Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?
By John Buhler
38. 1970 Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl V
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys made it to their first Super Bowl in franchise history under head coach Tom Landry, winning the NFC East with a 10-4 record. Dallas would defeat the Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional round and the San Francisco 49ers in the 1970 NFC Championship to get the opportunity to play the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.
The Colts were a 2.5-point favorite over Landry’s Cowboys in Super Bowl V being played at the Orange Bowl in downtown Miami. Dallas would lose by a field goal, 16-13, just barely missing a chance at covering the point spread.
Baltimore had been embarrassed two years prior when their juggernaut 1968 team lost to the inferior AFL-champion New York Jets, thus altering football history by showcasing that the AFL was not going to be overwhelmed when the leagues merged in 1970.
Dallas was a team on the rise under Landry, but needed that necessary Super Bowl experience at the time to ultimately win the big game. The Cowboys would return the following year and defeat the 1971 Miami Dolphins to win its first Super Bowl in franchise history. Dallas was close, but wasn’t quite ready to win it all in 1970.
Next: 37. 1975 Dallas Cowboys