The 1995Dallas Cowboysseason would mark their 36th in the NFL and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win in the 1990s. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons. Second year head coach Barry Switzer guided the Cowboys to a fifth Super Bowl victory by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
The season began with 4 straight victories. In week five at Washington, Troy Aikman was injured early and Dallas suffered their first loss of the season. Aikman returned the next week and led Dallas to 4 more wins to move to 8–1. In week ten, the struggling 49ers (only 5–4) came to Texas Stadium and shocked the Cowboys, 38–20. Dallas rebounded with 2 wins to move to 10–2 but then were upset at home by the Washington Redskins (The Redskins, who finished only 6–10, swept the eventual world champions). The Cowboys would lose their second game in a row in a controversial loss at Philadelphia where with the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, Coach Barry Switzer elected to "go for it" on 4th down at the Cowboys 29. The play failed and Philly kicked a field goal to provide the margin of victory.
The next week, Dallas appeared headed for a third straight defeat at home to the mediocre New York Giants but thanks to a clutch late reception by Kevin Williams and a last-second field goal by Chris Boniol, the Cowboys prevailed. Rejuvenated, the team defeated the Arizona Cardinals and (combined with a 49er loss the day before) secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The movie "Jerry Maguire" used film footage from the Arizona matchup.
The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional game followed by a memorable NFC Championship game victory against the Green Bay Packers at Texas Stadium. The team would go on to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona for the right to tie the NFL record of a fifth Super Bowl title. Dallas dominated early, but as the Steelers gained momentum and threatened an upset over the heavily favored Cowboys, starting cornerback Larry Brown, after the tragic loss of his son Kristopher during the season, was named Super Bowl XXX Most Valuable Player when he intercepted his second pass from Steeler quarterbackNeil O'Donnell to seal the game.
