The Musers The Podcast: Cowboys Weekly – Super Bowl X Rewatch

Podcast: The Musers The Podcast
Episode: Cowboys Weekly: Super Bowl X Rewatch
Date: January 22, 2026
Hosts: George Dunham & Bob Sturm
Special Series: Cowboys Edition

Main Theme

This episode is a deep-dive rewatch and emotional postmortem of Super Bowl X (played January 18, 1976) between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. George Dunham and Bob Sturm—huge Cowboys fans and Ticket radio legends—relive the game, its historical context, and the enduring heartbreak. Mixing nostalgia, film analysis, personal memories, and sharp banter, the Musers transport listeners back to the mid-70s and grapple with the game’s impact, both in NFL history and in their own fandoms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Memories and the Pain of First Heartbreak

• Bob recounts watching the game as a ten-year-old Cowboys fan, emphasizing how sports disappointment can feel like a kind of loss:
  • “It is still my biggest sports disappointment. Super Bowl 10, man.” (04:07)
• George draws a parallel to childhood stories, noting the dissonance between the happy endings of childhood entertainment and the real heartbreak of sports:
  • “You are programmed to believe that there will always be a joyful conclusion… the heroes lose in the end. I don’t like this. Walt Disney did a horrible job with this movie.” (05:16)
• The guys reflect on generational cycles as both children and, later, fathers comforting their own sons after sports letdowns.

2. Historical & Cultural Context of Super Bowl X

• Significance of 1975 in America: The country was shifting post-Vietnam, culturally vibrant (think “Jaws”, “Godfather”, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”), and the NFL was emerging as America’s premier spectacle.
• First Truly “Big” Super Bowl: 80 million watched; the game immediately developed a reputation as the greatest played to date.
  • “This was, to this date, the biggest Super bowl yet. I really think it was the first huge Super Bowl.” (09:48)
• Discussion of broadcast quirks, the bicentennial patch, and the influence of the “NFL Today” show.
• The Evolution of the Game: This Super Bowl hinted at a coming sea change toward passing offenses, catalyzed by stars like Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann—but in practice, it was still a “run into the pile” kind of game.

3. Broadcast Time Capsule: 1970s TV and Gender

• Banter and awkwardness of old broadcast teams, including Brent Musburger and Phyllis George.
• Notable quote showing the dated mindset:
  • Brent Musburger: “Phyllis George, I want to tell everyone that you did a magnificent job this year... I wasn’t too sure about working with a woman, folks...” (16:22)

4. Game Film Breakdown: Sequence of Key Moments

• Opening Drama:
  • Hollywood Henderson’s kick return, nearly for a TD (“What if this gets taken all the way?” 19:18)
  • Early field position not fully cashed in by the Cowboys.
• Cowboys Score First: Roger Staubach hits Drew Pearson for a 29-yard TD (22:47)
  • “The team that scores the first touchdown has won the first nine Super Bowls, so that probably means the Cowboys will win this one.” (24:37)
• Steelers Reply & Lynn Swann Emergence: Swann’s acrobatic sideline catch sets up Pittsburgh’s response.
• Personnel Choices & Game Planning:
  • “Why the Cowboys allowed Mark Washington on Lynn Swann all day?... This entire game, the Steelers, when they needed it, went right at him.” (27:33)
  • Percy Howard’s story: a one-catch, one-TD NFL “career”—his only catch came in this Super Bowl (28:38).
• Tone & Texture: Reactions to the 1970s broadcast music, Goodyear blimp, absence of score graphics, and the feel of a “day game”.
• The ‘Middle 8’ Stall: After early success, the Cowboys’ offense becomes overly conservative, stuck running into the line. Both teams struggle for yards in the second quarter.

5. Turning Point: The Cliff Harris–Jack Lambert Incident [41:44]

• Missed Field Goal Chaos: Cliff Harris “taunts” Roy Gerela after a shanked field goal. Lambert flies in, throws Harris down. No flag!
  • “Jack Lambert takes exception to that, tries to body slam Cliff Harris and all hell breaks loose here.” (42:18)
• The hosts argue this truly turns the game’s emotional tide—Lambert goes into “Incredible Hulk” mode.
• Lambert’s postgame admission: “We were supposed to be intimidators. So I was a little bit excited. And when... Harris slapped him... that's just not going to happen when I'm out there.” (45:59)

6. Steel Curtain Dominance & Dallas Offensive Struggles

• Cowboys sacked seven times (often called “traps” then).
• Pittsburgh’s defense (Greenwood, White, Blount, Lambert, etc.) is universally praised.
• Bob wonders why Dallas didn’t use their screen pass game more to slow the pressure (“Tom Landry... never used to question Landry, but...”).

7. Fourth Quarter Collapse & Key Moments

• Blocked Punt Safety [49:14]
  • “It’s a safety, but it just... if the Lambert incident hadn’t turned it, this really turned it.” (49:14)
• Staubach Interception [50:48]
  • “Roger just predetermined his throw... he made a bad throw because it’s the middle of the fourth quarter and he’s been running for his life.” (54:00)
• Steelers Ball Luck: On the next possession, Franco Harris fumbles, but the ball bounces straight back to him.
  • “The Steelers had luck on their side in this game... it doesn’t mean they won because of luck but the ball bounced their way many times...” (54:09)
• The Decisive Play — Bradshaw to Swann [57:10]
  • The famous 64-yard TD as Staubach sends the house on a blitz. Bradshaw absorbs a massive hit from Larry Cole but delivers the deep strike.
  • Quote, Tom Brookshire: “That's got to be one of the great passes in super bowl history or in pro football history.” (57:23)
  • “Mark Washington took a beating this day. That was pretty good coverage... What a great throw. He gets absolutely tattooed as the ball is leaving his hands... he’s unconscious before he hits the ground.” (58:52)

8. Chaotic Finish, Clock Mismanagement & Regret

• Cowboys’ Final Gasp: Percy Howard's only NFL catch is a Super Bowl touchdown (61:45).
• Critique of Tom Landry’s decision to onside kick instead of trusting the defense against backup QB Terry Hanratty.
• Hectic drive, confusion over clock management:
  • “They got two plays off in 57 seconds in the Super Bowl. Tried to move the ball down the field.” (66:44)
  • On the inability to stop the clock or run “spike” plays: “If Tony Romo and Jason Garrett had botched the clock this badly, we’d still be doing segments on it.” (66:21)
• Passing game stymied; last pass intercepted, “That terrible feeling... like we said at the top… this isn’t supposed to happen.” (68:09)

9. Legacy, Lessons, and Lingering Heartbreak

• Reflection on Loss, Fate, and “Meat Left on the Bone”
  • The game haunts Cliff Harris, who texted Bob: “I still have nightmares about Super Bowl 10, I see myself hurdling Rocky Blair on a safety blitz. Almost made it to smack Bradshaw, but Rock caught my toe and I fell to the turf. Dang.” (74:05)
• George: “It was a beautiful Cinderella season that you kind of go back to The Met in Minneapolis and you say that’s probably where the season was supposed to end.” (70:34)
• Time Marches On: Many players have since passed; “Life goes fast. These are the times.” (72:25)
• Hope ends the show: “Just a couple years later, something really good happens… Super Bowl 12. See, it can turn around. That’s why we keep the positivity going.” (74:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bob Sturm (04:07): “It is still my biggest sports disappointment. Super Bowl 10, man.”
• George Dunham (05:16): “You are programmed to believe that there will always be a joyful conclusion… this is what we all figure out at some point, which is: oh my gosh. The heroes lose in the end.”
• Brent Musburger, postgame (16:22): “Phyllis George, I want to tell everyone that you did a magnificent job this year... I wasn’t too sure about working with a woman, folks...”
• Bob Sturm (41:44, on Cliff Harris): “Cliff Harris rushes in from the right side... as [the kicker] misses it, he taps him on the helmet... Jack Lambert takes exception to that... all hell breaks loose.”
• Jack Lambert, postgame (45:59): “Harris slapped him around the head a little bit, and that’s just not going to happen when I’m out there.”
• Bob Sturm (57:23, Bradshaw to Swann TD): “That’s got to be one of the great passes in super bowl history or in pro football history.”
• George (74:05, quoting Cliff Harris): “I still have nightmares about Super Bowl 10, I see myself hurdling Rocky Blair on a safety blitz. Almost made it to smack Bradshaw, but Rock caught my toe and I fell to the turf. Dang.”
• George (72:25): “Life goes fast. These are the times.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction, Setting the Stage: 00:02–03:36
• Bob’s Childhood Memory & Sports Heartbreak: 02:00–05:16
• The Meaning of Super Bowl X in the 1970s: 09:17–11:47
• Old-School Broadcast Moments, Gender on TV: 15:50–17:48
• Opening Action, Cowboys’ First TD: 18:24–24:39
• Lynn Swann’s Catch, Mark Washington’s Ordeal: 26:05–28:54
• Cliff Harris–Jack Lambert Incident: 41:44–45:59
• Fourth Quarter, Safety, and Turnover: 49:14–51:10
• Bradshaw’s Game-Winning Bomb to Swann: 57:10–59:16
• Final Dallas Drive & Clock Woes: 65:05–68:36
• Legacy & Reflection: 69:25–74:19

Tone & Language

The conversation is lively, irreverent, emotional, and nostalgic. George and Bob riff with each other, mixing pain, humor (“Walt Disney did a horrible job with this movie”), and hard-earned insight. There is genuine affection for the Cowboys legends, even as they critique the era and coaching decisions with the benefit of hindsight.

Conclusion

This Super Bowl X retrospective is both a football nerd’s dream and a spiritual reckoning with sports heartbreak. George and Bob chart the pain and wonder of reliving a loss, the context that made it matter, and the way these games shape not just franchises, but personal identity. It’s a quintessential Musers experience—rolling from deep analysis to banter to existential melancholy, then back to hope for the next time the Cowboys (or their fans) get another chance at glory.