# Super Bowl XII
**Super Bowl XII** was the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league)'s championship game for the 1977 season, in which the [Dallas Cowboys](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-cowboys) defeated the [Denver Broncos](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-broncos) 27-10 on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) The game gave the Cowboys their second Super Bowl title in three appearances of the 1970s and was the first Super Bowl played indoors.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and site | Sunday, January 15, 1978, 5:17 p.m. CST, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans; played indoors; game time 3:32[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) • [2](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf) |
| Result | Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10; Dallas evened its Super Bowl record at 2-2[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) |
| Attendance and audience | Sellout crowd of 76,400 plus about 90 million television viewers, described by the league as the largest audience ever to watch a sporting event at the time; CBS household rating 47.2[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) • [3](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2026/super-bowl-lx-2026/) |
| Co-MVPs | Defensive end Harvey Martin and defensive tackle Randy White, the first defensive linemen so honored[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) |
| Denver turnovers | Eight takeaways by Dallas: 4 fumbles and 4 interceptions; Denver ended the first half with five giveaways on its final five possessions[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) |
| Yardage and possession | Dallas 325 total yards, Denver 156; possession 38:34 Dallas to 21:26 Denver[2](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf) |
## The game
Dallas struck early from its defense. Two first-quarter interceptions, by safety Randy Hughes and cornerback Aaron Kyle, were converted into 10 points, and Efren Herrera added a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter for a 13-0 halftime lead.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) Denver's offense struggled through those first two quarters; playing in the franchise's first [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl), the Broncos closed the half with giveaways on five consecutive possessions, three fumbles and two interceptions.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
**Denver's brief rally.** The Broncos answered to open the third quarter, when quarterback Craig Morton engineered a drive to the Cowboys' 30-yard line and Jim Turner kicked a 47-yard field goal to cut the score to 13-3.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) Morton did not finish the game: backup Norris Weese, who had played most of the snaps in the teams' regular-season meeting four weeks earlier, replaced him in the second half and later cut the Dallas lead to 10 points.[4](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/digging-into-denver-s-playoff-rematches-14732900)
The Dallas offense controlled the field behind quarterback [Roger Staubach](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-staubach), amassing 325 yards while the defense held Denver to 156, and the Cowboys held the ball for 38:34 against Denver's 21:26.[2](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf)
## Defense and co-MVPs
[The Cowboys](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cowboys)' defense decided the game. Defensive end Harvey Martin and defensive tackle [Randy White](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-white-american-football) were named co-Most Valuable Players after leading a unit that produced eight takeaways, four fumble recoveries and four interceptions.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) The co-MVP award to two defensive linemen remains an unusual outcome for an award dominated by quarterbacks.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
Denver entered the game with a renowned defense of its own, the "Orange Crush," but the Broncos' unit could not offset the turnovers committed by the offense.[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBtIgTgmN-w)
## Television audience
The broadcast drew about 90 million viewers, which the league described as the largest audience ever to watch a sporting event up to that time, and Nielsen later recorded the CBS telecast at 78,940,000 viewers with a 47.2 household rating.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) • [3](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2026/super-bowl-lx-2026/) It was the first Super Bowl to surpass 70 million viewers; the next two games, Super Bowls XIII and XIV, followed it past that mark.[6](https://www.si.com/nfl/how-many-people-watch-the-super-bowl-statistics-and-ratings-history)
## Context
The 1977 season was Dallas's fourth Super Bowl appearance, and the win evened the franchise's championship-game record at 2-2 after losses to Baltimore in [Super Bowl V](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-v) and [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) in [Super Bowl X](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-x).[7](https://www.profootballhof.com/news/comfy-confines-of-the-superdome) The game was also the first Super Bowl played in a dome, in the Superdome's third year of operation, a venue that would host the championship game repeatedly afterward.[7](https://www.profootballhof.com/news/comfy-confines-of-the-superdome) For Denver, the loss began a long Super Bowl drought; the Broncos did not win the title until the 1997 season.[1](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
## References
1. [NFL Media Guide, Postseason Game Recaps: Super Bowl XII](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
2. [Denver Broncos Media Guide: Super Bowl XII](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf)
3. [Super Bowl LX Delivers 125.6 Million Viewers, Nielsen (historical ratings table)](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2026/super-bowl-lx-2026/)
4. [Digging into Denver's playoff rematches, DenverBroncos.com](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/digging-into-denver-s-playoff-rematches-14732900)
5. [Super Bowl XII Recap: Cowboys vs. Broncos, NFL on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBtIgTgmN-w)
6. [How Many People Watch the Super Bowl? Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/nfl/how-many-people-watch-the-super-bowl-statistics-and-ratings-history)
7. [Comfy confines of the Superdome, Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.profootballhof.com/news/comfy-confines-of-the-superdome)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › National Football League › NFL playoffs and championship games › Titles S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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