Editing Super Bowl XII (section)

==Game summary==

===First quarter===
The opening stages of the game were nearly disastrous for the Cowboys, who fumbled three times on their first two possessions, but did not turn the ball over on any of those fumbles. On their first [[play from scrimmage]], Dallas attempted a double reverse, but wide receiver [[Butch Johnson (American football)|Butch Johnson]] fumbled the handoff. Johnson recovered his own fumble, but was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Denver linebacker [[Tom Jackson (American football, born 1951)|Tom Jackson]] on the play, forcing the Cowboys to punt two plays later. The Broncos then advanced to the Dallas 33-yard line on their first drive of the game, aided by a fair catch interference penalty on Cowboys linebacker [[Thomas Henderson (American football)|Thomas Henderson]] during the punt, enabling Denver to start on their own 47-yard line. Broncos quarterback [[Craig Morton]] completed a 16-yard pass to wide receiver [[Haven Moses]], but was sacked for an 11-yard loss on third down by defensive tackle [[Randy White (American football)|Randy White]], which pushed the Broncos out of field goal range. On the ensuing Denver punt, Cowboys wide receiver [[Tony Hill (wide receiver)|Tony Hill]] muffed the ball at his own 1-yard line. In the scramble to recover, Broncos wide receiver John Schultz placed both of his hands on the ball and appeared to recover it for a touchdown, but the Cowboys emerged from the pile with the ball, still at their own 1-yard line. However, quarterback [[Roger Staubach]] managed to escape a sack for a safety and completed a 14-yard pass to running back [[Tony Dorsett]]. Two plays later, from the 19-yard line, Dorsett fumbled the ball forward into heavy traffic, but center [[John Fitzgerald (center)|John Fitzgerald]] made the recovery to keep possession for the Cowboys, who then punted.

On the Broncos' second possession, following an illegal use of hands penalty on Denver guard [[Tom Glassic]], Randy White and defensive end [[Harvey Martin]] simultaneously hit Morton as he attempted to throw, which resulted in a wobbly pass that failed to cross the line of scrimmage and was intercepted by safety [[Randy Hughes]] on the Denver 25-yard line. The Cowboys capitalized on the turnover in five plays, which started with a 13-yard reception by tight end [[Billy Joe DuPree]] and ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Dorsett, converting on a 4th-and-inches attempt and giving Dallas a 7–0 lead. On the Broncos' next possession, Schultz returned the kick 38 yards to the Denver 40, again giving them excellent field position. Two plays later, however, Morton was intercepted for a second time after his pass was tipped by linebacker [[Bob Breunig]] into the arms of cornerback [[Aaron Kyle]], who returned the ball 20 yards to the Denver 35. Dallas then advanced to the Denver 8 on a 9-yard run by fullback [[Robert Newhouse]] and an 18-yard run by Dorsett, but Staubach was sacked by defensive end [[Lyle Alzado]] for a 10-yard loss on third down, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 35-yard field goal by kicker [[Efrén Herrera]] to increase their lead to 10–0.

===Second quarter===
The Broncos were forced to punt to start the second quarter, and the Cowboys then advanced to the Denver 19 from their own 42, which featured a 19-yard pass by Staubach to DuPree. On third down, Staubach appeared to unleash a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Broncos safety [[Bill Thompson (American football)|Bill Thompson]]; however, the officials ruled that Staubach had stepped out of bounds before he threw the ball. Herrera then kicked a 43-yard field goal to increase the Cowboys' lead to 13–0. The rest of the half was a seesaw of sloppy plays, turnovers, and missed opportunities. On the second play of the next Denver drive, Morton unleashed an errant pass intended for Moses for his third interception, this time by cornerback [[Benny Barnes]] at the Cowboys' 40-yard line. The Cowboys could not get points off of this turnover, as offensive tackle [[Ralph Neely]] was called for holding, which was followed by defensive tackle [[Rubin Carter (American football)|Rubin Carter]] sacking Staubach for a 5-yard loss, the fourth sack of the game for Denver, forcing a three-and-out and a punt. However, the punt struck an unsuspecting Schultz on his helmet as he attempted to throw a block during the return, and the ball was quickly recovered by Dallas linebacker [[Bruce Huther]].

The Cowboys then advanced to the Broncos' 26 on a 14-yard run by Dorsett, but Herrera missed a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left, keeping the score 13–0. On their following drive, the Broncos committed their fifth turnover as wide receiver [[Jack Dolbin]] fumbled a 13-yard reception, while being tackled by safety [[Charlie Waters]], with Hughes returning the ball 18 yards to the Denver 27-yard line. However, Dallas failed to score again as Herrera missed another field goal attempt wide right, this time from only 32 yards out. On the first play after that missed attempt, Denver yet again turned the ball over to Dallas when Kyle stripped the ball from tight end [[Riley Odoms]], with Hughes recovering it again and returning it to the 28-yard line. However, on the next play, Dallas gave the ball right back to Denver as DuPree caught a 20-yard pass at the 8-yard line but fumbled after taking a hit from cornerback [[Steve Foley (defensive back)|Steve Foley]], with Tom Jackson making the recovery. Five plays later, with the Broncos desperate to get on the board before the end of the half, Morton uncorked yet another errant pass that was intercepted by cornerback [[Mark Washington (cornerback)|Mark Washington]] who returned the ball 27 yards to Denver's 35-yard line. There were 6 seconds remaining on the clock after the interception, but Dallas yet again could not capitalize as Herrera missed yet another field goal attempt wide left, his third miss of the half, this time from 44 yards out, as time expired.
[[File:1986 Jeno's Pizza - 02 - Butch Johnson (Butch Johnson crop).jpg|thumb|left|Johnson's touchdown catch gave Dallas a 20–3 lead over Denver.]]
By halftime, the Cowboys had fumbled five times (losing one), had missed three field goals, and had allowed four sacks, but still led 13–0. Meanwhile, the Broncos had committed a halftime record 7 turnovers. Morton, who had thrown only 8 interceptions during the entire 1977 season, was picked off 4 times in the half in addition to 3 fumbles lost, finishing with a passer rating of 0.0. Incredibly, after punting on their very first drive of the game, six of the next seven Broncos possessions resulted in a turnover, and there also was a fumble on a punt return.

===Third quarter===
On the opening drive of the second half, the Broncos moved the ball deep into Cowboys territory. First, Schultz returned the second half kickoff 25 yards to the Denver 35, and then running back [[Otis Armstrong]] took off for an 18-yard gain. Seven plays later, kicker [[Jim Turner (placekicker)|Jim Turner]] put the Broncos on the board with a 47-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 13–3. But after an exchange of punts,<ref name="pfr sb XII">{{cite web|title=Super Bowl XII Full Play by Play|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197801150dal.htm|publisher=Pro Football Reference}}</ref> the Cowboys mounted a 59-yard scoring drive in six plays with Staubach completing a 13-yard pass to wide receiver [[Drew Pearson (American football)|Drew Pearson]], followed by a 45-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, who made a fingertip catch as he fell into the end zone, increasing the Dallas lead to 20–3. Johnson dropped the ball when he hit the ground, but officials ruled it a touchdown before the ball came out of his hands.

Denver wide receiver [[Rick Upchurch]] returned the ensuing kickoff a Super Bowl-record 67 yards to the Cowboys 26-yard line. On the next play, Morton nearly threw his fifth interception to Cowboys defensive end [[Ed "Too Tall" Jones]], and was then immediately replaced by backup quarterback [[Norris Weese]]. Two plays later, on 4th-and-1, running back [[Jim Jensen (running back)|Jim Jensen]]'s 16-yard run moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and then running back [[Rob Lytle]] scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut Denver's deficit to 20–10.

===Fourth quarter===
Dallas drove to the Denver 35 on their next possession, but Staubach was strip-sacked by Tom Jackson, and Carter recovered the fumble at the Broncos' 45 on the second play of the quarter. However, Weese was incomplete on his next three attempts, one on a pass to Upchurch in the end zone, and Denver punted.

The Broncos forced a Cowboys punt, but Martin stripped the ball from Weese on third down, and Kyle recovered it on the Denver 29-yard line. On the next play, the Cowboys scored on a 29-yard [[halfback option play]]: Staubach pitched the ball to Newhouse, who ran left and then threw a pass to wide receiver [[Golden Richards]] for a touchdown, putting the game away for Dallas with a 27–10 lead. Newhouse became the first running back in Super Bowl history to throw a touchdown pass. Most notable about the trick play was that Denver's defense was not fooled by it, as Richards was properly covered by Foley. Incidentally, Newhouse had practiced with the play for weeks, but had not managed to complete the pass once in practice (which unlike the play in the game was done with Newhouse rolling to his right). Loaded up with stickum (legal at the time), Newhouse accomplished a tight spiral to Richards that he caught in stride for the score.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/star-on-and-off-field-robert-newhouse-truly-loved-by-all-351201|title = STAR: On and off Field, Robert Newhouse Truly Loved by All}}</ref>

Denver, now playing for pride, reached the Dallas 25-yard line on their next possession, but turned the ball over on downs after a sack on Weese by linebacker [[D. D. Lewis (linebacker, born 1945)|D. D. Lewis]], a delay of game penalty, and back-to-back incomplete passes. The Broncos then forced the Cowboys to punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty on Denver linebacker [[Rob Nairne]] gave Dallas a new set of downs, enabling them to run out the clock and end the game.

Staubach finished the game with 17 out of 25 pass completions for 183 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. Dorsett was the leading rusher of the game, with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 11 receiving yards. In addition to his 29-yard touchdown pass, Newhouse also contributed with 55 rushing yards. DuPree was the leading receiver of the game with 4 receptions for 66 yards. Hughes had an interception and a Super Bowl record two fumble recoveries.

Before being taken out of the game, Denver's starting quarterback [[Craig Morton]] completed just 4 out of 15 passes for 39 yards and was intercepted 4 times. His 21-yard completion to [[Haven Moses]] on the Broncos' opening drive was the only pass he completed that both resulted in positive yardage and did not end in a turnover. Morton's passer rating for the game was 0.0, the lowest in Super Bowl history.<ref name="Worse Super Bowl than Peyton Manning in XLVIII">{{cite web|title=Canzano blog: Who had a worse Super Bowl than Peyton Manning?|date=February 3, 2014|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2014/02/canzano_blog_so_you_think_peyt.html}}</ref> Upchurch recorded 125 total offensive yards (94 on kickoff returns, 22 on punt returns, and 9 receiving yards).

The Cowboys' superb defense played a critical role in the game. White and Martin were named co-Most Valuable Players; this award is usually bestowed on an offensive player. The voters actually wanted to name the entire 11-man starting defensive lineup as co-MVPs, and asked the NFL if this was acceptable. The league said no, and so two players were picked for the award. The unheralded Hughes and Kyle of the Cowboy secondary each had superb games to play an important role in the victory. The two men came up with five turnovers between them, leading directly to 17 of Dallas' points.

The game was the 8th Super Bowl in 10 years (following the first two won by Green Bay) in which the winning team scored enough to win before the losing team put up any points on the board (the exceptions were the two lost by the Cowboys to this point, [[Super Bowl V]] and [[Super Bowl X]]).  Conversely, this feat has only occurred five times since ([[Super Bowl XV|XV]], [[Super Bowl XVIII|XVIII]], [[Super Bowl XXXV|XXXV]], [[Super Bowl XLVIII|XLVIII]], and [[Super Bowl LIX|LIX]]).

In 2015, on the occasion of [[Super Bowl 50]], ''[[Slate (website)|Slate]]'' webpage writer Justin Peters watched all the games over a two-month period. He considered Super Bowl XII to be the worst Super Bowl ever. Morton was a large part of the reason for Peters, who felt the Broncos' quarterback was lucky to have only been intercepted four times in the first half, and a total output that amounted to only one completion for positive yardage that was not followed by an immediate turnover. Nor had the Cowboys impressed him, in large part due to Herrera's missed field goals in the second quarter. "Blowouts can at least be fun to watch sometimes", he concluded. "This game was nothing but pain."<ref name="Worst Super Bowl ever">{{cite news|last=Peters|first=Justin|title=Every Super Bowl, Ranked|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/the_completist/2016/02/every_single_super_bowl_ranked_from_best_to_worst.html|newspaper=[[Slate (website)|Slate]]|date=February 4, 2016|access-date=February 12, 2016}}</ref>

===Box score===
{{Americanfootballbox
| bg = #eee
| titlestyle = text-align:center; {{NFLPrimaryStyle|NFL|border=2}};
| title = Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10
| Road = '''Cowboys (NFC)'''
| R1 = 10
| R2 = 3
| R3 = 7
| R4 = 7
| Home = Broncos (AFC)
| H1 = 0
| H2 = 0
| H3 = 10
| H4 = 0
| stadium = [[Mercedes-Benz Superdome|Louisiana Superdome]], [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]]
| date = January 15, 1978
| time = 5:17 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|CST]]
| weather = {{convert|70|F|C}}, played indoors, domed stadium<ref>{{cite news|title=Super Bowl Game-Time Temperatures|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/news/super-bowl-game-time-temperatures/|publisher=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|access-date=March 9, 2018}}</ref>
| state = uncollapsed
}}
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