SUPER BOWL XXX / Cowboys 27, Steelers 17 : Nobody Had It Figured This Way

TEMPE, Ariz. —  It was supposed to be an execution, not a contest.

If it was, it was botched. The rope kept breaking, the electricity kept shorting out, the firing squad kept missing.

It was supposed to be a parade down Broadway for America’s team. But the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t that patriotic. They didn’t lose the game, they threw it away.

They loused up the script. They almost spoiled Jerry Jones’ day. The Nobodies gave the Somebodies fits. The final score was Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17, but it was closer than that.

As fireworks lit the night sky over Arizona’s Sun Devil Stadium, the Steelers had no reason to hang their heads.

The Cowboys had the talent. The Steelers had the coaching. And the heart. The first time the Cowboys got the ball--on the opening kickoff--they marched down the field. But they had to settle for a field goal. The second time they got the ball they marched into the end zone. The score was 10-0 before the national anthem had died down.

It was the Steelers’ chance to panic, to doubt themselves, to divert from the game plan. They didn’t. By the middle of the fourth quarter Dallas was like a fighter whose knees are rubbery and nose is bleeding, and he’s looking imploringly at the ring clock, wishing for the bell.

Dallas had all the marquee names, the stars. It had Troy Aikman, who was supposed to give a recital on the forward pass, and Deion Sanders, who is supposed to be able to turn into a swan on cue. It had Emmitt Smith, the latter-day Galloping Ghost, a ballcarrier so magic he’s supposed to disappear from time to time on his way through the line of scrimmage.

Dallas didn’t win the game with any of them. Dallas won the game with a player not in its media guide, not even on its roster. Neil O’Donnell came through for the Cowboys in the clutch. He completed the key passes for the Cowboys.

O’Donnell completed 31 passes Sunday, 28 for the Steelers and three for the Cowboys. A player named Larry Brown got into the pattern on him twice. Brown ran a nice route and, actually, those two receptions--or more accurately interceptions--were the difference in the game. He ran one back 44 yards and the other 33 yards; so Dallas was able to convert both of them into touchdowns. The first put Dallas ahead, 20-7, but the second was the one that closed the coffin. It came when Pittsburgh had crept within three points, 20-17, had the ball, and was taking dead aim on what might have been the winning touchdown.

Brown, as the old story goes, was the only man open and, on reflection, Pittsburgh probably wishes O’Donnell got sacked on those plays. The third interception was not relevant, came with three seconds on the clock and Pittsburgh behind by the 10 points that were the final difference.

Pittsburgh lost the first half and, except for the interceptions, won the second half. And, almost the game. Aikman completed 11 passes in the first half and four in the second.

The Cowboy glamour pusses got upstaged repeatedly by the character actors of Pittsburgh. Sanders, except for one reception for 47 yards, was not a factor in the drama. In fact, he appeared to be outrun or outmaneuvered on a couple of Pittsburgh plays, one of them a touchdown. Smith gained 40 yards in the first half--and nine net in the second. He ended up with a 2.7-yard average, considerably short of Red Grange’s best day, and considerably short of Smith’s.

So, Dallas won with plays that weren’t in its playbook and a player not on its roster. And a player, Brown, the eyes of Texas were not upon before the game. A 12th-round draft pick (and only the eighth such in history to make the team) Brown got the MVP award. He probably should have shared it with O’Donnell but, hey! he could have dropped those balls. Lots of the other Cowboy receivers did.

So Dallas, which expected to browbeat its way to the championship, ended up, so to speak, stealing it. The Steelers came into the game as faceless as a Vatican crowd shot. I mean, have you ever heard of Erric Pegram? If you did, you probably came to the game with your face painted yellow and black. How about Yancey Thigpen? He scored more touchdowns (one) than Michael Irvin, of whom you have heard.

The best player on the field may have been Pittsburgh’s Andre Hastings. He caught 10 (count ‘em) passes, returned punts and racked up 98 yards.

So it was really the No-Name Super Bowl, a No-Name Jive.

It was remarkably penalty-free--only 40 yards between the two teams. The field was so slippery, it seemed at times as if they were playing with the wrong implement. It should have been a hockey puck.

Lots of Super Bowls are decided by long passes. This was no exception. O’Donnell-to-Brown may rank with Starr-to-McGee, Namath-to-Maynard, Montana-to-Rice in Super Bowl history. The only difference is the previous ones involved two guys wearing the same color uniforms. Oh well, nobody’s perfect.