Cowboys-Steelers rivalry: Record, Super Bowl history, and more between blueblood NFL franchises

The Steel Curtain vs. America’s Team. 

This was the NFL rivalry that defined the 1970s from the electric football table to the Super Bowl. Tom Landry, Roger Staubach and Randy White. Chuck Noll, Terry Bradshaw and Jack Lambert. They were near-mirror images on the field in terms of playing style, and the rivalry produced two of their three head-to-head Super Bowl matchups in that decade. 

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That rivalry will be revisited when Dallas (2-2) visits Pittsburgh (3-1) in a Sunday Night Football matchup at Acrisure Stadium. Given the super-sized fan bases on both sides – many of whom picked these teams up in the 1970s – this should be an intense game. 

It is the first prime-time matchup between the teams since a Monday Night Football thriller in 1982. 

A look back at the records, Super Bowl history and more in the rivalry between the Cowboys and Steelers.

Cowboys vs. Steelers head-to-head record 

The Cowboys and Steelers have played 33 times, including three Super Bowl matchups. Dallas leads the series 17-16. 

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The Cowboys played their first game in franchise history on Sept. 24, 1960 against the Steelers at the Cotton Bowl. Pittsburgh won 35-28. The teams met again the following season – and the Cowboys earned their first victory on a 27-yard field goal by Allen Green. That set the preemptive stage for what would become the 1970s rivalry. 

Dallas won seven straight matchups between the teams from 1965-72, but the Steelers won five in a row from 1976-82, including Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII. 

The Cowboys won five straight from matchups that spanned 1985-1997 – including a 27-17 victory in Super Bowl XXX. Pittsburgh and Dallas have met five times since 2004. The Steelers have a 3-2 advantage in those games, and all five games have been decided by seven points or less. 

Who has more Super Bowl wins: Cowboys or Steelers? 

The Steelers and Cowboys have each appeared in the Super Bowl eight times. Pittsburgh is 6-2 in Super Bowls, and the six championships is tied for the most in NFL history with the New England Patriots. 

The Dallas Cowboys are 5-3 in the Super Bowl, and the five victories are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most in NFL history. The New York Giants are tied with Green Bay and Kansas City with four Super Bowls apiece. 

Cowboys vs. Steelers Super Bowl history 

The Cowboys and Steelers have met in the Super Bowl three times – the most-frequent matchup in NFL history. 

It’s not just the three matchups. It’s the Hall of Famers that were involved in those three matchups. Super Bowl X and Super XIII had a total of 23 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in those games in some capacity. That is the most in NFL history.

Five Super Bowls had 20 or more Hall of Famers on the field. A look at those games: 

The Super Bowl XXX matchup between the teams had a total of 13 Hall of Famers. These matchups were epic in nature: 

Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17 

The Steelers completed back-to-back Super Bowl championships with a victory against Dallas in a game best-remembered for Lynn Swann’s series of acrobatic, game-changing catches. Swann’s 53-yard juggling catch was voted No. 12 on the NFL’s 100 Greatest Plays. 

Swann had four catches for 161 yards and a 64-yard TD in the fourth quarter that clinched Super Bowl MVP honors. 

There also was the sequence after Roy Gerela missed a field goal in the third quarter. Dallas defensive back Cliff Harris taunted Gerela and was pushed to the ground by Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert. The officials did not eject Lambert from the game. Roger Staubach threw three interceptions in the loss. 

Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31 

A then-record 74.7 million viewers tuned into the rematch three years later. This time, the Cowboys were the defending Super Bowl champions. 

The first half delivered a series of huge plays. Staubach threw a 39-yard TD pass to Tony Hill, and Mike Hegman returned a fumble for a TD for the Cowboys. Terry Bradshaw threw three first-half TDs, including a pair to John Stallworth. 

Dallas had a chance to tie the game in the third quarter, but tight end Jackie Smith dropped a pass in the end zone, and the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal. Pittsburgh broke the game open with TDs from Franco Harris and Swann and held off a furious late rally where Staubach threw a pair of TD passes.

Bradshaw passed for 318 yards, four TDs and an interception and was named Super Bowl MVP. Staubach finished with 328 yards, three TDs and an interception in the loss. 

NFL.com voted Super Bowl XIII as the greatest Super Bowl of all time after the 2018 season.

Super Bowl XXX: Dallas 27, Steelers 17

The Cowboys and Steelers renewed their rivalry. Dallas – the dynasty team of the 1990s – was looking for their third Super Bowl championship in four seasons. The coaching matchup between Barry Switzer and Bill Cowher was hyped, too. 

Dallas jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first half behind a TD pass from Troy AIkman to Jay Novacek and two field goals. That TD was set up by a 47-yard pass to Deion Sanders. 

Pittsburgh rallied, however, behind Neil O’Donnell, who threw a TD to Yancy Thigpen to trim the lead to 13-7 at halftime. A Larry Brown interception set up an Emmit Smith TD run for the Cowboys. 

Pittsburgh countered with 10 unanswered points with the help of an onside kick, and Bam Morris’ TD run trimmed the lead to 20-17. The Steelers had a chance to go ahead, but Brown’s second interception set up another Smith TD run. Brown earned Super Bowl MVP honors, and the Cowboys ensured their place in dynasty lore. 

Which team has more Hall of Famers: Cowboys or Steelers? 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have 39 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and 53 players in their Hall of Honor. The Dallas Cowboys have 32 Hall of Famers and 22 players in their Ring of Honor.