Editing Super Bowl XII (section)

===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.