1995 Dallas Cowboys season The 1995 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 36th in the NFL and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win in the 1990s . Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons . Second year head coach Barry Switzer guided the Cowboys to a fifth Super Bowl victory by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX . Regular season . The 1995 season , due to the NFL salary cap , once more saw a number of key veterans depart via free agency including wide receiver Alvin Harper to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , safety James Washington to the Washington Redskins , center Mark Stepnoski to the Houston Oilers and longtime Cowboys veteran defensive end Jim Jeffcoat to the Buffalo Bills . Starting cornerback Kevin Smith was out the remainder of the season after an injury in week one and perhaps the most prominent addition came on September 11 , 1995 , when Dallas signed All - Pro cornerback Deion Sanders away from the San Francisco 49ers . Running back Emmitt Smith would earn his fourth NFL rushing title and set a then - record 25 rushing touchdowns in a season against the Arizona Cardinals to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs . The season began with 4 straight victories . In week five at Washington , Troy Aikman was injured early and Dallas suffered their first loss of the season . Aikman returned the next week and led Dallas to 4 more wins to move to 8 – 1 . In week ten , the struggling 49ers ( only 5 – 4 ) came to Texas Stadium and shocked the Cowboys , 38 – 20 . Dallas rebounded with 2 wins to move to 10 – 2 but then were upset at home by the Washington Redskins ( The Redskins , who finished only 6 – 10 , swept the eventual world champions ) . The Cowboys would lose their second game in a row in a controversial loss at Philadelphia where with the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter , Coach Barry Switzer elected to " go for it " on 4th down at the Cowboys 29 . The play failed and Philly kicked a field goal to provide the margin of victory . The next week , Dallas appeared headed for a third straight defeat at home to the mediocre New York Giants but thanks to a clutch late reception by Kevin Williams and a last - second field goal by Chris Boniol , the Cowboys prevailed . Rejuvenated , the team defeated the Arizona Cardinals and ( combined with a 49er loss the day before ) secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs . The movie " Jerry Maguire " used film footage from the Arizona matchup . The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional game followed by a memorable NFC Championship game victory against the Green Bay Packers at Texas Stadium . The team would go on to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona for the right to tie the NFL record of a fifth Super Bowl title . Dallas dominated early , but as the Steelers gained momentum and threatened an upset over the heavily favored Cowboys , starting cornerback Larry Brown , after the tragic loss of his son Kristopher during the season , was named Super Bowl XXX Most Valuable Player when he intercepted his second pass from Steeler quarterback Neil O ' Donnell to seal the game .