Editing Super Bowl X (section)

===Dallas Cowboys===
{{main|1975 Dallas Cowboys season}}

The Cowboys, considered a [[Cinderella team]] entering the Super Bowl, advanced to their third Super Bowl in team history with their rather high-tech offense and "flex" defense. Quarterback [[Roger Staubach]] had a solid season, passing for 2,666 yards and 17 touchdowns (but he also threw 16 interceptions), while also rushing for 310 yards. Staubach's favorite target was wide receiver [[Drew Pearson (American football)|Drew Pearson]] who led the team with 46 receptions for 822 yards and 8 touchdowns. Wide receiver [[Golden Richards]] and tight end [[Jean Fugett]] were also reliable targets in the Cowboys' passing game, combining for 59 receptions and 939 receiving yards.

But despite their solid passing game, Dallas was a run-based team. Fullback [[Robert Newhouse]] was their leading rusher with
930 yards, and also caught 34 passes for 274 yards. Halfback [[Doug Dennison]] contributed 388 yards. Perhaps the most talented player in the backfield was halfback [[Preston Pearson]] (no relation to receiver Drew Pearson), who signed on the team as a [[free agent]] after being cut by the Steelers in the preseason.  Preston rushed for 509 yards, caught 27 passes for 351 yards, and added another 391 yards returning kickoffs.  Preston had been especially effective in the playoffs, where he caught 12 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns, and was extremely eager to increase his numbers in the Super Bowl against the team that let him go.  Up front, the offensive line was led by All-Pro right tackle [[Rayfield Wright]].

The Cowboys' "Flex" defense was anchored by linemen [[Harvey Martin]] and [[Ed "Too Tall" Jones]]. Linebacker [[Lee Roy Jordan]] led the team with six interceptions, while linebacker [[D. D. Lewis (Dallas Cowboys)|D.D. Lewis]] was an effective weapon pass rushing. The starting players in Dallas' defensive secondary, future Hall of Fame cornerback [[Mel Renfro]], cornerback Mark Washington, and safeties [[Charlie Waters]] and future Hall of Famer [[Cliff Harris]], combined for 12 interceptions.

Even though the Cowboys finished in second place in the [[NFC East]] with a 10–4 record, they qualified for the playoffs as the [[National Football Conference|NFC]]'s [[wild card (sports)|wild-card]] team (during that time, only one wild card team from each conference entered the playoffs).<ref>{{Cite web |title=1975 NFL Standings & Team Stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1975/index.htm |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>  The Dallas Cowboys became the first [[National Football Conference|NFC]] [[Wild card (sports)|wild card]] team to reach the Super Bowl.