Super Bowl XII
Dallas Cowboys 27
Denver Broncos 10
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The Dallas Cowboys evened their Super Bowl record at 2-2 by defeating Denver before a sellout crowd of 75,583, plus 102,010,000 television viewers, the largest audience ever to watch a sporting event.
Dallas converted two interceptions into 10 points and Efren Herrera added a 35-yard field goal for a 13-0 halftime advantage.
In the third period Craig Morton engineered a drive to the Cowboys' 30 and Jim Turner's 47-yard field goal made the score 13-3.
After an exchange of punts, Butch Johnson made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone to complete a 45-yard pass from Roger Staubach and put the Cowboys ahead 20-3.
Following Rick Upchurch's 67-yard kickoff return, Norris Weese guided the Broncos to a touchdown to cut the Dallas lead to 20-10.
Dallas clinched the victory when running back Robert Newhouse tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Golden Richards with 7:04 remaining in the game. It was the first pass thrown by Newhouse since 1975.
Harvey Martin and Randy White, who were named co-most valuable players, led the Cowboys' defense, which recovered four fumbles and intercepted four passes
SUPER BOWL XII co-MVPs:
Randy White and Harvey Martin, Dallas Cowboys
For the first time, a pair shared the Most Valuable Player honor. Defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin were the leaders of a Dallas defense that forced eight Denver turnovers in a 27-10 victory. Bronco quarterbacks had only 8 completions in 25 attempts under the fierce Cowboy rush, led by White and Martin.
Martin and White joined Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley (Super Bowl V) and Miami safety
Jake Scott (Super Bowl VII) as the only defensive players to win the MVP award. Later Chicago defensive end
Richard Dent (Super Bowl XX) and Dallas cornerback Larry Brown (Super Bowl XXX) would be added to the list.
SUPER BOWL XII SCORING
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|
Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
|
Denver Broncos | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
1st Quarter
DAL Dorsett 3 run (Herrera kick), 10:31
DAL FG Herrera 35, 13:29
2nd Quarter
DAL FG Herrera 43, 3:44
3rd Quarter
DEN FG Turner 47, 2:28
DAL Johnson 45 pass from Staubach (Herrera kick), 8:01
DEN Lytle 1 run (Turner kick), 9:21
4th Quarter
DAL Richards 29 pass from Newhouse (Herrera kick), 7:56
Dallas Cowboys - Team Statistics
Total First Downs |
17 |
Rushing |
8 |
Passing |
8 |
Penalty |
1 |
Total Net Yardage |
325 |
Total Offensive Plays |
71 |
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play |
4.6 |
Rushes |
38 |
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) |
143 |
Average Yards per Rush |
3.8 |
Passes Attempted |
28 |
Passes Completed |
19 |
Had Intercepted |
0 |
Tackled Attempting to Pass |
5 |
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass |
35 |
Yards Gained Passing (Net) |
182 |
Punts |
5 |
Average Distance |
41.6 |
Punt Returns |
1 |
Punt Return Yardage |
0 |
Kickoff Returns |
3 |
Kickoff Return Yardage |
51 |
Interception Return Yardage |
46 |
Fumbles |
6 |
Own Fumbles Recovered |
4 |
Opponent Fumbles Recovered |
4 |
Penalties |
12 |
Yards Penalized |
94 |
Total Points Scored |
27 |
Touchdowns |
3 |
Rushing |
1 |
Passing |
2 |
Returns |
0 |
Extra Points |
3 |
Field Goals |
2 |
Fields Goals Attempted |
5 |
Safeties |
0 |
Third-Down Efficiency |
5/17 |
Fourth-Down Efficiency |
1/1 |
Time of Possession |
38:38 |
Denver Broncos - Team Statistics
Total First Downs |
11 |
Rushing |
8 |
Passing |
1 |
Penalty |
2 |
Total Net Yardage |
156 |
Total Offensive Plays |
58 |
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play |
2.7 |
Rushes |
29 |
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) |
121 |
Average Yards per Rush |
4.2 |
Passes Attempted |
25 |
Passes Completed |
8 |
Had Intercepted |
4 |
Tackled Attempting to Pass |
4 |
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass |
26 |
Yards Gained Passing (Net) |
35 |
Punts |
4 |
Average Distance |
38.3 |
Punt Returns |
4 |
Punt Return Yardage |
22 |
Kickoff Returns |
6 |
Kickoff Return Yardage |
173 |
Interception Return Yardage |
0 |
Fumbles |
4 |
Own Fumbles Recovered |
0 |
Opponent Fumbles Recovered |
2 |
Penalties |
8 |
Yards Penalized |
60 |
Total Points Scored |
10 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
Rushing |
1 |
Passing |
0 |
Returns |
0 |
Extra Points |
1 |
Field Goals |
1 |
Fields Goals Attempted |
1 |
Safeties |
0 |
Third-Down Efficiency |
1/12 |
Fourth-Down Efficiency |
2/3 |
Time of Possession |
21:22 |
Dallas Cowboys - Player Statistics
Passing |
CP/AT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
Staubach |
17/25 |
183 |
0 |
1 |
Newhouse |
1/1 |
29 |
0 |
1 |
D.white |
1/2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Rushing |
No. |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Dorsett |
15 |
66 |
19 |
1 |
Newhouse |
14 |
55 |
10 |
0 |
D.White |
1 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
P.Pearson |
3 |
11 |
5 |
0 |
Staubach |
3 |
6 |
5 |
0 |
Laidlaw |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Johnson |
1 |
-9 |
9 |
0 |
| |
Receiving |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
P. Pearson |
5 |
37 |
0 |
11 |
DuPree |
4 |
66 |
0 |
19 |
Newhouse |
3 |
-1 |
0 |
5 |
Johnson |
2 |
53 |
1 |
45 |
Richards |
2 |
38 |
1 |
29 |
Dorsett |
2 |
11 |
0 |
15 |
D.Pearson |
1 |
13 |
0 |
13 |
| |
Interceptions |
INT |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Washington |
1 |
27 |
27 |
13 |
Kyle |
1 |
19 |
19 |
0 |
Barnes |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Hughes |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Punting |
NO |
AVG |
LG |
BLK |
D. White |
5 |
41.6 |
53 |
0 |
| |
Punt Returns |
NO/FC |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Hill |
1/1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Kickoff Returns |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Johnson |
2 |
29 |
15 |
0 |
Brinson |
1 |
22 |
22 |
0 |
Denver Broncos - Player Statistics
Passing |
CP/AT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
Morton |
4/15 |
39 |
0 |
4 |
Weese |
4/10 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Rushing |
CAR |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Lytle |
10 |
35 |
1 |
16 |
Armstrong |
7 |
27 |
0 |
18 |
Weese |
3 |
26 |
0 |
10 |
Jensen |
1 |
16 |
0 |
16 |
Keyworth |
5 |
9 |
0 |
6 |
Perrin |
3 |
8 |
0 |
4 |
| |
Receiving |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
Dolbin |
2 |
24 |
0 |
15 |
Odoms |
2 |
9 |
0 |
10 |
Moses |
1 |
21 |
0 |
21 |
Upchurch |
1 |
9 |
0 |
9 |
Jensen |
1 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
Upchurch |
1 |
-7 |
0 |
7 |
| |
Interceptions |
INT |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
None |
-- |
--- |
-- |
-- |
| |
Punting |
NO |
AVG |
LG |
BLK |
Dilts |
4 |
38.3 |
46 |
0 |
| |
Punt Returns |
NO/FC |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Upchurch |
3/1 |
22 |
8 |
0 |
Schultz |
1/0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Kickoff Returns |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
Upchurch |
3 |
94 |
67 |
0 |
Schultz |
2 |
62 |
37 |
0 |
Upchurch |
1 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
January 16, 1978
Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Attendance: 76,400
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