We've reached the end of the Great War, the war between the NFL and AFL, that is.
It's the 1970s, and the National Football League is organized into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conference (AFC). From now on, the Super Bowl is a matchup between the NFC Champion and AFC Champion, as opposed to two separate football league champions going at it. The decade starts rather mundane, but later on excites the sports world as the NFL grows. Kicking Off the NEw NFL
The '70s began with Super Bowl V between the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys.
The Colts, scarred by their shocking defeat to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, desperately wanted to win. And so did the Cowboys, who critics referred to as "Next Year's Champions," or a team that could not win the ultimate prize. As pictured above, the Colts won the game, but it wasn't a memorable Super Bowl. There were 11 turnovers in the "Blunder Bowl," and it was the only time a player of the losing team, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, won the Most Valuable Player Award. The next season, the Cowboys made it back to Super Bowl Sunday and faced the Miami Dolphins. In Super Bowl VI, Dallas cruised to an easy 24-3 win, the only time a team had not scored a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach became the first player to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP. Despite the game being in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium, it marked the coldest Super Bowl ever played with a kickoff air temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the Dolphins wouldn't be done with Super Bowls. Achieving Perfection
In 1972, the Miami Dolphins bounced back from their loss in Super Bowl VI and became the only team in NFL history to go undefeated and win a championship.
Back then, there were 14 regular season games followed by the postseason. The Dolphins went (17-0) by defeating the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. Miami repeated the feat in Super Bowl VIII when they beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-7. After this stellar accomplishment, another team would start their own dynasty. The Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers had been to the playoffs only once before the 1970s.
In 1972, their luck changed when the "Immaculate Reception" saved them against the Oakland Raiders to win an AFC Divisional Playoff 13-7. The Steelers would lose to the undefeated Dolphins in the AFC Championship, but would go on to win four Super Bowls in six seasons. In 1974, the Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX and the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X. The Oakland Raiders captured a title of their own in 1976, a 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, and the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII. The Steelers closed the '70s in style, winning back-to-back Super Bowls again in 1978 and 1979. They beat the Dallas Cowboys again in Super Bowl XIII 35-31 and the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV. The "Steel Curtain" defense dominated so much that despite rule changes in 1978 to help offenses, they would still be the best team in the NFL. NFL experts explain the rule changes in this video, http://bit.ly/2FPqYUL Check out this timeline below to see a recap of the 1970s, and next week I'll delve into the 1980s.
0 Comments
|
Author
Daniel Benitez Archives
April 2020
|