Ranking the Super Bowls, #10: Super Bowl X

(photo credit: nydailynews.com)

Super Bowl X between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers was held on Jan. 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Pittsburgh was the defending Super Bowl champion, having defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX. In this matchup, Pittsburgh became the third team to win back-to-back Super Bowls, beating Dallas 21-17.

Pittsburgh won the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC, going 12-2. The Steelers used the league’s second-best rushing offense, led by Franco Harris and his 1,246 yards, and the “Steel Curtain” defense that gave up the second-fewest points in the league, to physically intimidate and dominate their opponents to the tune of a league best +211 point differential.

Mel Blount won AP Defensive Player of the Year in large part to leading the league with 11 interceptions. The passing game wasn’t flashy, but Terry Bradshaw targeted Lynn Swann enough for Swann to tie for a league-high 11 touchdowns. In the playoffs, the Steelers defeated the Baltimore Colts, 28-10, and the Oakland Raiders, 16-10, on their way to the Super Bowl.

Dallas’ offense gained the third-most yards in the league and their defense gave up the fifth-fewest yards to propel them to a 10-4 record, placing second in the NFC East and clinching the NFC’s Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Roger Staubach led the offense with 2,666 passing yards. In the first round of the playoffs, they traveled to Minnesota and won 17-14 on a late Drew Pearson touchdown. In the Conference Championship game, they went to Los Angeles and demolished the Rams, 37-7. Super Bowl X was Dallas’ third trip to the Super Bowl, previously losing in Super Bowl V but emerging victorious in Super Bowl VI.

Lynn Swann was this game’s biggest story. He had just one touchdown, but it was the game-winner that gave Pittsburgh their final margin late in the game. His four catches totaled 161 yards, and two of them came in spectacular fashion, going down as two of the most memorable receptions in Super Bowl history.

Dallas started the game’s scoring when Staubach found Pearson for a 29-yard score in the first quarter. Pittsburgh responded when Bradshaw hit Randy Grossman for a two-yard touchdown catch. The score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter. Over the next two quarters, the only scoring either team could put together was a Dallas 37-yard field goal by Toni Fritsch ten seconds into the second quarter.

The fourth quarter provided a little more drama. Three minutes into the quarter, Dallas faced a 4th-and-13 from their own 16-yard line. Punter Mitch Hoopes received the snap and lined up his punt. Pittsburgh’s Reggie Harrison fired through the line and blocked the punt. The ball soared back through Dallas’ end zone for a safety, shrinking Dallas’ lead to 10-9. After the ensuing free kick to the Steelers, they drove to the Dallas 20-yard line before settling for a 36-yard field goal by Roy Gerela for their first lead of the game, 12-10, with nine minutes remaining.

Looking to respond quickly, Dallas encountered disaster on the first play from scrimmage on their next drive. Staubach’s pass to Drew Pearson was intercepted by Pittsburgh’s Mike Wagner, who returned it to the Cowboys’ 7-yard line. The Cowboys’ defense managed to stifle the Steelers’ offense, and Pittsburgh had to settle for another Gerela field goal, giving them a 15-10 lead with seven minutes remaining.

After a Dallas three-and-out, Swann’s touchdown pushed Pittsburgh’s advantage to an insurmountable 21-10 with just 3:31 left. Staubach found Percy Howard for a 34-yard touchdown with just under two minutes left, and when the Steelers went three-and-out on their next drive, Dallas had a glimmer of hope. But Staubach’s throw into the end zone with 18 seconds left was intercepted by Glen Edwards, sealing the Cowboys’ fate.