NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XXX played on January 28, 1996, was won by the Champions of the NFC the Dallas Cowboys who defeated the AFC Champions the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona.

The Dallas Cowboys had finished 1st in the 1995 NFC East Division coached by Barry Switzer with a regular season record of 12-4-0. The Cowboys point scoring average had been 27.2 points per game which made their offense 3rd best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 18.2 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 3rd in the league.

The Dallas Cowboys postseason games began with the NFC Divisional Playoffs in which their opponents were the Philadelphia Eagles who had finished 2nd in the 1995 NFC East Division coached by Ray Rhodes with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The Eagles point scoring average had been 19.9 points per game which made their offense 21st best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 21.1 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 15th in the league.

The Philadelphia Eagles had reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team and in their NFC Wild Card Game they had beaten the Detroit Lions by 58 points to 37.

In regular season the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles had played against each other twice. The Cowboys had won easily at home but had lost narrowly in Philadelphia.

For the 1995 NFC Divisional Playoff tie between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles it was the Cowboys who had home field advantage. The Cowboys won this game easily by 30 points to 11.

The Dallas Cowboys next playoff game was the NFC Championship where their opponents were the Green Bay Packers who had finished 1st in the 1995 NFC Central Division coached by Mike Holmgren with a regular season record of 11-5-0. The Packers point scoring average had been 25.2 points per game which made their offense 6th best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 19.6 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 4th in the league.

In regular season the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers had played against each other once when the Cowboys playing with home field advantage had won comfortably by 34 - 24.

In the Conference Championship the Dallas Cowboys once again played with home field advantage and they confirmed their superiority over the Packers to win by 38 - 27.

The Dallas Cowboys opponents in Super Bowl XXX were the Pittsburgh Steelers who had finished 1st in the 1995 AFC Central Division coached by Bill Cowher with a regular season record of 11-5-0. The Steelers point scoring average had been 25.4 points per game which made their offense 5th best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 20.4 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 9th in the league.

The Pittsburgh Steelers playoff season games began with the AFC Divisional Playoffs in which their opponents were the Buffalo Bills who had finished 1st in the 1995 AFC East Division coached by Marv Levy with a regular season record of 10-6-0. The Bills point scoring average had been 21.9 points per game which made their offense 13th best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 20.9 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 12th in the league.

The Buffalo Bills had reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team and in their AFC Wild Card Game they had beaten the Miami Dolphins by 37 points to 22.

In regular season the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills had not played against each other. Looking at their average figures for points scored then it was the Steelers who were the better, while in defense going by their averages for points conceded there was not a great deal between them. The Steelers were the pick for this game because of the simple fact that they could score better.

The 1995 AFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills was won by the Steelers 40 - 21.

The Pittsburgh Steelers next playoff game was in the AFC Championship and their opponents were the Indianapolis Colts who had finished 2nd in the 1995 AFC East Division coached by Ted Marchibroda with a regular season record of 9-7-0. The Colts point scoring average had been 20.7 points per game which made their offense 17th best of 30 in the NFL and they had a points allowed average of 19.8 points conceded per game which ranked their defense 5th in the league.

The Indianapolis Colts had reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team and in their AFC Wild Card Game they had beaten the San Diego Chargers by 35 points to 20. The Colts had then played the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoffs who they had beat 10 - 7.

During regular season the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts had not played against each other but the Steelers definitely had the better offense and could be fancied to win the Conference Championship.

In the 1995 AFC Championship between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts it was the Steelers who won a close game by 20 - 16.

Super Bowl XXX between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers looked to be a decent enough game. They had not met in regular season but both had been in the top handful of teams in offense. They had both been solid enough in defense too. However, although both were good teams it was the Dallas Cowboys who actually ranked the higher of the two in both offense and defense and the Cowboys could be considered a worthy favorite.

In the first quarter of Super Bowl XXX it was the Dallas Cowboys who started well and they opened up a 10 point lead following a field goal from Chris Boniol, a touchdown by Jay Novacek and a successful kick by Chris Boniol. The Steelers did not score.

The Cowboys went even further ahead in the second quarter when Chris Boniol scored another field goal which made the score 13 - 0.

The Steelers came back though, narrowing the gap to 13 - 7, after they scored a touchdown by Yancey Thigpen and a successful kick by Norm Johnson.

The third quarter saw the Dallas Cowboys push further clear again when they scored another touchdown, this time from Emmitt Smith plus a successful kick by Chris Boniol. The Cowboys led 20 - 7.

Finally, in the fourth quarter the Pittsburgh Steelers woke themselves up a bit and following an early field goal by Norm Johnson they did manage to score from a touchdown by Bam Morris and a kick by Norm Johnson. The Steelers had reduced the gap to 20 - 17.

The Cowboys were not finished though and with 3 minutes and 43 seconds to go they came back again with another touchdown from Emmitt Smith plus a successful kick by Chris Boniol.

The Dalls Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX by 27 - 17.

Larry Brown the Dallas Cowboys cornerback was named Super Bowl XXX after his two interceptions led to 14 second-half points for the Cowboys.

Note
The Dallas Cowboys playoff averages were 31.7 points scored per game (27.2 regular season) and an average of 18.3 points conceded per game (18.2 regular season).

The Pittsburgh Steelers playoff averages were 25.7 points scored per game (25.4 regular season) and an average of 21.3 points conceded per game (20.4 regular season).

In Conclusion
Super Bowl XXX ended up quite a tight contest and with just under 4 minutes remaining the game could have gone either way. However, I do believe the right team won and that there could be no hard luck stories.

The Dallas Cowboys were the 2nd team to win five Super Bowl′s.

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Dallas Cowboys (NFC)	10	3	7	7	-	27
Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)	0	7	0	10	-	17