Baltimore Colts Vs. Dallas Cowboys In 1972 Super Bowl

By Author: Carmen Cameron
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In 1972, the Baltimore Colts and the Dallas Cowboys met up for Super Bowl V at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL-NFL Merger. As part of the merger, the 26 teams were divided into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The AFC champion Colts ended up defeating the NFC Champion Cowboys 16-13 in one of the sloppiest Super Bowls in NFL history.

The Colts finished the regular season by winning the AFC East with an 11-2-1 record. They were a veteran team led by 37-year-old quarterback Johnny Unitas. His favorite targets that season were wide receivers Eddie Hinton and Roy Jefferson and future hall of fame tight end John Mackey. The three players combined for 119 receptions, 1,917 yards, and 15 touchdowns.

Baltimore's biggest strength was its defense. Bubba Smith wreaked havoc on the defensive line as a defensive tackle, and he was backed up by two of the better linebackers in the NFL in Mike Curtis and Ted Hendricks. They also had two solid safeties in Jerry Logan, who had six interceptions ...
... for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Rick Volk, who had four interceptions.

Dallas's biggest strength was also its defense. The Cowboys' defense was particularly dominant in the six games leading up to the Super Bowl. They allowed just one touchdown over the stretch. Future hall of fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly anchored the defensive line, and he had linebackers Lee Roy Jordan, Dave Edwards and Chuck Howley behind him at linebacker.

On offense, Dallas had to deal with a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. They alternated as starters during the regular season before coach Tom Landry settled on Morton for most of the second half of the season.

The Colts were trying to redeem themselves from Super Bowl III when the New York Jets beat them in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. The Cowboys were trying to escape their past as well. They had established a reputation as a good regular season team but one that couldn't get it done in the playoffs. In the past five seasons, the Cowboys won more games (52 out of 68) than any other professional football team, but they had never won any league title.

Super Bowl V was held on Jan. 17, 1971. It is best remembered as arguably the sloppiest Super Bowl in history, earning it the nicknames Stupor Bowl or Blunder Bowl. The two teams set a Super Bowl record by combining to turn the ball over 11 times. The Colts' seven turnovers are still the most ever committed by the winning team in the Super Bowl. Dallas set a record of its own by committing 10 penalties for 133 yards.

At the end of the first half, Dallas led 13-6 and Unitas had left the game with a rib injury. They held the Cowboys without a score in the second half, though, and rookie kicker Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with five seconds left gave the Colts the victory. Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, who had two interceptions, was named Super Bowl MVP. It is the only Super Bowl in which the Super Bowl MVP was given to a member of the losing team.

AUTHOR:-
Carmen Cameron writes reviews on various sporting events including the NFL Odds. In this piece of write up, the author highlights one of the most popular sports NFL and NFL betting odds. The author takes the readers opinion on how to do bet on football.