The defense was primarily responsible, as the Dolphins’ 3 points against Dallas were the fewest scored in the big game for almost a half century, until New England beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in 2019.
Dallas’ seven-point lead at halftime matched its lead over Baltimore midway through Super Bowl V, and the scoring was similar as well. Mike Clark again got things started with a field goal (of just 9 yards) and the Cowboys got their touchdown on 7-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, this time on a pass from quarterback Roger Staubach to wide receiver Lance Alworth.
But unlike the previous year, Dallas controlled the second half. It opened the third quarter with an 8-play, 71-yard drive with seven runs and only one pass, scoring on a 3-yard sweep by Duane Thomas to go up 17-3. In the fourth period, an interception and 41-yard return by Chuck Howley set up the final Cowboys TD, a 7-yard Staubach pass to tight end Mike Ditka early in the fourth quarter.
Staubach, the NFL’S top-rated passer during the regular season, was named the game’s MVP. But Thomas — who gained 95 yards on 19 runs and had three catches for 17 yards — likely would have won that honor had he been more cooperative with the media. Angry that the team would not renegotiate his contract following a strong rookie year, Thomas had stopped talking to the media and everyone associated with the Cowboys. Miami, only in its sixth season as a franchise, had never won a playoff game until beating the two previous Super Bowl winners, Kansas City and Baltimore, in a surprising postseason run. The Dolphins, like the Cowboys, won the Super Bowl the next year after losing in their first try, then repeated as champs the following season. Dallas finished its banner 1971-72 season with 10 straight wins, all coming after Staubach became the team’s starting QB after again sharing playing time with Morton. The Cowboys beat Minnesota (20-12) and San Francisco (14-3) to make it back to the Super Bowl. This was the fuel that lit Staubach’s Hall of Fame career that lasted through the 1979 season. Staubach — a great scrambler as well as passer who earned the nickname “Roger the Dodger” among other monikers — would go on to lead Dallas to three more Super Bowls during the decade and become one of the greatest players in team history. The same couldn’t be said for Thomas, who was born and raised in Dallas before being drafted by the Cowboys and being named NFL rookie of the year. After the ’72 Super Bowl, however, he was traded and things went downhill quickly. Thomas
bounced from one team to another the next several years, even making a brief return to the Cowboys, but after two years at Washington in 1973 and 1974 he never played in a regular season game again. Thomas did reconcile with Coach Landry and some of his old Dallas teammates after
SUPER BOWL X (Jan. 18, 1976) Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17
ORANGE BOWL, MIAMI, FLORIDA — Helped by the most famous play of Staubach’s career — a last-minute “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson that defeated Minnesota 17-14 in their divisional playoff — Dallas returned to the Super Bowl after a four-year absence.
The Cowboys, who finished the regular season 10-4, lost the NFC East title to the St. Louis Cardinals (11-3) but qualified as the NFC’S wild card. Dallas then defeated Minnesota and overwhelmed the Los Angeles Rams 37-7 in the NFC Championship game to become the first wild card team to ever play in the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys had been on a slow decline since their last Super Bowl, culminating in 1974 when they went just 8-6 and missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. By the start of the ’75 season, they had lost quite a few star players from their Super Bowl-winning team to retirement or trades.
But Dallas had one of its best drafts ever, with 12 picks making the roster, and Landry still had Staubach plus new stars like Drew Pearson, fullback Robert Newhouse and halfback Preston Pearson (no relation to Drew) on offense plus linemen Harvey Martin and Ed “Too Tall” Jones who anchored the “Flex” defense.
The Cowboys started out 4-0 before losing three of the next four, then won seven of their next eight games to reach their third Super Bowl, and first against Pittsburgh. The Steelers had won their first Super Bowl the previous year and were favored to repeat as champions.
As it turned out, Pittsburgh would hold off Dallas to win its second straight NFL title, the start of a six-year run with coach Chuck Noll, quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the famed “Steel Curtain” defense that would produce four Super Bowl wins.
But it took everything the Steelers had to hold off the Cowboys, who led 10-7 at halftime and had a chance to win until the final play when Staubach’s third down pass was intercepted in the end zone as time expired.
Pittsburgh scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter on a safety, two field goals and Super Bowl MVP Lynn Swann’s 64-yard touchdown reception from Bradshaw to take a 21-10 lead with 3:02 left in the game. But Staubach led Dallas on a 5-play, 80-yard drive that ended with his 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Percy Howard, the only catch of his NFL career, with 1:48 left.
The Steelers recovered the onside kick attempt, but the Cowboys got one last chance to win after stopping a fourth-down run — only to come up short with a last-second Hail Mary pass from Staubach to Howard bouncing off the latter’s helmet for an incompletion.
By this time, Dallas and Pittsburgh had become the two most popular teams in the league and this game was the start of their rivalry to be known as the “Team of the ‘70s.” They would meet again three years later in another classic matchup.
SUPER BOWL XII (Jan. 15, 1978) Dallas 27, Denver 10
LOUISIANA SUPERDOME, NEW ORLEANS — Once again, Staubach found himself competing against Morton, but this time the two men were on different teams as opposing quarterbacks in Super Bowl XII. This game also pitted Dallas’ Doomsday Defense against Denver’s “Orange Crush” defense.
And the Cowboys evened their Super Bowl record at 2-2 with a comfortable win in which their defense dominated the Broncos — similar to what they did against Miami six years earlier when Dallas won Super Bowl VI.
Dallas forced eight turnovers — four fumbles and four interceptions — and allowed only eight pass completions for 61 yards as Staubach completely outplayed Morton, the NFL’S Comeback Player of the Year.
Staubach was 17-of-25 passing for 183 yards and one touchdown, with no picks. In stark contrast, Morton was just 4-of-15 for 39 yards, meaning he had as many interceptions (all in the first half) as completions, with a passer rating of 0.0, before he was replaced late in the third quarter.
But fittingly, the MVP award was shared by two Dallas defensive linemen, tackle Randy White and end Harvey Martin. It was the first and only time that two players shared MVP honors. In truth, the award should have gone to the entire Cowboys defense, something the voters wanted to do, only to be denied by the league.
Dallas led 13-0 at halftime, thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run by rookie sensation Tony Dorsett and two field goals by kicker Efren Herrera. The lead should have been even bigger, as the Cowboys fumbled five times (losing one) and missed three field goals, but the Broncos committed a halftime record seven turnovers.
After Denver finally scored on a 47-yard field goal, the Cowboys extended their lead to 17, 20-3, when receiver Butch Johnson made a fingertip catch for a 45-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Morton’s replacement, Norris Weese, led Denver to its only touchdown to cut the lead to 20-10. But in the fourth quarter, Dallas recovered a Weese fumble during a sack at the Broncos’ 29-yard line to set up the game’s most exciting play, a halfback option throw from fullback Robert Newhouse to receiver Golden Richards for the clinching touchdown.
Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman Trophy winner after leading the University of Pittsburgh to the national title, was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for the Cowboys and became the first player to win the college football championship, then win the Super Bowl the next year.
Once again, Dallas won a Super Bowl over a team making its first appearance in the big game. Denver’s history was even worse than Miami’s, however. The 1977 season saw the Broncos make the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s 18-year existence. Like Miami, Denver got to the Super Bowl by defeating the two previous league champions, Pittsburgh and Oakland. Morton was the first quarterback to start a Super Bowl game for two different franchises.
Meanwhile, Dallas pulled even with Green Bay, Miami and Pittsburgh (2) for having the most Super Bowl wins and also pulled even with Minnesota (4) for having the most appearances. The Cowboys set a franchise record with 15 victories in going 15-2 overall, including their impressive playoff wins over Chicago (37-7), Minnesota (23-6) and Denver.
SUPER BOWL XIII (Jan. 21, 1979) Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31
ORANGE BOWL, MIAMI, FLORIDA — Pittsburgh pulled ahead of Dallas in all-time Super Bowl victories with its third title, and did it in the first Super Bowl to feature a rematch of an earlier one (Super Bowl X). This win, plus their win over Los Angeles the following year, gave the Steelers the unofficial title of Team of the ‘70s.
The Cowboys were making their second back-to-back appearance, something they did in 1971-72 and would later do again in 1993-94, and (then) record fifth trip overall. But they also became the first defending champion to lose the following year.
Not only had both teams won multiple Super Bowls during this decade, but there were 17 future Hall of Fame players in this game, including seven Cowboys: Staubach, Dorsett, Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Rayfield Wright and Jackie Smith. It was also a matchup between two quarterbacks (Staubach and Terry Bradshaw) who had already led their teams to a pair of Super Bowl titles.
12-4. Both teams easily won their divisions by four and three games, respectively. The Cowboys beat Atlanta 27-20 and the Los Angeles Rams 28-0 to reach the Super Bowl, while the Steelers routed Denver 33-10 and the Houston Oilers 34-5 in their first two playoff games.
And this game lived up to all the hype. The 66 total points made it the highest-scoring Super Bowl in history until Dallas beat Buffalo 52-17 when it finally made it back to the big game 14 years later.
Dallas led only once — 14-7 early in the second quarter after Mike Hegman scored on a 37-yard fumble return — and trailed 35-17 after back-to-back Pittsburgh touchdowns by running back Franco Harris and receiver Lynn Swann in the fourth quarter, but fought back and came up just four points short.
Dallas was also the victim of some bad luck against Pittsburgh. Two controversial penalties paved the way for the Steelers to score those 14 unanswered points. The first score came after a pass interference call on the Cowboys, followed by a delay of game penalty on Pittsburgh that nullified a 12-yard loss on a sack of Bradshaw by Dallas linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson. Franco Harris then ran untouched for a 22-yard touchdown with help from the umpire, who impeded Dallas safety Charlie Waters’ attempt to tackle Harris.
The Steelers then recovered a fumble by White, who had a cast on his broken left hand, on the ensuing kickoff at the Dallas 18-yard line, and Bradshaw threw a TD pass to Swann on the next play to give Pittsburgh an 18-point lead with under seven minutes left.
The Cowboys, however, drove 89 yards in eight plays and cut the lead to 35-24 on Staubach’s 7-yard pass to tight end Billy Joe Dupree. After recovering the onside kickoff, Dallas drove 52 yards in nine plays and scored on Staubach’s 4-yard pass to Butch Johnson followed by the extra point to make it 35-31. But there was just 22 seconds left in the game and a second onside kick was unsuccessful, sealing Pittsburgh’s victory.
Pittsburgh, which led 21-14 at halftime, held on to the lead late in the third quarter when the 38-year-old Smith, now a reserve tight end, dropped a sure TD pass from Staubach in the end zone. The Cowboys settled for a Rafael Septien field goal that made it 21-17.
Staubach thew for 228 yards and three touchdowns, on 17-of-30 passing, but Bradshaw was the game’s MVP as his 17 completions went for 318 yards and four TDS, both Super Bowl records at the time.
Staubach played just one more season before retiring at the age of 37, after suffering two concussions during the ’79 season which saw him lead Dallas to another division title. His final game was a 21-19 loss to the Rams in the divisional playoffs. Though the Cowboys would reach the NFC Championship game each of the next three years from 1980 through 1982, they wouldn’t make it back to the Super Bowl for another 14 years after their loss to the Steelers.
SUPER BOWL XXVII (Jan. 31, 1993) Dallas 52, Buffalo 17
ROSE BOWL, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA — This Super Bowl saw the resurrection of the Cowboys, who made the playoffs 18 out of 20 seasons under coach Landry before quickly imploding in the late 1980s. It led to the firing of Landry, the only coach Dallas had in its first 29 years as a franchise. New owner Jerry Jones bought the team and replaced Landry with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson, his former University of Arkansas teammate.
The Cowboys went 1-15 in Johnson’s first year, with rookie quarterback and No. 1 draft pick Troy Aikman and second-year wide receiver Michael Irvin, who was the last first-round draft pick of Landry’s tenure. Dallas drafted the final member of the group eventually known as “The Triplets” when it took running back Emmitt Smith, who like Aikman and Irvin became a future NFL Hall of Famer, in the 1990 draft. In addition, the Cowboys
midway through the 1989 season traded their only Pro Bowl player, running back Herschel Walker, to Minnesota for five veteran players and eight draft choices — a brilliant move that helped set the foundation for Dallas’ return to glory.
After going 7-9 in 1990, the Cowboys were 11-5 in 1991 and made the playoffs for the first time in six years. By 1992, the Cowboys were finally ready for a Super Bowl return after finishing 13-3 in the regular season. They defeated Philadelphia 34-10 in their first playoff game, then beat San Francisco 30-20 in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers had denied Dallas a Super Bowl appearance the last time they met for the NFC Championship in 1982 on Dwight Clark’s infamous TD catch in the final minute of play. Buffalo was making the third of a record four straight Super Bowl appearances, this time as a wild card team. The Bills rallied from 32 points down in the AFC Wild Card game to stun the Houston Oilers 41-38, then beat Pittsburgh 24-3 and Miami 29-10 to get to the Super Bowl.
The Bills scored first against Dallas, but the Cowboys forced two turnovers late in the first quarter and scored after both of them — the touchdowns coming in a span of just 15 seconds — to take a 14-7 lead and never looked back.
The Dallas defense held the Bills to a total of three points on backto-back drives that reached inside the Cowboys’ 5-yard line. Dallas then scored two touchdowns in a span of 18 seconds late in the first half — both on Aikman passes to Irvin — to give Dallas a 28-10 lead at intermission.
The Cowboys increased their lead to 31-10 on a Lin Elliott field goal in the third quarter, but Buffalo cut it to 31-17 on the last play of the period when quarterback Frank Reich — who replaced the injured Jim Kelly in the second quarter — threw a 40-yard touchdown pass. That was as close as the Bills would get as Dallas finished the game on a 21-0 run — and it should have been 28-0.
Aikman, the game’s MVP, threw a 45-yard TD pass to Alvin Harper that was soon followed by a 10-yard Smith TD run after another Buffalo
turnover for a 45-17 lead. After the Bills received the ensuing kickoff, a fumble by Reich was recovered and returned by Dallas linebacker Ken Norton Jr. for the Cowboys’ final score.
Dallas tackle Leon Left was an excellent player, but he will forever be remembered for botching a potential 65-yard touchdown return late in the game — off yet another Buffalo fumble — that would have given Dallas a 59-17 lead. Lett began celebrating too soon and Bills receiver Don Beebe ran him down from behind and stripped Lett of the ball just before he crossed the goal line, resulting in a touchback.
The Cowboys scored 35 of their points off a record nine Buffalo turnovers. The Bills, who would go on to lose a fourth straight Super Bowl and second straight to Dallas the following season, were out-gained by just 46 yards and had two more first downs than the Cowboys.
After winning the national championship with Miami in 1987, Jimmy Johnson became the first coach to win both an NCAA football title and a Super Bowl. His successor, Barry Switzer, would duplicate that feat three years later.
SUPER BOWL XXVIII (Jan. 30, 1994) Dallas 30, Buffalo 13
GEORGIA DOME, ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The first Super Bowl rematch in back-to-back years was closer, and Buffalo led 13-6 at halftime with high hopes of finally getting a win in its record fourth straight appearance.
Instead, the Bills suffered their fourth straight defeat, becoming the only NFL team to lose the big game in four consecutive years, as Dallas dominated the second half with a 24-0 finishing run. In doing so, the Cowboys won their second straight Super Bowl and fourth overall, to tie (at the time) Pittsburgh and San Francisco for the most wins.
Dallas faced some obstacles in returning to the Super Bowl, starting 0-2 while Emmitt Smith held out over a contract dispute only to win its next seven games following his return. That was following by another twogame slide, the second loss coming against Miami after another infamous error by Lett that enabled the Dolphins to kick a game-winning field goal. Aikman and Smith were out with injuries in the previous week’s loss to Atlanta.
But the Cowboys recovered to win their last five regular-season games, and clinched the NFC East title and first-round playoff bye with a 16-13 overtime win over the New York Giants as Smith — playing despite a separated shoulder — rushed for 168 yards, caught 10 passes for 61 yards and scored Dallas’ only touchdown. He won his third NFL rushing title during the 1993 season as well as the NFL’S MVP award.
The Cowboys then defeated Green Bay, 27-17, and San Francisco, 3821, to make it to the Super Bowl for the seventh time in franchise history.
Buffalo, like Dallas, was the top seeded team in its conference with the same 12-4 regular season. The Bills defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 29-23 and Kansas City 30-13 in the playoffs to once again reach the Super Bowl.
Dallas, which had lost 13-10 to the Bills early in the season when Smith was holding out, finally re-established its superiority in the second half of Super Bowl XXVIII. And the Cowboys wasted little time.
Less than a minute into the third quarter, Left forced a fumble which teammate James Washington returned 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 13. After forcing a punt, Dallas scored on an 8-play, 64-yard drive capped by Smith’s 15-yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys a 20-13 lead.
The Cowboys’ final touchdown came on another Smith TD run, a 1-yarder on fourth-and-goal, with 9:50 left in the game, and kicker Eddie Murray’s third field goal of the game completed the scoring. Meanwhile, the defense completely shut the Bills’ no-huddle offense down in the second half.
Smith, still not fully recovered from his shoulder injury, was named the game’s MVP. He became the first player to lead the league in rushing yards and win both the NFL’S MVP award and Super Bowl MVP honor.
With two straight Super Bowl wins, the Cowboys had established a dynasty that would continue with another Super Bowl victory against Pittsburgh at the end of the 1995 season. The franchise had never looked stronger after its second title win over the Bills, and with the big three of Aikman, Smith and Irvin in the prime of their careers and plenty of other young talent as well.
But the pairing of head coach Jimmy Johnson and owner/general manager Jerry Jones, two men with huge egos, fell apart due to their differences over future personnel plans and also how much credit they should get for the Cowboys’ success. This game wound up being Johnson’s final one at Dallas after the feud boiled over. Johnson would later coach the Miami Dolphins in the late ‘90s before retiring from coaching for good. He became one of just four NFL coaches to win a Super Bowl in their last game with the winning team.
SUN DEVIL STADIUM, TEMPE, ARIZONA — The Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in four years — the first team to do so — and fifth overall in a rematch with Pittsburgh, which had won its two previous championship games against Dallas in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII during the 1970s. The Steelers were also trying to win their fifth title, but lost for the first time after winning all four times when Chuck Noll was head coach and Terry Bradshaw was the team’s quarterback.
This marked the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl appearance and title for new head coach Switzer, who replaced Johnson before the start of the 1994 season. Dallas went 12-4 in Switzer’s first year and won the NFC East but lost to eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco in the NFC Championship game. However, the Cowboys made it to their then-record eighth Super Bowl after the 1995 season after winning the NFC East again, then beating Philadelphia 30-11 in the divisional playoffs and Green Bay 38-27 for the NFC Championship.
They faced a Pittsburgh team now coached by Bill Cowher, who had replaced Noll following his retirement at the end of the 1991 season. The Steelers went 11-5 during the regular season, then beat Buffalo and Indianapolis to reach their first Super Bowl in 16 years.
Dallas scored the first 13 points against Pittsburgh on the strength of a 3-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to tight end Jay Novacek and two field goals by kicker Chris Boniol. But Pittsburgh cut the lead to 13-7 just before halftime on a 6-yard TD pass from quarterback Neil O’donnell to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen.
The Cowboys got the only points of the third quarter, increasing their lead to 20-7 on a 1-yard run by Smith. An interception and return by cornerback Larry Brown set up the short drive at Pittsburgh’s 18-yard line.
But the Steelers cut Dallas’ lead to 20-17 in the fourth quarter by scoring on a Norm Johnson 46-yard field goal and a 1-yard run by Bam Morris, and regained possession at their 32-yard line with 4:15 to play. However, Brown — who was voted the game’s MVP — got his second interception and returned it 33 yards to Pittsburgh’s 6-yard line. Two plays later, Smith scored on a 4-yard run to give the Cowboys a 27-17 lead, and Dallas held on for the win.
The Steelers out-gained Dallas 310-254, including 201-61 in the second half, and had 25 first downs to the Cowboys’ 15. But they were unable to overcome the two O’donnell interceptions that both led to Dallas touchdowns.
Cowboys defensive end Charles Haley became the first player to be a part of five Super Bowl championships, three with Dallas and two with San Francisco. Switzer became the second head coach, after Johnson, to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl title.
Super Bowl XXX was the final Super Bowl win for the Cowboys, who would win only one more postseason game until 2009. Injuries forced Irvin to retire after the 1999 season and Aikman after the 2000 campaign, and Smith — after becoming the NFL’S all-time leading rusher in 2002 — was released by Dallas and finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cowboys, with this win over the Steelers, became the first team to win Super Bowls under three head coaches — Landry, Johnson and Switzer.