Super Bowl X

The game

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.

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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 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.

Related Topics:
L.C. Greenwood - Roger Staubach - Bobby Walden - Terry Bradshaw - Randy Grossman

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Dallas responded on their next drive, advancing the ball 51 yards and scoring on kicker Tony Fritsch' 36-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

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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.

Related Topics:
Robert Newhouse - Andy Russell - Dwight White - Roy Gerela

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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.

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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 sucessfully 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 the drive at the 1-yard line, but Gerela kicked an 18-yard field goal to increase the Steelers lead to 15-10.

Related Topics:
Mitch Hoopes - Reggie Harrison - Mike Wagner

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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, linebacker D.D. Lewis and safety Cliff Harris 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.

Related Topics:
D.D. Lewis - Cliff Harris - Blitzed

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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.

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Staubach then led his team 80 yards in 5 plays on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass to running back Ron 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.

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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.

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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