Super Bowl X was the 10th Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida following the 1975 regular season.
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| Date | January 18, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Orange Bowl Stadium, Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Lynn Swann, Wide Receiver | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Steelers by 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 80,187 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | |||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Tom Sullivan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coin toss | Game referee | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Up with People presents "200 Years and Just a Baby: Tribute to America's Bicentennial" | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 42.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Market share | 78 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of 30-second commercial | $110,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys, 21–17. This game featured a contrast of styles between the Steelers and the Cowboys, which were, at the time, the two most popular teams in the league.
Steelers receiver Lynn Swann, who caught 4 passes for a Super Bowl record 161 yards and a touchdown, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. Swann was the first wide receiver ever to win the Super Bowl MVP award.
Background
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers finishing the regular season with a league best 12-2 record, dominating opponents with their "Steel Curtain" defense and powerful running game just like they were doing during the previous season. Running back Franco Harris ranked second in the league with 1,246 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 28 passes for 214 yards and another touchdown. Fullback Rocky Bleier also had 528 rushing yards, and fullback John Fuqua added 285 yards and 18 receptions. Still, the Steelers had a fine passing attack led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw threw for 2,055 yards, 18 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions, while also rushing for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns. One reason why Bradshaw's numbers were much improved from the previous season was the emergence of wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. Both only saw limited playing time in the previous season, but had become significant contributors. Swann caught a team leading 49 passes for 781 yards and 11 touchdowns. Stallworth only had 20 receptions, but he had an average of 21.2 yards per catch, recording a total of 423 reception yards.
Again the Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense dominated the league, ranking third in fewest yards allowed (4,019) and sending 8 of their 11 starters to the Pro Bowl: defensive linemen Joe Greene and L. C. Greenwood; future Hall of Fame linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert; Andy Russell, the team's third starting linebacker; future Hall of Fame defensive back Mel Blount; and safeties Glen Edwards and Mike Wagner.
Greene made the Pro Bowl despite missing 6 games with injuries. Ham and Lambert had the best seasons of their careers, while Blount led the league with 11 interceptions.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys advanced to their third Super Bowl in team history with their rather high-tech offense and "flex" defense. Quarterback Roger Staubach had a solid season, passing for 2,666 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 310 yards. Wide receiver Drew Pearson led the team with 46 receptions for 822 yards and 8 touchdowns. Wide receivers Golden Richards and Jean Fugett were also reliable targets in the Cowboys' passing game, combining for 59 receptions and 939 receiving yards.
But like the Steelers, Dallas was also a run based team. Fullback Robert Newhouse was their leading rusher with 930 yards, and also caught 34 passes for 274 yards. Running back Doug Dennison contributed 388 yards. But perhaps the most talented player in the backfield was running back Preston Pearson (no relation to recevier Drew Pearson), who signed on the team as a free agent after being cut by the Steelers in the pre-season. Preston rushed for 509 yards, caught 27 passes for 351 yards, and added another 391 yards returning kickoffs. Preston had been especially effective in the playoffs, where he caught 12 passes for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, and was extremely eager to increase his numbers in the Super Bowl against the team that let him go. Up front, the offensive line was led by All-pro guard Rayfield Wright.
The Cowboys' "Flex" defense was anchored by linemen Harvey Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones. Linebacker Lee Roy Jordan led the team with 6 interceptions, while linebacker D.D. Lewis was an effective weapon pass rushing. The starting players in Dallas' defensive secondary, future Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Renfro, cornerback Mark Washington, and safeties Charlie Watters and Pro Bowler Cliff Harris, combined for 12 interceptions.
Even though the Cowboys finished in second place in the NFC East with a 10-4 record, they qualified for the playoffs as the NFC's wild card team (during that time, only one wild card team from each conference entered the playoffs).
Playoffs
Dallas went on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, 17-14, with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Staubach to Drew Pearson as time expired in the game in what was called the "Hail Mary pass". They went on to crush the Los Angeles Rams, 37-7, in the NFC Championship Game.
Meanwhile, the Steelers only gave up a combined total of 20 points in their playoff victories over the Baltimore Colts, 28-10, and the Oakland Raiders, 16-10.
Super Bowl pregame news and notes
Coming into Super Bowl X, most sports writers and fans expected that Swann would not play. He had suffered a severe concussion in the AFC Championship Game against the Raiders that forced him to spend 2 days in a hospital. If he did play, many assumed he would just be used as a decoy to draw coverage away from the other receivers.
Television and entertainment
CBS televised the game in the United States with play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator Tom Brookshier.
The overall theme of the Super Bowl entertainment was to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. Each Dallas and Pittsburgh player wore a special patch with the Bicentennial Logo on their jerseys.
The performance event group Up with People performed during both the pregame festivities and the halftime show titled "200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial". Up with People dancers portrayed various American historical figures.
Singer Tom Sullivan sang the national anthem.
Game summary
The Steelers won their second straight Super Bowl in a row, largely through the plays by Swann and by stopping a late rally by the Cowboys late in the fourth quarter.
On the first play of the game, Steelers defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood sacked Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, forcing him to fumble. Luckily for Dallas, they recovered the fumble, but eventually were forced to punt. Pittsburgh managed to get one first down an advance to Dallas 40-yard line, but then they too were forced to punt. However, Steelers punter Bobby Walden fumbled the snap. Walden managed to recover his own fumble, but Dallas took over on Steelers 29-yard line. On the very next play, Staubach threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, taking a 7-0 lead. But the Steelers didn't panic. Instead of trying to immediately tie the game on a long passing play, they ran the ball on the first four plays of their ensuing possesion, then quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed a 32-yard pass to receiver Lynn Swann to reach the Cowboys 16-yard line. Two running plays advanced the ball to the 7-yard line. Then on 3rd down and 1, the Steelers managed to fool the Cowboys. Pittsburgh brought in 2 tight ends, which usually signals a running play. After the snap, tight end Randy Grossman faked a block to the inside as if it was a running play, but then ran a pass route into the endzone, and Bradshaw threw the ball to him for a touchdown, tying the game, 7-7.
Dallas responded on their next drive, advancing the ball 51 yards and scoring on kicker Toni Fritsch's 36-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Later in the period, Dallas threatened to score after driving to the Steelers 20-yard line. But in 3 plays, the Cowboys lost 25 yards. On first down, fullback Robert Newhouse was tackled for a 3-yard loss by linebacker Andy Russell. Then Greenwood sacked Staubach for a 12-yard loss. And on third down, Staubach was sacked again, this time for a 10 yard loss, by defensive tackle Dwight White. Not only had the Steelers prevented a Cowboys touchdown, they also had pushed them out of field goal range, forcing Dallas to punt. The Steelers offense got the ball back their own 6-yard line with 3:47 left in the half. On the drive, Bradshaw completed a 53-yard pass to Swann to advance the ball to the Cowboys 37-yard line. But the drive stalled at the 19-yard line, and ended with no points after kicker Roy Gerela missed a 36-yard field goal attempt with 22 seconds remaining in the period.
Early in the third quarter, Pittsburgh got a great scoring opportunity when defensive back J.T. Thomas intercepted a pass from Staubach and returned it 35 yards to the Cowboys 25-yard line. But once again the Steelers failed to score as the Dallas defense kept Pittsburgh out of the endzone and Gerela missed his second field goal, a 33-yard attempt. After the miss, Cowboys safety Cliff Harris mockingly patted Gerela on his helmet and thanked him for "helping Dallas out", but was immediately shoved to the ground by Steeler linebacker Jack Lambert. Lambert could have been ejected from the game for defending his teammate, but the officials decided to allow him to remain. [1]
The third quarter was completely scoreless and the Cowboys maintained their 10-7 lead going into the final period. But early in the fourth quarter, Dallas punter Mitch Hoopes was forced to punt from inside his own goal line. As Hoopes stepped up to make the kick, Steelers running back Reggie Harrison broke through the line and blocked the punt. The ball went through the end zone for a safety, cutting the Dallas lead to 10-9. On their ensuing drive, the Steelers reached the Cowboys 20-yard line. Dallas kept them out of the end zone once again, but this time Gerela successfully kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh their first lead of the game, 12-10. Then on the first play of the Cowboys' next drive, Steelers defensive back Mike Wagner intercepted a pass from Staubach and returned it to the Dallas 7-yard line. The Cowboys defense halted Pittsburgh's ensuing drive at the 1-yard line, but Gerela kicked an 18-yard field goal to increase the Steelers lead to 15-10.
The Steelers then forced the Cowboys to punt on their next drive, giving Pittsburgh a chance to either increase their lead or take enough time off the clock to prevent any chance of a Dallas comeback. But after 2 plays, the Steelers found themselves facing 3rd down and 6 on their own 36-yard line. Assuming that the Cowboys would be expecting a short pass or a run, Bradshaw decided to try a long pass and told Swann in the huddle to run a deep post pattern. As Bradshaw dropped back to pass, Harris and linebacker D.D. Lewis both blitzed in an attempt to sack him. But Bradshaw managed to dodge Lewis and throw the ball just before being tackled by Harris. Swann then caught the ball at the 5-yard line and ran into the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown completion. Bradshaw never did see Swann's catch or the touchdown since Harris' hit knocked him out of the game with a head injury. It was only after he was assisted to the locker room that he was told what happened.
After play resumed, Gerela missed the extra point attempt, but the Steelers now had a 21-10 lead with 3:02 left in the game, and the Cowboys needed 2 touchdowns to come back.
Staubach then led his team 80 yards in 5 plays on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide reciever Percy Howard and cutting their deficit to 21-17. The Cowboys defense then forced Pittsburgh to punt after 3 plays on their next possesion, giving Dallas one more chance to win. The Cowboys then marched to the Steelers 38-yard line, but after incompletions on the next 2 plays, Steelers safety Glen Edwards intercepted Staubach's pass in the end zone and returned it to the 33-yard line. The Steelers then ran out the clock to win the game.
Bradshaw finished the game with 9 out of 19 pass completions for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also added another 16 yards rushing the ball. Staubach had 15 out of 24 completions for 204 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, with 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 22 yards on 5 carries. Steelers running back Franco Harris was the leading rusher of the game with 82 rushing yards, and also caught a pass for 26 yards. Newhouse was the Cowboys top rusher with 56 yards, and caught 2 passes for 12 yards. Greenwood recorded a Super Bowl record 3 sacks.
Scoring summary
- DAL- D. Pearson 29 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick)
- PIT- Grossman 7 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)
- DAL- FG Fritsch 36
- PIT- Safety, Harrison blocked punt through end zone
- PIT- FG Gerela 36
- PIT- FG Gerela 18
- PIT- Swann 64 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
- DAL- P. Howard 34 pass from Staubach
Trivia
- Howard's touchdown reception in the fourth quarter was the only catch of his NFL career.
- Scenes for the 1977 suspense film Black Sunday were filmed during the game.
Notes
- ^ 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments, espn.com (Last retrieved October 28, 2005)
See also
References
- Super Bowl official website
- NFL Record and Fact Book(ISBN 193299436X)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0062701746)
- The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 (ISBN 089204523X)
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
- Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
- All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)