Super Bowl XIII 21–17, in Super Bowl X), and both teams were attempting to be the first club to ever win a third Super Bowl. Dallas was also the defending Super Bowl XII champion, and finished the 1978 regular season with a 12–4 record, and posted playoff victories over the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams. Pittsburgh entered the game after posting a 14–2 regular season record and playoff wins over the Denver Broncos and the Houston Oilers. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was named Super Bowl MVP, completed 17 out of 30 passes for Super Bowl records of 318 passing yards
Super Bowl XXX anniversary of the Challenger disaster, the flyover was done in a Missing Man formation. To honor the 30th Super Bowl game, several past Super Bowl MVPs joined the coin toss ceremony (similar to 10 years earlier in Super Bowl XX, and then subsequently repeated every 10 years thereafter in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl 50). Joe Montana, MVP of Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV, tossed the coin. Diana Ross performed during the halftime show, titled "Take Me Higher: A Celebration of 30 years of the Super Bowl". The show featured a number of her songs along with pyrotechnics,