Super Bowl VI is the game that sits at the top of any Dallas Cowboys countdown because it changed everything. For years, the franchise had carried the weight of playoff disappointment, including two championship-game losses to Green Bay and the loss in Super Bowl V. On Sunday, January 16, 1972, in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, that label finally got wiped away.
The Cowboys walked in riding a nine-game winning streak, but Miami brought a real challenge. Don Shula’s Dolphins were 10-3-1 and had Bob Griese, Larry Csonka and Paul Warfield. None of that mattered much once Dallas took control.
The first crack in the game came on defense. Csonka lost his first fumble of the season, Chuck Howley recovered it, and Dallas turned that into Mike Clark’s nine-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. That was the first sign of what kind of afternoon it was going to be for Miami.
The play people still remember came next. On third-and-nine with Dallas up 3-0, Griese tried to escape pressure, only to have Bob Lilly chase him down for a 29-yard loss. More than 50 years later, it remains the longest negative play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history.
Dallas kept pressing in the second quarter. Roger Staubach led a 76-yard march and capped it with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Lance Alworth, stretching the lead to 10-0. Miami got a 31-yard field goal from Garo Yepremian just before halftime, but the Cowboys still went to the locker room up 10-3.
Whatever hope the Dolphins had of flipping the script vanished right after the break. Dallas took the opening kickoff of the third quarter, moved 71 yards in eight plays and finished with Duane Thomas scoring on a three-yard run to make it 17-3.
The Doomsday Defense took it from there. Miami never found its running game, Griese kept facing pressure and the Dolphins never reached the end zone.
Early in the fourth quarter, Howley picked off Griese at midfield and brought it back 41 yards to the Miami nine. Three plays later, Staubach hit Mike Ditka for a seven-yard touchdown that closed the scoring at 24-3.
Staubach earned Super Bowl MVP honors after going 12 of 19 for 119 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The passing numbers were modest, but they didn’t need to be anything else. Dallas was winning with defense, ball security and a punishing run game.
And that run game was dominant. The Cowboys rolled up a then Super Bowl record 252 rushing yards.
Thomas finished with 95 yards on 19 carries, and Walt Garrison added 74. Miami knew what Dallas wanted to do and still couldn’t stop it.
The defensive numbers told the rest of the story. The Dolphins finished with only 185 total yards and three points.
Dallas became the first team in Super Bowl history to keep its opponent out of the end zone. Miami turned it over three times, and Yepremian’s field goal was all it got.
That’s why Super Bowl VI is No. 1.
It was the moment the Cowboys stopped being the team that almost got there and became champions. Everything that came after - five Super Bowl titles, the rise of one of the NFL’s most recognizable franchises and the “America’s Team” identity during the Landry era - started here.
Interesting Facts About the Game
Dallas became the first defense in Super Bowl history to hold an opponent without a touchdown. Miami’s three points remain tied for the fewest ever scored by a team in a Super Bowl.
In Other News...
Cowboys Trade Deadline Hope Just Got Much Tougher For Jerry Jones
The Cowboys have spent much of this stretch keeping an eye on the leagues biggest defensive names, and Maxx Crosby has been near the top of that list for good reason. Dallas was among the finalists when trade talks around the star edge rusher picked up earlier, and Jerry Jones has made clear he is willing to look for help if it can raise the ceiling of a defense that still needs impact talent.
But the path to any blockbuster just got a lot murkier. The Rams also tried to get involved, only to hear Crosby tell them and other interested teams that he does not want to be dealt and would prefer to stay with the Raiders, which leaves Dallas in a familiar holding pattern as the November 10 deadline approaches. The Cowboys have not closed the door on revisiting the chase, but for now the biggest obstacle is not price, it is whether Crosby is even available in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Have A Cornerback Opportunity That Could Come At A Cost
Cornerback help is the kind of thing that can reshape a defense fast, and Joey Porter Jr. has suddenly entered the conversation as a name worth watching. Contract talks between Porter and the Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly stalled, and he is open to playing elsewhere, which is enough to put several teams on alert. The Steelers have been willing to listen to trade offers, but their asking price has kept the market quiet so far.
For the Cowboys, the appeal is obvious. They have cap space and draft capital, two things that can make a bold trade more realistic if they decide Porter is the right fit. The cost is the real question, though, because Pittsburgh is said to be seeking a premium pick, and Dallas would have to decide how much it wants to pay for a cornerback opportunity that could strengthen the roster but also reshape how it handles its future draft resources. [Read more 🡒]
Javonte Williams Could Be The Cowboys' Sunday Night X-Factor
Sunday Night Football gives the Cowboys a chance to keep sorting out roles in a matchup with the Giants that has plenty of fantasy angles attached to it. Javonte Williams is one of the names drawing attention because of how player usage can tilt a slate like this, while Brandon Aubrey remains part of the conversation for Dallas managers looking at the kicking game in a contest that could feature plenty of scoring chances.
The Giants bring their own lineup questions, with uncertainty around Nabers availability shaping how people build around their passing attack. For Dallas, that creates a little more room for alternative pass catchers to matter, and it also keeps the focus on how the Cowboys may choose to spread opportunities in a game that looks useful for daily fantasy players trying to squeeze value out of every snap. [Read more 🡒]