Super Bowl XIV three field goals. Meanwhile, the Steelers went on to defeat the Miami Dolphins, 34–14, and the Houston Oilers, 27–13, in the playoffs. During those two playoff games, the Pittsburgh defense limited running backs Larry Csonka and Earl Campbell, respectively, to a combined total of only 35 rushing yards. Campbell was the league's rushing leader during the regular season with 1,697 yards, but could only gain 15 yards against the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Pittsburgh was heavily favored to win Super Bowl XIV and become the first team to win 4 Super Bowls. Most people did not think that
Super Bowl XL carried by CBS, their win in Super Bowl XXV was carried by ABC, their win in Super Bowl XLII was carried by Fox, and their win in Super Bowl XLVI was carried by NBC.) Before this game, the NFC was 6–0 in Super Bowls broadcast on ABC. Chris Berman, from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN, returned to host ABC's pregame show, as he had done for the network's coverage of Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVII. Berman was joined by his fellow analysts from ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" pregame show: Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson, and Steve Young, along with co-host Mike Tirico