Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17 , 1971 , at the Orange Bowl in Miami , Florida , to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1970 regular season . The American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Baltimore Colts ( 11 – 2 – 1 ) defeated the National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion Dallas Cowboys ( 10 – 4 ) , 16 – 13 , in the first Super Bowl game played on artificial turf . Super Bowl V was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of 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 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 " or the " Stupor 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 , and the Colts ' 7 turnovers are currently the most ever committed by a winning team in a Super Bowl . Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties , costing them 133 yards . Bubba Smith refused to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the " sloppy " play . It was finally settled with five 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 . 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 . Sacks and tackles were not yet recorded . It was the first time a QB didn ' t win the award . Howley refused to accept the award because it was meaningless to him after his team lost . Background . Baltimore Colts . The Colts were an unspectacular but well - balanced veteran team , led by 37 - year old quarterback Johnny Unitas . Unitas had regained his starting spot on the team in 1969 upon recovering from an injury that led him to miss the majority of the 1968 season . Unitas played inconsistently during the 1970 regular season ; he threw for 2 , 213 yards , but recorded more interceptions than touchdowns . Unitas also had injury problems , causing him to miss 2 regular season games and thus giving Earl 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 Bowl er Mike Curtis , who recorded 5 interceptions , and 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 . Running back 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 . Landry eventually settled on Morton for most of the second half of the season , because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan ( Landry called all of Morton ' s plays ) . 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 , although a noted scrambler and able to salvage broken plays effectively , threw for 542 yards , and only 2 touchdowns compared to 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 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 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 ) and New York Giants ( who lost their finale 31 - 3 to the Los Angeles Rams ; a Giants victory would have given New York the NFC East title based upon a better division record ) . Playoffs . In the playoffs , Dallas defeated the Detroit Lions in sunny weather at the Cotton Bowl , 5 - 0 , with a field goal and a safety . Then the Cowboys overcame 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 . 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 . Volk commented , " 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 . " Meanwhile , the game was a chance for the Cowboys to lose their nickname of " next year ' s champions " and 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 , than 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 . As the designated home team , Dallas was forced to wear its blue jerseys for the Super Bowl under rules in place at the time , which did not allow the home team its choice of jersey color , unlike the regular season and playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl . Dallas had not worn its blue jerseys at home since 1964 , as Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm opted to have the team wear white at home in order to present fans with a consistent look . The Cowboys wore their blue jerseys twice during the 1970 season , losing 20 - 7 at St . Louis in week four and winning 6 - 2 at Cleveland in week 13 . The designated home team was first allowed its choice of jersey color for Super Bowl XIII , allowing the Cowboys to wear white vs . the Pittsburgh Steelers . 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 blackout was challenged in Miami - Dade District Court by attorney Ellis Rubin , and although the judge denied Rubin ' s request since he felt he did not have the power to overrule the NFL , he agreed with Rubin ' s argument that the blackout rule was unnecessary for the Super Bowl . The bands from Southern University and Southeast Missouri State College performed before the game , while trumpet er Tommy Loy played the national anthem . Loy also played the anthem before every Cowboys ' home game from the mid - 1960s until the late - 1980s . The Southeast Missouri State Indians Band was featured during the halftime show along with singer 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 himself . 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 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 later said that he was " awfully nervous " and hesitated a second too long before kicking it . In the second quarter , Dallas took a 13 – 6 lead when Morton threw a 7 - yard touchdown pass to Thomas at the end of a drive that was set up 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 , Morrall completed two passes for 47 yards , with a personal foul on Jordan adding another 7 yards and giving them a first down on the Cowboys 2 - yard line with less than 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 , Morrall 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 when Curtis knocked the ball loose before the goal line . Duncan was awarded the recovery and the Colts took over on a touchback - a controversial call because when the resulting pile - up was sorted out , Dallas center Dave Manders was holding the ball . 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 prior to 1974 allowed 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 . 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 ( Morrall later referred to play as 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 . It looked as though it would become the first super bowl to go into overtime . 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 ( the NFL did not reduce the penalty for offensive holding to 10 yards until 1974 ) . 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 the go ahead 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 . 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 . 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 than 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 " Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl . Final statistics . Source : " The NFL ' s Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football " , ( 1973 ) , p . 149 , Macmillan Publishing Co . New York , NY , LCCN 73 - 3862 Starting lineups . Source : Officials . " Note : A seven - official system was not used until 1978 "