Super Bowl VI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1971 season. The Cowboys defeated the Dolphins by the score of 24–3, to win their first Super Bowl. This was the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Dallas-based team. The game was played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. Despite the southerly location, it was unseasonably cold at the time, with the kickoff air temperature of making this the coldest Super Bowl played.
Dallas, in its second Super Bowl appearance, entered the game with a reputation of not being able to win big playoff games such as Super Bowl V and the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship Games prior to the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. They posted an 11–3 record during the 1971 regular season before defeating the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. The Dolphins were making their first Super Bowl appearance after building a 10–3–1 regular season record, including eight consecutive wins, and posting postseason victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Colts.
The Cowboys dominated Super Bowl VI, setting Super Bowl records for the most rushing yards (252), the most first downs (23), and the fewest points allowed (3). They were also the first NFL or NFC team to win the Super Bowl since the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. For the next 47 years, they would be the only team to prevent their opponent from scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl, a feat matched by the 2018 New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII and again by the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. The game was close in the first half, with the Cowboys only leading 10–3 at halftime. But Dallas opened the third quarter with a 71-yard, 8-play touchdown drive, and then Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley's 41-yard interception return in the fourth quarter set up another score. This was the first Super Bowl where the winning team outscored the losing team in all four quarters. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, who completed 12 out of 18 passes for 119 yards, threw 2 touchdown passes, and rushed 5 times for 18 yards, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.
This was the last Super Bowl to be blacked out in the TV market in which the game was played. Under the NFL's unconditional blackout rules at the time, the Super Bowl could not be broadcast locally even if the local team did not advance to the Super Bowl, and it was a sellout. The following year, the league changed its rules to allow games to be broadcast in the local market if sold out 72 hours in advance. It was the last Super Bowl played with the hashmarks (also called the inbound lines) set at 40 feet apart (20 yards from the sidelines), and the last NFL game overall; the next season, they were brought in to 18 feet, the width of the goalposts, where they remain.
Background Host selection process The NFL awarded Super Bowl VI to New Orleans on March 23, 1971, at the owners' meetings held in Palm Beach, Florida. Six cities submitted bids: Miami, Dallas, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Houston. It took fourteen ballots to finally select a winner. Miami and Dallas emerged as the heavy favorites. After thirteen deadlocked votes, support for both Dallas and Miami eroded after owners including Al Davis and Billy Sullivan noted that the Cowboys and Dolphins both were both favorites to reach the Super Bowl. They argued against a team having a potential competitive advantage of a home game for the Super Bowl. Owners compromised on the 14th vote and selected New Orleans. City representatives, namely those from Miami, argued that future votes involve awarding multiple Super Bowl sites at the same meeting. They also floated the idea of rotating the host city between AFC and NFC cities annually. This would provide the hosts with greater preparation time and prevent them from having to prepare bids every year. The idea to vote on multiple Super Bowls was implemented the following year, but the AFC/NFC rotation was never implemented.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys entered the season still having the reputation of "not being able to win the big games" and "next year's champion". The Super Bowl V loss added more fuel to that widely held view. As in the previous season, Dallas had a quarterback controversy as Staubach and Craig Morton alternated as starting quarterback (in a loss to the Bears in game 7, Morton and Staubach alternated plays).Roger Staubach, "Super Bowl VI", Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives, Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. The Cowboys were 4–3 at the season midpoint, including a 24–14 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Tulane Stadium. But after head coach Tom Landry settled on Staubach, the Cowboys won their last seven regular season games to finish with an 11–3 record.
Staubach finished the regular season as the NFL's top rated passer (101.8) by throwing for 1,882 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. He was also a terrific rusher, gaining 343 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 carries. Dallas also had an outstanding trio of running backs, Walt Garrison, Duane Thomas, and Calvin Hill, who rushed for a combined total of 1,690 yards and 14 touchdowns during the season. Garrison led the team in receptions during the season (40). (Thomas, upset that the Cowboys would not renegotiate his contract after his excellent rookie year, had stopped talking to the press and to almost everyone on the team). Wide Receivers Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth also provided a deep threat, catching a combined total of 69 passes for 1,327 yards and 10 touchdowns. The offensive line, anchored by all-pro tackle Rayfield Wright, Pro Bowlers John Niland and Ralph Neely, and future Hall of Famer Forrest Gregg, was also a primary reason for their success on offense. Neely had broken his leg in November in a dirt-bike accident, and was replaced first by Gregg and then by Tony Liscio, who came out of retirement.
The Dallas defense (nicknamed the "Doomsday Defense") had given up only one touchdown in the last 14 quarters prior to the Super Bowl. Their defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bob Lilly, who excelled at pressuring quarterbacks and breaking up running plays. Dallas also had an outstanding trio of linebackers: Pro Bowler Chuck Howley, who recorded 5 interceptions and returned them for 122 yards; Dave Edwards 2 interceptions; and Lee Roy Jordan, who recorded 2 interceptions. The Cowboys secondary was led by 2 future Hall of Fame cornerbacks Herb Adderley (6 interceptions for 182 return yards) and Mel Renfro (4 interceptions for 11 yards). Safeties Cliff Harris and Pro Bowler Cornell Green combined for 4 interceptions. Harris added 29 kickoff returns for 823 yards, an average of 28.4 yards per return (3rd in the NFL). They were also helped out by weak side linebacker D.D. Lewis.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins, who advanced to the Super Bowl just five years after their founding in 1966, were based primarily around their league-leading running attack, led by running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick. Csonka rushed for 1,051 yards, averaging over five yards per carry, and scored seven touchdowns. Versatile Jim Kiick rushed for 738 yards and three touchdowns, and was second on the Dolphins in receiving with 40 receptions for 338 yards. They fumbled once (by Kiick) between the two of them during the regular season. But Miami also had a threatening passing game. Quarterback Bob Griese, the AFC's leading passer and most valuable player, put up an impressive performance during the season, completing 145 passes for 2,089 yards and 19 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions. Griese's major weapon was wide receiver Paul Warfield, who caught 43 passes for 996 yards (a 23.2 yards per catch average) and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. The Dolphins also had an excellent offensive line to open up holes for their running backs and protect Griese on pass plays, led by future Hall of Fame guard Larry Little.
Miami's defense was a major reason why the team built a 10–3–1 regular season record, including eight consecutive wins. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti was a major force reading and stopping plays, while safety Jake Scott recorded 7 interceptions and led the NFL in punt return yards with 318.
Playoffs
Before this season, the Dolphins had never won a playoff game in franchise history, but they surprised the entire NFL by advancing to the Super Bowl with wins against the two previous Super Bowl champions. The Dolphins became the first of the four teams which had commenced play in the NFL or AFL after the start of the Super Bowl era to contest so much as a title game, let alone earn a berth in the world championship game.
First Miami defeated the Kansas City Chiefs (winners of Super Bowl IV), 27–24, in the longest game in NFL history with kicker Garo Yepremian's game-winning field goal after 22 minutes and 40 seconds of overtime play in the final Chiefs game at Municipal Stadium. Later, Miami shut out the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts, 21–0, in the AFC Championship Game, with safety Dick Anderson intercepting 3 passes from Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas and returning one of them for a 62-yard touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys marched to the Super Bowl with playoff wins over the Minnesota Vikings, 20–12 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, and the San Francisco 49ers, 14–3 in the NFC Championship Game, giving up only one touchdown in the two games.
Super Bowl pregame news and notes Soon after the Dolphins' win in the AFC Championship Game, Shula received a phone call at his home from President Richard Nixon at 1:30 in the morning. Nixon had a play he thought would work, a particular pass to Warfield. (That particular play, which was called late in the first quarter, was broken up by Mel Renfro.)
When asked about the Dolphins' defensive team prior to Super Bowl VI, Landry said that he could not recall any of the players' names, but they were a big concern to him. Over the years this remark has been regarded as the origin of the nickname "No-Name Defense". However, it was Miami defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger who had originally given his squad the nickname after the Dolphins had beaten the Baltimore Colts in the AFC Championship.
According to Tom Landry, the Cowboys were very confident. "When they talked among themselves they said there was no way they were going to lose that game."Bill McGrane, "Winning the Big One", The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game. Simon & Schuster, 1990
The Cowboys used the New Orleans Saints' practice facility in Metairie as its training headquarters for the game. The Dolphins split their practices between Tulane Stadium and Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans' City Park. Dallas' team hotel was the Hilton across from New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, and Miami lodged at the Fontainebleau Motor Hotel in New Orleans' Mid-City neighborhood.
On Media Day, Duane Thomas refused to answer any questions and sat silently until his required time was up. Roger Staubach surmises that Duane Thomas would have been named MVP if he had cooperated with the press prior to the game. (Thomas had in fact been named the game's MVP by an overwhelming margin, but due to his boycotting the press, the award was given to Staubach.) In the Cowboys' locker room after the game, flustered CBS reporter Tom Brookshier asked Duane Thomas a long-winded question, the gist of which was "You're fast, aren't you?" Thomas, who had shunned the press all season, simply said "Evidently." Thomas became the first player to score touchdowns in back-to-back Super Bowls, having a receiving touchdown in Super Bowl V.