Day 41 on the Cowboys’ 100-day countdown lands on a game that still stings in Dallas: Super Bowl V, the franchise’s first trip to the big stage and a loss that felt like it was slipping away in slow motion.
Played on Sunday, January 17, 1971, at 2:00 p.m. ET in the Miami Orange Bowl, the game ended with the Baltimore Colts beating the Cowboys 16-13.
Dallas did plenty right, especially on defense, and led for almost the entire afternoon. But when the fourth quarter tightened, the Colts found just enough offense - and Dallas made just enough mistakes - to turn a seven-point lead into heartbreak.
The Cowboys got on the board first after Chuck Howley picked off Johnny Unitas and returned the ball into Colts territory. Dallas couldn’t finish the drive in the end zone, but Mike Clark’s 14-yard field goal made it 3-0. Clark added another from 30 yards early in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 6-0 in a game that had already gotten messy, physical and chaotic.
Baltimore answered with one of the strangest touchdowns ever seen in a Super Bowl. Unitas threw high and behind Eddie Hinton, the ball bounced off Hinton’s hands, was touched by Cowboys cornerback Mel Renfro, and then landed with tight end John Mackey.
Mackey grabbed the ricochet and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. Dallas blocked O’Brien’s extra point, and the score stayed tied at 6-6.
Before halftime, the Cowboys punched back. Craig Morton hit Duane Thomas for a seven-yard touchdown, and Clark’s extra point put Dallas ahead 13-6.
Baltimore had one last chance before the break, driving to the Cowboys’ goal line, but the Doomsday Defense slammed the door. Norm Bulaich was stopped three straight times near the end zone, and then Dallas forced an incompletion on fourth down to protect the lead.
The third quarter passed without a point, but not without action. The turnovers kept coming, and Dallas kept giving itself chances to widen the gap without cashing in. Then, on the opening play of the fourth quarter, Howley intercepted replacement quarterback Earl Morrall in the end zone for his second pick of the day, keeping Dallas in front 13-6.
Baltimore’s next sequence turned bizarre all over again. Sam Havrilak took a handoff on a planned flea-flicker but couldn’t get the ball back to Morrall, so he threw downfield instead.
Hinton caught it and headed for the end zone, but Cornell Green stripped him from behind. The ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback, and it looked like Dallas had escaped once more.
That reprieve lasted only three plays. Morton’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Colts safety Rick Volk, who brought it back to the Dallas three-yard line. Tom Nowatzke scored from two yards out soon after, and O’Brien’s extra point tied it at 13 with 7:35 left.
Dallas still had a shot to win it. The Cowboys got the ball near midfield with less than two minutes to go, but a holding call on Ralph Neely pushed them backward.
On second-and-35, Morton tried to find Dan Reeves. The ball slipped off Reeves’ hands and into the arms of Baltimore linebacker Mike Curtis, who returned it to the Dallas 28 with 1:09 left.
The Colts moved the ball just enough from there, and O’Brien drilled a 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to put Baltimore ahead for the first time all day. Dallas’ last desperate pass was intercepted, and the Colts finished off the 16-13 comeback. Bob Lilly was so frustrated afterward that he threw his helmet far downfield after the final whistle.
Super Bowl V earns its place in this countdown because it captures one of the most painful moments in Cowboys history - the point when Dallas was seconds from its first championship and watched it disappear. The loss deepened the sense that the Cowboys could reach the biggest stage but still had to learn how to finish.
It also carried the nickname “Blunder Bowl” for a reason. The two teams combined for 11 turnovers, with Baltimore responsible for seven and Dallas for four.
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