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In Super Bowl XII, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Craig Morton was leading the Denver Broncos as a 6-point underdog against his former team. Dallas' trip to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans was the Cowboys' fourth Super Bowl appearance to date with a 1-2 SU and 2-1 ATS record in its previous three title games.
Craig Morton and Roger Staubach had famously battled for the starting role during Morton's time with Dallas, making this quarterback duel a particularly interesting one. Morton led the Cowboys to Super Bowl V in the 1970 season only to come up short in the big game against Baltimore, and the following year Staubach took over and led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl win over the Miami Dolphins. By starting this game for the Broncos, Craig Morton became the first quarterback in NFL history to start in the Super Bowl for two different teams. Denver's “Orange Crush defense” allowed only 10.6 points per game in the 1978 season.
Dallas was loaded from top to bottom this season. In addition to having Roger Staubach under center, the Cowboys had an excellent rookie running back in Tony Dorsett who had eclipsed 1,000 yards despite not becoming the full-time starter until the second half of the season. Dallas also had the “Doomsday Defense” on the other side of the ball, a unit known for wreaking havoc in the backfield.
On paper, this battle between two 12-2 SU teams with great defenses looked like it could be a classic. But on the field, it was a different story.
Dallas jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the third quarter and never looked back, eventually Sportsbook that lead up to 20-3 and winning the game by a final score of 27-10. Denver threw four interceptions and coughed up four fumbles, turning the ball over eight times in total. The Broncos completed only eight passes in the game and Craig Morton was eventually pulled.
Both defenses played well and kept the total UNDER the posted total of 39 points. But with such a futile effort from the Denver offense, Dallas' win and cover as a 6-point favorite was never in doubt from the get go.
