Steelers Succumb to Cowboys

Larry Brown lost his son, Christopher, early in the season. Born premature in September, Christopher died just days after his entrance into the world.

Downtrodden, discouraged and mentally and physically drained, Brown, a five-year cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys, somehow found the ability to move on with his life and his football career.

And team owner Jerry Jones, coach Barry Switzer, Brown's teammates and the entire city of Dallas are overjoyed he made such a choice. Especially after his performance in the Cowboys' 27-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ, Sunday night.

Brown, chosen as the game's Most Valuable Player, intercepted two Neil O'Donnell passes, one in each of the final two quarters. Both led to Cowboys' touchdowns, but the last drove the final nail in the Steelers' coffin.

Faced with a second-down-and-10, with 4:10 left in the fourth quarter and the Steelers trailing, 20-17, O'Donnell, operating out of the shotgun, hurled a pass near the right sideline, aimed at backup wide receiver Corey Holliday. Holliday had replaced Ernie Mills that drive, after Mills' succumbed to a knee injury on Pittsburgh's last possession.

The seldom-used Holliday, a rookie, illustrated his inexperience as he streaked down the sideline, when the play actually called for him to slant in towards the middle of the field.

Brown knew where the pass was going to land. Holliday didn't. As a result, Brown watched the ball fall right in between the 2 and 4 on his jersey, and he proceeded to streak down the sidelines before finally being caught at the six-yard line.

"They were running slants on me all day, so I knew it was coming," Brown said. "I was able to read that one well."

Emmit Smith took over from there as he blasted through the Pittsburgh defensive line and into the end zone from four yards out. The touchdown was Smith's 18th of his postseason career, which tied him with the Buffalo Bills' Thurman Thomas for most ever.

Brown's first pick came early in the third, with the Cowboys leading, 13-7.

With momentum still clearly on Pittsburgh's side after a late first-half touchdown strike from O'Donnell to Yancey Thigpen, the Steelers seemed in control on their second possession of the half. running backs' Erric Pegram and Bam Morris combined for 12 rushing yards on three plays, setting the Steelers up with a first down at their own 48-yard line.

However, the Steelers elected to go aerial at that point and it backfired. After a pass intended for Kordell Stewart went awry, O'Donnell was faced with a third-and-9. Again working from the shotgun, O'Donnel stepped back and suddenly found himself amongst three blitzing Cowboys' linemen. He was forced to throw the ball away.

But instead of heaving the ball out of bounds, O'Donnell simply lofted the ball near the right sideline, where no Pittsburgh wideouts could be found. Brown, therefore, just simply protecting his side of the field, leaped and grabbed the errant pass at the Dallas 38-yard line and returned it to the Pittsburgh 19.

"That one was just a bad read by O'Donnell," said Brown, Dallas' 1991 12th-round draft choice out of Texas Christian University.

It took the Cowboys just two plays to cash in on Brown's first find. Quarterback Troy Aikman hit Michael Irvin for a sixteen-yard gain on first down and Smith bowled into the end zone from two yards out on the following play to give Dallas a 20-7 advantage.

"This team really jelled together today," said Dallas defensive end Charles Haley. "And players like Larry Brown really proved themselves."

The Steelers, familiar with the come-from-behind mindset, refused to throw in the towel. The AFC champions, who had to fight back to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 20-16 in the AFC Championship game two weeks ago, orchestrated a 12-play, 71-yard drive early in the fourth, concluding with a 46-yard field goal by Norm Johnson.

On the ensuing kickoff, Johnson dribbled an onsides kick to the far right sideline, which was gobbled by a streaking Deon Figures of the Steelers at the Pittsburgh 47-yard line. Again, the momentum shifted to the Steelers' side.

From there, O'Donnell engineered a nine-play, 53-yard possession, which ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Morris. Johnson's successful extra-point attempt cut the Cowboys' lead to 20-17 with 6:36 remaining in the game.

That would prove to be as close as the Black and Gold would get to the lead, however, as Brown iced the Cowboys' third Super Bowl Championship in four years, two minutes later.

"Obviously, my hat's off to them," said Steelers Coach Bill Cowher. "They made the plays and we didn't. The onsides kick gave us the momentum and we had an opportunity, but we fell short.

"But I'm proud of our guys," Cowher continued. "We fought and we were not intimidated. We gave it our best shot."

But the Cowboys' multifaceted offense put the Steelers in an early 10-0 hole as Aikman marched his troops into scoring position on their first two possessions. Chris Boniol put Dallas up for good with more than 10 minutes to go in the first, as he booted a 42-yard field goal. Boniol would add another field goal, a 35-yard boot, with 6:03 left in the second quarter.

On the Cowboys' second possession, Aikman hit tight end Jay Novacek in the end zone with an eight-yard strike. The catch would be one of five in the first half for Novacek, who compiled 50 receiving yards before the teams hit the locker rooms.

But really none of the Cowboys registered overwhelming numbers. Aikman completed 15 out of 23 passes for 209 yards, Irvin caught five for 76 yards and Smith was held to less than 100 yards on the ground. But the team played as a true team, with each member contributing his part. That was all Dallas needed to defeat the Steelers and push the NFC's Super Brown winning streak to 12 years.

"The ball game resembles the kind of season we have had," said Jones, Dallas' glamorous but controversial owner. "It was a struggle, but the team played together."

And despite the growing number of free agents on the Cowboys, not to mention the future roadblocks created by the NFL salary cap, Dallas is confident this dynasty is not done just yet.

"This is not the last chapter," Irvin said with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand. "We still have some more chapters to write."

But Larry Brown gets to write this one.