Super Bowl V

File:SuperBowlV.png
Colts Cowboys 16 13
1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 6 0 10 16 Cowboys 3 10 0 0 13
Date	January 17, 1971
Stadium	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
MVP	Chuck Howley, Linebacker, Cowboys
Favorite	Cowboys by 2
Referee	Norm Schachter
Attendance	79,204
Ceremonies
National anthem	Tommy Loy (Trumpeter)
Coin toss	Norm Schachter
Halftime show	Southeast Missouri State College Marching Golden Eagles with Anita Bryant Band
TV in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote
Nielsen ratings	39.9
Market share	75
Cost of 30-second commercial	$72,000

Super Bowl V was the fifth Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January 17, 1971 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida following the 1970 regular season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Colts defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys, 16–13.

Super Bowl V was the second Super Bowl played after the AFL-NFL Merger. As per the merger agreement, all 26 AFL and NFL teams were divided into 2 conferences with 13 teams in each of them. The NFL's Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the other 10 AFL teams to form the AFC. The remaining 13 NFL teams formed the NFC. This explains why the Colts represented the NFL in Super Bowl III, but not the NFC for Super Bowl V.

The game is sometimes called the "Blunder Bowl" because it was filled with poor play, penalties, turnovers, and officiating miscues. The two teams committed a Super Bowl record 11 combined turnovers in the game. Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties, costing them 133 yards. It was finally settled with nine seconds left when Colts rookie kicker Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal. In order to win the game, Baltimore had to overcome a 13–6 deficit at the half, losing their starting quarterback in the second quarter, and their 4 lost turnovers to Dallas' 5.

It is also the only Super Bowl in which the Most Valuable Player Award was given to a member of the losing team: Cowboys Linebacker Chuck Howley, who intercepted two passes. Also it was the first time a QB didn't win the award.

Background

Baltimore Colts

The Colts were an unspectacular but well-balanced team, led by 37-year old quarterback Johnny Unitas. Unitas had regained his starting spot on the team after Earl Morrall's disappointing performance in Super Bowl III. But Unitas played inconsistently during the 1970 regular season; he threw for 2,213 yards, but recorded more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (14), and thus earned a passer rating of just 65.1. Unitas also had injury problems, causing him to miss 2 regular season games and thus giving Morrall more significant playing time. Morrall put up a better statistics than Unitas (792 yards, 9 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a 97.6 passer rating), but head coach Don McCafferty decided to start Unitas for the playoffs. (According to Jim O'Brien, Morrall was just as good as Unitas in the players' opinion.)

In addition, Baltimore had 3 solid weapons in the passing game: wide receivers Eddie Hinton and Roy Jefferson, and future hall of fame tight end John Mackey combined for 119 receptions, 1,917 yards, and 15 touchdowns. In the backfield, running back Norm Bulaich was the team's top rusher with 426 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for another 123 yards.

The Colts' main strength was their defense. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bubba Smith anchored the line. Behind him, the Colts had 2 outstanding linebackers: Pro Bowler Mike Curtis, who recorded 5 interceptions, and future hall of famer Ted Hendricks. In the secondary, Pro Bowl safety Jerry Logan recorded 6 interceptions for 92 return yards and 2 touchdowns, while safety Rick Volk had 4 interceptions for 61 return yards.

Baltimore finished the regular season winning the AFC East with an 11-2-1 record.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys had to overcome many obstacles during the regular season. Fullback Calvin Hill, the team's second leading rusher with 577 yards and 4 touchdowns, was lost for the year after suffering a leg injury late in the regular season. And wide receiver Bob Hayes was benched by head coach Tom Landry for poor performances on several occasions.

Most significantly, the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. Morton and Staubach alternated as the starting quarterback during the regular season, but Landry eventually choose Morton to start Super Bowl V because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan (Landry called all of Morton's plays in Super Bowl V). Also, Morton had done extremely well in the regular season, throwing for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns, with only 7 interceptions, earning him a passer rating of 89.8. In contrast, Staubach threw for 542 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, giving him a 42.9 rating.

Hayes was the main deep threat on the team, catching 34 passes for 889 yards (a 26.1 yards per catch average) and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing 4 times for 34 yards and another touchdown, and adding another 116 yards returning punts. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Lance Rentzel recorded 28 receptions for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns.

However, the main strength on the Cowboys offense was their running game. Rookie running back Duane Thomas rushed 151 times for 803 yards (a 5.1 yards per carry average) and 5 touchdowns, while adding another 416 yards returning kickoffs. Fullback Walt Garrison, who replaced the injured Hill, provided Thomas with excellent blocking and rushed for 507 yards and 3 touchdowns himself. Garrison was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Up front, Pro Bowl guard John Niland and future Hall of Famer tackle Rayfield Wright anchored the offensive line.

Like the Colts, the Cowboys main strength was their defense. Nicknamed the "Doomsday Defense", they allowed just 1 touchdown in their last 6 games prior to the Super Bowl. Their line was anchored by future hall of fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly. Behind him, linebackers Lee Roy Jordan, Dave Edwards and Chuck Howley excelled at stopping the run and pass coverage. The Cowboys also had an outstanding secondary, led by future hall of famers Mel Renfro and Herb Adderley, who combined for 7 interceptions. Safety Charlie Waters led the team with 5 interceptions, while safety Cliff Harris recorded 2.

Dallas finished the regular season winning the NFC East with a 10-4 record, winning their final five regular season games to overcome the St. Louis Cardinals (who lost their final three games and fell to third place in the final standings).

Playoffs

Further information: NFL playoffs, 1970-71

In the playoffs, Dallas defeated the Detroit Lions in sunny weather at the Cotton Bowl, 5-0, just by scoring only a field goal and a safety. Then the Cowboys narrowly defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, 17-10, aided by Thomas' 143 rushing yards, along with interceptions by Renfro and Jordan late in the third quarter that were both converted into touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Colts advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-0, and the Oakland Raiders, 27-17, in the playoffs.

Super Bowl pregame news and notes

Both teams came into the game extremely eager for a win.

For the Colts, Super Bowl V represented a chance to redeem themselves for their humiliating loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. Says Volk, "Going to the game a second time took away some of the awe. I think we were able to focus better. There was no way we were going to let ourselves get beat again." It also was an opportunity for Unitas to earn a Super Bowl ring, one of the few things he had not yet accomplished in his outstanding career (although he won two NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959 prior to the first Super Bowl).

Meanwhile, the game was a chance for the Cowboys to lose their reputation of "not being able to win the big games". In the past 5 seasons, Dallas had won more games, 52 out of 68, then any other professional football team, but they had never won any league title. The Cowboys had chances to go to the first two Super Bowls, but narrowly lost to the Green Bay Packers in both the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship games. In the 1966 title game, the Cowboys lost because they failed to score a touchdown on 4 attempts starting from the Packers 2-yard line on the game's final drive. Then in the 1967 title game (the "Ice Bowl"), the Cowboys lost because they allowed the Packers to score a touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game.

Television and entertainment

The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy and color commentator Kyle Rote. Although the Orange Bowl was sold out for the event, unconditional blackout rules in the NFL prohibited the live telecast from being shown in the Miami area.

The bands from Southern University and Southeast Missouri State College performed before the game, while trumpeter Tommy Loy played the national anthem. Loy had also played the anthem before every Cowboys' home game from the mid-1960, until the late-1980s. The Southeast Missouri State Golden Eagles Band was featured during the halftime show with Anita Bryant.

Game summary

The first 3 possessions of the game ended with punts after the respective teams went three-and-out on each one. Then on the first play of the Colts' second drive, Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley intercepted a pass from Johnny Unitas and returned it 22 yards to Baltimore's 46-yard line before being tackled by Unitas. However, the Cowboys could not take advantage of the turnover because of a holding penalty on the drive and had to punt. But Colts punt returner Ron Gardin fumbled the punt and Cowboys safety Cliff Harris recovered the ball at the Baltimore 9-yard line. Despite their great starting field position, Dallas was unable to score a touchdown and thus had to settle for kicker Mike Clark's 14-yard field goal to give them a 3–0 lead.

Dallas forced the Colts to punt on their next possession, and several plays later, quarterback Craig Morton completed a 47-yard pass to Bob Hayes at the Colts 12-yard line, with a roughing the passer penalty adding 6 yards (half the distance to the goal). But Dallas was still unable to score a touchdown. On first down, linebacker Ted Hendricks deflected Morton's pass, and then running back Duane Thomas was tackled for a 1-yard loss on the next play. Then on third down, Morton committed a 15-yard intentional grounding penalty, pushing the Cowboys back to the 22-yard line and forcing them to settle for Clark's 30 yard field goal, giving them a 6-0 lead.

But on the ensuing drive, the Colts got a lucky break. Baltimore defensive back Jim Duncan returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to their 25-yard line. Then after throwing 2 incompletions, Unitas threw a pass to Eddie Hinton that was both high and behind the receiver. The ball bounced off Hinton's hands, was tipped by Dallas defensive back Mel Renfro, and finally ended up in the arms of tight end John Mackey, who took the ball 75 yards for a touchdown, tying the score 6–6 after Jim O'Brien's extra point attempt was blocked. (O'Brien says that he was "awfully nervous" and hesitated a second too long.)

Later in the third half, Dallas took a 13–6 lead when Morton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Thomas at the end of a drive that was setup after Unitas lost a fumble while being tackled by Cowboys linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. The next time the Colts had the ball, Unitas was hit as he threw a pass, resulting in an interception by Renfro. On the play, Unitas was knocked out of the game with a rib injury, and was replaced by Earl Morrall, who was widely blamed for the Colts loss in Super Bowl III. The Cowboys were unable to get any points off the turnover and had to punt. After the punt, Morral completed two passes for 47 yards, with a personal foul on Jordan adding another 7 yards and giving them a a first down on the Cowboys 2-yard line with less then two minutes left in the half. But Colts running back Norm Bulaich failed to gain any yards with three rushing attempts, and on fourth down, Morall threw an incomplete pass, turning the ball over on downs.

Duncan fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half to Dallas, and the Cowboys moved the ball down to the Colts' 1-yard line. But then Thomas returned the favor and fumbled the ball back to Baltimore (Duncan made the recovery). The Colts then drove to Dallas' 44-yard line, but came up empty when O'Brien's 52-yard field goal attempt fell short of the goal posts. However, instead of attempting to return the ball, Renfro let it bounce inside his own 1-yard line where it was downed by center Tom Goode (NFL rules allow a field goal that fall short of the goal posts to be downed just like a punt). "I thought it would carry into the end zone", he explained after the game[1]

The Colts defense then forced Dallas to punt after 3 plays, and would have gotten the ball inside Dallas territory following Ron Widby's punt, but Colts rookie running back Jack Maitland committed a 15-yard clipping penalty during the punt return, pushing his team back to their own 39 for their ensuing drive. Two plays later, Morrall completed a 47-yard pass to running back Tom Nowatzke at the Cowboys 15-yard line. Baltimore gained 4 yards on their next 2 plays, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, Morrall's pass was intercepted by Howley in the end zone.

After forcing the Cowboys to punt, Baltimore got the ball back on their own 18-yard line. On first down, Morrall's pass was incomplete. Then on the next play, Morrall fumbled the snap. Fortunately for the Colts, he managed to recover the fumble and throw the ball away, preventing a loss of yards or a turnover. On third down, Morrall threw his third consecutive incompletion, which would have forced Baltimore to punt from deep in their own territory, but Renfro was called for a 13-yard pass interference penalty while trying to cover Hinton, giving the Colts a first down.

Aided by a 23-yard completion from Morrall to receiver Roy Jefferson, the Colts drove to Dallas' 30-yard line and attempted to fool the Cowboys with a flea-flicker play. Running back Sam Havrilak took a handoff from Morrall and was supposed to throw it back to Morrall, but a charging Jethro Pugh disrupted the pattern. Havrilak (who had been a quarterback in college) instead threw a pass intended for Mackey. Hinton cut in front of Mackey to make the catch and then took off for the end zone, but he lost a fumble at the 10-yard line while being tackled by defensive back Cornell Green. After several players from both teams tried to recover it, the ball rolled through and out of the end zone for a touchback, giving the Cowboys the ball at their 20-yard line.

Three plays after the turnover, Morton threw a pass that was intercepted by safety Rick Volk and returned 30 yards to the Cowboys 3-yard line. (According to Morrall, this was the play of the game.) Two plays later, Nowatzke scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and O'Brien's extra point was good to tie the game, 13–13. (O'Brien says he was much calmer and more confident on this extra point than on the first one, which was blocked.) Dallas was forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and Widby managed to pin the Colts deep in their own territory with a 40-yard punt that was downed on Baltimore's 5-yard line. Dallas' defense forced Baltimore to punt after 3 plays, and got the ball back with great starting field position after receiving David Lee's 38 yard punt at the Colts 48-yard line with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

On the first play of the drive, Thomas was tackled for a 1-yard loss by Colts defensive tackle Bubba Smith. On the next play, Dallas committed a 15-yard holding penalty on the 42-yard line, which was a spot foul, pushing the team all the way back to their own 27-yard line. Then on second down and 35 to go, Morton threw a pass that went through the hands of running back Dan Reeves and into the arms of linebacker Mike Curtis, who returned the ball 13 yards to the Cowboys 28-yard line. Two plays later, O'Brien kicked what proved to be the game-winning 32-yard field goal, giving Baltimore a 16-13 lead with 5 seconds left in the game. O'Brien says he was "on automatic" and was so calm and concentrating so hard that he didn't hear anything and saw only the ball. The Cowboys got the ball back on their 40-yard line with a few seconds remaining after O'Brien's ensuing squib kick, but Morton's pass to Garrison was intercepted by Logan at the Baltimore 29-yard line, and time expired.

Morrall was the top passer of the game, with 7 out of 15 completions for 147 yards, with 1 interception. Before being knocked out of the game, Unitas completed 3 out of 9 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, with 2 interceptions. Morton completed more passes then Morrall and Unitas combined (12), but finished the game with 118 fewer passing yards (127), and was intercepted 3 times (all in the fourth quarter). Mackey was the top receiver of the game with 2 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Nowatzke was the Colts' leading rusher with 33 yards and a touchdown, while also catching a pass for 47 yards. Dallas running back Walt Garrison was the leading rusher of the game with 65 rushing yards, and added 19 yards on 2 pass receptions.

Referencing the numerous turnovers, Morrall said, "It really was a physical game. I mean, people were flying into one another out there." "It was really a hard-hitting game," wrote O'Brien. "It wasn't just guys dropping the ball. They fumbled because they got the snot knocked out of them." Said Tom Landry,

"I haven't been around many games where the players hit harder. Sometimes people watch a game and see turnovers and they talk about how sloppy the play was. The mistakes in that game weren't invented, at least not by the people who made them. Most were forced."

"We figured we could win if our offense didn't put us into too many holes", said 35-year old Colts lineman Billy Ray Smith, who was playing in his last NFL game, "Let me put it this way, they didn't put us into any holes we couldn't get out of"[2]

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

• DAL - FG Mike Clark 14 3-0 DAL

Second Quarter

• DAL - FG Mike Clark 30 6-0 DAL
• BAL - John Mackey 75 pass from Johnny Unitas (kick blocked) 6-6 tie
• DAL - Duane Thomas 7 pass from Craig Morton (Clark kick) 13-6 DAL

Third Quarter (none)

Fourth Quarter

• BAL - Tom Nowatzke 2 run (O'Brien kick) 13-13 tie
• BAL - FG Jim O'Brien 32 16-13 BAL

Starting Lineups

Source:

         Baltimore              Dallas              
                     OFFENSE
         Eddie Hinton 33     WR       Bob Hayes 22
         Bob Vogel 72        LT       Ralph Neely 73
         Glenn Ressler 62    LG       John Niland 76
         Bill Curry 50       C        Dave Manders 51
         John Williams 75    RG       Blaine Nye 61
         Dan Sullivan 71     RT       Rayfield Wright 70      
         John Mackey 88      TE       Pettis Norman 84
         Roy Jefferson 87    WR       Reggie Rucker 88      
         Johnny Unitas 19    QB       Craig Morton 14
         Norm Bulaich 36     RB       Duane Thomas 33
         Tom Nowatzke 34     RB       Walt Garrison 32
                     DEFENSE
         Bubba Smith 78      LE       Larry Cole 63
         Billy Ray Smith 74  LT       Jethro Pugh 75
         Fred Miller 76      RT       Bob Lilly 74
         Roy Hilton 85       RE       George Andrie 66
         Ray May 56          LLB      Dave Edwards 52
         Mike Curtis 32      MLB      Lee Roy Jordan 55
         Ted Hendricks 83    RLB      Chuck Howley 54
         Charlie Stukes 47   LCB      Herb Adderley 26
         Jim Duncan 35       RCB      Mel Renfro 20
         Jerry Logan 20      LS       Cornell Green 34
         Rick Volk 21        RS       Charlie Waters 41

Trivia

• The Colts were the first team to receive the newly named Vince Lombardi Trophy (formerly the World Championship Game Trophy) due to Vince Lombardi's death the previous year.
• This was the first Super Bowl in which the team that scored first lost the game.
• The Colts were the first AFC franchise to win the Super Bowl since the AFL-NFL merger was established earlier in the season.
• Although the Cowboys were the designated home team, they did not wear their traditional white jerseys because of an NFL policy at the time stipulating that the Super Bowl's host squad wear dark uniforms.
• Super Bowl V was also the first Super Bowl played on an artificial turf surface, namely "Poly Turf".
• With limited replay in the day, there was some controversy over whether Mel Renfro actually tipped the ball after it bounced off Eddie Hinton's hands and into the arms of tight end John Mackey. (At the time, it was illegal for a ball to bounce off one offensive player and then caught by another offensive player.) But Howard Cosell debuted an angle of the play on ABC's Wide World of Sports one week later which clearly showed the rotation of the ball had been changed by Renfro's touching of the ball.
• Jim O'Brien says there is a wide-spread notion that he was so nervous before his game-winning field goal, he forgot he was on artificial turf and attempted to pick up grass to test for wind. He says he was actually picking up lint from the players' jerseys.
• Under today's rules, after the game-winning field goal, a penalty would have been called on Jim O'Brien because the chin strap on his helmet was not fastened. [3]
• Jim O'Brien says he dreamt the Super Bowl would end with a field goal. But he couldn't tell if it would be kicked by him or the Cowboys' Mike Clark.
• Because of his long hair, O'Brien's nickname on the conservative Colts was "Lassie."
• In an enduring image from Super Bowl V, after O'Brien's game-winning field goal Bob Lilly took off his helmet and hurled it through the air in disgust.
• Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl
• The Colts' 7 turnovers are currently the most ever committed by a winning team in a Super Bowl
• The Colts' Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl V is reportedly in the possession of Georgia Frontiere, owner of the St. Louis Rams. Frontiere's late husband, former Colts' owner Carroll Rosenbloom, swapped franchises in 1972 with Rams' owner Robert Irsay but managed to keep possession of the Super Bowl trophy by "borrowing" it and simply neglecting to return it. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle authorized a replacement trophy for the Colts; ironically, the Colts lost possession of this trophy in 1986 when, as part of the legal settlement following the Colts' move to Indianapolis, the replacement trophy was awarded to the city of Baltimore, where it now sits at the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.[4] The Colts eventually won another Lombardi Trophy when they defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI on February 2007.
• This was the Colts final Super Bowl in Baltimore. They eventually made it back to the Super Bowl 36 years after Super Bowl V, their first in Indianapolis. They were victorious 29-17 over the Chicago Bears.
• Bubba Smith refuses to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the "sloppy" play.
• This was the first of three Super Bowls played in the Orange Bowl in which the Dallas Cowboys were the losing team. They would later lose Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII, both to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the same stadium. Of those three games, both this game and Super Bowl X featured a Dallas desperation touchdown pass attempt that resulted in an interception as the game's final play.
• For the second straight time, the Orange Bowl, then-home to the Miami Dolphins, hosted a Super Bowl featuring a Dolphins divisional rival (New York Jets in Super Bowl III, previously).

Officials

• Referee: Norm Schachter
• Umpire: Paul Trepinski
• Head Linesman: Ed Marion
• Line Judge: Jack Fette
• Field Judge: Fritz Graf
• Back Judge: Hugh Gamber

Note: A seven-official system was not used until 1978

Weather Conditions

• 70 degrees, clear

See also

• 1970 NFL season
• NFL playoffs, 1970-71

References

• Super Bowl official website
• 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. Time Inc. Home Entertainment. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
• Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. Harper Collins. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
• The Official NFL Encyclopedia Pro Football. NAL Books. ISBN 0-453-00431-8.
• The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
• http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
• Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
• All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)