The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII. This Super Bowl featured several firsts. It was the first time two teams reached the game after having played a 16-week regular season schedule. It was the first time there was a re-match of a previous Super Bowl, as the Steelers had defeated the Cowboys in Super Bowl X, ironically also in Miami. It was the first time a defending Super Bowl champion lost the Super Bowl. It was also the first time a team designated as the home team was allowed to choose whether or not to where their white uniforms, which Dallas did (most teams wear their colored jerseys as their home jersey - Dallas does not). As for the game itself, it set a record for the most combined points scored in a game with 66. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw for 4 touchdown passes and 318 yards. He was named MVP of the game as, in the ultimate of firsts, the Steelers became the first NFL franchise to win three Super Bowl championships. Lastly, this game would be the last of five Super Bowls played in the Orange Bowl stadium, as all future Miami-area Super Bowls would be played at Dolphin Stadium.

The Cowboys won the NFC East with a 12-4 record. They then defeated the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs to advance to their record 5th Super Bowl appearance. As for the Steelers, they finished with a league best 14-2 record, and followed that up with dominating victories over the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers in the post-season.

Prior to the game, the big media story came about when Dallas linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson joked about the perceived lack of intelligence Bradshaw possessed by stating, "...Bradshaw couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 'a'". Bradshaw declined to respond, letting his play on the field do the talking for him. Years later, Henderson admitted he was heavily using cocaine and other illegal drugs, and apologized to Bradshaw for his remarks.

The game is also known for the famous Verne Lundquist line describing a dropped touchdown pass by Dallas tight end Jackie Smith at a critical juncture of the game. Lundquist, serving as Cowboys radio play-by-play man, summarized that after the sure-handed Smith dropping a wide-open pass in the end zone that Smith was, "...the sickest man in America..." because of how wide open he was. Still, the guy who probably wound up being the sickest man that night was Dallas defender Benny Barnes, called for a controversial pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh receiver Lynn Swann, which opened the floodgates to two 4th quarter touchdowns that gave Pittsburgh the lead for good.