Super Bowl XI|Super Bowl XIII
January 15, 1978
Dallas' defense helped keep the young Denver team at bay in this first-ever Super Bowl to be played indoors.
The Cowboys never looked back after scoring first on a 3-yard run from Tony Dorsett, confining all the Broncos ten points to the third quarter. Co-MVP's Randy White and Harvey Martin helped Dallas recover four fumbles and pick off four passes thrown by Denver QB Craig Morton.
Attendance for the game was 76,400 -- and for the first time more than 100 million people watched the event on television, setting a new record. Tom Landry evened his Super Bowl record to 2-2 as coach for the Cowboys, while Red Miller led the Broncos.
Statistics (from www.superbowl.com):
SCORING
Dallas 10 3 7 7 -- 27
Denver 0 0 10 0 -- 10
DAL- Dorsett 3 run (Herrera kick),
10:31 1st
DAL- FG Herrera 35, 13:29 1st
DAL- FG Herrera 43, 3:44 2nd
DEN- FG Turner 47, 2:28 3rd
DAL- Johnson 45 pass from Staubach (Herrera kick),
8:01 3rd
DEN- Lytle 1 run (Turner kick), 9:21 3rd
DAL- Richards 29 pass from Newhouse (Herrera kick),
7:56 4th
TEAM STATISTICS Dal. Denv.
Total First Downs 17 11
Rushing 8 8
Passing 8 1
Penalty 1 2
Total Net Yardage 325 156
Total Offensive Plays 71 58
Average Gain per Offensive Play 4.6 2.7
Rushes 38 29
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) 143 121
Average Yards per Rush 3.8 4.2
Passes Attempted 28 25
Passes Completed 19 8
Had Intercepted 0 4
Tackled Attempting to Pass 5 4
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass 35 26
Yards Gained Passing (Net) 182 35
Punts 5 4
Average Distance 41.6 38.3
Punt Returns 1 4
Punt Return Yardage 0 22
Kickoff Returns 3 6
Kickoff Return Yardage 51 173
Interception Return Yardage 46 0
Fumbles 6 4
Own Fumbles Recovered 4 0
Opponent Fumbles Recovered 4 2
Penalties 12 8
Yards Penalized 94 60
Total Points Scored 27 10
Touchdowns 3 1
Rushing 1 1
Passing 2 0
Returns 0 0
Extra Points 3 1
Field Goals 2 1
Field Goals Attempted 5 1
Safeties 0 0
Third-Down Efficiency 5/17 1/12
Fourth-Down Efficiency 1/1 2/3
Time of Possession 38:38 21:22
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Dallas 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
Denver No. Yds. LG TD
Lytle 10 35 16 1
Armstrong 7 27 18 0
Weese 3 26 10 0
Jensen 1 16 16 0
Keyworth 5 9 6 0
Perrin 3 8 4 0
Passing
Dallas Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Staubach 25 17 183 1 0
Newhouse 1 1 29 1 0
D. White 2 1 5 0 0
Denver Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Morton 15 4 39 0 4
Weese 10 4 22 0 0
Receiving
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
P. Pearson 5 37 11 0
DuPree 4 66 19 0
Newhouse 3 -1 5 0
Johnson 2 53 45t 1
Richards 2 38 29t 1
Dorsett 2 11 15 0
D. Pearson 1 13 13 0
Denver No. Yds. LG TD
Dolbin 2 24 15 0
Odoms 2 9 10 0
Moses 1 21 21 0
Upchurch 1 9 9 0
Jensen 1 5 5 0
Perrin 1 -7 7 0
Interceptions
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Washington 1 27 27 0
Kyle 1 19 19 0
Barnes 1 0 0 0
Hughes 1 0 0 0
Denver No. Yds. LG TD
None -- -- -- --
Punting
Dallas No. Avg. LG Blk.
D. White 5 41.6 53 0
Denver No. Avg. LG Blk.
Dilts 4 38.3 46 0
Punt Returns
Dallas No. FC Yds. LG TD
Hill 1 1 0 0 0
Denver No. FC Yds. LG TD
Upchurch 3 1 22 8 0
Schultz 1 0 0 0 0
Kickoff Returns
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Johnson 2 29 15 0
Brinson 1 22 22 0
Denver No. Yds. LG TD
Upchurch 3 94 67 0
Schultz 2 62 37 0
Jensen 1 17 17 0
Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos
== Offense ==
Fitzgerald, John C Montler, Mike C
Rafferty, Tom G Glassic, Tom G
Scott, Herbert G Howard, Paul G
Donovan, Pat T Maurer, Andy T
Neely, Ralph T Minor, Claudie T
DuPree, Billy Joe TE Odoms, Riley TE
Johnson, Butch WR Dolbin, Jack WR
Pearson, Drew WR Moses, Haven WR
Dorsett, Tony RB Armstrong, Otis RB
Newhouse, Robert RB Keyworth, Jon RB
Staubach, Roger QB Morton, Craig QB
== Defense ==
Pugh, Jethro DT Carter, Rubin NT
White, Randy DT Alzado, Lyle DE
Jones, Too Tall DE Chavous, Barney DE
Martin, Harvey DE Jackson, Tom OLB
Henderson, Tom OLB Swenson, Bob OLB
Lewis, D. D. OLB Gradishar, Randy ILB
Breunig, Bob MLB Rizzo, Joe ILB
Barnes, Benny CB Foley, Steve CB
Kyle, Aaron CB Wright, Louis CB
Harris, Cliff FS Jackson, Bernard FS
Waters, Charlie SS Thompson, William SS
== Substitute ==
Brinson, Larry Allison, Hank
Brown, Guy Dilts, Bucky
Cole, Larry Egloff, Ron
Cooper, Jim Evans, Larry
Dennison, Doug Grant, John
Frederick, Andy Hyde, Glenn
Gregory, Bill Jensen, Jim D.
Hegman, Mike Lytle, Rob
Herrera, Efren Manor, Brison
Hill, Tony Maples, Bobby
Hughes, Randy Nairne, Rob
Huther, Bruce Perrin, Lonnie
Laidlaw, Scott Poltl, Randy
Lawless, Burton Rich, Randy
Pearson, Preston Schultz, John
Renfro, Mel Smith, Paul
Richards, Golden Turk, Godwin
Stalls, Dave Turner, Jim B.
Washington, Mark Upchurch, Rick
White, Danny Weese, Norris
Wright, Rayfield
== Did Not Play ==
Penrose, Craig