Cowboys
27 - Steelers 17
Box Score
  TEMPE, Ariz. - It was the ultimate triumph for the richest and
most talented team in football, and it concluded without a trophy tug between owner and
coach.
It could be redemption for beleaguered coach Barry Switzer and
perhaps vindication for controversial Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith produced three touchdowns playing
behind their Super Bowl XXXL offensive line as the Cowboys outlasted the Pittsburgh
Steelers, 27-17, to take Super Bowl XXX.
Cornerback Larry Brown was selected the Most Valuable Player for
intercepting two Neil O'Donnell passes and returning them 44 and 33 yards. The Cowboys
converted those turning-point plays into 14 decisive points in the second half while
claiming an unprecedented third Super Bowl title in four seasons before 76,347 at Sun
Devil Stadium.
Jones handed the first Lombardi Trophy the team has won since
Jimmy Johnson's dismissal to Switzer, who held it firm and thrust it high.
"We did it our way, baby," he shouted to Jones.
"We did it! We did it!"
In the locker room afterward, Switzer downplayed the vindication
angle. "That's not important to me. That never had been," Switzer said. "I
just want to be a team guy. We did it, and we did it my way. Let the players tell you
about that."
The limousine-hopping Cowboys (15-4) held off the lunchpail
Steelers (13-6) to match the San Francisco 49ers as the only franchises to win five Super
Bowl titles. Overcoming controversy and internal conflict, the Cowboys clearly reign as
the Team of the '90s.
"I know that having done it three times in four years
certainly this football team has made a place in history," Aikman said. "I don't
know if this team is going to be regarded as the Team of the '90s. I don't think anyone in
our organization is ready to look back over the last four years and say we had a good
run."
That is because the Cowboys have great players still in their
prime. There is no apparent reason they should not remain competitive.
The sharpest difference between the Cowboys and Steelers seemed
to be at quarterback. While each threw only seven interceptions in the regular season,
O'Donnell threw two nervous interceptions when confronting Dallas blitzes. Meanwhile,
Aikman was unflappable and flawless.
Aikman flashed his trademark big-game brilliance with 15
completions in 23 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. He joins San Francisco's Joe
Montana and Pittsburgh's Terry Bradshaw as the only NFL quarterbacks to win three or more
Super Bowls.
While they never trailed and often seemed the dominant team, the
Cowboys were this close to possible defeat: They needed Brown's interceptions to position
Smith for touchdown runs that culminated two-play possessions covering 18 and six yards.
The first turnover inflated the Cowboys' 13-7 halftime advantage
- the closest Super Bowl intermission in four years - to 20-7. The second confiscated
emotion and momentum from the Steelers for the last time. Each time, a panicky O'Donnell
miscommunicated with his intended receiver and threw passes directly to Brown.
"We're all in this together, so you can't single out one
individual," said O'Donnell, who claimed the first interception was a result of the
ball slipping from his hand on the throw. "There wasn't one reason we lost this
football game. I told everyone earlier in the week that it would be an exciting football
game, that we would have a chance. We did."
The second interception was particularly devastating for
Pittsburgh. The Steelers had the Cowboys reeling at the time.
Coach Bill Cowher's boldness helped the Steelers shock the
Cowboys with 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. The defiant Steelers stubbornly
played their way into the contest by following a Norm Johnson field goal with the earliest
successful onside kick in Super Bowl history.
The Cowboys, leading 20-10 with 11:20 remaining, were unprepared
for the tactic. Pittsburgh's Deon Figures recovered on the run between sprawling Cowboys
Dixon Edwards and Jim Schwantz. The Steelers reduced the deficit to 20-17 when Bam Morris
ran untouched for a touchdown from a yard out with 6:36 remaining.
In a Super Bowl rarity, there suddenly was fourth-quarter drama.
That intensified as the Cowboys punted with 4:15 to go, giving Pittsburgh the ball and a
chance for the lead.
But O'Donnell's first pass was incomplete but was a better result
than his next throw produced. Brown intercepted a throw intended for Corey Holliday.
Despite Smith's two touchdowns, the Steelers' defense constantly
thwarted the NFL rushing champion. But menacing rushers Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd never
could consistently penetrate the Cowboys' protective wall around Aikman.
In leading the Cowboys to points on their first three
possessions, Aikman completed 10 consecutive passes and was 11-of-15 during the first
half. He had a three-yard touchdown pass to Jay Novacek and lost another when Irvin was
called for offensive interference to nullify a touchdown reception.
"We felt we had controlled the ballgame in the first half,
but we hadn't been able to take control on the scoreboard," Aikman said.
In their three previous Super Bowl triumphs, the Cowboys had
never taken so long to overcome their adversary. But the Cowboys put down the Steelers and
defeated their own various devils.
"You can put the other two together, and this one outweighs
them," Irvin said. "That's because of what we went through this year, because of
the times people counted us out. We got a little bit closer, turned in a little bit more
and got it done. Bottom line, we got it done."
Box Score Dallas 10 3 7 7 = 27
Pittsburgh 0 7 0 10 = 17
DAL- FG Boniol 42, 2:55 1st
DAL- Novacek 3 pass from Aikman (Boniol kick),
9:37 1st
DAL- FG Boniol 35, 8:57 2nd
PIT- Thigpen 6 pass from O'Donnell
(N. Johnson kick), 14:47 2nd
DAL- E. Smith 1 run (Boniol kick), 8:18 3rd
PIT- FG N. Johnson 46, 3:40 4th
PIT- Morris 1 run (N. Johnson kick), 8:24 4th
DAL- E. Smith 4 run (Boniol kick), 11:17 4th
TEAM STATISTICS Dal. Pitt.
Total First Downs 15 25
Rushing 5 9
Passing 10 15
Penalty 0 1
Total Net Yardage 254 310
Total Offensive Plays 50 84
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play 5.1 3.7
Rushes 25 31
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) 56 103
Average Yards per Rush 2.2 3.3
Passes Attempted 23 49
Passes Completed 15 28
Had Intercepted 0 3
Tackled Attempting to Pass 2 4
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass 11 32
Yards Gained Passing (Net) 198 207
Punts 5 4
Average Distance 38.2 44.8
Punt Returns 1 2
Punt Return Yardage 11 18
Kickoff Returns 3 5
Kickoff Return Yardage 37 96
Interception Return Yardage 77 0
Fumbles 0 2
Own Fumbles Recovered 0 2
Opponent Fumbles Recovered 0 0
Penalties 4 2
Yards Penalized 25 15
Total Points Scored 27 17
Touchdowns 3 2
Rushing 2 1
Passing 1 1
Returns 0 0
Extra Points 3 2
Field Goals 2 1
Field Goals Attempted 2 1
Safeties 0 0
Third-Down Efficiency 2/10 9/19
Fourth-Down Efficiency 1/1 2/4
Time of Possession 26:11 33:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
E. Smith 18 49 23 2
Johnston 2 8 4 0
K. Williams 1 2 2 0
Aikman 4 -3 0 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Morris 19 73 15 1
Pegram 6 15 4 0
Stewart 4 15 7 0
O'Donnell 1 0 0 0
J. Williams 1 0 0 0
Passing
Dallas Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Aikman 23 15 209 1 0
Pittsburgh Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
O'Donnell 49 28 239 1 3
Receiving
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Irvin 5 76 20 0
Novacek 5 50 19 1
K. Williams 2 29 22 0
Sanders 1 47 47 0
Johnston 1 4 4 0
E. Smith 1 3 3 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Hastings 10 98 19 0
Mills 8 78 17 0
Thigpen 3 19 7 1
Morris 3 18 10 0
Holliday 2 19 10 0
J. Williams 2 7 5 0
Interceptions
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Brown 2 77 44 0
Marion 1 0 0 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
None -- -- -- --
Punting
Dallas No. Avg. LG Blk.
Jett 5 38.2 51 0
Pittsburgh No. Avg. LG Blk.
Stark 4 44.8 55 0
Punt Returns
Dallas No. FC Yds. LG TD
Sanders 1 0 11 11 0
Pittsburgh No. FC Yds. LG TD
Hastings 2 0 18 11 0
Kickoff Returns
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
K. Williams 2 24 18 0
Marion 1 13 13 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Mills 4 79 22 0
McAfee 1 17 17 0
Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers
Offense
Kennard, Derek C Dawson, Dermontti C
Allen, Larry G Newberry, Tom G
Newton, Nate G Stai, Brenden G
Tuinei, Mark T Jackson, John T
Williams, Erik T Searcy, Leon T
Novacek, Jay TE Bruener, Mark TE
Irvin, Michael WR Mills, Ernie WR
Williams, Kevin WR Thigpen, Yancey WR
Smith, Emmitt RB Pegram, Erric RB
Johnston, Daryl FB Williams, John L. RB
Aikman, Troy QB O'Donnell, Neil QB
Defense
Lett, Leon DT Steed, Joel NT
Maryland, Russell DT Buckner, Brentson DE
Haley, Charles DE Seals, Ray DE
Tolbert, Tony DE Greene, Kevin OLB
Edwards, Dixon OLB Lloyd, Greg OLB
Smith, Darrin OLB Brown, Chad ILB
Jones, Robert MLB Kirkland, Levon ILB
Brown, Larry CB Lake, Carnell CB
Sanders, Deion CB Williams, Willie CB
Marion, Brock FS Perry, Darren FS
Woodson, Darren SS Bell, Myron SS
Substitute
Bailey, Robert Figures, Deon
Bates, Bill Flowers, Lethon
Bjornson, Eric Fuller, Randy
Boniol, Chris Gammon, Kendall
Brice, Alundis Gildon, Jason
Briggs, Greg Hastings, Andre
Carver, Shante Hayes, Jonathan
Case, Scott Henry, Kevin
Davis, Billy Holliday, Corey
Fleming, Cory Johnson, Norm
Hellestrae, Dale Johnson, Bill
Hennings, Chad Jones, Donta
Jett, John Lester, Tim
Lang, David McAfee, Fred
McCormack, Hurvin Morris, Bam
Myles, Godfrey Oldham, Chris
Schwantz, Jim Olsavsky, Jerry
Stone, Ron Parrish, James
Watkins, Kendell Stark, Rohn
Williams, Charlie Stewart, Kordell
Strzelczyk, Justin
Woodson, Rod
Did Not Play
Hegamin, George Tomczak, Mike
Williams, Sherman
Wilson, Wade
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