It is Day 5 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain
dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
We’re down the final five here on our 100-day countdown to kickoff. This time we revisit the night Dallas captured its fifth Lombardi Trophy and completed the final championship run of the 1990s dynasty. The Cowboys built an early lead, survived a determined Pittsburgh comeback and relied on two huge Larry Brown interceptions to secure a 27-17 victory in Super Bowl XXX.
Sunday, January 28, 1996
Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
This was the third Super Bowl meeting between Dallas and Pittsburgh. The Steelers had beaten the Cowboys in Super Bowls X and XIII, both by four points, so Dallas finally had an opportunity to turn the tables. The Cowboys were also chasing their third championship in four seasons after winning following the 1992 and 1993 campaigns.
Dallas started quickly. Chris Boniol opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal before Deion Sanders provided one of the game’s most memorable early plays. Lining up on offense, Sanders caught a 47-yard pass from Troy Aikman that helped move Dallas into scoring position. Aikman soon found Jay Novacek for a three-yard touchdown, putting the Cowboys ahead 10-0. This would be the final touchdown Novacek would ever score for Dallas.
Boniol added a 35-yard field goal during the second quarter, giving Dallas a 13-0 advantage. Pittsburgh finally answered just before halftime when Neil O’Donnell found Yancey Thigpen for a six-yard touchdown. Instead of taking complete control into the break, Dallas carried a much tighter 13-7 lead into halftime.
The game’s biggest figure emerged during the third quarter. O’Donnell attempted a pass toward the sideline, but Larry Brown read the play and intercepted it at the Dallas 38-yard line. He returned the ball 44 yards to the Pittsburgh 18. Aikman then hit Michael Irvin for 17 yards before Emmitt Smith scored from one yard out, extending the Cowboys’ lead to 20-7.
Pittsburgh refused to go away. Norm Johnson kicked a 46-yard field goal to make it 20-10, then Bill Cowher surprised Dallas with an onside kick that the Steelers recovered. Pittsburgh took advantage when Bam Morris scored from one yard out. Suddenly, with 6:36 remaining, a game Dallas had once led 13-0 had become a 20-17 thriller.
The Steelers defense forced a Dallas punt and gave O’Donnell possession at his own 32 with just over four minutes remaining. Pittsburgh now had a chance to tie the game or take the lead. Brown made sure it never happened. On second down, he stepped in front of another O’Donnell pass and returned his second interception 33 yards to the Pittsburgh six-yard line.
Two plays later, Smith powered into the end zone from four yards out. The touchdown restored a 27-17 lead with 3:43 remaining and finally gave Dallas enough breathing room to finish the job. Pittsburgh could not mount another serious comeback, and the Cowboys had their fifth Super Bowl championship.
This game belongs near the very top of the countdown because it completed one of the greatest championship runs in NFL history. Dallas had now won three Super Bowls in four seasons under two different head coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, with Aikman, Smith and Irvin remaining at the center of it all. The victory also gave the Cowboys their long-awaited Super Bowl revenge over Pittsburgh.
Interesting Facts About the Game
Brown became the first cornerback to win Super Bowl MVP.
Countdown to kickoff
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57,56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6
