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At Miami_80,187
The Steelers won the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year on Terry Bradshaw’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann and an aggressive defence that snuffed out a late rally by the Cowboys.
Leading 15-10 in the fourth quarter, Bradshaw withstood a ferocious Cowboy rush to unleash his scoring strike to Swann. Swann, with four receptions for 161 yards, was named the game’s MVP.
Dallas came back on a Roger Staubach-to-Percy Howard 34-yard TD pass to close within four points. Then with 1:22 to go, Pittsburgh gave the ball up on downs. Staubach picked up a couple of first downs but his desperation pass on the last play of the game was picked off by Glen Edwards in the endzone.
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At New Orleans_80,997
The Pittsburgh Steelers totally shut down Minnesota’s offence to hand the Vikings their third Super Bowl defeat.
In beating Oakland for the AFC title, Pittsburgh held the Raiders to 29 yards rushing. The Vikings didn’t reach that total. On 21 rushing plays, Minnesota managed a net of 17 yards.
Yet, Minnesota trailed only 2-0 at the half, the result of a safety when Viking QB Fran Tarkenton botched a pitchout deep in his own territory. Tarkenton fell on the ball in the endzone and was pounced upon by Steeler defensive end Dwight White.
The Steelers got another break at the start of the second half when Viking Bill Brown muffed the kickoff and Pittsburgh’s Marv Kellum recovered on the Vikings 30. Four plays later, Franco Harris scored from 12 yards out and Pittsburgh led 9-0. Minnesota narrowed the margin to three points at 4:27 of the fourth quarter when Matt Blair blocked Bobby Walden’s punt and Terry Brown recovered in the endzone. But the Steelers came right back on a 66-yard march culminating in a four-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw to Larry Brown.
Harris, the game’s MVP, set a Super Bowl rushing record with 158 yards on 34 carries and led a Steelers offence which outgained Minnesota, 333-119.
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At Houston_71,882
The Dolphins made it two Super Bowl wins in a row in their third straight Super Bowl appearance.
Miami marched 62 and 56 yards for scores in the first 15 minutes. Larry Csonka, the game’s most valuable player, scored on a five-yard run and Jim Kiick blasted over from a yard out.
Trailing 17-0 near the end of the half, Minnesota faced a fourth-and-one from Miami’s 6. Electing to go for the first down, Minnesota came up short when running back Oscar Reed fumbled.
Csonka gained 145 yards on 33 carries and Bob Griese threw only seven passes in the game, completing six for 73 yards.
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At Los Angeles_90,182
Miami went 14-0 in the regular season, but struggled in its two playoff wins over Cleveland (20-14) and Pittsburgh (21-17). Washington was 11-3 during the regular season and posted impressive playoff wins over Green Bay (16-3) and Dallas (26-3).
The Dolphins, a slight underdog, played virtually flawless football in the first half. Late in the first quarter Bob Griese directed Miami on a 63-yard drive capped off by a 28-yard pass to Howard Twilley. Then, just before the half, Jim Kiick went over from the one-yard line to give Miami a 14-0 lead.
Washington was apparently going to be shut out when, with two minutes remaining in the game, Miami’s Garo Yepremian attempted a 42-yard field goal only to have it blocked. Yepremian then attempted to pass, only to have the ball slip out of his hands right to Mike Bass of the Redskins. Bass ran 49 yards for the score.
Miami safety Jake Scott picked off two passes in the game and was named MVP.
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At New Orleans_81,023
After a near-miss in Super Bowl V, the Cowboys thoroughly dominated the Dolphins. Led by Duane Thomas, the Cowboys used a punishing ground attack in setting a Super Bowl record of 252 yards rushing.
Leading only 10-3 at the half, the Cowboys marched 71 yards to start the third quarter and scored on a three-yard run by Thomas, who finished the game with 95 yards on 19 carries.
Chuck Howley’s interception of a Bob Griese pass set up Dallas’ final score, a 7-yard pass from Roger Staubach to Mike Ditka.
Dallas controlled the ball most of the game, running off 69 offensive plays to Miami’s 44 plays.
Miami became the first team to not score a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Staubach, voted the game’s most valuable player, completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards and two TDs.
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At Miami_79,204
The first Super Bowl under the new merger of the NFL and AFL ended in high drama but only after both teams suffered through 60 minutes of turnovers. The Colts fumbled five times (losing three) and suffered three interceptions. The Cowboys lost one fumble and also threw three interceptions.
With Dallas leading 6-0 in the second quarter, John Unitas threw a pass off the fingertips of receiver Eddie Hinton and defensive back Mel Renfro and into the waiting arms of tight end John Mackey, who sped all the way for a 75-yard score.
Dallas regained the lead before the half on a 7-yard pass from Craig Morton to Duane Thomas. The lead stood until the fourth quarter when Rich Volk picked off a Morton pass, setting up the tying touchdown scored by Tom Nowatzke.
Then, with 1:09 to play, linebacker Mike Curtis picked off another Morton pass on the Cowboys’ 28. Three plays later rookie kicker Jim O’Brien, who had an extra point blocked earlier, booted a 32-yard field goal to give the Colts a 16-13 win.
Dallas’ Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.
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At New Orleans_80,562
The AFL squared the Super Bowl with the NFL at two games apiece. The Chiefs built a 16-0 halftime lead behind Len Dawson’s superb quarterbacking and Jan Stenerud’s three field goals.
The Vikings, who gained 222 yards rushing in the NFL Championship Game against Cleveland, managed just 67 yards on the ground against Kansas City.
Dawson, the fourth consecutive quarterback to be named the game’s most valuable player, completed 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards.
Despite commiting five turnovers, Minnesota got right back in the game on Dave Osborn’s short TD plunge in the third quarter. But the Chiefs answered as Dawson hit Otis Taylor for 46 yards for the final score of the game.
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At Miami_75,377
Despite the fact that the Colts were coming into the game as 17-point favourites, Jets quarterback Joe Namath “guaranteed” victory on the Thursday before the game. He then went out and led the AFL to its first Super Bowl victory over a Baltimore team that had lost only once in 16 games all season.
Namath, chosen the game’s most valuable player, completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards. The Jets had intercepted Colt quarterback Earl Morrall three times in the first half, each deep in New York territory.
The Jets finished the game with 337 total yards, including 121 on 30 carries by fullback Matt Snell.
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At Miami_75,546
After winning its third consecutive NFL Championship, Green Bay captured its second straight Super Bowl in a game that drew the first $3 million gate in football history. Bart Starr was again chosen the game’s most valuable player as he completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards.
Starr’s 62-yard pass to a wide-open Boyd Dowler gave the Packers a 13-0 second quarter lead. Don Chandler kicked four field goals and Herb Adderley capped the Green Bay scoring with a 60-yard interception return. The Raiders’ two touchdowns came on a pair of 23-yard passes from Daryle Lamonica to Bill Miller.
The game marked the last for Vince Lombardi as Packer coach, ending nine years at Green Bay in which he won six Western Conference Championships, five NFL Championships and two Super Bowls.
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At Los Angeles_61,946
Behind the passing of Bart Starr, the receiving of Max McGee and a key interception by All-Pro safety Willie Wood, Green Bay broke open a tight game with three second-half touchdowns.
With Green Bay leading 14-10 early in the third quarter, Wood’s 40-yard interception return to the Chiefs’ 5-yard line set up an Elijah Pitts touchdown run which gave Green Bay an 11-point lead.
McGee, filling in for ailing Boyd Dowler, caught seven passes from Starr for 138 yards and two touchdowns. McGee had caught only three passes during the 1966 season. Pitts ran for two scores and Jim Taylor, who led all rushers with 53 yards, scored the Packers’ other touchdown.
Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and was chosen the most valuable player. The Packers collected $15,000 per man and the Chiefs $7,500 — the largest single-game shares in the history of team sports.
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