Super Bowl XXVII
Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League champion for the 1992 season. The Cowboys defeated the Bills by the score of 52–17, winning their third Super Bowl in team history, and their first one in 15 years. This game is tied with Super Bowl XXXVII as the fourth-highest scoring Super Bowl with 69 combined points, as of 2024. The Bills became the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls, and just the second of four teams to play in three straight. The game was played on January 31, 1993, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and is the last NFL championship game to date to be held in a non-NFL stadium. It was also the seventh Super Bowl held in the Greater Los Angeles Area, which did not host another until Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
The Bills advanced to their third consecutive Super Bowl after posting an 11–5 regular season record, but entered the playoffs as a wild card after losing tiebreakers. The Cowboys were making their sixth Super Bowl appearance after posting a 13–3 regular season record. It was the first time that the two franchises had played each other since 1984.
The Cowboys scored 35 points off of a Super Bowl-record nine Buffalo turnovers, including three first half touchdowns. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich, who replaced injured starter Jim Kelly in the second quarter, threw a 40-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to cut the lead to 31–17. Dallas then scored three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was named Super Bowl MVP, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns for a passer rating of 140.6, while also rushing for 28 yards.
In response to Fox's Super Bowl counterprogramming of a special episode of In Living Color during the previous year, the NFL booked Michael Jackson to perform during the entire Super Bowl XXVII halftime show. Jackson's performance started the league's trend of signing top acts to appear during the Super Bowl to attract more viewers and interest.
Background
Arizona's Martin Luther King Day controversy
Super Bowl XXVII was originally scheduled to be played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the home of the Phoenix Cardinals and the Arizona State Sun Devils. In 1983, U.S. president Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday honoring African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Many states had adopted the holiday at the state level by the time it was first observed in 1986. Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt issued an executive order creating the state holiday after the state legislature had voted against it. Babbitt's successor, Evan Mecham, rescinded the order upon taking office in January 1987 on the grounds that Babbitt did not have the authority to issue such an order. Mecham had made his displeasure for the holiday widely known, saying that King did not deserve a holiday. In response, Dr. King's widow Coretta Scott King and musician Stevie Wonder spearheaded an entertainment and convention boycott of Arizona, condemning Mecham for rescinding the law and accused him of racism. Mecham was impeached and removed from office in 1988 on charges of obstruction of justice and financial misconduct. In September 1989, the state legislature approved the holiday, and it was signed into law by new governor Rose Mofford. However, a petition drive blocked enactment of the law until voters approved it at the ballot box.On March 13, 1990, the NFL held its annual owners' meeting in Orlando, Florida. One of the items on the agenda was to determine a host city for Super Bowl XXVII. Three cities submitted bids: Los Angeles/Pasadena, San Diego, and Phoenix/Tempe. While the Los Angeles proposal guaranteed the most profit, Phoenix represented a fresh market for the game, and the owners wanted to reward Cardinals owners Bill Bidwill for his years of service to the league. Arizona civil rights activist Art Mobley was sent to the meeting to lobby against Phoenix winning the vote, attempting to build awareness to the MLK Day controversy. The vote was conducted and Tempe was awarded the game, but committee chairman and Eagles owner Norman Braman warned that if the upcoming MLK Day ballot initiative failed, the NFL would not hesitate to pull the game from Arizona and move it elsewhere. The relocation effort was heavily pressured by NFL players, the majority of whom were African American. Many players expressed concern in playing a Super Bowl in a state which MLK Day wasn't recognized.
The issue began to heat up again as election day approached. Polls were mixed, but generally showed that the Arizona electorate approved of an MLK holiday. However, the issue was confusing to voters since there were two competing initiatives. Proposition 301 called for replacing Columbus Day with MLK Day while Proposition 302 would create a new paid holiday on King's birthday. Both initiatives required a yes/no vote, and some voters were unsure if they could vote "yes" on both. Both propositions were defeated; Proposition 302 lost by a narrow 49.2%–50.8% margin, while Proposition 301 fell convincingly. Some observers believed that The NFL Today on CBS Sports may have created a backlash on the vote. Two days before the election, Greg Gumbel reported that the NFL was threatening to move the game if the vote failed. Some voters resented that notion, feeling they were being intimidated by the league, and voted "no" in protest. After the failed vote, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue recommended that the game be moved, and announced that the issue would be on the agenda at the next owners' meeting.
When they met in Kohala, Hawaii, on March 19, 1991, the owners debated whether to pull the game from Arizona. The Phoenix/Tempe contingent was permitted to defend their position, and the two losing cities also made presentations to the selection committee. According to the league's bylaws, at least three-quarters of the owners were required to approve such a decision. After deliberating for over three hours, the owners voted to pull the game from Tempe, although the exact number of votes for and against the measure was not disclosed. The Rose Bowl was chosen as the replacement site, the first time it had hosted the game since Super Bowl XXI. The NFL offered a compromise by reserving Super Bowl XXX for Tempe on a "preliminary" and "conditional" basis. Arizona voters approved the MLK Day holiday in November 1992. The NFL responded by formally assigning Super Bowl XXX to Tempe at their March 1993 meeting.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills entered Super Bowl XXVII trying to avoid becoming the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls. Once again, the team was loaded with Pro Bowl players, boasting 12 Pro Bowl selections. During the regular season, Buffalo's no-huddle offense ranked as the number two offense in the league and ranked as the number one rushing offense. Running back Thurman Thomas rushed for a career-high 1,487 yards and 9 touchdowns during the regular season, while also catching 58 passes for 626 yards and another 3 touchdowns. Running back Kenneth Davis rushed for 613 yards, caught 15 passes for 80 yards, and added another 251 yards returning kickoffs. Quarterback Jim Kelly had 269 out of 462 completions for 3,457 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. Wide receiver Andre Reed led the team with 65 receptions for 913 yards and 3 touchdowns, receiver James Lofton contributed 51 receptions for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns, and wide receiver Don Beebe caught 33 passes for 554 and 2 touchdowns. Also, tight end Pete Metzelaars recorded 30 receptions for 298 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Bills also had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, led by Pro Bowlers Will Wolford, Jim Ritcher, and Howard Ballard, along with center Kent Hull.On defense, the line was anchored by end Bruce Smith and nose tackle Jeff Wright, who were both fully recovered after missing almost all of the previous season due to injuries. The Bills were once again led by their trio of linebackers Darryl Talley, Shane Conlan, and Pro Bowler Cornelius Bennett. The secondary was aided by the emergence of second-year safety Henry Jones, who tied for the NFL lead with 8 interceptions, returning them for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns. Safety Mark Kelso recorded 7 interceptions, while Pro Bowl cornerback Nate Odomes had 5. Defensive back Cliff Hicks led the Bills special teams unit, returning 29 punts for 289 yards.
However, the Bills' quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl suffered a major setback when they lost the final game of the season to the Houston Oilers. The loss caused the Bills to finish with an 11–5 record, losing out on the AFC East title to the Miami Dolphins based on tie-breaking rules, making them a wild card team for the playoffs. Thus, even if they won their first playoff game, they would have to win two on the road to make the Super Bowl. To make matters worse, Kelly also suffered strained knee ligaments during the loss to the Oilers and had to miss the first two playoff games. Furthermore, their first opponent in the playoffs ended up being the Oilers. A headline on a Buffalo newspaper stated the Bills' situation: "Bills Begin The Longest Road Today."
Resurrection of the Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl XXVII saw the resurrection of the Dallas Cowboys. From 1966 to 1985, "America's Team" made the playoffs 18 out of 20 seasons under coach Tom Landry, including five Super Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl wins. But in the late 1980s, the team suffered several losing seasons, including a 3–13 regular season record in 1988. Then Jerry Jones bought the team on February 25, 1989, and in a controversial move, promptly fired Landry, the only coach Dallas had in 29 years as an NFL franchise. Jones replaced Landry with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson, his former University of Arkansas teammate.With Johnson as head coach and Jones as his own general manager, people in the league thought they could take advantage of them. Both lacked NFL experience, and instead of hiring coaching assistants with experience in the league, they hired ones that worked with Johnson in Miami. Compounding this issue was the departure of the two men that brought previous success to Dallas: founding president Tex Schramm and famed personnel man Gil Brandt.
The Cowboys' 3–13 record in 1988 did have a silver lining; it was the worst in the league and thus gave the Cowboys the first pick in the 1989 NFL draft. Jones and Johnson picked UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, who would eventually go on to be selected to the Pro Bowl six times in his NFL career. Meanwhile, Jones and Johnson immediately started to shuffle the team's depth chart to find players talented enough to build a winning team. Linebacker Ken Norton Jr., one of the few holdovers from Landry's last losing seasons, would later claim that he would often go into a player huddle and meet new teammates for the first time.
Then, Jones and Johnson made a move midway through the 1989 season that shocked many in the league: they traded their only Pro Bowl player, running back Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1–15 record, their worst record since the team's inception, the foundations for the Cowboys' return to glory had been set. Although Dallas had the league's worst record, they traded away the first pick in the 1990 draft so they could get backup quarterback Steve Walsh in the supplemental draft. Then with the 17th pick, they drafted running back Emmitt Smith, and the trifecta of Aikman, Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin was now set. Dallas also signed veteran tight end Jay Novacek away from Phoenix, who went on to make the Pro Bowl in five of his six years with the Cowboys.
Johnson also started to rebuild the team by drafting players who were fast, quick, and athletic. The defense was designed to become aggressive, while the offense was made to be a conservative one that did not make mistakes. In 1990, the Cowboys finished 7–9, but Smith won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award and Johnson was selected as NFL Coach of the Year. In 1991, the Cowboys finished with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs for the first time in six years.
In 1992, the Cowboys finished with a 13–3 regular season record, the second-best in the league and the best in team history. Although not a single one of their defensive players made the Pro Bowl, Dallas was ranked as the number one defense in the league, fourth in fewest points allowed, and ranked as the number one defense against the run, bringing back many fans' memories of the Doomsday Defenses of old. The defensive line was anchored by Jim Jeffcoat and Tony Tolbert, along with future Hall of Fame pass rusher Charles Haley, who had led the NFC in sacks in 1990 and had been acquired by Dallas in a trade with San Francisco. While Norton and Defensive Rookie of the Year Robert Jones anchored the linebacking corps, the team's solid secondary was led by defensive backs Kenneth Gant and James Washington, who both recorded 3 interceptions each, and rookie cornerback Kevin Smith. The last member of the secondary was defensive back Issiac Holt who had been acquired as part of the trade with the Vikings for Walker.
Dallas' offense finished second in the league in scoring with 409 points. Aikman had the best season of his career, completing 302 out of 473 passes for 3,445 yards and 23 touchdowns while throwing only 14 interceptions, producing a quarterback rating of 89.6. Smith led the NFL in rushing for the second year in a row with 1,713 yards and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns, while also catching 59 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Daryl Johnston was also an asset in the backfield, providing Smith with effective blocking and hauling in 32 receptions. Irvin, the team's emotional lightning rod, caught 78 passes for 1,396 yards and 7 touchdowns. Other contributors on the offense included wide receiver Alvin Harper and Novacek. Dallas' dominant offensive line, later dubbed "The Great Wall of Dallas", was led by Pro Bowlers Nate Newton and Mark Stepnoski, along with 10-year veteran Mark Tuinei, free agent acquisition John Gesek and the youngster Erik Williams.