Steelers Knee Deep With Woodson

The Super Bowl doesn’t give a Comeback Player of the Game Award.

Rod Woodson would have run away with the honor.

The Pittsburgh Steeler cornerback, making a stunning comeback from ligament surgery in his right knee, played only nickel and dime coverages, but looked very strong going one-on-one against wide receiver Michael Irvin, who had said two weeks ago he doubted Woodson would make an impact because “no one can come back from this kind of injury this fast.”

After defensing Irvin in the third quarter, Woodson popped up off the turf, confronted Irvin and pointed derisively to his knee.

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Deion Sanders had it both ways again.

Sanders, the Dallas cornerback who had two catches in spot duty at wide receiver late in the regular season and two more in the playoffs, added a 47-yard grab in the first quarter of the Super Bowl.

The play finished on the Pittsburgh 14-yard line, and led to Troy Aikman’s scoring pass to Jay Novacek for a 10-0 Cowboys lead.

Last year, Sanders helped San Francisco win a Super Bowl. But he said his teammates should get the credit.

“You can’t say that’s the difference,” Sanders said. “This team is unbelievable. We have a hell of a coach, Barry Switzer. This defense performs, this offense performs, and that’s the difference.”

Sanders, who signed a $35 million, seven-year contract, also said he’s happy enough in Dallas that his return to baseball is a question mark.

“I love the fans in Dallas,” he said. “The baseball situation is up in the air, but I’m happy with what I’m doing.”

Onside kick? It figures

It worked splendidly in Pittsburgh’s practices all week. Kicker Norm Johnson dribbled the onside kick to his right, Deon Figures raced after it, and the ball found the Steelers’ speedy man on the outside flank.

“I kidded them about doing it on the opening kickoff,” said Bill Cowher, who vowed that he would play Super Bowl XXX to win, not cower under the pressure. “But nobody thought a lot about that idea.”

The Steelers’ coach shied away from what would have been a shocking start to Sunday’s 27-17 Cowboys triumph. But he fooled the Cowboys, stunned the 76,347 fans at Sun Devil Stadium, and helped get his team back in the game when he called for the onside kick with 11:20 left.

The Steelers had just made it 20-10 on Johnson’s 46-yard field goal. Plenty of time remained. But with the Steelers’ offense clicking and the momentum in Pittsburgh’s corner, Cowher told special-teams coach Bobby April to call the onside kick.

“Bobby had pointed it out during the week,” Cowher explained. “Nobody wanted to say, ‘Go ahead and call it.’ But I said we would play to win.”

Boos for ‘Boys’ boss

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones drew boos when he walked onto the field at Sun Devil Stadium about an hour and a half before kickoff of the Super Bowl. He stayed around long enough to greet Pittsburgh Steelers president Dan Rooney and the National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

The three men exchanged warm handshakes for photographers. But Jones and Tagliabue have an icy relationship. The league sued Jones after he signed marketing agreements with Pepsi-Cola and Nike, which were outside of those done by NFL Properties the exclusive marketing agent of the league. Jones has sued the league, seeking to have NFL Properties dissolved, and wants the individual teams to market themselves.

Hours before their meeting on the field, Tagliabue had issued a blistering attack against Jones on national television.

Appearing on the ABC program “This Week With David Brinkley,” Tagliabue was questioned about the issue of revenue sharing and costs, and Jones’ independent deals were raised.

“Jerry Jones dishonors the agreement he made when he came into the NFL partnership,” Tagliabue said. “He takes what does not belong to him. The NFL is what we sell. It belongs to 30 teams, not the Dallas Cowboys.”

Earlier in the week, Jones said: “That’s America. America didn’t come along as a commune, where people got out and worked and gained assets and position, then turned around and gave it back to everybody else who’s not working.

“I’m a long-term guy in the NFL and have a great chance of sitting here 25-30 years from now, healthwise, family-wise and ownershipwise. So, I have as much or more interest in the future of the NFL than anybody else in the league.”