Super Bowl Memory - Super Bowl V

Before Adam Vinatieri there was Jim O’Brien.....O’Brien may be the most forgotten player in Super Bowl history....but it was his 32-yard field goal with five seconds left that gave the Baltimore Colts a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V....

O’Brien’s clutch kick is overshadowed because Super Bowl V may have been one of the worst played Super Bowls of all time.....Super Bowl V was the first Super Bowl game since the AFL and NFL merged, but it is the Super Bowl that people forgot about despite some other distinctions....

It was the first Super Bowl decided in the last few plays.....and it also produced the first defensive player to be named Super Bowl MVP and the only MVP from the losing team....Chuck Howley had two interceptions in the game, with one of the interceptions coming in the end zone denying Baltimore points.....

The Colts were quarterbacked by Johnny Unitas and Earl Morral who combined for three interceptions.....the Cowboys were led by Craig Morton who threw three picks all by himself and totaled only 127 yards through the air....on the bench sat a young leader named Roger Staubach who, in later years, would atone for the Cowboys ineptness on this day....

The Cowboys defense stifled the Colts on the ground....Baltimore managed only 69 rushing yards and fumbled the ball five times – losing four of them....

Despite committing seven turnovers, the Colts, who were coached by Don McCafferty, were never out of the game....50 seconds into the second quarter, the Colts tight end John Mackey caught a deflected pass from Unitas and went 75 yards for a touchdown....but even the extra point was blocked on this day....

However, at the start of the final quarter Dallas only held a 13-6 lead.....and in the end Jim O’Brien helped the great Johnny Unitas get his only Super Bowl ring.....

O’Brien, who also subbed as a wide receiver, played only four years in the NFL....in his rookie season of 1970, he made only 19 of 34 field goals.....in 1972, his last with the Colts, he converted on 13 of 31 field goals...and .in 1973, he ended his career with the Detroit Lions....but in those four putrid seasons, O’Brien had one shining moment – even if it is often forgotten.....