It has been many years since we have witnessed a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl team so it is easy to forget that this is one of the more storied franchises in the NFL. Since the inception of the big game, there have been eight Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl appearances and five Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl championships. That still ranks among the best in the entire league. The Dallas Cowboys have also produced a record 7 different Super Bowl MVP award winners. Some of those MVP performances rank on this list of top 10 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl performances. Spoiler alert, Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown did not crack the top 10. Neither did Roger Staubach, well at least not for his MVP winning performance. Here are the top 10 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl performances of All-Time.
10. TONY DORSETT, SUPER BOWL XIII
The Dallas Cowboys lost Super Bowl XIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that decided which team would hold supremacy over the 1970’s decade. Despite the loss, Tony Dorsett had a strong game rushing for 96 yards and adding 44 receiving yards against one of the greatest defenses of All-Time.
9. JAMES WASHINGTON, SUPER BOWL XXVIII
The Dallas Cowboys won back to back Super Bowls against the Buffalo Bills and at first glance, both games appear to be blowouts. However, the second championship in Super Bowl XXVIII was dominated by the Bills in the first half. Down 13-6, James Washington returned a Thurman Thomas fumble 48 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at the start of the second half and swung the momentum into the Cowboys favour. He also added a huge interception early in the 4th quarter when it was still a one score game.
8. MICHAEL IRVIN, SUPER BOWL XXVII
The 1992 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl winning team was loaded on offense and defense. This Super Bowl vicory launched the dynasty and marked the return of “America’s Team” to supremacy. No player exemplified the swagger of the 90’s Dallas Cowboys like Michael Irvin did. This game was remembered more for Troy Aikman‘s brilliance and the dominance of the defense so it is easy to forget about Irvin’s performance. The game ended up being a total blowout but the Bills actually led for most of the first quarter. The Cowboys blew the game wide open in the second quarter helped by two Michael Irvin TD receptions just seconds apart. On one of those, Irvin adjusted to a ball thrown a little too far inside to prevent a turnover, made spectacular catch, and dove into the endzone. Michael Irvin finished the game with 6 catches for 114 yards and 2 TD’s. Most of his damage was inflicted in the first half when the game was still within reach for Buffalo.
7. DUANE THOMAS, SUPER BOWL VI
Roger Staubach was named the MVP of the Dallas Cowboys first Super Bowl championship win in 1972. Staubach played well but many believed that running back Duane Thomas was deserving of the MVP award for his 95 rushing yards, 1 TD, and 17 receiving yards. Duane Thomas had refused to speak to the media that season as a protest over his contract. That may have prompted the Super Bowl MVP award to be given to Staubach instead of Thomas.
6. ROGER STAUBACH, SUPER BOWL XIII
Roger Staubach may have been named the MVP of Super Bowl VI but his performance in this loss to the Steelers was more impressive in my opinion. Against the famed “Steel Curtain” defense, Staubach nearly led a miraculous comeback converting on key 3rd and 4th downs down the stretch. Staubach threw for 228 yards and 3 TD’s while adding another 37 yards on the ground. He did throw one interception, as did his counterpart Terry Bradshaw, but like Bradshaw he should have had 4 TD passes. Unfortunately tight end Jackie Smith dropped a sure touchdown pass in the endzone that would have tied the game and may have proved to be the difference between the Cowboys winning or losing the game.
5. CHUCK HOWLEY, SUPER BOWL V
The Dallas Cowboys may have lost Super Bowl V to the Colts but LB Chuck Howley made history by being the first defensive player to win Super Bowl MVP. He also made history by being the only player from a losing team to win the MVP award, an achievement that has not been accomplished since. Howley was one of the greatest Dallas Cowboys linebackers to ever play. He was exceptionally athletic and he excelled in pass coverage. He recorded two interceptions, including a spectacular diving catch, and he added a fumble recovery in this game. Howley was equally impressive in the Dallas Cowboys subsequent Super Bowl victory the following season in Super Bowl VI. In that game, Howley recorded an INT and a fumble recovery as the Cowboys “Doomsday Defense” stifled the Miami Dolphins.
4. HARVEY MARTIN/RANDY WHITE, SUPER BOWL XII
It has often been said that the entire Dallas Cowboys defense deserved to be named Super Bowl MVP of this game. The Cowboys defense absolutely dominated the Denver Bronco’s and their starting quarterback and former teammate Craig Morton. Harvey Martin and Randy White wreaked havoc at the line of scrimmage and were named co-MVP’s of Super Bowl XII.
3. TROY AIKMAN, SUPER BOWL XXVII
Troy Aikman felt right at home in his first Super Bowl playing in the Rose Bowl in Pasedena, CA, which was his home stadium at UCLA. Aikman completed 22-30 passes for 273 yards and a then record 4 TD passes. He also contributed 28 yards rushing. His performance in the Super Bowl was the cherry on top of a flawless postseason run in which he completed 68% of his passes for 795 yards, 8 TD’s and 0 interceptions in 3 post season games.
2. EMMITT SMITH, SUPER BOWL XXVIII
The 1993 season was the greatest of Emmitt Smith‘s career. The Dallas Cowboys began the season 0-2 while Smith held out for a new contract. Once they signed Smith, the Cowboys hit the ground running finishing off the season 12-2 with Smith winning the NFL regular season MVP award and a third consecutive rushing title. In the final game of the season, Smith led the Cowboys over the Giants to win the division and clinch home field throughout the playoffs. He did that by rushing for 168 yards and catching 10 passes for another 61 yards and a TD despite playing through a separated shoulder. The injury continued to plague him during the Cowboys playoff run but that did not prevent the league MVP from going on to win Super Bowl MVP after rushing for 132 yards, 2 TD’s. Smith also added 4 receptions for an additional 26 yards.
1. DALLAS COWBOYS DEFENSE, SUPER BOWL XXVII
The Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl winning dynasty teams of the 90’s are remembered for the triplets and for their dominant offensive line. People often forget that they also possessed the number one ranked defense in the NFL. Maybe that was because the 1992 Cowboys did not have a single defensive player named to the Pro-Bowl. That defense was so good top to bottom and so deep that it was hard for one player to separate themselves from the rest. That was exactly how it played out in the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl victory against the Buffalo Bills. Thomas Everett, James Washington, Charles Haley, Jim Jeffcoat, Leon Lett, Ken Norton JR., Russell Maryland, Jimmie Jones, etc…all of these players contributed with big plays in this game. The Dallas Cowboys defense held the most explosive offensive team in the NFL to just 17 points. Seven of those points were gifted early in the first quarter after a blocked punt gave the Bills possession at the Cowboys 16 yard line and a penalty negated a Charles Haley sack fumble on third down of that possession. The Dallas Cowboys defense held Thurman Thomas to 19 rush yards, had four sacks, forced 8 turnovers, and scored 2 defensive touchdowns. It should have been three defensive touchdowns but for the infamous play where Leon Lett slowed down to showboat before crossing the goal line. Don Beebe stripped him of the ball right before he crossed the plain costing the Cowboys the record for most points scored by a single team in the Super Bowl.
All Data and statistics obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
Of all the great players you mention here and they were, Duane Thomas was a heartbreaker. He was a local high school star and a great, great talent. For me, there’s a mystery as to why he would choose to go to West Texas State when he could have gone anywhere as he was no idiot. I could be totally wrong, but I sense the hand of Gil Brandt or someone like him due to the sheer amount of bitterness Thomas developed toward the Cowboys. At WTS he was a blocking back for the super fast Mercury Morris. According to Morris himself, Duane ran a 9.6 hundred in an intramural track meet, very fast for a large man of 220 lbs. His skills at running the ball were superlative. After watching Herschel Walker at practice, he quipped “You can’t make a living running into 285 lb. men” which is still true
today. I really think that there is a major story regarding Thomas that is yet untold.