Jerry Jones has been after the Lombardi Trophy since he was able to entice Deion Sanders away from San Francisco in 1995, and Primetime helped them win it all that year under head coach Barry Switzer. The Dallas Cowboys are eager to add another Super Bowl to their trophy cabinet.
With five Super Bowl victories apiece, the Cowboys and 49ers are tied for second place in the NFL. Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have six. Jerry would love to lead his squad to a sixth before he departs this life, but no team is leading the pack with seven.
Back before Jones had full control of the team. Dallas finished off the 1977 season with a (12-2) record and was seeking the second Super Bowl victory in the history of the franchise despite three previous visits to the big game. Behind the arm of Roger Staubach with legendary head coach Tom Landry leading the Dallas Cowboys against the Denver Broncos in the Super Dome in New Orleans, Dallas came out victorious.
But it wasn’t Staubach that got credit for the dominating 27-10 over the Broncos who were known for their stifling “Orange Crush” defense after also finishing the regular season at (12-2). Instead, it was the Dallas defense that stole the show.
The Cowboys defense dubbed “the Doomsday Defense” dominated Super Bowl XII, forcing eight turnovers and allowing only eight pass completions by the Broncos for 61 yards. Two interceptions led to 10 first-quarter points. Denver’s longest play of the game was 21 yards, which occurred on their opening drive.
In the third quarter, wide receiver Butch Johnson made a diving catch in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown reception, increasing the Dallas Cowboys’ lead to 20-3. Late in the third quarter, Norris Weese took the place of an unproductive Morton. Rob Lytle’s one-yard touchdown run sealed the victory as he led the Broncos downfield to score a touchdown and cut the margin to 20-10.
However, Landry and his offensive team came up with a play that would go down in history when Dallas needed to close the deal and put the game out of reach.
In the fourth quarter, fullback Robert Newhouse threw a 29-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option play to receiver Golden Richards.
That sealed the deal.
For the first and only time, two players won Super Bowl MVP honors: defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin. This was also the first time that a defensive lineman was named Super Bowl MVP.
