In a game that "had the feel of a heavyweight title fight" (Ed Benkin), the rejuvenated Cowboys dominated the third period as darkness set in.

Quarter 3

• Larry Anderson returned Septien's kickoff 24y to the 39. But Pittsburgh was unable to capitalize on the good field position. Harris tried to sweep right but was dropped for a loss of 4 by Bruenig. Bradshaw dropped back to pass and had to run for his life to the left to escape Randy White. Terry tossed the ball over Bleier's head on the sideline. Another Dallas blitz forced the QB to roll right. He hit Theo Bell on the sideline for a gain of 9. Bell was in the lineup in place of Stallworth, who was suffering from a leg cramps. So rookie Craig Colquitt came in for his first punt of the day. The ball traveled 41y against the wind to Butch Johnson, who made a fair catch on the 15.
  
  Harris can't find running room.
  After Dwight White stopped Newhouse for a 2y loss, Staubach rolled right and threw back to the left to Dorsett incomplete. But LB Donnie Shell was called for holding - 5y and an automatic first down. Newhouse gained 5 for his best gain of the day. But Dallas gave the 5y back with a delay of game penalty. Back to pass, Staubach found no one open; so he ran around RE for a first down at the 28. Dorsett started to go wide left but unwisely cut inside where LB Robin Cole nailed him for a gain of 1. Staubach faked a screen left, then whirled to throw to Dorsett behind the screen on the right. But seeing Greenwood in the middle of the screen, Roger the Dodger ran for 7. On 3rd-and-2, Scott Laidlaw took a handoff for the first time all game but gained nothing. So Danny White punted to Bell at the 20, Theo getting 4y on the return.
  Laidlaw had filled in admirably when Newhouse missed several games at the end of the season with a pulled hamstring. Scott was disappointed when Landry told him that Newhouse, his hamstring healed, would start against the Steelers. "When he told me that, it destroyed a lot of things for me," said Laidlaw. "But there was nothing I could do but sit and be ready in case I was needed." He was a victim of one of Landry's rules. A starter never lost his position because of an injury.
  The Steelers again found it tough to run the ball. Too Tall dropped Harris for a loss of 2 around RE. Then Bleier got only 1 at LT. To make matters worse, a false start by T Jon Kolb made it 3rd-and-16. Bradshaw had to pass but too low for Swann to come back for. So the second three-and-out ended with Butch Johnson returning Colquitt's low punt 12y to the Pitt 42.
  Landry started the series with a dipsy-do. Staubach handed to Dorsett, who turned and tossed back to Roger, who threw long but too high for Tony Hill. Dorsett took a toss right for 4. From the shotgun, Staubach fired to Preston Pearson between two LBs for a first down at the 29. With Septien warming up for a FG try, Dorsett gained 1 before Laidlaw wiggled for 7 on a draw. Dorsett started right, saw an opening, and cut to the 17 for a first down. Passing on 1st down, Roger threw too high to DuPree at the right sideline. Dorsett took an inside handoff and zipped past a safety blitz to the 10. Then on 3rd-and-3 came the most talked-about play from Super Bowl XIII. Landry sent in personnel for a goal-line pass. Staubach called timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty.
  Staubach: "It was a play that we put in for short yardage and goal line the Friday before the game. We put three TEs in the game. Jackie was the third TE, and his job was to be a safety valve. ... I noticed we didn't have the right receivers in the game, so I had to call timeout. There was no time left on the (play) clock, so I went off to the side, and I said, 'Coach, that's a goal-line play.' He said, 'Well, you're right.' We had been practicing that from the 1- or 2y line. Jackie was to go to the back of the EZ and stand there and wait for the ball. But in this case we were on the 11. Landry said, 'Run it anyay, because they'll be in a goal-line type defense.' And he was right. It was not a bad play. Landry said, 'Look for your keys and make sure we get the first down.' In other words, he wanted me to hit the FB out in the flat for a first down."
  By rule, Dallas had to keep the same personnel on the field for one play. Yet it worked like a charm - or should have. Lambert blitzed up the middle, but FB Laidlaw took care of that problem by smashing his helmet into Jack's chest. Seeing his first option, DuPree, covered by Blount to the left, and Newhouse covered in the right flat, Roger spotted Smith wide open in the middle of the EZ. Staubach threw lower than he wanted, and the veteran TE lost his footing as he turned to catch the ball. As he slid down, the pigskin went through his hands, bounced off his chest, and landed on the soggy turf. Some players on both sidelines started to run onto the field for the extra point before they realized Smith hadn't caught the ball. So Dallas had to settle for Septien's 27y FG. Steelers 21 Cowboys 17 (2:36)
  Verne Lundquist, the Cowboys radio announcer, said of Smith, "Bless his heart. He's got to be the sickest man in America."
  Staubach always took part of the blame for the incompletion. "On the play I was to look for Billy Joe, the TE on the other side (from Smith), to go to the corner, and I was to come back looking for the FB out of the flat. The FB was there strictly as an outlet receiver. What Jackie was supposed to do was get into the back of the EZ. I'm saying, 'Oh my God, there is no one near Jackie Smith.' If he would have stopped at the goal line, I would have drilled the ball to him. But that's not what he was told. He was a safety valve. I released the ball and took something off it because Jackie was not totally turned. I think it surprised him a little that the ball got to him that past. And I threw a little bit low, and he kind of slipped." Roger added, "It's the third quarter. It's not like it's the last play of the game. There's still plenty of time. I think it's one of the worst accusations that I've ever seen in football to accuse a guy of costing us a game."
  Drew Pearson on Smith's blunder: "He gets way too much blame for that. We sent Dorsett in motion and in doing that, we figured the LBs would go with Dorsett and they did. Jackie was wide open. Roger takes blame for the incompletion because instead of firing the ball in there, he kind of took something off it. That may have thrown Jackie's timing off on that pass."
  Steelers FS Mike Wagner: "We had never seen that play on defense. They could have run that play ten times. We didn't know how to defend it, but he slipped. It had been raining slightly, and it was wet. The ball was thrown behind him, and his body was out of control, but there was a lot going on. The game wasn't decided by that."
  After his first kick went out of bounds, Septien booted again from 5y back. Anderson returned 20y to the 29. The series started with Harris gaining 3. Then Bradshaw had to escape the rush again and threw too low to Bell. Flushed out of the pocket once again, Terry found Bell for 12 to the 44 and the Steelers' initial first down of the half. DE Dave Stalls leveled Bradshaw right after he threw the ball as the NBC broadcasters commented on the fierceness of the hitting and the fact that numerous subs were replacing starters. Tired of dodging the rush, Bradshaw tried a quick hitch pass to Swann but hit the ground in front of Lynn. With a solid pocket on the next snap, Bradshaw threw again to Swann, who was prevented from making the leaping catch by Harris. Finally, on 3rd-and-10, the rush got to Bradshaw, Randy White wrestling him down at the 41. Forced to punt against the wind in the last seconds of the quarter, Colquitt boomed a 52 yarder to the 7, but Johnson returned it 21y.
  Dorsett escaped one would-be tackler but not Shell for a hard-earned 2y.
  END Q3: STEELERS 21 Cowboys 17

• Staubach overthrew Drew Pearson at the right sideline, keeping Drew without a catch all day. From the shotgun on 3rd down as he had done all game, Staubach blooped the ball to Dorsett who stretched to make the catch and scampered for 13 and a first down at the 43. Lambert, back in the lineup after being treated for injuries from Laidlaw's helmet in his chest, stopped Dorsett for no gain. Then Laidlaw, continuing at FB in place of Newhouse, gained 5 on a draw. Facing another 3rd down, Staubach took the shotgun snap and retreated even further before throwing to Dorsett over the middle, but Greene batted down the pigskin. After hesitating for several seconds to give his coverage time to down the punt inside the 10, White kicked to the 8, but the play was nullified by a 5y illegal man downfield penalty. Danny booted the second one to the 7, Bell returning 8y before running into Henderson.
  After a dismal third period when they gained only 11y, the Steelers embarked on a drive that put them ahead by two scores for the first time. After Harris gained 2 and Bradshaw, under a rush from Bruenig, underthrew a pass to Bell, Terry converted the 3rd-and-8, finding Grossman just past the first down marker before Cliff Harris smashed Randy from behind. Next, Bradshaw threw to Swann for 13y to move the chains again. As often happens, the completions opened the running game as Harris swept LE for 5. That set up the most controversial play in the game. Just before a blitzing Cliff Harris got to him, Terry threw down the right side to Swann, who was running right behind CB Bennie Barnes. The defender tripped, and Swann fell over him as the ball fell incomplete beyond them. Pat Knight, the official closest to the play, kept his flag in his pocket and signaled incomplete pass. But the back judge coming over from the middle of the field, Fred Swearingen, flagged Barnes for interference, giving a tripping signal with his feet. Bennie argued vociferously, and the normally composed Landry came onto the field angrily disputing the flag as boos echoed through the stadium. After viewing the replay, TV commentator Merlin Olsen said, "That's an awfully tough call for an official." Play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy agreed. "That is a difficult call. Who tripped whom?"
  For the second time in his 21-year career, Swearingen made a controversial call in favor of the Steelers. He had been the referee in the 1972 Immaculate Reception game who had let stand Franco Harris's shoe top catch of the deflected pass and subsequent run to the EZ in the final seconds to beat Oakland. Fred had been reassigned to a field judge position in 1976.
  The two players involved in the call naturally have opposite viewpoints. Swann says, "It definitely was pass interference." Barnes recalled, "I couldn't believe the call. Swann ran right up my back. When I saw the flag, I thought it was on him. It's the closest I'll ever come to punching an official." Swearingen recalled, "It was a lob pass to Swann, a timing pattern. They were running side-by-side and there was some contact, but Swann didn't push Barnes. Barnes actually tripped himself, and his legs came up when he hit the ground and he tripped Swann. There was no intent on Barnes's part, but intent wasn't of the rule. The way the rule was written then, the defenders couldn't touch the receiver in any way (beyond 5y). So I just flipped the flag, really not thinking it would be a momentous call."
  Staubach still calls it, "Worst call in the history of football."
  
  From the Dallas 23, Swann stepped back and took a hitch throw for 4y before being sandwiched between two tacklers. Harris tried running left but Cole and Lewis shred the blockers, allowing Kyle to make the tackle. Then Henderson blitzed up the middle and sacked Bradshaw as whistles blew to signal delay of game. Upset that Hollywood didn't hold up when the whistles blew, Franco Harris began jawing with Henderson.
  Henderson: "He just touched me on the shoulder and said something. I called him a powder puff. I told him he should be playing with girls because he blocked like a bitch. He was just soft to me." On TV, John Brodie suggested Henderson "should let sleeping dogs lie."
  The mild-mannered Harris went into the huddle and demanded the ball. So Bradshaw called his number - "93 Tackle Trap," a play designed to gain a few more yards and set up a FG. But Harris turned it into much more. Expecting a pass, the Cowboys' two Pro Bowl safeties set up in a blitz look hoping to lure Bradshaw into an INT. But Terry refused to audible and gave the ball to Harris. C Mike Webster and RG Mullins pancaked backup DT Dave Stalls to open a hole. In the meantime, Henderson was bumping TE Grossman in accord with Harris's defensive play call. As a result, Franco stormed over LG all the way to the end zone. He was helped by the umpire inadvertently delaying Waters as the safety moved toward the ball carrier. That allowed pulling RT Ray Pinney to knock Waters out of the way. Steelers 28 Cowboys 17 (7:10)
  
  Harris roars into the open on TD dash.
  Bradshaw on sticking with the original call: "They could have been standing back there with shotguns and Franco was still getting the football."
  Wagner: "There could have been a penalty on Henderson (on the previous play). Franco, in particular, really took issue. Franco went to the huddle and said, 'Give me the ball.' You rarely see him get worked up. You watch the angle from the EZ, and you see the determination with him running for those yards. That was a huge play."
  Mullins: "Franco was a guy that talked softly but carried a big stick. You didn't want to get him upset if you were the opposition."
  Franco Harris: "I don't like to compare one game to another and say that one is more memorable, but I think the most intense game I've ever been in was Super Bowl XIII. Two strong teams were on the field that day, each with so many great players. Usually you don't notice it or you try not to be affected by it, but there were 80,000 people in the Orange Bowl that day and the electricity was just amazing."
  Waters: "Franco's not the toughest guy in the world but when he got pissed, he could use that big ol' body and do something things pretty special."
  Then Pittsburgh got their third big break in the half and the second one caused by the damp Orange Bowl turf. Gerela slipped as he approached the ball and shanked the kick. It bounded to blocking wedge man Randy White at the 24. Playing with a cast on his left hand to protect a broken thumb, the DT never fully controlled the ball. Was he trying to lateral it back to a return man? When Dungy hit him a second later, the pigskin flew out of his mitts, and Dennis Winston jumped on it for Pittsburgh at the Cowboys 18.
  Many second-guessers asked why White was on the kickoff receiving team with a cast on his hand. "In hindsight, he shouldn't have been there," admitted Gil Brandt. "We made a very bad error having Randy White on the kickoff return team. He was one of the up-backs in the four-man [wedge] ahead of the two deep backs."
  Bradshaw immediately went for the jugular. He faked a handoff to Harris to draw in S Harris, then zipped the ball down the middle over Cliff to Swann, who reached as high off the ground as possible to snag the pigskin deep in the end zone. Some Steelers began celebrating victory on their sideline as Gerela booted the PAT. Steelers 35 Cowboys 17 (6:51)
  
  Bradshaw throws from the pocket.
  Pittsburgh scored 14 points in 19 seconds to blow the game open.
  Waters on Swann: "Man alive, we had him double-covered, with Cliff inside and Aaron outside. Bradshaw should not have thrown it in there. Cliff, in his mind, thought the ball was out of the end zone. In reality, Lynn bounced off a trampoline and went up there and got it on his fingertips right behind Cliff. It should have been in interception."
  Waters: "It was like a Gatling gun - boom, boom, boom. Lynn Swann tripping over Bennie's foot. Randy White putting the ball into his cast hand. Me running into the official. Gimme a break. They were all in a row. It was like we were cursed."
  Cliff Harris: "They were just fluky things that shouldn't have happened that would have certainly made a difference."
  Bradshaw: "Our guys started celebrating when it was 35-17. It made me mad. They were slapping hands and saying how great it was. But it wasn't so great, because the game wasn't over."
  After a second straight offsides on Dallas on the extra point, Gerela kicked from the 45 to Johnson, who returned 19y to the 22. But Dallas was penalized half the distance to the goal for clipping.
  The Dallas knew the game wasn't over, not with "Captain Comeback" leading the Cowboys. Running the hurry up offense, Roger started with a swing pass to Dorsett for 7. But then Banaszak sacked Staubach for a loss of 8. Facing 3rd-and-11, Roger retreated to the EZ, then scrambled up the middle to the 28 for a first down. He then hit Drew Pearson for the first time in the game on the right sideline at the 45. With the Steelers deploying extra DBs, Dorsett took the delayed handoff and broke loose for 29y to the 26. Then Staubach threw off his back foot before being hit to DuPree at the left sideline at the 16.
  Curt Gowdy told the TV audience that the MVP vote had just been taken and Bradshaw won it unanimously. Saving his best effort for the biggest stage, Terry had thrown for more than 300y - 318 to be exact - for the first time in his pro career.
  Staubach scrambled and hit Drew, who came back from the EZ to snag it on the 7. Pearson headed to the sideline with broken ribs after Wagner's smashing tackle.
  Pittsburgh defensive coach Woody Widenhofer called Wagner "our QB on the defense, a real thinker. But Mike didn't think about knocking the hell out of you."
  Then Roger flipped the ball to DuPree angling right on a pick play for the TD. Steelers 35 Cowboys 24 (2:27)
  Staubach: "The Steelers were a great team and took advantage of our mistakes. But we never gave up. We were arguably playing the best team that's ever played in the NFL. I don't know a weakness they had."
  Pitt's "good hands" team wasn't good enough to recover the onsides kick as Dennis Thurman caught the ball on the hop after it went through Dungy's hands.
  From their 48, the Cowboys continued the momentum from the previous possession. After Ham broke up a pass to DuPree, Staubach connected with Preston Pearson for 22y before the two-minute warning.
  Fighting the clock as well as the Steelers, Staubach couldn't find a receiver and stumbled forward after being hit before going down at the 41. Then Roger hit Dorsett at the right sideline. Instead of going out of bounds, Tony turned in and was met by Ham for a gain of 3. Then Roger overthrew Hill, who was well covered at the goal line. On 4th-and-18, Drew Pearson, sore ribs and all, came back in, and Staubach found him down the middle. As Wagner dragged Drew backward, Preston came up from behind and smashed Wagner. That started a brief scuffle. When play resumed, Dorsett snagged his fifth pass of the day and ran out of bounds at the 4 with 0:32 on the clock. Following an off-balance incompletion to Preston in the EZ, Roger hit Johnson in between defenders in the EZ. Steelers 35 Cowboys 31 (0:22)
  Drew Pearson: "We started making some plays and moving the football. I think we just ran out of time. ... We opened our offense a little too late, but a lot of it has to do with the Steelers. We were up against one of the greatest defenses of all time."
  Banaszak: "It's one of the things I truly respect Roger Staubach for. He was a competitor. There was no 'give up' in him or the Cowboys. They fought their way back into that football game. When they scored again, it got really hairy on the sidelines. We had to finish the game."
  L.C. Greenwood wasn't happy with the Steelers' defensive strategy in the last minutes. "We'd held Dallas to only a FG in the second half, and they hadn't scored an offensive TD since the first quarter, and all of a sudden our coaches went to our 'prevent package.' I didn't understand that."
  After the game, D-coordinator George Perlis agreed with L.C.'s assessment. "If the game had lasted five more minutes, they would have won. If I hadn't gone into it (the prevent D), they couldn't score in a month of Sundays."
  When Septien's onside kick went right into Bleier's hands, Pittsburgh fans could finally breathe easy. Bradshaw knelt twice to make the Steelers the first team to win three Super Bowls and therefore the Team of the Decade.
  FINAL SCORE: STEELERS 35 COWBOYS 31

Final statistics

• Time of possession: Steelers 25:12 Cowboys 34:48
• First downs: Steelers 19 Cowboys 20
• Rushing: Steelers 24-66 Cowboys 32-154
• Passing: Steelers 30-17-1/291 Cowboys 30-17-1/228
• Return yardage: Steelers 8-85 Cowboys 9-158
• Fumbles-Lost: Steelers 2-2 Cowboys 3-2
• Penalties: Steelers 5-35 Cowboys 9-89
• Punting average: Steelers 3-43.0 Cowboys 5-39.6
• Attendance: 79,484