Super Bowl XIII: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers Solidify "Team of the '70s" Status

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys of the 1970s were the Pepsi and Coca-Cola of the NFL.

You can't go wrong with either one of them. But in a head-to-head battle, (circle Pepsi or Coke, depending on your preference) is the better product.

Pittsburgh and Dallas had teams in the '70s that featured multiple Hall of Famers on both offense and defense. By winning multiple Super Bowls, those players already proved themselves as champions.

The question going into their head-to-head matchup in Super Bowl XIII was which champion was greater.

Going into Super Bowl XIII, the Steelers had the upper hand in head-to-head Super Bowl matchups, beating the Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X to win their second consecutive NFL title. With the victory, Pittsburgh gained a 2-1 lead in '70s Super Bowl victories over the Cowboys.

This time, however, Dallas entered the big game as the defending champs, beating the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.

This evened the score at 2-2. Super Bowl XIII would determine who would be known in NFL lore as the "Team of the '70s."

Just like in Super Bowl X, Lynn Swann was the Steelers' leading pass receiver, catching seven passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. This time, however, Terry Bradshaw also managed to complete some passes to other receivers.

One of those receivers was, like Swann, a future Hall of Famer: John Stallworth. Stallworth caught three balls for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, Bradshaw completed 17-of-30 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 119.2. His performance, a far cry from his role as a supporting player in his two previous Super Bowl appearances, earned him Super Bowl XIII Most Valuable Player honors.

His first two touchdown passes were completed to Stallworth for 28 and 75 yards. With the score tied at 14-14 in the second quarter, Bradshaw threw a seven-yard TD score to Rocky Bleier to put the Steelers ahead 21-14 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Cowboys had a chance to tie the game, having possession of the ball at the Pittsburgh 10-yard line. On third-and-3, Roger Staubach threw a pass to Jackie Smith in the end zone.

In what (fairly or unfairly) is known in Super Bowl history as one of the biggest moments of choke artistry, the pass went off the hip of a wide-open Smith and fell to the Orange Bowl grass.

Rafael Septien kicked a 27-yard field goal to decrease the Steelers' lead to 21-17. Now, Smith is not the only player to drop a pass in the Super Bowl, or even the only one to drop a potential touchdown catch.

However, it is a well-known drop for two reasons: Ultimate impact and the player to which it happened.

If Smith caught the ball in the end zone, the score would have been tied at 21-21. Plus, the Cowboys ended up losing this game by four points, so you have to wonder if you're a Dallas fan if the game would have turned out differently had Smith caught the ball.

Secondly, Smith was getting a chance of a lifetime. After 15 seasons with the St. Louis (football) Cardinals, Smith retired due to a neck injury.

At age 38, he returned to the NFL with a chance to finally play in the Super Bowl. His career should not be known for this drop, but it will, unfortunately, because it is the only part of his career in which he was nationally recognized.

In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys' misfortunes continued. Benny Barnes was called for a pass interference penalty when the referees ruled that he tripped Swann.

It is argued by at least some who saw the game that Swann ran up the back of Barnes' legs and, therefore, a penalty shouldn't have been called on Barnes. Regardless, the Steelers went on to score the touchdown on a 22-yard run by Franco Harris (arguably caused by a referee getting in the way of Dallas safety Charlie Waters).

On the ensuing kickoff, Cowboys linebacker Randy White (who was playing with a broken left thumb) bobbled the ball. Dennis "Dirt" Winston recovered the pigskin for Pittsburgh at the Dallas 18-yard line.

The turnover set up another Steeler touchdown, as Bradshaw completed an 18-yard pass to a leaping Swann. The score, which would turn out to be the game winner, increased Pittsburgh's lead to 35-17.

Just like in Super Bowl X, Staubach tried to rally the Cowboys from behind and nearly succeeded. He threw touchdown passes of seven and four yards to Bille Joe DuPree and Butch Johnson, respectively, to decrease the Steelers' lead to 35-31.

With 22 seconds left in the game, Dallas tried an onside kick to get the ball back in Captain Comeback's hands. But the ball landed in Bleier's hands, clinching the Steelers' victory and place in history as the "Team of the '70s."