Editing Super Bowl XXX (section)

===Dallas Cowboys===
{{main|1995 Dallas Cowboys season}}

The Cowboys entered the 1995 regular season attempting to become the first team in NFL history to win three out of the last four Super Bowls. They had previously won Super Bowls [[Super Bowl XXVII|XXVII]] and [[Super Bowl XXVIII|XXVIII]] but their chance of a "three-peat" (winning three consecutive championships) was thwarted when they lost the [[NFC Championship Game]] to the [[1995 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]], the eventual [[Super Bowl XXIX]] champions. It was the Cowboys’ eighth appearance in the Super Bowl, the most of any franchise; the Steelers tied this record in 2010 when that team advanced to [[Super Bowl XLV]]. The Patriots became the third team to reach the mark in 2014 when that team went on to win [[Super Bowl XLIX]], and the Denver Broncos the fourth team in 2015 in [[Super Bowl 50]].

After taking over the Cowboys in [[1989 NFL season|1989]], team owner/general manager [[Jerry Jones]] and head coach [[Jimmy Johnson (football coach)|Jimmy Johnson]] rebuilt the team into a Super Bowl contender with young talent. Both had different ideas on the future personnel plans for the Cowboys, and both wanted equal credit for the team's recent success. As a result, Johnson eventually left the team after their [[Super Bowl XXVIII]] win and was replaced by former [[Oklahoma Sooners football|University of Oklahoma]] head coach [[Barry Switzer]], who had one of the highest winning percentages of any [[college football]] coach in history, with a mark of .837.<ref name="name"/>

In 1995, the Cowboys finished with a {{win-loss record|w=12|l=4}} regular season record, the best in the NFC. [[Pro Bowl]] quarterback [[Troy Aikman]] finished the regular season completing 280 out of 432 passes for 3,304 yards and 16 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions. Pro Bowl running back [[Emmitt Smith]] won his fourth and last league rushing crown in his career with 1,773 yards, and broke a league single-season record with 25 rushing touchdowns. Smith was also a reliable receiver out of the backfield, recording a career-high 62 receptions for 375 yards.<ref name="name"/>  Fullback [[Daryl Johnston]] added 111 rushing yards, while also catching 30 passes for 248 and scoring three touchdowns. Pro Bowl wide receiver [[Michael Irvin]] led the team in receiving with 111 catches for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns. [[Kevin Williams (wide receiver, born 1971)|Kevin Williams]] was another big receiving threat with 38 receptions for 613 yards, while also racking up 1,274 return yards on special teams. Pro Bowl tight end Jay Novacek had 62 receptions for 705 yards and five touchdowns. Dallas' offensive line was led by Pro Bowl selections [[Larry Allen]], [[Ray Donaldson]], [[Nate Newton]], and [[Mark Tuinei]].<ref name="name"/> However, Donaldson suffered a season-ending injury late in the season and would be replaced by [[Derek Kennard]].

Dallas' major acquisition before the season was four-time Pro Bowl cornerback [[Deion Sanders]]. Coincidentally, Sanders won the Super Bowl the year before with San Francisco. However, Sanders only played nine regular season games for the Cowboys in 1995 due to injuries, and thus only recorded 24 tackles and two interceptions for 34 yards.<ref name="name"/> However, safety [[Darren Woodson]] was named to the Pro Bowl with 89 tackles and two interceptions for 46 return yards and a touchdown. Cornerback [[Larry Brown (cornerback)|Larry Brown]] led the team in interceptions with six for 124 return yards and two touchdowns. Pro Bowl defensive end [[Charles Haley]] led the team in sacks with 10.5, while defensive end [[Chad Hennings]] added 5.5. Safety [[Brock Marion]] recorded six interceptions, returning them for 40 yards and a touchdown.<ref name="name"/>

After starting fast at 8–1, the Cowboys hit a major bump in the road, losing big at home to the [[1995 San Francisco 49ers season|49ers]], 38–20 (they trailed 31–14 at halftime).  Coincidentally, the 49ers, the previous Super Bowl champion, also suffered a blowout loss at home the prior season (40–8 to the [[1994 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]]). Adding insult to injury, the 49ers were without starting quarterback [[Steve Young]] and fullback [[William Floyd (American football)|William Floyd]]. The game was highly anticipated, with verbal exchanges between the teams during the week, and it marked the beginning of a difficult stretch for the team.  The following four games resulted in two more losses for the Cowboys.  However, after a narrow 21–20 win against the [[1995 New York Giants season|New York Giants]], the Cowboys regained their dominating form, trouncing the [[1995 Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals]] (who were playing their home games at Sun Devil Stadium) 37–13 on [[National Football League Christmas games|Christmas night]] in Arizona as part of ''[[Monday Night Football]]'', and then cruising through the playoffs with convincing wins against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. Brown foreshadowed his Super Bowl XXX heroics with a key interception against Green Bay quarterback [[Brett Favre]] late in the NFC Championship Game.