Steelers Ohio
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Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was the 30th Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona following the 1995 regular season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers, 27–17. Dallas tied the San Francisco 49ers with the most Super Bowl wins in team history (5) and became the first to win three Super Bowls in four years. This game was the third meeting between the Cowboys and Steelers in a Super Bowl (after Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII), which is currently the most between the two combatants. For Pittsburgh, it was their first Super Bowl loss in team history after winning four in the 1970s. Dallas' Larry Brown became the first cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP, recording two interceptions and returning them for a total of 77 yards. Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XXX was the first time that the Steelers advanced to the league championship game under head coach Bill Cowher. Cowher took over the team in 1992 after longtime head coach Chuck Noll retired after a 23-year tenure and leading the team to 4 Super Bowl wins. During Cowher's first year, the Steelers captured the #1 AFC playoff Seed with an 11-5 regular season record, but were eliminated in their first playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, 24-3. Cowher then led the Steelers into the playoffs in 1993 and 1994 but were also eliminated, including a 17-13 upset loss to the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game. In 1995, the Steelers finished with 11-5 record, the second best in the AFC. Their offense was led by quarterback Neil O'Donnell, who recorded 246 out of 416 completions for 2,970, 17 touchdowns, with 7 interceptions. Pro Bowl wide receiver Yancey Thigpen was the team's leading receiver with 85 receptions for 1,307 yards and 5 touchdowns. Other contributors in the passing game included wide receivers Andre Hastings (48 catches for 502 yards and 1 touchdown) and Ernie Mills (39 receptions for 679 yards and 8 touchdowns). The Steelers rushing attack was led by Erric Pegram, who recorded 813 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Bam Morris, who had 559 yards and 9 touchdowns. The 1995 Pittsburgh defense ranked second in the league in total yards allowed (4,833). Pro Bowl linebacker Kevin Greene led the team with 9 sacks, while Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd led the team with 86 tackles. The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backs Carnell Lake and Rod Woodson. Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys entered the 1995 regular season attempting to win 3 out of the last 4 Super Bowls. They had previously won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII but their chance of a "three-peat" (winning three consecutive championships) was thwarted when they lost the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers, the eventual Super Bowl XXIX winners. After taking over the Cowboys in 1989, team owner/general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson rebuilt the team into a Super Bowl contender with young talent. But both men had huge egos that conflicted with each other. Both had different ideas on the future personnel plans for the Cowboys and both wanted equal credit for the team's recent success. As a result, Johnson eventually left the team after their XXVIII win and was replaced by former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer, who had one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history with a mark of .837. In 1995, the Cowboys finished with a 12-4 regular season record, the best in the NFC. Pro Bowl quarterback Troy Aikman finished the regular season completing 280 out of 432 passes for 3,304 yards, 16 touchdowns, with 7 interception. Pro Bowl running back Emmitt Smith won his fourth league rushing crown in his career with 1,773 yards, and broke a league single-season record with 25 rushing touchdowns. Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Irvin led the team in receiving with 111 catches for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns. Pro Bowl tight end Jay Novacek also had 62 receptions for 705 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dallas' offensive line was led by Pro Bowlers Larry Allen, Ray Donaldson, Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei. Dallas' major acquisition before the season was 4-time Pro Bowl cornerback Deion Sanders. However, Sanders only played 9 regular season games for the Cowboys in 1995 due to injuries, and thus only recorded 24 tackles and 2 interceptions for 34 yards. However, defensive back Darren Woodson was named to the Pro Bowl with 89 tackles and 2 interceptions for 46 return yards and a touchdown. defensive back Larry Brown led the team in interceptions with 6 for 124 return yards and 2 touchdowns. Pro Bowl defensive lineman Charles Haley led the team in sacks with 10.5. Playoffs The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 30-11, and the Green Bay Packers, 29-24, in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Steelers were victorious against the Buffalo Bills, 40-21, and the Indianapolis Colts, 20-16. Television and entertainment The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC, with play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg and color commentators Phil Simms and Paul Maguire. Greg Gumbel hosted all the events with the help of then-NBC Sports analysts Ahmad Rashad, Mike Ditka, Joe Gibbs, and Joe Montana. Pregame ceremonies The pregame show held before the game featured dancers in celebration of the culture of Native Americans in the United States, the traditions of the American Old West, and the great outdoors. Actress and singer Vanessa Williams later sang the national anthem. To honor the 30th Super Bowl game, several past Super Bowl MVPs joined the coin toss ceremony. Joe Montana, MVP of Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV, tossed the coin. Halftime show Diana Ross performed during the halftime show, titled "Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 years of the Super Bowl". The show featured a number of her songs along with pyrotechnics, special effects and stadium card stunts. The show ended with Ross singing "Take Me Higher" from her 1995 album of the same name, and then she was taken from the field in a helicopter. Game summary The Cowboys jumped to a 13-0 lead on their first 3 drives of the game with two field goals from kicker Chris Boniol and a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Troy Aikman to Tight End Jay Novacek. But with 13 seconds left in the half, Steelers Quarterback Neil O'Donnell threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen that narrowed the score to 13-7. The 3rd quarter began with each team forcing the other to punt. Afterwards, the Steelers advanced the ball to near midfield. But O'Donnell then threw an interception to Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, who returned it 44 yards to the Steelers' 18-yard line. Aikman then completed a 17-yard pass to receiver Michael Irvin at the 1-yard line, and then running back Emmitt Smith rushed for a 1-yard touchdown on the next play to increase Dallas' lead 20-7. Steelers kicker Norm Johnson made a 46-yard field goal with 11:20 left in the game, cutting the score to 20-10. Then on the ensuing kickoff, they surprised the Cowboys by making a successful onside kick that eventually led to Byron (Bam) Morris's 1-yard touchdown run with 6:36 to play in the game. With the Cowboys still leading 20-17, the Steelers were able to force a punt and take the ball at their own 32-yard line with 4:15 remaining. But O'Donnell's pass on second down was intercepted by Brown again, who returned it 33 yards to the Steelers' 6-yard line. Two plays later, Smith scored another touchdown with 3:43 left in the game, increasing the Cowboys lead 27-17. O'Donnell then threw his third interception on the final play of the game. The Steelers had outgained the Cowboys in total yards, 310-254, had 25 first downs compared to the Cowboys 15, and limited Dallas' powerful running attack to just 56 yards, but they were unable to overcome O'Donnell's interceptions. The irony of the game was that O'Donnell entered the game as the NFL's career leader for fewest interceptions per pass attempt. Aikman finished the game with 15 out of 23 completions for 209 yards and a touchdown. Smith was the Cowboys' leading rusher with 49 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Irvin was Dallas' top receiver with 5 catches for 76 yards. Although his 3 interceptions were costly, O'Donnell recorded 28 of 49 completions for 239 yards and a touchdown. Morris was the top rusher of the game with 73 yards and a touchdown. And Steelers wide receiver Andre Hastings was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 98 yards. Scoring summary DAL- FG Boniol 42 DAL- Novacek 3 pass from Aikman (Boniol kick) DAL- FG Boniol 35 PIT- Thigpen 6 pass from O'Donnell (N. Johnson kick) DAL- E. Smith 1 run (Boniol kick) PIT- FG N. Johnson 46 PIT- Morris 1 run (N. Johnson kick) DAL- E. Smith 4 run (Boniol kick) Trivia Some weeks before Super Bowl XXX, it was found that some proxy servers were blocking the web site for the event. The reason: The game's Roman numeral (XXX) is usually associated with pornography. NBC broadcasted all three of the Super Bowls victories for this set of Dallas Cowboys. The game was also the final NFL broadcast for CBS Radio's Jack Buck, who announced the game with his longtime partner Hank Stram. This was the first time two teams have met three times in a Super Bowl. The Cowboys and Steelers previously met for Super Bowls X and XIII with Pittsburgh winning both of them. This was the Cowboys 8th appearance in the Super Bowl, by far the most of any franchise. The Broncos have since made it 6 with New England, San Francisco, Miami, Pittsburgh and the Raiders all making it 5 times. Charles Haley became the first player to win 5 Super Bowls after winning two with San Francisco (XXIII and XXIV) and two previously with Dallas (XXVII and XXVIII). As the Super Bowl winning quarterback, Troy Aikman became just the third quarterback to win three Super Bowls. He joined Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana who each won four Super Bowls. Emmitt Smith became just the fifth player to score a touchdown in three different Super Bowls. He joined Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Thurman Thomas and Jerry Rice. He also became the first player to rush for two touchdowns in two different Super Bowls. He also scored two in Super Bowl XXVIII. Larry Brown is the only cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP. At the time he was only the second defensive back to win the award, with it being three now after Dexter Jackson won the Super Bowl XXXVII MVP.
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