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Staubach then led his team 80 yards in 5 plays on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Percy Howard and cutting their deficit to 21–17 (Howard's touchdown reception was the only catch of his NFL career; he was not mentioned by name by John Facenda in the highlight package produced by NFL Films). After Gerry Mullins recovered Dallas' onside kick attempt, the Steelers then tried to run out the clock on the next drive with four straight running plays, but the Cowboys defense stopped them on fourth down at their 39-yard line, giving Dallas one more chance to win. Some questioned why Noll would elect to go for it on fourth down but, as later explained by NFL Films, his entire kicking game had been suspect all game long with Gerela missing an extra point and two field goals while Walden fumbled a snap on a punt and nearly had two others blocked. (Gerela's problems may have begun on the opening kickoff when he was forced to make a touchdown saving tackle on Hollywood Henderson.)

Chase Stuart wrote:Can you explain why the Steelers ran it on 4th and 9 at the end of the game here, rather than punt?

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/b ... tm#pbp_150

Here's the Wiki explanation:

Staubach then led his team 80 yards in 5 plays on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Percy Howard and cutting their deficit to 21–17 (Howard's touchdown reception was the only catch of his NFL career; he was not mentioned by name by John Facenda in the highlight package produced by NFL Films). After Gerry Mullins recovered Dallas' onside kick attempt, the Steelers then tried to run out the clock on the next drive with four straight running plays, but the Cowboys defense stopped them on fourth down at their 39-yard line, giving Dallas one more chance to win. Some questioned why Noll would elect to go for it on fourth down but, as later explained by NFL Films, his entire kicking game had been suspect all game long with Gerela missing an extra point and two field goals while Walden fumbled a snap on a punt and nearly had two others blocked. (Gerela's problems may have begun on the opening kickoff when he was forced to make a touchdown saving tackle on Hollywood Henderson.)

With a modern tint, that seems insane, but what were people's thoughts at the time?

Chase Stuart wrote:Thanks, guys. A 4th-and-9 run in a competitive game seems pretty weird, even for that era. I guess the Bradshaw injury makes a run more likely than a pass, but were blocked punts materially more common back then to make the risk that significant?

SixtiesFan wrote:

Chase Stuart wrote:Thanks, guys. A 4th-and-9 run in a competitive game seems pretty weird, even for that era. I guess the Bradshaw injury makes a run more likely than a pass, but were blocked punts materially more common back then to make the risk that significant?

Blocked punts were pretty common for Chuck Knox's 1973-77 Ram teams.

Rupert Patrick wrote:The thing that always surprised me about the aftermath of Super Bowl X is that Noll did not replace Bobby Walden before the 1976 season, or at least drafted a punter in 1976. I haven't been able to find any information that Walden was challenged for his job in training camp in 1976. Going into the '76 season Walden was 38, and had been blocked once in a Super Bowl which directly resulted in a TD and was nearly blocked a couple more times in the following Super Bowl. Greg Coleman went in the 14th round in the 1976 draft, he would have solved the Steelers punting problems for a decade and they would have never needed Craig Colquitt. Speaking of Colquitt, looking at his age in PFR.com (born in early 1954) he may have graduated from Tennessee in 1976 and been a free agent which could have put him in Pittsburgh as early as 1976 instead of 1978.