With Super Bowl LVIII now just four days away, we continue our look back at the Dallas Cowboys’ eight Super Bowl appearances.

Today we focus on Super Bowl XIII. Played on Jan. 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, it would be the first time the same two teams met in a Super Bowl.

The last time the Cowboys faced the Steelers for the championship was three years earlier.

In that game, Super Bowl X, the Steelers were the defending champions. The Cowboys would fail to deny Pittsburgh back-to-back titles.

In Super Bowl XIII, the Cowboys (13-5) entered as the defending champions, looking to defend their crown and avenge the earlier loss to the Steelers (16-2).

Steelers denied Cowboys’ championship defense bid in Super Bowl XIII.

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Their first meeting, also at the Orange Bowl, had been a defensive battle. This time around, the offenses would put on a show.

An Ominous Beginning
The Cowboys took the opening kickoff and drove 38 yards in six plays. But a Drew Pearson fumble turned the ball over.

The Steelers pounced on the opening as Terry Bradshaw capped a seven-play, 53-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to John Stallworth.

Down 7-0 just five minutes into the game, Dallas again drove into the Steelers’ territory. But Roger Staubach was sacked on back-to-back plays, and the Cowboys punted.

Dallas Gets Defensive
D.D. Lewis got the ball back for the Cowboys five plays later, intercepting a Bradshaw pass, only to see the offense punt the ball back three plays later.

Ed “Too Tall” Jones recovered a Bradshaw fumble just three plays later, setting Dallas up at the Steelers’ 41.

On third down, as the first quarter ended, Staubach hit Tony Hill for a 39-yard touchdown to tie the game, 7-7.