Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28 , 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1995 regular season . The National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion Dallas Cowboys ( 15 – 4 ) defeated the American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Pittsburgh Steelers ( 13 – 6 ) , 27 – 17 . Dallas tied the San Francisco 49ers for the most Super Bowl wins by a team ( 5 ) and became the first team to win three Super Bowls in four years . This game was the third meeting between the Cowboys and Steelers in a Super Bowl ( after Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII ) , which is currently the most between any two NFL teams . For Pittsburgh , it was their first Super Bowl loss in team history after winning four in the 1970s . Pittsburgh would later surpass both the Cowboys and 49ers with 6 Super Bowl victories after the Steelers won Super Bowls XL and XLIII . Pittsburgh ' s next Super Bowl loss would come in Super Bowl XLV ( played at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas ) to the Green Bay Packers . Dallas ' Larry Brown became the first cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP , by recording two interceptions thrown by Neil O ' Donnell and returning them for a total of 77 yards . The Cowboys sealed the victory by converting Brown ' s interceptions into 2 touchdowns . The NBC television broadcast averaged 95 . 13 million people in the United States , then making it the most watched sporting event ever on American television , and the second most watched program of all , trailing only the final episode of " M * A * S * H " ( Later surpassed by Super Bowl XLV ) . The metropolitan Phoenix area hosted the Super Bowl again twelve years later . Background . Tempe was originally chosen as the venue for Super Bowl XXVII . However , the NFL pulled the game away from Arizona after the league joined a massive , nationwide tourist boycott by various groups to protest the state ’ s refusal to recognize Martin Luther King , Jr . Day . After Arizona finally adopted the federal holiday in 1992 , the NFL again began to consider Tempe . NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXX to Tempe , Arizona during their March 23 , 1993 meeting . Super Bowl XXX was the last to be hosted in a stadium containing bleacher seats , and would also be the last Super Bowl to be held on a college campus , as the stadium sits on the campus of Arizona State University . Dallas Cowboys . The Cowboys entered the 1995 regular season attempting to win 3 out of the last 4 Super Bowls . They had previously won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII but their chance of a " three - peat " ( winning three consecutive championships ) was thwarted when they lost the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers , the eventual Super Bowl XXIX winners . This was the Cowboys ’ 8th appearance in the Super Bowl , the most of any franchise . After taking over the Cowboys in 1989 , team owner / general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson rebuilt the team into a Super Bowl contender with young talent . Both had different ideas on the future personnel plans for the Cowboys and both wanted equal credit for the team ' s recent success . As a result , Johnson eventually left the team after their XXVIII win and was replaced by former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer , who had one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history with a mark of . 837 . In 1995 , the Cowboys finished with a 12 – 4 regular season record , the best in the NFC . Pro Bowl quarterback Troy Aikman finished the regular season completing 280 out of 432 passes for 3 , 304 yards and 16 touchdowns , with only 7 interceptions . Pro Bowl running back Emmitt Smith won his fourth league rushing crown in his career with 1 , 773 yards , and broke a league single - season record with 25 rushing touchdowns . Smith was also a reliable receiver out of the backfield , recording a career high 62 receptions for 375 yards . Fullback Daryl Johnson added 111 rushing yards , while also catching 30 passes for 248 and scoring three touchdowns . Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Irvin led the team in receiving with 111 catches for 1 , 603 yards and 10 touchdowns . Pro Bowl tight end Jay Novacek also had 62 receptions for 705 yards and 5 touchdowns . Dallas ' offensive line was led by Pro Bowlers Larry Allen , Ray Donaldson , Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei . Dallas ' major acquisition before the season was 4 - time Pro Bowl cornerback Deion Sanders . Coincidentally , Sanders won the Super Bowl the year before with San Francisco . However , Sanders only played 9 regular season games for the Cowboys in 1995 due to injuries , and thus only recorded 24 tackles and 2 interceptions for 34 yards . However , safety Darren Woodson was named to the Pro Bowl with 89 tackles and 2 interceptions for 46 return yards and a touchdown . Cornerback Larry Brown led the team in interceptions with 6 for 124 return yards and 2 touchdowns . Pro Bowl defensive lineman Charles Haley led the team in sacks with 10 . 5 . Safety Brock Marion recorded 6 interceptions , returning them for 40 yards and a touchdown . After starting fast at 8 - 1 , the Cowboys hit a major bump in the road , losing big at home to the 49ers , 38 - 20 ( they trailed 31 - 14 at half time ) . Ironically , the 49ers , the previous Super Bowl champion , also suffered a blow out loss at home the prior season ( 40 - 8 to the Philadelphia Eagles ) . Adding insult to injury , the 49ers were without starting quarterback Steve Young and fullback William Floyd . The game was highly anticipated , with verbal exchanges between the teams during the week , and it marked the beginning of a difficult stretch for the team . The following four games resulted in two more losses for the Cowboys . However , after a narrow 21 - 20 win against the Giants , the Cowboys regained their dominating form , trouncing the Arizona Cardinals ( who were playing their home games at Sun Devil Stadium ) 37 - 13 on Christmas night at Arizona as part of " Monday Night Football " , and then cruising through the playoffs with convincing wins against the Eagles and the Packers . Pittsburgh Steelers . Super Bowl XXX was the first time that the Steelers advanced to the league championship game since winning Super Bowl XIV and the first under head coach Bill Cowher . Cowher took over the team in 1992 after longtime head coach Chuck Noll retired after a 23 - year tenure and leading the team to 4 Super Bowl wins . During Cowher ' s first year , the Steelers captured the # 1 AFC playoff Seed with an 11 – 5 regular season record , but were eliminated in their first playoff game against the Buffalo Bills , 24 - 3 . Cowher then led the Steelers into the playoffs in 1993 and 1994 but were also eliminated , including a 17 – 13 upset loss to the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game . In 1995 , the Steelers overcame a 3 – 4 start ( including a 20 – 16 upset loss to the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars ) to win 8 of their final 9 games and finished with an 11 – 5 record , the second best in the AFC . Their offense was led by quarterback Neil O ' Donnell , who completed 246 out of 416 passes for 2 , 970 yards and 17 touchdowns , with only 7 interceptions . Pro Bowl wide receiver Yancey Thigpen was the team ' s leading receiver with 85 receptions for 1 , 307 yards and 5 touchdowns . Other contributors in the passing game included wide receivers Andre Hastings ( 48 catches for 502 yards and 1 touchdown ) and Ernie Mills ( 39 receptions for 679 yards and 8 touchdowns ) , who both also excelled as returners on special teams . Mills gained 1 , 306 yards returning kickoffs while Hastings returned 48 punts for 474 yards and a touchdown . The Steelers rushing attack was led by Erric Pegram , who recorded 813 yards and 5 touchdowns , and Bam Morris , who had 559 yards and 9 touchdowns . On special teams , newly acquired kicker Norm Johnson led the NFL in both field goals made ( 34 ) and field goals attempted ( 41 ) , while also successfully making all 39 of his extra point attempts . The 1995 Pittsburgh defense ranked second in the league in total yards allowed ( 4 , 833 ) . Pro Bowl linebacker Kevin Greene led the team with 9 sacks , while Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd led the team with 86 tackles . The secondary was led by Pro Bowl defensive backs Carnell Lake and Rod Woodson . Playoffs . The Cowboys first defeated the Philadelphia Eagles , 30 – 11 . The score was tied 3 – 3 into the second quarter until Dallas scored 27 consecutive points to put the game out of reach . First , Deion Sanders scored a 21 - yard touchdown on an end around play . Emmitt Smith then capped off a 79 - yard drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run before halftime . Kicker Chris Boniol later scored two field goals in the third quarter , and Troy Aikman completed a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Michael Irvin in the final period , giving the Cowboys a commanding 30 - 3 lead . Meanwhile , Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham was limited to just 11 of 26 completions for 161 yards and no touchdowns , with 1 interception . Philadelphia could only score a single field goal and Cunningham ' s meaningless 4 - yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter . Dallas then advanced to their fourth consecutive NFC Championship Game where they faced the Green Bay Packers , who had eliminated the San Francisco 49ers in the other NFC Divisional Playoff game . Dallas jumped to an early 14 - 3 lead with a pair of first quarter touchdown passes from Aikman to Irvin . But Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw 2 touchdowns to take a 17 - 14 lead midway through the second quarter : a 73 - yard strike to wide receiver Robert Brooks and a 24 - yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson . Dallas stormed right back with a Boniol field goal , and a record 99 - yard drive to score on Smith ' s 1 - yard touchdown run , giving them a 24 – 17 halftime lead . In the third quarter , Green Bay regained the lead with a field goal and another touchdown pass from Favre to Brooks . But Dallas scored two unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter to put the game away . A 90 - yard drive was capped with Smith ' s second touchdown run . Then on Green Bay ' s ensuing drive , Larry Brown intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it 28 yards to set up Smith ' s third touchdown run . Smith finished the game with 150 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns , while also catching 2 passes for 17 yards . Aikman threw for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns , with no interceptions . Irvin caught 7 passes for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns . For the Steelers , they started their playoff run with a 40 – 21 win over the Buffalo Bills . Pittsburgh dominated the Bills right from the start , building up a 23 – 7 halftime lead . Buffalo scored 2 touchdowns in the second half , but Bam Morris ' two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter ended any thoughts of a Bills comeback . The Steelers defense limited Buffalo ' s Jim Kelly to just 135 passing yards and 1 touchdown , while intercepting him 3 times . Bills running back Thurman Thomas , who had rushed for 158 yards and caught 3 passes for 42 yards in Buffalo ' s wild card playoff win over the Miami Dolphins , was held to just 46 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards . Meanwhile , Morris rushed for 106 yards 2 touchdowns , while kicker Norm Johnson scored 4 field goals . Pittsburgh then narrowly defeated the Indianapolis Colts , 20 – 16 , to advance to their first Super Bowl since the 1979 season . In the second quarter , Neil O ' Donnell ' s controversial 5 - yard touchdown pass to Kordell Stewart gave Pittsburgh a 10 - 6 halftime lead ( replays showed that Stewart stepped on the end line before making the catch , which would have made him ineligible ) . But after the teams exchanged field goals in the third quarter , Indianapolis quarterback Jim Harbaugh threw a 47 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Floyd Turner to take a 16 - 13 lead in the fourth quarter . The Steelers drove 67 yards on their final drive ( keyed by a 4th and 3 conversion and a 37 yard pass play from O ' Donnell to Ernie Mills ) to score the go - ahead touchdown on a 1 - yard run by Morris with 1 : 34 left . However , the Colts responded by driving to the Steelers 29 - yard line , and on the game ' s final play , Harbaugh threw a " Hail Mary " pass intended for wide receiver Aaron Bailey in the end zone . Bailey attempted to make a diving catch , but the pass was batted away at the last second by Randy Fuller and ruled incomplete . Television and entertainment . The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC , with play - by - play announcer Dick Enberg and color commentator s Phil Simms and Paul Maguire . Greg Gumbel hosted all the events with the help of then - NBC analysts Ahmad Rashad , Mike Ditka , Joe Gibbs , and Joe Montana . The Lombardi Trophy presentation for this game was the first to be held on the field instead of the winners ' locker room ; all subsequent trophy presentations have been held in this manner . All three Super Bowl wins for the Cowboys in the 1990s were broadcast on NBC , who later gained majority control of its affiliate in the Dallas area , KXAS - TV . A portion of this Super Bowl was " predicted " in the January 17 , 1990 episode of another NBC series , " Quantum Leap " . At one point , in the episode titled , " All Americans , " Al ( Dean Stockwell ) states that the Steelers were down by 3 points . Following the game , NBC broadcast an hour - long episode of " Friends " , re - starting a trend in which the prized post - Super Bowl time slot was given to an established program . Previously , networks typically used the occasion to premiere a new show , with little success . Of the new series premiering after the Super Bowl from 1983 – 95 , only " The A - Team " ( NBC , after Super Bowl XVII ) , " The Wonder Years " ( ABC , after XXII ) , and " " ( NBC , after XXVII ) had lengthy runs . The radio broadcast was carried by CBS Radio , with Jack Buck and Hank Stram announcing . It proved to be Buck ' s last NFL broadcast . Some weeks before Super Bowl XXX , it was found that some proxy server s were blocking the web site for the event . The reason : The game ' s Roman numeral ( XXX ) is usually associated with pornography . Pregame ceremonies . The pregame show held before the game featured dancers in celebration of the culture of Native Americans in the United States , the traditions of the American Old West , and the great outdoors . Actress and singer Vanessa Williams later sang the national anthem . To honor the 30th Super Bowl game , several past Super Bowl MVPs joined the coin toss ceremony . Joe Montana , MVP of Super Bowls XVI , XIX , and XXIV , tossed the coin . Halftime show . Diana Ross performed during the halftime show , titled " Take Me Higher : A Celebration of 30 years of the Super Bowl " . The show featured a number of her songs along with pyrotechnics , special effects and stadium card stunts . The show ended with Ross singing " Take Me Higher " from her 1995 album of the same name , and then she was taken from the field in a helicopter . Game summary . Super Bowl XXX began with Dallas wide receiver Kevin Williams returning the opening kickoff 18 yards to the 29 - yard line . On Dallas ' first possession Troy Aikman completed a 20 - yard pass on second down to wide receiver Michael Irvin , followed by a 23 - yard gain by Emmitt Smith to advance to the Pittsburgh 28 - yard line . On third down and eight from the 26 - yard line , Williams could only gain 2 yards on a reverse play , forcing Dallas to settle for a 42 - yard Chris Boniol field goal . On the Steelers ' first possession , the Dallas defense forced a three - and - out and subsequent punt , which Cowboy cornerback Deion Sanders returned 11 yards to the 25 - yard line . After 2 Smith runs , Aikman completed two quick passes , the first to Irvin for an 11 yard gain and the second to Sanders ( who was brought in on offense as an extra receiver ) for 47 . Four plays later , Aikman completed a 3 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek ( playing in what would be his last game , as Novacek missed the following season due to back injuries before retiring ) , increasing Dallas ' lead to 10 - 0 . After the Steelers managed to advance to the Dallas 36 - yard line on their ensuing drive , the possession fell apart due to a miscue by center Dermontti Dawson . Pittsburgh had lined up in the shotgun formation , and Dawson ' s snap sailed over quarterback Neil O ' Donnell ' s head . O ' Donnell managed to recover the fumble , but the Steelers were unable to recover from the 13 - yard loss and had to punt 2 plays later . After the punt , Dallas drove to the Steelers 24 - yard line . However , a pass interference penalty on Irvin nullified a 24 - yard touchdown reception , and moved the ball back to the 34 - yard line . On the next play , Aikman completed a 19 - yard pass to Novacek , bringing up second down and 1 to go from the 15 - yard line . However , the Steelers defense stopped Smith for no gain on the next play , and then tackled him for a 3 - yard loss on third down . Boniol then kicked a 35 - yard field goal , increasing Dallas ' lead to 13 - 0 . After an exchange of punts , Steelers wide receiver Andre Hastings returned John Jett ' s punt 11 yards to the Pittsburgh 46 - yard line . After O ' Donnell ' s first down pass fell incomplete , Dallas linebacker Charles Haley then sacked the Steeler quarterback for a 10 - yard loss , forcing 3rd down and 20 . O ' Donnell ' s next pass was a 19 - yard completion to Hastings , and then a 3 - yard fourth down run by wide receiver / backup quarterback Kordell Stewart netted a first down . Nine plays later , O ' Donnell threw a 6 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen with just 13 seconds left in the half , cutting Pittsburgh ' s deficit to 13 - 7 . After the third quarter began with another exchange of punts , the Steelers advanced the ball to their own 48 - yard line . However , on third down , Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown intercepted O ' Donnell ' s pass at the Dallas 38 - yard line and returned it 44 yards to the Pittsburgh 18 - yard line . Aikman then completed a 17 - yard pass to Irvin to reach the 1 - yard line , setting up a 1 - yard touchdown by Smith to increase Dallas ' lead to 20 - 7 . On their next drive , the Steelers had second down and 2 on their own 47 - yard line , but turned the ball over on downs after running back Bam Morris was tackled for no gain on 3 consecutive running plays : a draw play to the left , a run to the left , and one to the middle . The Steeler defense held , however , forcing Dallas into a three - and - out ; after a 6 - yard run by Smith and an incompletion , Aikman ' s third down pass was broken up by defensive back Rod Woodson ( who had missed most of the season due to a knee injury ) , forcing the Cowboys to punt . On their next drive , the Steelers advanced from their own 20 - yard line to the Dallas 19 . Dallas defensive end Tony Tolbert sacked O ' Donnell on third down for a 9 - yard loss , however , forcing Pittsburgh to settle for kicker Norm Johnson ' s 46 - yard field goal with 11 : 20 left in the game , cutting the deficit to 20 - 10 . On the ensuing kickoff , Pittsburgh surprised the Cowboys by executing a successful onside kick , with defensive back Deon Figures recovering the ball for Pittsburgh at their own 47 - yard line . O ' Donnell hit Hastings on two consecutive passes for 23 total yards . His next pass went to wide receiver Ernie Mills for 7 yards , and then Morris ran for 5 yards and caught a pass for a 6 - yard gain to the Dallas 11 - yard line . Three plays later , Morris scored on a 1 - yard touchdown run , cutting Pittsburgh ' s deficit to 20 - 17 . With the aid of linebacker Levon Kirkland ' s 8 - yard sack on Aikman , the Cowboys were forced to punt on their next drive and Pittsburgh regained possession of the ball at their own 32 - yard line with 4 : 15 remaining . On second down , however , Brown intercepted another O ' Donnell pass and returned it 33 yards to the Steelers ' 6 - yard line . Two plays later , Smith scored once again with 3 : 43 left in the game , increasing the Cowboy lead to 27 - 17 . The Steelers responded by driving to the Dallas 40 - yard line , but after O ' Donnell threw 4 consecutive incompletions , Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs with 1 : 42 left in the game . After that , Dallas ran out most of the clock with three quarterback kneel s and an intentional delay of the game penalty before punting the ball back to the Steelers . Pittsburgh regained possession of the ball with three seconds remaining , but O ' Donnell ' s hail mary pass was intercepted by Dallas safety Brock Marion on the final play of the game . The Steelers had outgained the Cowboys in total yards , 310 - 254 ( 201 - 61 in the second half ) had 25 first downs compared to the Cowboys 15 , and limited Dallas ' powerful running attack to just 56 yards . However , they were unable to overcome O ' Donnell ' s interceptions , which led to two Cowboy touchdowns . The irony of the game was that O ' Donnell entered Super Bowl XXX as the NFL ' s career leader in fewest interceptions per pass attempt . Troy Aikman finished the game with 15 out of 23 completions for 209 yards and a touchdown ( Aikman became just the third quarterback to win three Super Bowls ; Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana each won four ) . Smith was the Cowboys ' leading rusher with 49 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns . ( Smith became just the 5th player to score a touchdown in three different Super Bowls , joining Lynn Swann , Franco Harris , Thurman Thomas and Jerry Rice ; he also became the first player to rush for two touchdowns in two different Super Bowls ) . Irvin was Dallas ' top receiver with 5 catches for 76 yards . Novacek caught 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown . Defensive end Chad Hennings recorded 2 sacks . Although his 3 interceptions were costly , O ' Donnell recorded 28 of 49 completions for 239 yards and a touchdown . Morris was the top rusher of the game with 73 yards and a touchdown , and caught 3 passes for 18 yards . Hastings was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 98 yards , and returned 2 punts for 18 yards . Mills caught 8 passes for 78 yards and gained 79 yards on 4 kickoff returns , giving him 157 total yards . Charles Haley became the first player to win 5 Super Bowls , winning two with San Francisco ( XXIII and XXIV ) and two previously with Dallas ( XXVII and XXVIII ) . Barry Switzer became the second head coach , after former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson , to win a college football national championship ( University of Oklahoma 1974 , 1975 , 1985 ) and a Super Bowl title . After a many - year long tradition of presenting the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the winning team in its locker room after the game , the NFL instituted an on - the - field presentation ceremony for Super Bowl XXX . This new tradition has been followed by the NFL ever since . The outcome of the game had rather large ramifications for two soon - to - be free agents after their performances . Larry Brown , who was named Super Bowl MVP for his two interceptions , parlayed his performance into a lucrative free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders . However , he was not very effective and was cut from the team after two injury - plagued seasons . Neil O ' Donnell left the Steelers in the offseason and signed a long - term free agent contract with the New York Jets , accepting New York ' s more lucrative offer . O ' Donnell ' s tenure in New York , like Brown ' s in Oakland , was plagued by injuries and ineffective play and he was released from his contract following the 1997 season . Both players finished their careers as backups , Brown returning to the Cowboys in 1998 and O ' Donnell playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans until his retirement in 2003 . Starting lineups . Source :