The Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins met up for Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 16, 1972. It was Dallas’s second year in a row in the Super Bowl, and they avenged the previous year’s loss by winning Super Bowl VI by a score of 24-3. For several years, Dallas had a reputation as a team that couldn’t get it done in the big games. The Cowboys did nothing to help that reputation with Super Bowl V’s 16-13 loss to Baltimore. The Cowboys were also dealing with a quarterback controversy between Roger Staubach and Craig Morton. The two alternated games and sometimes plays throughout the first half of the season before coach Tom Landry settled on Staubach. The Cowboys won their last seven regular season games with Staubach at the helm to finish with an 11-3 record. Miami featured a dominant running game led by running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick. Csonka rushed for 1,051 yards and seven touchdowns and averaged more than five yards per carry. Kiick rushed for another 738 yards and three touchdowns and also displayed a strong ability to catch the ball. He was second on the Dolphins in receiving with 40 receptions for 338 yards. The Dolphins balanced out their offense with elite quarterback Bob Griese. He was the AFC’s leading passer and MVP during the regular season. He threw 19 touchdowns against 9 interceptions. In addition to Kiick, Griese liked to throw to wide receiver Paul Warfield. Warfield caught 43 passes for 996 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. Super Bowl VI was broadcast in the United States by CBS with announcers Ray Scott and Pat Summerall. Neither team was able to mount much of a drive on their first possessions. Miami’s second possession ended in disaster when Csonka fumbled a handoff from Griese for his first fumble of the season. Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley recovered the fumble at the Cowboys’ 48-yard line. Twelve plays later, Dallas kicker Mike Clark kicked a 9-yard field goal for the first points of the game. In the second quarter, Staubach and Lance Alworth hooked up for a 7-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys up 10-0. Miami would get its only points of the game before the first half ended when Garo Yepremian kicked a 31-yard field goal. It was all Cowboys in the second half as they would hold the Dolphins scoreless. They went up 17-3 in the third quarter when Duane Thomas ran in a 3-yard touchdown. The final score of the game was a 7-yard touchdown pass from Staubach to Mike Ditka to put the Cowboys ahead 24-3. Staubach was named the game’s MVP for his performance. He completed 12 out of 19 passes for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. Duane Thomas ran for a game-high 95 rushing yards on 19 carries and he had one touchdown. Staubach later suggested that Thomas would have been named MVP if he had been more cooperative with the press.
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