Super Bowl X was pitted against the two most popular teams in the National Football league (NFL), Pittsburgh Steelers' and the Dallas Cowboys. The contrast between their styles was greater than that of their jerseys. Only four years away from their victory in Super Bowl VI, the glitzy, white clad Dallas Cowboys, "American team" combined high tech offense and a state of the art dynamic defense to put on a show each Sunday. They were easy to like and for once they even had an underdog aura, having reached the big game after starting as a playoff wild card. The Pittsburgh Steelers, wearing bad guy black to defend their Super Bowl win of the year before, lived by a steel hard defense occasionally spelled by a grind it out running attack that would have been at home in the 1930s.

Dallas took an early lead in the game. Capitalizing on a fumbled punt return, Roger Staubach fired a 14-yard pass to Drew Pearson down the middle of the field and the wide receiver took it into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Bradshaw and the Steelers answered back quickly with a seven-yard strike to tight end Randy Grossman to tie it at seven all. Toni Fritsch kicked a 36-yard field goal to send the Cowboys ahead again 10-7 early in the second quarter, but the Steelers came right back as Bradshaw connected with Swann for 53 yards on a key play that helped set up a 36-yard field goal attempt right before the half ended. But kicker Roy Gerela failed to convert as his 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to the left, leaving the score 10-7 at the half. The second half started with another missed field goal by Gerela, this one from 33 yards out. But Pittsburgh finally got their big break about four minutes into the fourth quarter. Reserve running back Reggie Harrison blocked a Dallas punt, which rolled out of the end zone for a Steeler safety, cutting the Cowboys' lead to 10-9.

After the free kick, the Steelers drove to the Dallas 20, from where Gerela connected on a 36-yard field goal, putting Pittsburgh ahead 12-10. Steelers' safety Mike Wagner quickly intercepted Staubach on the next drive and returned the ball to the Cowboy's, seven-yard line. Gerela's 18-yard field goal made it 15-10. With Three minutes remaining, Bradshaw hit Swann for 64 yards and a touchdown that put the Steelers up by two scores, but this time the Cowboys came right back with a score of their own. Staubach hit Percey Howard with a 34-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to four. After their defense held, the Cowboys received one last shot and quickly moved to the Steelers' 38-yard line. But after two in completions, Staubach was intercepted by safety Glen Edwards, who returned it to the Pittsburgh 33 as time ran out. Swann caught just four Bradshaw passes, but he gained 161 yards and scored the deciding touchdown in the fourth quarter. Roy Gerela had 36 and 18 yard field goals. Reggie Harrison blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety. Swann set a Super Bowl record by gaining 161 yards on his four receptions. Pittsburgh defeated Dallas 21-17 in Super Bowl X in Miami. The Steelers joined Green Bay and Miami as the only teams to win two Super Bowls; the Cowboys became the first wild-card team to play in the Super Bowl. The CBS telecast was viewed by an estimated 80 million people, the largest television audience in history. Lynn Swann was voted Most valuable Player of the Championship.