In Super Bowl XXX, did a Novecek TD get called back, allowing an Irvin TD to earn Gar the first SUFFL title?
formerly The 'Gar Has No Credibility As A Historian' Page, renamed since it's unclear if Gar ever actually made this claim.
*The below was taken from http://nflarchives.com/sb/1995.htm.
Compare with the statement enshrined for years on our Year-by-Year Final Standings page, "Vamp's Aikman throws a TD to Vamp's Novacek, but Ah-aaaah!, there's a flag on the play! This time it's complete to Gar's Irvin in the endzone for a touchdown!!! And Gar wins. It's so dramatic."
OK, let me spell it out for you -- as the below play-by-play and boxscore indicate, Irvin did not score a TD in the game. A TD pass to Irvin was nullified by PI -- maybe that's what Gar was thinking. But that drive ended in a Dallas FG. Novacek did score, but on a different drive. So the whole shape of the statement is dead wrong.
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The Cowboys were expected to win
their third Super Bowl in four years, but Pittsburgh wasn't expected to
put up much of a fight. Surprisingly, the Steelers did. If not for a
couple of mind-boggling bad passes thrown by Neil O'Donnell�the
interceptions led to 14 Dallas points�the Steelers might well have won.
O'Donnell's second pick was the back-breaker. With 4:15 left in the game,
Pittsburgh had the ball, trailing 20-17. On second down, O'Donnell dropped
back and inexplicably threw the ball directly into the open arms of
cornerback Larry Brown, who returned the ball 33 yards to the Steelers' 6.
Game over. |
Super Bowl XXX Play-by-Play
jump to boxscore
First Quarter
Dallas wins toss, elects to receive. Pittsburgh elects to defend north goal.
Johnson kicks off to Williams at 11, 18 return to Dallas 29, run out of bounds by Figures.
DALLAS: 14:40
1-10-D29 Aikman incomplete pass to Novacek in left flat, knocked down by Lake.
2-10-D29 Aikman 20 pass to Irvin, tackled by Perry.
1-10-D49 E.Smith 23 run off left tackle, tackled by Perry.
1-10-P28 E.Smith 2 run up middle, tackled by Steed.
2- 8-P26 Aikman incomplete pass, dropped by Irvin, covered by Lake.
3- 8-P26 K.Williams 2 reverse to left side, slips, C.Brown tackled.
4- 6-P24 Boniol 42 field goal.
{Dallas 3, Pittsburgh 0.}
Boniol kicks off to Mills at 5, 20 return to Pittsburgh 25, tackled by Lang.
PITTSBURGH: 11:55.
1-10-P25 Pegram 2 run up middle, tackled by D.Smith.
2- 8-P27 Pegram 2 run right tackle, tackled by Maryland.
3- 6-P29 O'Donnell 5 pass to Hastings, tackled by Bailey.
4- 1-P34 Stark 52 punt to Sanders at 14, 11 return to Dallas 25, tackled by Flowers.
DALLAS: 9:58.
1-10-D25 E.Smith 6 run off left end, tackled by Kirkland.
2- 4-D31 E.Smith 2 run up middle, tackled by Lloyd and Steed.
3- 2-D33 False start on Newton, 5-yard penalty.
3- 7-D28 Aikman 11 pass to Irvin over middle, tackled by Lake.
1-10-D39 Aikman 47 pass to Sanders over middle, tackled by W.Williams.
1-10-P14 E.Smith 4 run off right tackled, tackled by Buckner.
2- 6-P10 Aikman chased out of bounds on right sideline by Seals.
3- 9-P13 Aikman 10 pass to Novacek over middle, tackled by Lake and Perry.
1- G-P 3 Aikman 3 TD pass to Novacek in left flat. Boniol extra point.
{Dallas 10, Pittsburgh 0.}
Boniol kicks off to Mills at 8, 19 return to Pittsburgh 27, tackled by Schwantz.
PITTSBURGH: 5:15.
1-10-P27 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, to Pegram, on left sideline.
2-10-P27 Pegram 2 run on draw, tackled by Tolbert and D.Smith.
3- 8-P29 O'Donnell 11 pass to Mills on right sideline, tackled by L.Brown.
Dallas calls first timeout after Pittsburgh lines up in no-huddle offense.
1-10-P40 Morris 6 run up middle, tackled by R.Jones.
2- 4-P46 Morris no gain off left tackle, tackled by Edwards and Haley.
3- 4-P46 Stewart 3 run to left side off pitch from O'Donnell, tackled by Carver and L.Brown.
4- 1-P49 Stewart 2 run on quarterback sneak, tackled by Haley.
1-10-D49 O'Donnell deep incomplete pass, overthrown, to Mills.
2-10-D49 Morris 2 run up middle, tackled by R.Jones and D.Smith.
3- 8-D47 O'Donnell 11 pass to Hastings over middle.
1-10-D36 O'Donnell recovers bad snap for 13 loss.
2-23-D49 O'Donnell 10 pass to Holliday on right sideline, coverage by Woodson.
End of First Quarter: Dallas 10, Pittsburgh 0
Second Quarter
3-13-D39 O'Donnell incomplete pass to Holliday, out of bounds, on right sideline.
4-13-D39 Stark 39 punt into end zone.
DALLAS: 14:47.
1-10-D20 Aikman 5 pass to Novacek over middle, tackled by Kirkland.
2- 5-D25 Aikman 13 pass to Novacek over middle, tackled by Greene.
1-10-D38 E.Smith 0 run off left tackle, tackled by Lake.
2-10-D38 Aikman 12 pass to Irvin on left sideline, tackled by Lake and Lloyd.
1-10- 50 E.Smith 5 run up middle, tackled by Olsavsky and Lloyd.
2- 5-P45 Offsides on Johnson for 5 yards.
2-inches-P41 Johnston 4 run up middle, tackled by Lake and W.Williams
1-10-P37 Aikman 3 dumpoff pass to E.Smith in left flat, tackled by Kirkland.
2- 7-P34 E.Smith 2 run off right tackle, tackled by Buckner.
3- 5-P32 Aikman 4 pass to Johnston over middle, tackled by Bell.
4-inches-P28 Johnston 4 run up middle, tackled by Kirkland and Perry.
1-10-P24 Aikman 24 TD pass to Irvin nullified by offensive pass interference on Irvin, 10 penalty.
1-20-P34 Aikman 18 pass to Novacek over middle, tackled by Lloyd and Olsavsky.
2- 2-P16 E.Smith 0 run up middle, tackled by Lloyd and Olsavsky.
3- 2-P16 E.Smith 3 loss on run on toss right, tackled by Kirkland.
4- 5-P19 Boniol 35 field goal, 6:03.
{Dallas 13, Pittsburgh 0.}
Boniol kicks off to Mills at 10, 22 return to Pittsburgh 32, tackled by Bailey.
PITTSBURGH: 5:52.
1-10-P32 O'Donnell incomplete pass, underthrown, to Thigpen.
2-10-P32 Morris loss of 1 off left tackle, tackled by D.Woodson and Bailey.
3-11-P31 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, to Hastings over middle.
4-11-P31 Starks 55 punt, downed at Dallas 14.
DALLAS: 4:56.
1-10-D14 Aikman incomplete pass, hit official, to Johnston over middle.
2-10-D14 E.Smith 0 run off left tackle, tackled by Lloyd.
3-10-D14 Aikman incomplete pass over middle, deflected by Oldham, to Irvin.
4-10-D14 Jett 51 punt to Hastings at Pittsburgh 35, 11 return to Pittsburgh 46, tackled by Hellestrae.
PITTSBURGH: 3:52.
1-10-P46 O'Donnell incomplete pass, wide right, to Thigpen on right sideline.
2-10-P46 O'Donnell loss of 10 on sack by Haley.
3-20-P36 O'Donnell 19 pass to Hastings over middle, tackled by Marion and D.Woodson.
4- 1-D45 Stewart 3 run on quarterback sneak, tackled by Lett and Tolbert.
1-10-D42 O'Donnell incomplete pass to Thigpen up left sideline, deflected by Sanders.
2-10-D42 Morris 12 run off right tackle, tackled by D.Woodson and Marion.
TWO MINUTE WARNING
1-10-D30 Morris 3 run off right tackle, tackled by D.Smith.
2- 7-D27 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to Hayes on right sideline.
3- 7-D27 O'Donnell 7 pass to Mills over middle, tackled by L.Brown.
Pittsburgh calls first timeout, 1:05.
1-10-D20 O'Donnell sacked by Hennings for 9 loss.
2-19-D29 O'Donnell 6 pass to Hastings over middle, tackled by Bailey.
Pittsburgh calls second timeout, :27.
3-13-D23 O'Donnell 17 pass to Mills over middle, tackled by Case.
Pittsburgh calls third timeout, :17.
1- G-D 6 O'Donnell 6 TD pass to Thigpen over middle, :13. Johnson extra point.
{Dallas 13, Pittsburgh 7.}
Johnson kicks off to K.Williams at Dallas 25, handoff to Marion, 13 return to Dallas 38, tackled by Fuller.
DALLAS: :08.
1-1-D38 Aikman kneels for 1 loss.
End of Second Quarter: Dallas 13, Pittsburgh 7
Third Quarter
Boniol kicks off out of bounds on left sideline.
PITTSBURGH: 14:56.
1-10-P40 Morris 0 run off right tackle, tackled by Tolbert and R.Jones.
2-10-P40 O'Donnell 10 screen pass to Morris up middle, tackled by Myles and Marion.
1-10- 50 Morris 15 run off left tackle, dragged down by D.Woodson.
1-10-D35 Morris 2 run up middle, tackled by Maryland.
2- 8-D33 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, for Bruener over the middle.
3- 8-D33 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to Hastings, coverage by Case.
4- 8-D33 Stark 33 punt into end zone.
DALLAS: 12:07.
1-10-D20 E.Smith loss of 1 off right tackle, tackled by Lloyd.
2-11-D19 Aikman 16 pass to Irvin over middle, tackled by W.Williams and C.Brown.
1-10-D35 Smith loss of 4 off right tackle, tackled by Kirkland.
2-14-D31 Aikman 7 pass to K.Williams on left sideline, tackled by Lake.
3- 7-D38 Aikman incomplete pass, underthrown, to Irvin on right side.
4- 7-D38 Jett 26 punt, downed by Myles at Pittsburgh 36.
PITTSBURGH: 9:14.
1-10-P36 Pegram 3 run around left end, tackled by Lett.
2- 7-P39 Stewart 8 run down right sideline on halfback option, tackled by Case.
1-10-P47 Pegram 0 run on left side, tackled by D.Smith.
2-10-P47 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to Stewart in right flat.
3-10-P47 O'Donnell pass intercepted by L.Brown at Dallas 38, returned 44 yards to Pittsburgh 18, tackled by Strzelczyk.
DALLAS: 7:18
1-10-P18 Aikman 17 pass to Irvin down right sideline, coverage by Perry.
1- G-P 1 E.Smith 1 TD run up middle, 6:42. Boniol kick.
{Dallas 20, Pittsburgh 7.}
Boniol kicks off to Mills at Pittsburgh 7, 18 return to Pittsburgh 25, tackled by Schwantz. Holding on D.Jones, 10 penalty.
PITTSBURGH: 6:32.
1-10-P15 O'Donnell 4 loss on Hennings sack.
2-14-P11 Morris 7 run off left tackle, tackled by Lett and Carver.
3- 7-P18 O'Donnell 8 pass to Hastings on right side, tackled by Marion.
1-10-P26 J.Williams 0 run off right side, tackled by Bates.
2-10-P26 O'Donnell 9 pass to Hastings on right sideline, coverage by D.Woodson.
3- 1-P35 Pegram 4 run off left-side pitch, tackled by D.Woodson and D.Smith.
1-10-P39 O'Donnell 8 pass to Mills up middle, tackled by Marion.
2- 2-P47 Morris 0 run on draw play left side, tackled by D.Smith and Marion.
3- 2-P47 Morris 0 run off left guard, tackled by Carver.
4- 2-P47 Morris 0 run up middle, tackled by Hennings and Tolbert.
DALLAS: 1:26.
1-10-P47 E.Smith 6 run up middle, tackled by Lloyd and Perry.
2- 4-P41 Aikman incomplete pass, knocked down by Lloyd, to left side.
3- 4-P41 Aikman incomplete pass to Irvin on left sideline, broken up by R.Woodson.
4- 4-P41 Jett 41 punt into end zone.
PITTSBURGH: :33.
1-10-P20 O'Donnell 12 pass to Mills on right sideline, coverage by Sanders.
1-10-P32 Morris 4 run off left tackle, tackled by Carver.
End of Third Quarter: Dallas 20, Pittsburgh 7
Fourth Quarter
2- 6-P36 Morris 13 run off left tackle, tackled by Case.
1-10-P49 O'Donnell 10 pass to Mills, forced fumble by Case, Bruener recovered fumble on Dallas 35.
1-10-D35 O'Donnell 2 pass to Morris in left flat, tackled by D.Woodson.
2- 8-D33 O'Donnell 5 pass to Mills on right sideline, coverage by Case.
3- 3-D28 O'Donnell 7 pass to Thigpen over middle, coverage by Bailey.
1-10-D21 O'Donnell 2 pass to J.Williams on left side, tackled by D.Woodson.
2- 8-D19 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, to Stewart down left sideline.
Pittsburgh calls first timeout, 11:48.
3- 8-D19 O'Donnell 9 loss on Tolbert sack.
4-17-D28 Johnson kicks 46 field goal, 11:20.
{Dallas 20, Pittsburgh 10.}
Johnson onside kick recovered by Figures at Pittsburgh 48.
PITTSBURGH: 11:15
1-10-P48 O'Donnell 12 pass to Hastings down right sideline, tackled by Edwards.
1-10-D40 O'Donnell 11 pass to Hastings, tackled by D.Woodson.
1-10-D29 O'Donnell 8 pass to Mills, tackled by L.Brown.
2- 2-D21 Morris 4 run up middle, tackled by R.Jones.
1-10-D17 O'Donnell 6 pass to Morris on right sideline, tackled by L.Brown and Case.
2- 4-D11 O'Donnell 6 pass to Thigpen, tackled by Edwards.
1- G-D 5 Morris 3 run up middle, tackled by Edwards.
2- G-D 2 Morris 1 run up middle, tackled by Sanders and Schwantz.
3- G-D 1 Morris 1 TD run around left end, 6:36. Johnson kick.
{Dallas 20, Pittsburgh 17.}
Johnson kicks off to K.Williams at Dallas 6, 6 return to Dallas 12, tackled by Lester.
DALLAS: 6:24.
1-10-D12 Aikman 22 pass to K.Williams, tackled by W.Williams.
1-10-D34 E.Smith 1 run off right tackle, tackled by Kirkland.
2- 9-D35 Aikman 8 loss on Kirkland sack.
3-17-D27 Aikman incomplete pass, overthrown, to K.Williams down middle.
4-17-D27 Jett 48 punt to Hastings at Pittsburgh 26, 6 return to Pittsburgh 32, tackled by D.Smith and Hellestrae.
PITTSBURGH: 4:15.
1-10-P32 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to Hastings over middle.
2-10-P32 O'Donnell interception to L.Brown at Pittsburgh 39, 33 return down left sideline to Pittsburgh 6, knocked out of bounds by J.Williams.
DALLAS: 4:01
1- G-P 6 E.Smith run off left tackle, tackled by Steed and Bell.
Pittsburgh calls second timeout, 3:47.
2- G-P 4 E.Smith 4 TD run up middle, 3:43. Boniol kick.
{Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17.}
Boniol kicks off to McAfee at Pittsburgh 7, 17 return to Pittsburgh 24.
PITTSBURGH: 3:33.
1-10-P24 O'Donnell 11 pass to Hastings down right sideline, tackled by Marion.
1-10-P35 O'Donnell 9 pass to Holliday, tackled by L.Brown.
2- 1-P44 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, out of bounds on right side. Illegal contact on Bates, 5 penalty.
1-10-P49 O'Donnell 6 pass to Hastings on left side, tackled by Bailey.
2- 4-D45 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, to Hastings in right flat, coverage by D.Woodson.
3- 4-D45 O'Donnell 5 pass to J.Williams down left sideline, tackled by Bailey.
1-10-D40 O'Donnell incomplete pass, overthrown, to Stewart down left sideline.
TWO MINUTE WARNING
Dallas calls first timeout, 2:00.
2-10-D40 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to J.Williams over middle, coverage by Bates.
3-10-D40 O'Donnell incomplete pass to Hastings over middle, deflected by Bates.
4-10-D40 O'Donnell incomplete pass, dropped, to J.Williams over middle. Loss of downs.
DALLAS: 1:42.
1-10-D40 Aikman kneels for 1 loss.
Pittsburgh calls third timeout, 1:38.
2-11-D39 Aikman kneels for 1 loss.
3-12-D38 Aikman kneels for 1 loss.
Delay of game penalty on Dallas, 5 penalty.
4-18-D33 Jett 25 punt to Pittsburgh 42, downed by Davis.
PITTSBURGH: :03.
1-10-P42 O'Donnell desperation pass intercepted by Marion at Dallas 14.
Final: Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17
Super Bowl XXX Boxscore
SCORING
Dallas 10 3 7 7 -- 27
Pittsburgh 0 7 0 10 -- 17
DAL- FG Boniol 42, 2:55 1st
DAL- Novacek 3 pass from Aikman (Boniol kick), 9:37 1st
DAL- FG Boniol 35, 8:57 2nd
PIT- Thigpen 6 pass from O'Donnell (N. Johnson kick), 14:47 2nd
DAL- E. Smith 1 run (Boniol kick), 8:18 3rd
PIT- FG N. Johnson 46, 3:40 4th
PIT- Morris 1 run (N. Johnson kick), 8:24 4th
DAL- E. Smith 4 run (Boniol kick), 11:17 4th
TEAM STATISTICS Dal. Pitt.
Total First Downs 15 25
Rushing 5 9
Passing 10 15
Penalty 0 1
Total Net Yardage 254 310
Total Offensive Plays 50 84
Average Gain per Offensive Play 5.1 3.7
Rushes 25 31
Yards Gained Rushing (Net) 56 103
Average Yards per Rush 2.2 3.3
Passes Attempted 23 49
Passes Completed 15 28
Had Intercepted 0 3
Tackled Attempting to Pass 2 4
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass 11 32
Yards Gained Passing (Net) 198 207
Punts 5 4
Average Distance 38.2 44.8
Punt Returns 1 2
Punt Return Yardage 11 18
Kickoff Returns 3 5
Kickoff Return Yardage 37 96
Interception Return Yardage 77 0
Fumbles 0 2
Own Fumbles Recovered 0 2
Opponent Fumbles Recovered 0 0
Penalties 4 2
Yards Penalized 25 15
Total Points Scored 27 17
Touchdowns 3 2
Rushing 2 1
Passing 1 1
Returns 0 0
Extra Points 3 2
Field Goals 2 1
Field Goals Attempted 2 1
Safeties 0 0
Third-Down Efficiency 2/10 9/19
Fourth-Down Efficiency 1/1 2/4
Time of Possession 26:11 33:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
E. Smith 18 49 23 2
Johnston 2 8 4 0
K. Williams 1 2 2 0
Aikman 4 -3 0 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Morris 19 73 15 1
Pegram 6 15 4 0
Stewart 4 15 7 0
O'Donnell 1 0 0 0
J. Williams 1 0 0 0
Passing
Dallas Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
Aikman 23 15 209 1 0
Pittsburgh Att. Comp. Yds. TD Int.
O'Donnell 49 28 239 1 3
Receiving
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Irvin 5 76 20 0
Novacek 5 50 19 1
K. Williams 2 29 22 0
Sanders 1 47 47 0
Johnston 1 4 4 0
E. Smith 1 3 3 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Hastings 10 98 19 0
Mills 8 78 17 0
Thigpen 3 19 7 1
Morris 3 18 10 0
Holliday 2 19 10 0
J. Williams 2 7 5 0
Interceptions
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
Brown 2 77 44 0
Marion 1 0 0 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
None -- -- -- --
Punting
Dallas No. Avg. LG Blk.
Jett 5 38.2 51 0
Pittsburgh No. Avg. LG Blk.
Stark 4 44.8 55 0
Punt Returns
Dallas No. FC Yds. LG TD
Sanders 1 0 11 11 0
Pittsburgh No. FC Yds. LG TD
Hastings 2 0 18 11 0
Kickoff Returns
Dallas No. Yds. LG TD
K. Williams 2 24 18 0
Marion 1 13 13 0
Pittsburgh No. Yds. LG TD
Mills 4 79 22 0
McAfee 1 17 17 0
Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers
== Offense ==
Kennard, Derek C Dawson, Dermontti C
Allen, Larry G Newberry, Tom G
Newton, Nate G Stai, Brenden G
Tuinei, Mark T Jackson, John T
Williams, Erik T Searcy, Leon T
Novacek, Jay TE Bruener, Mark TE
Irvin, Michael WR Mills, Ernie WR
Williams, Kevin WR Thigpen, Yancey WR
Smith, Emmitt RB Pegram, Erric RB
Johnston, Daryl FB Williams, John L. RB
Aikman, Troy QB O'Donnell, Neil QB
== Defense ==
Lett, Leon DT Steed, Joel NT
Maryland, Russell DT Buckner, Brentson DE
Haley, Charles DE Seals, Ray DE
Tolbert, Tony DE Greene, Kevin OLB
Edwards, Dixon OLB Lloyd, Greg OLB
Smith, Darrin OLB Brown, Chad ILB
Jones, Robert MLB Kirkland, Levon ILB
Brown, Larry CB Lake, Carnell CB
Sanders, Deion CB Williams, Willie CB
Marion, Brock FS Perry, Darren FS
Woodson, Darren SS Bell, Myron SS
== Substitute ==
Bailey, Robert Figures, Deon
Bates, Bill Flowers, Lethon
Bjornson, Eric Fuller, Randy
Boniol, Chris Gammon, Kendall
Brice, Alundis Gildon, Jason
Briggs, Greg Hastings, Andre
Carver, Shante Hayes, Jonathan
Case, Scott Henry, Kevin
Davis, Billy Holliday, Corey
Fleming, Cory Johnson, Norm
Hellestrae, Dale Johnson, Bill
Hennings, Chad Jones, Donta
Jett, John Lester, Tim
Lang, David McAfee, Fred
McCormack, Hurvin Morris, Bam
Myles, Godfrey Oldham, Chris
Schwantz, Jim Olsavsky, Jerry
Stone, Ron Parrish, James
Watkins, Kendell Stark, Rohn
Williams, Charlie Stewart, Kordell
Strzelczyk, Justin
Woodson, Rod
== Did Not Play ==
Hegamin, George Tomczak, Mike
Williams, Sherman
Wilson, Wade