Super Bowl XII, 1978: Dallas 27 Denver 10

Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1977 season. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 27–10 to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. This was the first Super Bowl in a domed stadium, and the first time that the game was played in prime time in the Eastern United States.

The game pitted Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach against their former quarterback, Craig Morton. Led by Staubach and the Doomsday Defense, Dallas advanced to its fourth Super Bowl after posting a 12–2 record in the regular season and home playoff victories over the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos, led by Morton and the Orange Crush Defense, made their first-ever postseason appearance after a franchise-best 12–2 regular season record. Also with home-field advantage, Denver posted playoff wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders.

The Cowboys 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. Dallas extended its lead to 20–3 in the third quarter after wide receiver Butch Johnson made a diving catch in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown reception. An ineffective Morton was replaced by Norris Weese late in the third quarter. He drove the Broncos downfield to score a touchdown to close the gap on the lead to 20–10, capped by a Rob Lytle one-yard touchdown run. However, the Cowboys put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when fullback Robert Newhouse threw a 29-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option play to receiver Golden Richards.

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.

Game summary
First quarter
The opening stages of Super Bowl XII were nearly disastrous for the Cowboys, who fumbled three times on their first two possessions. On their first play from scrimmage, the Cowboys attempted a double reverse, but receiver Butch Johnson fumbled the handoff. Johnson recovered his own fumble but the Cowboys sustained a significant loss on the play and punted two plays later. The Broncos then advanced to the Cowboys' 33-yard line on their first drive of the game. However, Broncos quarterback Craig Morton was sacked for an 11-yard loss on third down by Randy White, which pushed the Broncos out of field goal range. On the ensuing Denver punt, Cowboys returner Tony Hill muffed the ball at his own 1-yard line. In the scramble to recover, Broncos receiver John Schultz placed both of his hands on the ball and nearly took possession, but the Cowboys emerged from the melee with the ball. A few plays later, from the 19-yard line, Dallas running back Tony Dorsett fumbled the ball forward into heavy traffic, but center John Fitzgerald made the recovery to keep possession for the Cowboys, who then punted.

On the Broncos second possession, Cowboys defensive linemen White and Harvey Martin simultaneously hit Morton as he attempted to throw, which resulted in a wobbly pass that failed to cross the line of scrimmage and was intercepted by defensive back Randy Hughes on the Denver 25-yard line. Five plays after the turnover, Dorsett scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, converting on a fourth and goal attempt. On the Broncos next possession, Morton was intercepted for a second time after his pass was tipped by linebacker Bob Breunig into the arms of defensive back Aaron Kyle, who returned the ball 19 yards to Denver's 35-yard line. Dallas then advanced to the 8-yard line, but Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach was sacked by Lyle Alzado for a 10-yard loss on third down, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 35-yard Efrén Herrera field goal to increase their lead to 10–0.

Second quarter
Denver was forced to punt to begin the second quarter, and Dallas then advanced to the Broncos' 19-yard line. On third down, Staubach unleashed a pass that was intercepted in the end zone; however, the officials ruled that he had stepped out of bounds before he threw the ball. On the next play, Herrera successfully added a 43-yard field goal to increase the Cowboys' lead to 13–0. The rest of the quarter was filled with an avalanche of sloppy play, turnovers, and missed opportunities. On the second play of the next Denver drive, Morton unleashed an errant pass for his third interception, this time by defensive back Benny Barnes at the Cowboys' 40-yard line. The Denver defense immediately stiffened, sacking Staubach for a fourth time and forcing a three-and-out and a punt. However, the punt struck an unsuspecting Denver player, John Schultz, on his helmet as he attempted to throw a block during the return, and the ball was quickly recovered by the Cowboys' Bruce Huther.

The Cowboys then advanced to the 26-yard line, but Herrera pulled his 43-yard field goal attempt wide left, keeping the score 13–0. On the following drive the Broncos committed their fifth turnover as wide receiver Jack Dolbin fumbled, with Hughes returned the ball 19 yards to the Denver 27-yard line. However, the Cowboys failed to score as Herrera missed another field goal, this time from only 32 yards out. On the first play after that missed attempt, Denver wasted no time in giving the ball away again, as tight end Riley Odoms fumbled the ball back to Dallas, with Hughes recovering it and returning it to the 28-yard line. However, on the next play, Dallas gave the ball right back to Denver as tight end Billy Joe DuPree caught a pass inside the 10-yard line but fumbled, with Denver linebacker Tom Jackson making the recovery. Five plays later, with the Broncos desperate to score before the half, Morton uncorked yet another errant pass that was intercepted by defensive back Mark Washington who returned the ball 27 yards to Denver's 35-yard line. There were 6 seconds remaining on the clock after the interception, but Dallas couldn't capitalize as Herrera missed yet another field goal attempt, his third miss of the half, this time from 44 yards out as time expired.

By halftime, the Cowboys had fumbled five times (losing one), had missed three field goals, and had allowed four sacks, but still led 13–0. Meanwhile, the Broncos had committed a halftime record 7 turnovers. Morton, who had thrown only 8 interceptions during the entire 1977 season, was picked off 4 times in the half in addition to 3 fumbles lost, finishing with a passer rating of 0.0. Incredibly, after punting on their very first drive of the game, six of the next seven Broncos possessions resulted in a turnover, and there also was a fumble on a punt return.

Third quarter
Denver trailed by only 13 points as the second half began, and on the opening drive of the second half, the Broncos moved the ball deep into Dallas territory. First, John Schultz returned the second half kickoff 25 yards to the 35-yard line, and then Otis Armstrong ripped off an 18-yard gain. Seven plays later, Jim Turner finished the drive with a 47-yard field goal, cutting the score to 13–3. But after an exchange of punts, the Cowboys scored another touchdown on a 45-yard pass from Staubach to receiver Butch Johnson, who made a fingertip catch as he fell into the end zone as the Cowboys increased their lead to 20–3. Johnson dropped the ball when he hit the ground, but officials ruled he had scored a touchdown before it came out of his hands.

Denver wide receiver Rick Upchurch returned the ensuing kickoff a Super Bowl-record 67 yards to the Cowboys 26-yard line. On the next play, Morton nearly threw his fifth interception, and was then immediately replaced by former Ole Miss quarterback Norris Weese. Two plays later on fourth down, Jim Jensen's 16-yard run moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and then Rob Lytle scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20–10.

Fourth quarter
Next, Dallas drove into Denver territory but Staubach was sacked by Tom Jackson and lost the ball, Rubin Carter recovering at the Broncos' 45 early in the fourth quarter. Weese was incomplete on his next three attempts, however, one on a pass to Upchurch in the end zone, and Denver punted.

The Broncos forced a Dallas punt but Weese fumbled the ball while being sacked by Martin, and Kyle recovered it on the Denver 29-yard line. On the next play, the Cowboys scored on a 29-yard halfback option play: Staubach pitched the ball to fullback Robert Newhouse, who ran left and then threw a pass to back-up receiver Golden Richards for a touchdown. The score gave the Cowboys a 27–10 lead and put the game out of reach. Newhouse became the first running back in Super Bowl history to complete a touchdown pass. Most notable about the trick play was that Denver's defense was not fooled by it, as Richards was properly covered by defensive back Steve Foley. Incidentally, Newhouse had practiced with the play for weeks but had not managed to complete the pass once in practice (which unlike the play in the game was done with Newhouse rolling to his right). Loaded up with stickum (legal at the time), Newhouse accomplished a tight spiral to Richards that he caught in stride for the score.

Staubach finished the game with 17 out of 25 pass completions for 183 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. Dorsett was the leading rusher of the game, with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 11 receiving yards. In addition to his 29-yard touchdown pass, Newhouse also contributed with 55 rushing yards. Dallas tight end Billy Joe DuPree was the leading receiver of the game with 4 receptions for 66 yards. Hughes had an interception and a Super Bowl record 2 fumble recoveries.

Before being taken out of the game, Denver's starting quarterback Craig Morton completed just 4 out of 15 passes for 39 yards and was intercepted 4 times. His 21-yard completion to Haven Moses on the Broncos' opening drive was the only pass he completed that both resulted in positive yardage and did not end in a turnover. Morton's passer rating for the game was 0.0, the lowest in Super Bowl history. Upchurch recorded 125 total offensive yards (94 on kickoff returns, 22 on punt returns, and 9 receiving yards).

The Cowboys' superb defense played a critical role in the game. White and Martin were named co-Most Valuable Players; this award is usually bestowed on an offensive player. The voters actually wanted to name the entire 11-man starting defensive lineup as co-MVPs, and asked the NFL if this was acceptable. The league said no, and so two players were picked for the award. The unheralded Hughes and Kyle of the Cowboy secondary each had superb games to play an important role in the victory. The two men came up with five turnovers between them, leading directly to 17 of Dallas' points.

The game was the 8th Super Bowl in 10 years in which the winning team scored enough to win before the losing team put up any points on the board. By contrast, this has happened only four times since, in Super Bowls XV, XVIII, XXXV, and XLVIII.

In 2015, on the occasion of Super Bowl 50, Slate webpage writer Justin Peters watched all the games over a two-month period. He considered Super Bowl XII to be the worst Super Bowl ever. Morton was a large part of the reason for Peters, who felt the Broncos' quarterback was lucky to have only been intercepted four times in the first half, and a total output that amounted to only one completion for positive yardage that was not followed by an immediate turnover. Nor had the Cowboys impressed him, in large part due to Herrera's missed field goals in the second quarter. "Blowouts can at least be fun to watch sometimes", he concluded. "This game was nothing but pain."

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