Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I've never seen Super Bowl XII. I was 13 years old when it aired and remembered having a very, very bad cold that day and took a nap before the game figuring I would sleep for an hour or so and get up and then watch the game, but I didn't wake up until the next morning and missed the game altogether. I have the game on DVD but have never bothered watching it because it wasn't a very good game. Maybe someday I'll watch it. It is the only Super Bowl (except for I and II, but I have seen the radio/video merges) I have never seen.

Rupert Patrick wrote:I've never seen Super Bowl XII. I was 13 years old when it aired and remembered having a very, very bad cold that day and took a nap before the game figuring I would sleep for an hour or so and get up and then watch the game, but I didn't wake up until the next morning and missed the game altogether. I have the game on DVD but have never bothered watching it because it wasn't a very good game. Maybe someday I'll watch it. It is the only Super Bowl (except for I and II, but I have seen the radio/video merges) I have never seen.

Pretty much what I feel about Super Bowl 15. The game felt over after 1 quarter. It wasn't a blowout but the team on the losing side never felt in it. You didn't have anything going on in terms of historic/iconic moments or even memorable plays that stick with you

Chargers/Cowboys would've been a more compelling game.

My favorite 'stat' from that Super Bowl is that Morton completed 4 passes to the Broncos, 4 passes to the Cowboys...but 2 of the 4 passes he completed to Bronco players were subsequently fumbled away to the Cowboys.

One unusual dynamic here is that the AFC was clearly the better conference in 1977. Normally the team from the weaker conference doesn't do well, regardless of record. The Broncos played and beat the toughest AFC teams, while the Cowboys didn't play the Rams in the season or playoffs, went to OT against the Vikings in the season, then ducked Tarkenton in the playoffs.

I wonder if the 1977 Steelers would have beaten the 1977 Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I'm taking fully into account the 9-5 1977 Steelers with a weakened defense. It was probably a worse matchup for the Cowboys.

Jay Z wrote:One unusual dynamic here is that the AFC was clearly the better conference in 1977. Normally the team from the weaker conference doesn't do well, regardless of record. The Broncos played and beat the toughest AFC teams, while the Cowboys didn't play the Rams in the season or playoffs, went to OT against the Vikings in the season, then ducked Tarkenton in the playoffs.

I wonder if the 1977 Steelers would have beaten the 1977 Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I'm taking fully into account the 9-5 1977 Steelers with a weakened defense. It was probably a worse matchup for the Cowboys.

Steelers beat them pretty handily that season at Three Rivers, so yeah, that was a potential matchup Dallas was glad to avoid.

First football game I ever remember watching! (I was nine).

slats7 wrote:I wonder if the 1977 Steelers would have beaten the 1977 Cowboys in the Super Bowl. I'm taking fully into account the 9-5 1977 Steelers with a weakened defense. It was probably a worse matchup for the Cowboys.

Steelers beat them pretty handily that season at Three Rivers, so yeah, that was a potential matchup Dallas was glad to avoid.[/quote]

Dallas would have beaten Pittsburgh in a rematch, it wouldn't have been as ugly as they beat Denver. Maybe 23-14.

If Steelers weren't actually better than Dallas in any given year from '75 thru at least that MNF opener in '82, they at least had their number. Maybe Dallas wins in a hypo-SBXII anyway, and maybe big (Steelers merely 'good' in '77), but would have made for a more intriguing matchup to look forward to. Raiders/Cowboys even more so, seeing how Shell & Upshaw would handle that Doomsday rush. But, as already stated this post, Raiders were just about to fold and it may have already started showing in such an event.

And how about a Colts/Cowboys Bowl that very year, along with a Colts/Broncos AFCC along the way? The latter was a 'Ghost' away from taking place.

Back to that possble Raiders/Dallas hypo-SBXII matchup, how about I post this here instead of starting a new thread...

'77 Cowboys VS '76 Raiders? Now that's a bit more even!

74_75_78_79_ wrote:If Steelers weren't actually better than Dallas in any given year from '75 thru at least that MNF opener in '82, they at least had their number. Maybe Dallas wins in a hypo-SBXII anyway, and maybe big (Steelers merely 'good' in '77), but would have made for a more intriguing matchup to look forward to. Raiders/Cowboys even more so, seeing how Shell & Upshaw would handle that Doomsday rush. But, as already stated this post, Raiders were just about to fold and it may have already started showing in such an event.

And how about a Colts/Cowboys Bowl that very year, along with a Colts/Broncos AFCC along the way? The latter was a 'Ghost' away from taking place.

Back to that possble Raiders/Dallas hypo-SBXII matchup, how about I post this here instead of starting a new thread...

'77 Cowboys VS '76 Raiders? Now that's a bit more even!

Steelers had a tough schedule in 1977, but other than the Cowboys they lost most of the games. Lost to Colts away, Raiders home, Broncos away. Lost to Cincy and Houston on the road. Broncos had most of their tough games at home, but they did beat the Bengals and Oilers on the road, which the Steelers did not do.

Steelers always turned the ball over a lot for a winning team, and they were -5 in 1977, 44-49. They gave up a few more passing TDs than normal, 16. The rest of the stats were on par with other years. A transition year to the passing game as Stallworth had his first big year, while Franco's YPC were down a bit.

The Cowboys were impressive, but they still gave up over 200 points. The defensive backs were always a weak part of the team. I expect that Stallworth and Swann would be able to get deep on the Cowboys. Score probably would have been in the 20s for both teams. Who wins? Who knows!

I watched that on DVD a few years ago. A pivotal play was when the Broncos missed a fumble recovery at the goal line in the first quarter on a punt. If the Broncos get that, and score a TD, that may have been a different game.

Also, with about nine minutes left in the game, Norris Weese (who came into the game for an ineffective, battered Morton) just missed hitting one of the receivers on the sideline around the Dallas 35 (with Denver down 20-10). If they make that play, and get a FG (at least), the rest of the game would have gotten interesting, especially because the Broncos owned the fourth quarter that year.