Cowboys 1st Super Bowl was a disappointing experience

The Kansas City Chiefs will be making their sixth appearance in a Super Bowl a week from Sunday.

A victory would not only give them their fourth NFL championship but it would also be their second in as many years.

They won three AFL titles in the 1960s, including the 1962 title as the Dallas Texans.

The San Francisco 49ers are making their eighth title game appearance. They have lost their last two Super Bowls after winning their first five in the 1980-90s.

They have already tied the Steelers and Cowboys by making an eighth Super Bowl trip.

The 49ers will try to match both Pittsburgh and New England with six championships in the Super Bowl era. The Patriots needed 11 appearances to get to six wins however.

The Cowboys would fall to fourth in the NFL in all-time Super Bowl victories with five with a 49ers’ victory.

As the two conference champions of 2023 get ready to battle for the crown, we’ll spend the next eight days reviewing the Cowboys’ past Super Bowl appearances.

We’ll begin with Super Bowl V in Miami, Florida.

A Sloppy Championship

The first Super Bowl played after the NFL and AFL had merged into one league was held at The Orange Bowl on Jan. 17, 1971.

The Baltimore Colts (13-2-1) were one of three NFL teams – along with Pittsburgh and Cleveland — that moved over to the AFC with the 10 AFL teams at the beginning of the year.

The Colts had all but secured that the merger would take place two years before. Their stunning loss to the Jets in Super Bowl III gave the AFL legitimacy.

Now, Baltimore had joined with those they could not beat and represented the AFC. They entered the game as 2.5 point favorites.

The Cowboys (12-4) had seemingly pushed aside the frustrations of the 1960s.

Two losses to the Packers in the NFL Championship games in 1966 and 1967 were a thing of the past.

What followed in the 59-degree South Florida sunlit afternoon was anything but pretty. The teams combined for 11 turnovers with the Colts having seven in the game.

The Cowboys countered with 10 penalties for 133 yards while Baltimore had just four for 31 yards.

Cowboys Gain Early Advantage

Dallas got the ball first but ended up punting after back-to-back three and outs in its first two possessions.

The Colts fared little better. They also punted on their opening drive after a three-and-out.

On the first play of their second drive, Johnny Unitas’ second pass attempt of the game was intercepted by Chuck Howley.

Dallas again failed to move the ball and punted, but Ron Gardin fumbled and Cliff Harris recovered at the Colts’ nine.

The Cowboys couldn’t punch in the gift, settling for a 14-yard Mike Clark field goal and a 3-0 lead. The goal posts at that time were directly on the goal lines, not at the back of the endzone like today.

After another three-and-out by Baltimore, the Cowboys drove 67 yards before settling for a 30-yard Clark field goal and a 6-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter.

Unitas Strikes It Big

Dallas’ lead lasted all of three plays and 33 seconds. On third and 10, Unitas hit John Mackey on a 75-yard pass.

But the Colts’ kicker, Jim O’Brien, missed the extra point and the game remained tied at 6-6.

The Cowboys would again have to punt the ball away on their next two possessions. Baltimore would punt once more but then Unitas fumbled on their next possession.

Jethro Pugh collected the loose ball at the Colts’ 28.

After a Duane Thomas four-yard run, Craig Morton hit Dan Reeves for 17 yards. Then Morton found Thomas for a seven-yard pass for a 13-6 lead with 8:16 left in the half.

The Cowboys would intercept Unitas on the Colts’ next possession, driving Unitas out of the game to be replaced by Earl Morrall.

The teams would again exchange punts in their final possessions of the first half. The Cowboys went into the locker room with a touchdown lead.

A Comedy Of Errors

The second half got ugly in a hurry.

The Cowboys kicked off to start the half and Jim Duncan promptly fumbled the ball away to Dallas’ Richmond Flowers at the Colts’ 31.

Not to be outdone, Thomas returned the favor six plays later fumbling at the Colts one-yard line. Morrall drove the Colts into Dallas territory only to have O’Brien miss a 52-yard field goal.

After a Cowboys’ three-and-out, Morrall opened the fourth quarter by throwing his own interception to Howley deep in Dallas territory.

Dallas again punted the ball. And again, the Colts drove into Cowboys’ territory only to have Eddie Hinton fumble it through the endzone.

Three plays later, Morton threw an interception to Rick Volk who returned it to the Dallas three. Two plays later, Tom Nowatzke scored on a run and O’Brien made the extra point.

The game was tied 13-13 with over seven minutes to play.

The teams again exchanged punts, giving Dallas the ball at the Colts’ 48 with 1:51 to play.

The Final Two Minutes

Dallas promptly went backwards. A loss of a yard on a Thomas run was followed by a 15-yard penalty.

On second-and-35 from the Cowboys’ 27, Morton tried to hit Reeves at the Dallas 41.

He found Baltimore’s Mike Curtis instead for his second interception and Curtis returned the pick to the Cowboys’ 28 with 59 seconds left.

The Colts ran two plays to set up O’Brien for a 32 yard attempt with nine seconds to play. He split the uprights to give Baltimore a 16-13 lead.

Morton had time for one last pass attempt from his own 40. It was intercepted by Jerry Logan to end the game.

The Final Numbers

Dallas had lost a league championship game for the third time without a win. Ironically, Howley was named the game’s MVP.

He is the only player from the losing team to ever be so honored in Super Bowl history.

Howley finished with two tackles to go along with his two interceptions.

Morton would finish 12-of-26 for 127 yards along with his touchdown and three interceptions. Thomas would have just 35 yards on 18 carries with 21 yards and a score on four receptions.

Walt Garrison led the Cowboys in rushing with 65 yards on 12 carries. Reeves would have 46 yards on five catches while Bob Hayes was held to 41 yards on one catch.

Lee Roy Jordan would have seven tackles, Herb Adderly would add six and Bob Lilly four to led the Dallas defense.

Unitas would have just three completions on nine attempts for 88 yards and two interceptions. The 75-yard touchdown pass accounting for nearly all of his yards.

Morrall finished 7-of-15 for 147 yards and an interception. Nowatzke’s 33 rushing yards and Mackey’s 80 receiving yards topped the Colts’ offense.

Cowboys’ Starters

Player Pos

Offense

Craig Morton QB

Duane Thomas RB

Walt Garrison FB

Reggie Rucker WR

Bob Hayes WR

Pettis Norman TE

Ralph Neely LT

John Niland LG

Dave Manders C

Blaine Nye RG

Rayfield Wright RT

Defense

Larry Cole LDE

Jethro Pugh LDT

Bob Lilly RDT

George Andrie RDE

Dave Edwards LLB

Lee Roy Jordan MLB

Chuck Howley RLB

Herb Adderley LCB

Mel Renfro RCB

Cornell Green SS

Charlie Waters FS

Special Teams

Mike Clark PK

Ron Widby P