[8] Led by Staubach and the Doomsday Defense, Dallas advanced to its fourth Super Bowl after posting a 12–2 record in the regular season and home playoff victories over the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

The Broncos, led by Morton and the Orange Crush Defense, made their first-ever postseason appearance after a franchise-best 12–2 regular season record.

[9] The Cowboys defense dominated Super Bowl XII, forcing eight turnovers and allowing only eight pass completions by the Broncos for 61 yards.

Dallas extended its lead to 20–3 in the third quarter after wide receiver Butch Johnson made a diving catch in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown reception.

However, the Cowboys put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when fullback Robert Newhouse threw a 29-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option play to receiver Golden Richards.

A total of six cities submitted bids: New Orleans, Miami, Pasadena (Rose Bowl), Los Angeles (Coliseum), Dallas, and Houston.

A favorite going into the vote, New Orleans won on the fourth ballot after representatives promised they would prevent price gouging by the local hotels.

[12] In selecting the Superdome, owners rejected maintaining an AFC/NFC host site rotation, an unofficial, and mostly coincidental pattern that had been in place for several seasons.

The next year, Staubach won the starting job and eventually led Dallas to defeat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24–3.

Denver had 3 running backs, Otis Armstrong, Lonnie Perrin, and Rob Lytle, who carried the ball equally, combining for 1,353 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Cowboys earned their second trip to the Super Bowl in three years by defeating the Chicago Bears, 37–7, and the Minnesota Vikings, 23–6, in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Broncos earned their first ever trip to the Super Bowl in team history by defeating the two previous league champions: the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34–21, and the Oakland Raiders, 20–17, in the playoffs.

Tony Dorsett became the first football player in history to win an NCAA National Championship one year (with the University of Pittsburgh Panthers) and a Super Bowl the next.

Also contributing were Hank Stram (who had recently been fired by the New Orleans Saints); Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder; Sonny Jurgensen (working on CBS Radio coverage); Gary Bender; Paul Hornung; Nick Buoniconti and Jack Whitaker.

Two plays later, from the 19-yard line, Dorsett fumbled the ball forward into heavy traffic, but center John Fitzgerald made the recovery to keep possession for the Cowboys, who then punted.

On the Broncos' second possession, following an illegal use of hands penalty on Denver guard Tom Glassic, Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin simultaneously hit Morton as he attempted to throw, which resulted in a wobbly pass that failed to cross the line of scrimmage and was intercepted by safety Randy Hughes on the Denver 25-yard line.

Two plays later, however, Morton was intercepted for a second time after his pass was tipped by linebacker Bob Breunig into the arms of cornerback Aaron Kyle, who returned the ball 20 yards to the Denver 35.

On the second play of the next Denver drive, Morton unleashed an errant pass intended for Moses for his third interception, this time by cornerback Benny Barnes at the Cowboys' 40-yard line.

However, the punt struck an unsuspecting Schultz on his helmet as he attempted to throw a block during the return, and the ball was quickly recovered by Dallas linebacker Bruce Huther.

The Cowboys then advanced to the Broncos' 26 on a 14-yard run by Dorsett, but Herrera missed a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left, keeping the score 13–0.

On their following drive, the Broncos committed their fifth turnover as wide receiver Jack Dolbin fumbled a 13-yard reception, while being tackled by safety Charlie Waters, with Hughes returning the ball 18 yards to the Denver 27-yard line.

However, on the next play, Dallas gave the ball right back to Denver as DuPree caught a 20-yard pass at the 8-yard line but fumbled after taking a hit from cornerback Steve Foley, with Tom Jackson making the recovery.

Five plays later, with the Broncos desperate to get on the board before the end of the half, Morton uncorked yet another errant pass that was intercepted by cornerback Mark Washington who returned the ball 27 yards to Denver's 35-yard line.

Morton, who had thrown only 8 interceptions during the entire 1977 season, was picked off 4 times in the half in addition to 3 fumbles lost, finishing with a passer rating of 0.0.

On the next play, Morton nearly threw his fifth interception to Cowboys defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and was then immediately replaced by backup quarterback Norris Weese.

Dallas drove to the Denver 35 on their next possession, but Staubach was strip-sacked by Tom Jackson, and Carter recovered the fumble at the Broncos' 45 on the second play of the quarter.

[24] Denver, now playing for pride, reached the Dallas 25-yard line on their next possession, but turned the ball over on downs after a sack on Weese by linebacker D. D. Lewis, a delay of game penalty, and back-to-back incomplete passes.

The Broncos then forced the Cowboys to punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty on Denver linebacker Rob Nairne gave Dallas a new set of downs, enabling them to run out the clock and end the game.

Morton was a large part of the reason for Peters, who felt the Broncos' quarterback was lucky to have only been intercepted four times in the first half, and a total output that amounted to only one completion for positive yardage that was not followed by an immediate turnover.

Source:[31] Hall of Fame‡ Note: A seven-official system was not used until the following season Jim Tunney was the only referee to work consecutive Super Bowls.