NFL seasonal playoff games
The
National Football League playoffs
for the
1975 season
began on December 27, 1975. The postseason tournament concluded with the
Pittsburgh Steelers
defeating the
Dallas Cowboys
in
Super Bowl X
, 21?17, on January 18, 1976, at the
Orange Bowl
in
Miami
.
This was the first season in which the league used a seeding system in the playoffs. Thus, the surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round. The three division champions in each conference were seeded 1 through 3 based on their regular season won-lost-tied record, and the wild card qualifier in each conference (i.e., the conference's top non-division winner with the best overall regular season record) became the 4 seed.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Participants
[
edit
]
Within each conference, the three division winners and the
non-division winner with the best record
qualified for the playoffs. The three division winners were
seeded
1?3 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card team was seeded 4. The first round, dubbed the
divisional playoffs
, had a restriction where two teams from the same division could not meet: the surviving wild card team visited the highest-seeded division champion that was outside its own division, and the remaining two teams from that conference played each other. The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the
Super Bowl
, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
Bracket
[
edit
]
Schedule
[
edit
]
In the United States,
NBC
broadcast the
AFC
playoff games, while
CBS
televised the
NFC
games and
Super Bowl X
.
Away team
|
Score
|
Home team
|
Date
|
Kickoff
(
ET
/
UTC?5
)
|
TV
|
Divisional playoffs
|
Baltimore Colts
|
10?28
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
December 27, 1975
|
1:00 p.m.
|
NBC
|
St. Louis Cardinals
|
23?35
|
Los Angeles Rams
|
December 27, 1975
|
4:00 p.m.
|
CBS
|
Dallas Cowboys
|
17?14
|
Minnesota Vikings
|
December 28, 1975
|
1:00 p.m.
|
CBS
|
Cincinnati Bengals
|
28?31
|
Oakland Raiders
|
December 28, 1975
|
4:00 p.m.
|
NBC
|
Conference Championships
|
Oakland Raiders
|
10?16
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
January 4, 1976
|
1:00 p.m.
|
NBC
|
Dallas Cowboys
|
37?7
|
Los Angeles Rams
|
January 4, 1976
|
4:00 p.m.
|
CBS
|
Super Bowl X
Miami Orange Bowl
, Miami, Florida
|
Dallas Cowboys
|
17?21
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
January 18, 1976
|
2:00 p.m.
|
CBS
|
Divisional playoffs
[
edit
]
Saturday, December 27, 1975
[
edit
]
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Baltimore Colts 10
[
edit
]
Game information
|
- Scoring
- PIT ? Harris 8 run (Gerela kick) PIT 7?0
- BAL ? Doughty 5 pass from Domres (Linhart kick)7?7
- BAL ? field goal Linhart 27 BAL 10?7
- PIT ? Bleier 7 run (Gerela kick) PIT 14?10
- PIT ? Bradshaw 2 run (Gerela kick) PIT 21?10
- PIT ? Russell 93 fumble return (Gerela kick) PIT 28?10
|
Despite losing 5 turnovers, the Steelers forced 3 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense, while Pittsburgh's
Franco Harris
shredded Baltimore's defense with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers scored first after linebacker
Jack Ham
's interception set up a 61-yard touchdown drive.
Terry Bradshaw
's 34-yard completion to receiver
Frank Lewis
paved the way for Harris's 8-yard scoring run. Baltimore responded in the second quarter when
Lloyd Mumphord
returned an interception 58 yards to set up
Glenn Doughty
's 5-yard touchdown catch from
Marty Domres
. Then Harris lost a fumble that was recovered by
Nelson Munsey
on the Steelers 19, leading to
Toni Linhart
's 27-yard field goal that gave Baltimore a 10?7 lead early in the second half.
[5]
On the second half kickoff, Munsey recovered a fumble from Steelers returner
Dave Brown
. But a few plays later, Pittsburgh cornerback
Mel Blount
intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to the Baltimore 7-yard line. From there,
Rocky Bleier
scored on a 7-yard rushing touchdown giving the Steelers a 14?10 lead. In the fourth quarter, a short punt from
David Lee
gave the Steelers favorable field position, and they scored on Bradshaw's 2-yard run, increasing their lead to 21?10. Now with the game slipping away, Colts coach
Ted Marchibroda
benched Domres (who had completed only 2 of 11 passes) and replaced him with
Bert Jones
(who had earlier left the game due to injury),
[6]
who promptly gave the team a golden opportunity to rally back with a 58-yard completion to Doughty on the Steelers 3-yard line. But on the next play, Ham knocked the ball out of Jones's hand as he was winding up for a pass. Linebacker
Andy Russell
recovered the fumble and returned it for an NFL playoff record 93 yards to the end zone. Russell's play is claimed by some as the longest single football play in time duration.
[7]
Sports Illustrated
called the play the "longest, slowest touchdown ever witnessed."
[6]
"That play has been a source of embarrassment for me for years", said Russell several years later. "There have been so many jokes.
Ray Mansfield
was the one that said NBC cut to a commercial during the return and came back to catch me score the touchdown. Nonetheless, it was a memorable play in my career."
[6]
The game is also notable in that it was the debut game for Steelers fans'
Terrible Towels
.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Colts and Steelers.
[8]
NFC: Los Angeles Rams 35, St. Louis Cardinals 23
[
edit
]
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams ? Game summary
Period
|
1
|
2
|
3
| 4
| Total
|
Cardinals
|
0
|
9
|
7
| 7
| 23
|
Rams
|
14
|
14
|
0
| 7
| 35
|
at
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
, Los Angeles
Game information
|
- Scoring
- LA ? Jaworski 5 run (Dempsey kick) LA 7?0
- LA ? Youngblood 47 interception return (Dempsey kick) LA 14?0
- LA ? Simpson 65 interception return (Dempsey kick) LA 21?0
- STL ? Otis 3 run (kick blocked) LA 21?6
- LA ? Jackson 66 pass from Jaworski (Dempsey kick) LA 28?6
- STL ? field goal Bakken 39 LA 28?9
- STL ? Gray 11 pass from Hart (Bakken kick) LA 28?16
- LA ? Jessie 2 fumble return (Dempsey kick) LA 35?16
- STL ? Jones 3 run (Bakken kick) LA 35?23
|
The Rams defense scored 2 touchdowns in the first half while running back
Lawrence McCutcheon
ran for an NFL playoff record 202 yards on 37 carries. Los Angeles started the game off with a 79-yard scoring drive, 51 of them from McCutcheon, on the way to a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback
Ron Jaworski
. Then on the first Cardinals play, Rams linebacker
Jack Youngblood
intercepted a pass from
Jim Hart
and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. St. Louis returner
Terry Metcalf
gave his team a chance to get back in the game with a 67-yard kickoff return, but they lost the ball again when Youngblood forced a fumble from
Jim Otis
that
Fred Dryer
recovered. Later on,
Bill Simpson
intercepted a pass from Hart on the first play of the second quarter and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, making the score 21?0.
Dwayne Crump
returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to the St. Louis 40-yard line, and the team came back to score on an 8-play, 60-yard drive, featuring a 21-yard reception by running back
Jim Otis
. Otis finished the possession with a 3-yard touchdown run, but the extra point was blocked by Youngblood and the Rams responded on the first play of their next drive with Jaworski's 66-yard touchdown pass to
Harold Jackson
, making the score 28?6. Shortly before the end of the half, Hart completed a 23-yard pass to
Mel Gray
that set up
Jim Bakken
's 39-yard field goal, cutting the score to 28-9 going into intermission.
In the third quarter, the Cardinals drove 80 yards in 12 plays, including a 19-yard reception by Metcalf, to score on Hart's 11-yard touchdown pass to Gray and cut their deficit to 28?16. But in the fourth quarter, Simpson intercepted another pass and returned this one 28 yards to the Cardinals 36-yard line. Receiver
Ron Jessie
eventually scored the final touchdown for the Rams when he recovered a fumble from McCutcheon and ran it into the end zone with just over 4 minutes left in the game. By the time Cardinals running back Steve Jones finished the ensuing 68-yard, 12-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, the game was well out of reach.
Youngblood had an outstanding performance. In addition to his 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, he also recorded a sack, blocked an extra point, and forced a fumble. Meftcalf racked up 229 total yards, (8 carries for 27 yards, 6 receptions for 94 yards, 2 kickoff returns for 102 yards, 2 punt returns for 6 yards). Jaworski completed 12/23 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown. Hart completed 22 of 41 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted 3 times.
[9]
This was the Cardinals' last playoff game until
1982
, and their last in a non-strike season until
1998
, a decade after the franchise moved to
Arizona
.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Rams.
[8]
Sunday, December 28, 1975
[
edit
]
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
[
edit
]
Game information
|
- Scoring
- MIN ? Foreman 1 run (Cox kick) MIN 7?0
- DAL ? Dennison 4 run (
Fritsch
kick) 7?7
- DAL ? field goal Fritsch 24 DAL 10?7
- MIN ? McClanahan 1 run (Cox kick) MIN 14?10
- DAL ? D. Pearson 50 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 17?14
|
With 24 seconds to play, Cowboys quarterback
Roger Staubach
threw a 50-yard winning touchdown pass to wide receiver
Drew Pearson
on a play that became known as the
Hail Mary pass
. Pearson's last-minute touchdown reception remains strong in Cowboys lore and sour with Vikings fans. To them, Pearson's touchdown should never have counted because they contend the officials missed two calls on the final Dallas drive, including offensive pass interference on Pearson in the touchdown reception.
The defenses of both teams dominated the first half. The Vikings' longest gain was a 16-yard run by quarterback
Fran Tarkenton
early in the second quarter. The Vikings eventually punted, and the ball hit the ground near returner
Cliff Harris
. Thinking that Harris had touched the ball, Dallas's
Pat Donovan
tried to dive on it, but the ball slipped away and was recovered by Minnesota's
Fred McNeill
on the Cowboys' 4-yard line.
Chuck Foreman
eventually took the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard score for a 7?0 Vikings lead. The Cowboys were able to move the ball on their next two drives, but the first ended with a missed field goal, and after a
Mel Renfro
interception sparked a drive to the Vikings 24, the Cowboys failed to convert a fourth-and-inches situation and the score was 7?0 at halftime.
Dallas mounted the first sustained scoring drive of the game with their first second-half possession. A late hit by Vikings linebacker
Wally Hilgenberg
turned
Preston Pearson
's 14-yard reception into a 29-yard gain. Then Staubach hit tight end
Billy Joe Dupree
for 17 yards to the Vikings' 19.
Doug Dennison
then rumbled for a 10-yard carry, and three plays later he tied the game on a 4-yard scoring run.
Early in the fourth quarter, Dallas took a 10?7 lead on a 24-yard field goal by
Toni Fritsch
. Following an exchange of punts, Tarkenton completed four of six passes for 37 yards on a 70-yard, 11-play drive, which included a 13-yard run on a reverse by
Brent McClanahan
. The third-year running back eventually finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Vikings a 14?10 lead with 5:24 remaining. Dallas went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, giving the ball back to Minnesota with 3:12 left and giving the Vikings a chance to run out the clock. They forced Dallas to use up all of its timeouts, but on a third-and-two, Cowboys safety
Charlie Waters
broke through Foreman's block attempt and tackled Tarkenton for a 3-yard loss as time ran down to the two-minute warning. "That play cost us the game," Tarkenton later said. "It wasn't the Hail Mary pass. We had the game in control but didn't make the play."
[10]
The Cowboys got the ball back on their own 15-yard line with only 1:51 left. Staubach started the drive with a pair of completions to Pearson, who had not yet caught a pass in the game, moving the ball to the Dallas 31. However, on the next play, Staubach fumbled a low snap in shotgun formation and was downed for an 8-yard loss. A few plays later, facing fourth-down-and-16, he threw a 25-yard completion to Pearson to set up the winning "Hail Mary" pass. The fourth-and-16 completion foreshadowed events to come with its own controversy. Minnesota argued that Pearson would have been out of bounds regardless of a push when he made the catch. The official ruled he was forced out by
Nate Wright
. At the time, a catch by a receiver who was forced out of bounds in midair by a defender counted as a reception (this rule would change in 2008).
These two would participate in a more controversial play two plays later. After
Preston Pearson
dropped a wide-open pass in the middle of the field with 32 seconds left, Staubach launched a bomb to Drew Pearson, who caught the ball through tight coverage by Wright at the 4-yard line and ran into the end zone for a 50-yard scoring reception that Staubach, in a postgame interview, called a "Hail Mary" pass. That popularized the term to describe such a play. Wright, who was just in front of Pearson, fell as the ball came down, and the Vikings argued that Pearson pushed off and should have been flagged for offensive interference. The play drew the ire of Minnesota's
Alan Page
, who was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing with officials, and a 15-yard penalty was assessed that allowed Dallas to kick off from the 50. Tarkenton then vehemently argued with the referees but to no avail. Meanwhile, angry Minnesota fans threw objects onto the field, one of which was a liquor bottle that struck official
Armen Terzian
in the head, creating a forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. Terzian wore a bandage, later requiring 11 stitches, as he walked off the field. He was replaced by substitute official Charley Musser for the final two plays. The NFL later banned glass bottles from being sold at stadiums. The fan who threw the glass bottle at Terzian eventually was found by police, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, and was sentenced to a $100 fine.
[10]
Meanwhile, the Cowboys "
Doomsday Defense
" put the finishing touches on the team's victory by sacking Tarkenton on each of the final two plays of the game.
It was another disappointing end to a spectacular season for the Vikings. They had finished with an NFC-best 12?2 record. Their defense led the league with the fewest yards allowed. Tarkenton had won the
NFL Most Valuable Player Award
, and the
NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award
, while Foreman amassed 1,761 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns. The day only got worse for Tarkenton. He soon learned his father had died of a heart attack while watching the game. The upstart and youthful Cowboys, not expected to do much after an 8?6 season in 1974 and the loss of several key veterans, would defeat the Rams and lose to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.
Staubach finished 17 of 29 for 246 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 24 yards. Drew Pearson caught four passes for 91 yards, all on Dallas's final game-winning drive. Foreman was the game's top rusher with 56 yards and a touchdown, and caught four passes for 42 yards. Dallas outgained Minnesota 356 yards to 215.
This was the third postseason game between the Cowboys and Vikings. The teams split the previous two meetings.
[8]
Previous playoff games
Tied 1?1 in all-time playoff games
|
Dallas Cowboys
20 @ Minnesota Vikings 12
|
Minnesota Vikings
27 @ Dallas Cowboys 10
|
|
AFC: Oakland Raiders 31, Cincinnati Bengals 28
[
edit
]
Game information
|
- Scoring
- OAK ? field goal Blanda 31 OAK 3?0
- OAK ? Siani 9 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 10?0
- CIN ? Fritts 1 run (Green kick) OAK 10?7
- OAK ? Moore 8 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 17?7
- OAK ? Banaszak 6 run (Blanda kick) OAK 24?7
- CIN ? Elliott 6 run (Green kick) OAK 24?14
- OAK ? Casper 2 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 31?14
- CIN ? Joiner 25 pass from Anderson (Green kick) OAK 31?21
- CIN ? Curtis 14 pass from Anderson (Green kick) OAK 31?28
|
The Raiders outgained Cincinnati in total yards 358?258, rushing yards 173?97, and first downs 27?17, while also recording five sacks, jumping to a 31?14 lead, and holding off a frantic Bengals comeback in the final period.
Oakland kicker
George Blanda
made a 31-yard field goal, while quarterback
Ken Stabler
threw two touchdown passes in the first half, one for 9 yards to
Mike Siani
and an 8-yard one to
Bob Moore
. Cincinnati's lone score in the first half was an 8-play, 65-yard drive ending with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Stan Fritts. The Raiders then scored on their first drive of the second half with running back
Pete Banaszak
's 6-yard touchdown run to take a 24?7 lead. Then after the Bengals marched 91 yards to cut the lead, 24?14, with
Lenvil Elliott
's 6-yard touchdown run, Stabler threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this time a 2-yard pass to tight end
Dave Casper
.
Trailing 31?14 in the fourth quarter, the Bengals managed to come back with two unanswered touchdowns. First,
Ken Riley
intercepted a pass from Stabler and returned it 34 yards to the Raiders 34-yard line, setting up
Ken Anderson
's 25-yard touchdown pass to
Charlie Joiner
. Then the Bengals defense forced Oakland to punt for the first time in the game, and
Ray Guy
's kick went just 38 yards. Three minutes later, Anderson's 14-yard touchdown pass to
Isaac Curtis
cut the score to 31?28. With 4:19 left in the game, Bengals defensive end
Ron Carpenter
recovered a Banaszak fumble on the Raiders 37-yard line. But on the next play, linebacker
Ted Hendricks
sacked Anderson for an 8-yard loss, pushing the Bengals out of field goal range. Anderson completed a 5-yard pass to
Bruce Coslet
on second down, but his next two passes were incomplete, resulting in a turnover. The Bengals managed to force a punt with 50 seconds left, but on a desperate attempt to block the kick that narrowly missed, linebacker Chris Devlin ran into Guy, drawing a penalty that gave the Raiders a first down and let them run out the clock.
"
Al Davis
went to a lot of trouble to get Hendricks on his team", Bengals coach
Paul Brown
bitterly remarked after the game. "And today it finally paid off for him".
[11]
"I've never been prouder of a football team than the Cincinnati team we brought in here today", he added. "They never quit."
Stabler threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, with 1 interception. Anderson threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Bengals and Raiders.
[8]
Conference Championships
[
edit
]
Sunday, January 4, 1976
[
edit
]
AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Oakland Raiders 10
[
edit
]
Game information
|
- Scoring
- PIT ? field goal Gerela 36 PIT 3?0
- PIT ? Harris 25 run (Gerela kick) PIT 10?0
- OAK ? Siani 14 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) PIT 10?7
- PIT ? Stallworth 20 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed) PIT 16?7
- OAK ? field goal Blanda 41 PIT 16?10
|
A defensive struggle in which both teams combined for 12 turnovers (7 for Pittsburgh, 5 for Oakland) turned into an offensive battle as the Steelers managed to stop the Raiders' final drive for the winning score as time ran out.
As the two dominant teams of the era in the AFC, Oakland and Pittsburgh would eventually face off in five consecutive playoff games from 1972 to 1976, including three consecutive AFC Championship games from 1974 to 1976.
[12]
Already bitter rivals dating back to the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff game (see:
the Immaculate Reception
), Raiders' officials, including team owner
Al Davis
and head coach
John Madden
, accused the Steelers and Three Rivers Stadium groundskeepers of intentionally allowing the artificial playing surface to ice over, in an effort to slow Oakland's propensity for using a wide-open aerial attack as part of its offensive game plan.
[13]
The game started out ugly, as Pittsburgh quarterback
Terry Bradshaw
was picked off twice in the first quarter. However, Oakland fared no better, as
George Blanda
's missed 38-yard field goal attempt after Bradshaw's second interception was the closest they would get to scoring in the first half. In the second quarter, Steelers safety
Mike Wagner
intercepted a pass from
Ken Stabler
to set up
Roy Gerela
's 36-yard field goal.
This would be the only score of the first three quarters. In the third quarter, the Raiders blew two big scoring chances. After recovering a fumbled punt by the Steelers, the Raiders got a first down on the Pittsburgh 16-yard line. Then quarterback
Ken Stabler
threw a short pass to
Pete Banaszak
, only to watch him fumble the ball as he turned upfield, and linebacker
Jack Lambert
recovered it. Then after
Jack Tatum
recovered a fumble from
Lynn Swann
at midfield, Oakland gave the ball back again when Lambert recovered a fumble from running back
Clarence Davis
on the Steelers 30-yard line. The turnover led to a 5-play, 70-yard drive that ended on running back
Franco Harris
's 25-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 10?0 lead. Oakland stormed back, scoring in less than two minutes on a drive that lasted just six plays, three of them receptions by tight end
Dave Casper
. Stabler finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to
Mike Siani
that made the score 10?7.
[14]
Midway through the fourth quarter, Lambert recorded his third fumble recovery, this one from running back
Marv Hubbard
on the Oakland 25, setting up Bradshaw's 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver
John Stallworth
.
Bobby Walden
fumbled the snap on the PAT, which kicker
Roy Gerela
recovered but failed to convert on a
drop kick
, keeping the score at 16?7. Later on, Bradshaw was knocked out of the game when he took a knee-hit to the head by linebacker
Monte Johnson
. A few plays later, Oakland recovered their fourth fumble of the day with 1:31 left in the game. The Raiders then drove to the Pittsburgh 24-yard line, where they faced third down and 2 yards to go with 18 seconds left on the clock. They opted to have
George Blanda
kick a 41-yard field goal (his longest of the season and last of his NFL career) to pull the deficit to 6 points. Then Hubbard recovered the ensuing onside kick with 9 seconds remaining to give Oakland one last attempt to win the game.
Cliff Branch
then caught a 37-yard reception, but he was stopped at the Pittsburgh 15-yard line by Steelers cornerback
Mel Blount
before he could get out of bounds and the clock ran out, sealing Pittsburgh's victory. Aside from his touchdown run, Harris ran for 54 yards on 26 carries, while also catching 5 passes for 58 yards.
Raiders defender
George Atkinson
knocked Swann into a severe concussion that would have him hospitalized for 2 days. Swann, however would go on to win the Super Bowl MVP award with yardage records. Lambert set an AFC Championship Game record with three fumble recoveries in the game. This was Oakland's 6th AFC championship loss in the last 8 years.
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Raiders and Steelers. Pittsburgh won two of the prior three meetings.
[8]
Previous playoff games
Pittsburgh leads 2?1 in all-time playoff games
|
Oakland Raiders 7 @
Pittsburgh Steelers
13
|
Pittsburgh Steelers 14 @
Oakland Raiders
33
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
24 @ Oakland Raiders 13
|
|
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 37, Los Angeles Rams 7
[
edit
]
Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams ? Game summary
Period
|
1
|
2
|
3
| 4
| Total
|
Cowboys
|
7
|
14
|
13
| 3
| 37
|
Rams
|
0
|
0
|
0
| 7
| 7
|
at
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
, Los Angeles
Game information
|
- Scoring
- DAL ? P. Pearson 18 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 7?0
- DAL ? Richards 4 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 14?0
- DAL ? P. Pearson 15 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 21?0
- DAL ? P. Pearson 19 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 28?0
- DAL ? field goal Fritsch 40 DAL 31?0
- DAL ? field goal Fritsch 26 DAL 34?0
- LA ? Cappelletti 1 run (Dempsey kick) DAL 34?7
- DAL ? field goal Fritsch 26 DAL 37?7
|
Quarterback
Roger Staubach
threw for 220 yards and 4 touchdown passes while also rushing for 54 yards as the Cowboys upset the favored Rams. The first passing attempt by Los Angeles quarterback
James Harris
, who was coming off an injury and making his first start since the 13th game of the season, was intercepted by Dallas linebacker
D.D. Lewis
. This set up Staubach's first touchdown pass, a
screen
to running back
Preston Pearson
for 18 yards. A 4-yard touchdown reception by
Golden Richards
and a diving catch in the end zone by Pearson put the Cowboys up 21?0 by halftime. Dallas scored again on their first drive of the second half on a shovel pass to Pearson for his third touchdown reception of the game.
Toni Fritsch
later added three field goals. Harris gave way to backup
Ron Jaworski
, but only
John Cappelletti
's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter prevented the Rams from being shut out. Pearson finished the game with 7 receptions for 123 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 20 rushing yards. The Dallas defense allowed only 118 yards, a mere 22 on the ground, and sacked Jaworski 5 times.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Rams, Dallas winning the only previous meeting.
[8]
Previous playoff games
Dallas leads 1?0 in all-time playoff games
|
Los Angeles Rams 16 @
Dallas Cowboys
27
|
|
Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
[
edit
]
Super Bowl X ? Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers ? Game summary
Period
|
1
|
2
|
3
| 4
| Total
|
Cowboys (NFC)
|
7
|
3
|
0
| 7
| 17
|
Steelers (AFC)
|
7
|
0
|
0
| 14
| 21
|
at
Orange Bowl
,
Miami, Florida
This was the first Super Bowl meeting between the Cowboys and Steelers.
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Top Seeds | Pro Football Hall of Fame"
.
pfhof
. Retrieved
February 19,
2024
.
- ^
"Teams without a bye have a tough road to the Super Bowl"
.
USA TODAY
. Retrieved
February 19,
2024
.
- ^
"Graphic: Which NFL playoff seeds succeed?"
.
ESPN.com
. January 3, 2013
. Retrieved
February 19,
2024
.
- ^
"1975 | Pro Football Hall of Fame"
.
pfhof
. Retrieved
February 19,
2024
.
- ^
"Steelers Hold Off Colts"
.
Chicago Tribune
. December 28, 1975.
- ^
a
b
c
Hayes, Joshua (June 8, 2012).
"Pittsburgh's Forgotten Classics: Colts vs. Steelers, 1975"
.
Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
December 25,
2022
.
- ^
"Steelers tell jokes, share tales at 75th year gala"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. November 5, 2007
. Retrieved
October 15,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Team Matchup History"
.
www.footballdb.com
.
- ^
"Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers"
.
- ^
a
b
Murphy, Brian (January 14, 2010).
"
'Hail Mary' loss to Dallas left a deep wound"
.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
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"Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers"
.
- ^
"Playoff Results: 1970s | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site"
.
- ^
"NFL Football Highlights, Clips & Analysis"
.
- ^
"Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers"
.
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Overview
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Playoff/conference
tiebreaker games
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NFL playoff system
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AFL
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Broadcasters
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