Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Hey Guys:

If Dallas had somehow found a way to beat the Rams in their 1979 divisional playoff (which they lost 21-19) and then defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Title Game, does anyone out there think that they would have won Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers? The Rams did give the Steelers quite a battle in Super Bowl XIV, but I'm not entirely sure that the Steelers would have beat the Cowboys again had they met in Super Bowl XIV. What do you guys think?

Joe Zagorski

The Cowboys wouldn't have done as well as the Rams did.

Although I'm a Cowboys fan, I don't think they could've beaten Pittsburgh in Pasadena. Swann and Stallworth would've beaten them singlehandlely, plus in the regular season the Steelers won 14-3 at Three Rivers Stadium. I agree that, like in Super Bowl X and XIII, the Steelers would've won by 4 points. The only chance the Cowboys would've had was not to make mistakes against the Steel Curtain defense. Roger Staubach was in his final year, but he head a great season, and if the Cowboy offense didn't turn the ball over, they won the game.

Both teams were on the down-swing in 1979 but I think Dallas fell a bit farther that season than Pittsburgh did. That is especially true defensively.

Could they have won? Yes--but they also could have won in 1975 and/or 1978. In fact, 1978 was probably their best team and their best chance to beat Pittsburgh but they simply made too many mistakes in that game. They would have needed to play much better in 1979 to win and I really don't think that team would have done it.

I think that Pittsburgh just had the Cowboys number during the six years that they won 4 super bowls. It reminds me of the 1960's Lombardi era Green Bay teams that had the Cleveland Browns number. There were some similarities.

In between Green Bays championships, Cleveland won in 1964, just as in between Pittsburgh's super bowl teams, Dallas won one in 1977. In Cleveland's championship year (1964), they lost a regular season game to Green Bay, just as Dallas lost a regular season game to Pittsburgh in their championship year (1977). History is doomed to repeat itself, I guess.

Of course, Green Bay was a better team than Cleveland during their championship years of the 1960's, just as Pittsburgh was better during their Super Bowl era of the 1970's.

I hate to admit that, because Cleveland was my favorite team during the 1960's, but facts are facts.

I think Dallas could have had a chance, unless Fred Swearingen would have been one of the field officials. Then Pittsburgh would have an advantage...

Saban wrote:Of course, Green Bay was a better team than Cleveland during their championship years of the 1960's, just as Pittsburgh was better during their Super Bowl era of the 1970's.

Their best shot at knocking them off was the '65 title game. The Browns were defending champions, while the Pack had escaped (thanks to the refs) with an OT win over Baltimore and Bart Starr's status for the game was shaky. However, Art Modell decided to house the team a half hour away from Lambeau, with the team bus then getting stuck in traffic thanks to the morning snowstorm that followed. The storm made the field a swamp, which accounted for the Packers' first TD when the Browns' defender slipped. The power sweep took over in the second half and put the game away.

BD Sullivan wrote:

Saban wrote:Of course, Green Bay was a better team than Cleveland during their championship years of the 1960's, just as Pittsburgh was better during their Super Bowl era of the 1970's.

Their best shot at knocking them off was the '65 title game. The Browns were defending champions, while the Pack had escaped (thanks to the refs) with an OT win over Baltimore and Bart Starr's status for the game was shaky. However, Art Modell decided to house the team a half hour away from Lambeau, with the team bus then getting stuck in traffic thanks to the morning snowstorm that followed. The storm made the field a swamp, which accounted for the Packers' first TD when the Browns' defender slipped. The power sweep took over in the second half and put the game away.

And then there was their 1966 game when they were ahead of Green Bay 14 to 0, but lost 21 to 20 on a last minute TD by Jim Taylor. They might have had a good chance if they won the Eastern Conference that year because the championship game would have been in Cleveland.

We won't talk about Cleveland's 1967 game with Green Bay.

Byron wrote:Both teams were on the down-swing in 1979 but I think Dallas fell a bit farther that season than Pittsburgh did. That is especially true defensively.

Could they have won? Yes--but they also could have won in 1975 and/or 1978. In fact, 1978 was probably their best team and their best chance to beat Pittsburgh but they simply made too many mistakes in that game. They would have needed to play much better in 1979 to win and I really don't think that team would have done it.

Ironically, the Rams were also on the downswing in 1979. They were 9-7 in the regular season. Of their seven straight (1973-79) Western Division titlists, the 1979 team was the weakest but the only one to make the Super Bowl.

SixtiesFan wrote:

Byron wrote:Both teams were on the down-swing in 1979 but I think Dallas fell a bit farther that season than Pittsburgh did. That is especially true defensively.

Could they have won? Yes--but they also could have won in 1975 and/or 1978. In fact, 1978 was probably their best team and their best chance to beat Pittsburgh but they simply made too many mistakes in that game. They would have needed to play much better in 1979 to win and I really don't think that team would have done it.

Ironically, the Rams were also on the downswing in 1979. They were 9-7 in the regular season. Of their seven straight (1973-79) Western Division titlists, the 1979 team was the weakest but the only one to make the Super Bowl.

After Week 11, they were 5-6, then ran off four straight wins to clinch the very weak NFC West. Of course, even those four games came against weaklings with a collective season record of 21-43. Yet, somehow, it was THIS team that makes it to the Super Bowl, and puts a huge scare into the Steelers, to boot.