The Cowboys last reached and won the Super Bowl to cap the 1995 NFL season. Since then, Dallas is in the midst of a 28-year championship drought.
Week 5 of the 2024 season brings the Cowboys a fresh reminder of their Super Bowl glory, as well as their long wait for another. Dallas is headed to Pittsburgh to renew a classic NFC-AFC rivalry with the Steelers — the team the Cowboys beat, 27-17, in Super Bowl 30.
That marked the third time Dallas and Pittsburgh met in the Super Bowl. The Steelers won both of the previous meetings, 21-17 in Super Bowl 10 (’75-’76) and 35-31 in Super Bowl 13 (’78-79).
The Cowboys did win two rings in the 1970s, while the Steelers had a pair of repeats in that decade to make it four and a true dynasty. Dallas would need to wait for its dynasty, but it arrived with coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer under Jerry Jones in the 1990s. After repeating with Johnson against the Bills in Super Bowls 27 and 28, the Cowboys were able exact revenge on the Steelers with Switzer two years later.
Since then, the Cowboys have been back to the NFC playoffs an unlucky 13 times. The closest they been to a Super Bowl return, though, is the divisional round, as 1995 also marks the last time they advanced to the NFC championship game.
As fans of “America’s Team” keep waiting for that sixth all-time Super Bowl ring to tie them with the Steelers and Tom Brady’s Patriots for most in 59 years, here’s looking back at their most recent ultimate glory day.
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Who was favored to win Super Bowl 30?
The Cowboys saw their NFC rival 49ers break up their dynastic run in Super Bowl 29. Dallas got back on track in the second season of Switzer, though, going 12-4 as dominant NFC East champions in 1995. They lived up to their No. 1 playoff seed, beating the No. 3 seed Packers in the NFC title game.
The Steelers won the then AFC Central with an 11-5 record. They earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC and survived a conference championship thriller against Jim Harbaugh and the wild-card Colts.
Dallas entered the title game as a heavy 13.5-point favorite, and the Cowboys were headed for more of a dynastic coronation than realistic competition from the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
Cowboys notable starters in Super Bowl 30
The Cowboys were loaded on offense and defense with 10 Pro Bowlers for the 1995 season. They also had six future Hall of Famers on the roster.
Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin were the triple threat on offense, with guard Larry Allen clearing the way — and all four are now enshrined in Canton.
From the defense, Deion Sanders and Charles Haley, two one-time 49ers, were in their prime on the way to the Hall. Sanders would also make a 47-yard catch playing wide receiver like Irvin in Super Bowl 30.
Aikman, Smith, Irvin and Allen also were helped by three more standout offensive linemen in tackle Mark Tuinei, center Ray Donaldson and guard Nate Newton, plus a top tight end in Jay Novacek. Haley and Sanders had support in safety Darren Woodson.
The Cowboys were still reaping the benefits of the roster rebuild by Johnson and paid for by Jones, with no real weaknesses.
Steelers notable starters in Super Bowl 30
Neil O’Donnell was Pittsburgh’s improbable Super Bowl QB in 1995 after the team won four times with Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw in the 1970s. O’Donnell shared the position with run-oriented “Slash” player Kordell Stewart, a rookie second-rounder.
The Steelers had two offensive Pro Bowlers (center Dermontti Dawson, wide receiver Yancey Thigpen) and three defensive Pro Bowlers (edge rushers Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd, safety Carnell Lake). Other key players included running back Bam Morris and inside linebackers Chad Brown and Levon Kirkland.
Found it! Here is the @sportingnews magazine cover from the Cowboys beating the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX pic.twitter.com/mopCXaYlDC
— SN’s Vinnie Iyer (@vinnieiyer) October 4, 2024
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How the Cowboys won Super Bowl 30
Dallas jumped out to a 13-0 lead with a field goal and Aikman-to-Novacek score before Pittsburgh cut the lead to 13-7 right before halftime when O’Donnell hit Thigpen for a touchdown. The Cowboys maintained and increased their distance with two Smith rushing TDs in the second half, resulting in a comfortable 27-17 win in Arizona.
The Steelers held Smith to just 49 yards rushing on 18 carries. Aikman had a solid passing day (15-of-23, 209 yards, TD) and Irvin put up modest stats (five catches for 76 yards on 10 targets). Pittsburgh’s defense did its best to keep its team in the game, but Dallas’ defense stole the show with four sacks and three interceptions of O’Donnell, which set up a worthy Super Bowl 30 MVP.
Who was the Cowboys’ Super Bowl 30 MVP?
You could ask a different sports trivia question — “Which basketball coach is the only one to win an NBA title and the NCAA Tournament?” — and get the same answer.
Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, who shares the same name as the hoops Hall of Famer, had two of those three interceptions of O’Donnell, giving Dallas 77 return yards. Brown got the nod over Chad Hennings, who had two of the four sacks. Brown took advantage of being targeted often opposite the shutdown stylings of Sanders, who started opposite him.
Why haven’t the Cowboys son a Super Bowl since?
The NFL introduced free agency in the 1993 offseason, and the salary cap was instituted a year later. The Cowboys’ dynasty was predicated on Jones keeping core players together, which was much easier for most of the seasons before 1995.
The 1996 season, Switzer’s third, still was worthy of the playoffs, but it was marred by injuries and inconsistency, ending in a playoff road loss to the Panthers, in their second year as an expansion. In 1997, the Cowboys tumbled back down to 6-10 and out of the playoffs. At end of it, Switzer resigned. Since 1998, Dallas has had six coaches.
The Cowboys went on a six-game playoff losing streak after winning Super Bowl 30, which didn’t end until they beat the AFC East rival Eagles in the wild-card round in 2009. Since that win, the Cowboys have gone 3-7 in the playoffs.
More frustration has set in with three consecutive 12-5 seasons and nothing close to a Super Bowl appearance to show for it under current Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native.
The Steelers lost Super Bowl 45 in Dallas to McCarthy’s Packers in February 2011 in their last appearance in the Big Game. The Steelers have stuck with head coach Mike Tomlin, who led them to the Super Bowl 43 title. On Sunday, he’ll once again coach vs. McCarthy, whose contract runs out after the 2024 season, when Jones and the Cowboys are headed to yet another coaching change.
