| Nfl Playoffs, 1975-76 |
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However, the league continued to prohibit meetings between two teams from the same division in the Divisional Playoffs. Thus, there would be times when the pairing in that round would be the 1 seed vs. the 3 seed and 2 vs. 4.
''Note: The Pittsburgh Steelers (the AFC 1 seed) did not play the Cincinnati Bengals (the 4 seed) in the Divisional playoff round because both teams were in the same division.'' DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS December 27, 1975 AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Baltimore Colts 10
''at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ''
The Steelers defense forced 4 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense. Pittsburgh scored first after linebacker Jack Ham 's interception set up running back Franco Harris ' 8-yard rushing touchdown. Baltimore responded when Lloyd Mumphord returned a 58-yard interception to set up Glenn Doughty's 5-yard touchdown reception. With the Colts leading 10-7 in the third quarter, Steelers cornerback Mel Blount intercepted a pass and returned to the Baltimore 7-yard line. From there, Rocky Bleier scored on a 7-yard rushing touchdown. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw recorded a 2-yard touchdown run, and Andy Russell picked up a Colts fumble and returned it for an NFL playoff record 93 yards to the end zone.
NFC: Los Angeles Rams 35, St. Louis Cardinals 23
''at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles ''
The Rams defense scored 2 touchdowns in the first half while running back Lawrence McCutcheon ran for an NFL playoff record of 37 carries for 202 yards. Los Angeles built a 21-0 lead off of quarterback Ron Jaworski 's 5-yard touchdown run, and interception returns for touchdowns by Jack Youngblood and Bill Simpson for 47 and 65 yards, respectively. The Cardinals came back to score on a rushing touchdown by running back Jim Otis, but the Rams responded on the first play of their next drive with Jaworski's 66-yard touchdown pass to Harold Jackson. After St. Louis cut the score to 28-16 with a field goal and a touchdown pass from quarterback Jim Hart , Simpson intercepted another pass to set up the Rams final touchdown.
December 28, 1975 AFC: Oakland Raiders 31, Cincinnati Bengals 28
''at Oakland Coliseum , Oakland, California ''
The Raiders jumped to a 31-14 lead, then held off a 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. 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 a touchdown, Stabler threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this time a 2-yard pass to tight end Dave Casper . But in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson threw two touchdown passes, including a 26-yard score to Charlie Joiner, to cut to pull it to 31-28. The Bengals then recovered a Banaszak fumble deep in Oakland territory, but the Raiders stopped the Cincinnati offense on fourth down and ran out the last two minutes of the game.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
''at Metropolitan Stadium , Bloomington, Minnesota ''
With 24 seconds left in the game, Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach threw the 50-yard winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson on a play that became known as the Hail Mary Pass . After a scoreless first quarter, Fred McNeill recovered a muffed punt for Minnesota to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Chuck Forman . Dallas did not tie the game until the third quarter when Doug Dennison scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Then after the Cowboys added a fourth quarter field goal, the Vikings took the lead, 14-10, with 5:24 remaining in the game by marching 70 yards to score on running back Brent McClanahan's 1-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys got the ball back on its own 15-yard line with only 1:51 left, but Staubach's fourth-down-and-16 pass to Pearson set up the winning "Hail Mary pass."
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS January 4, 1976 AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Oakland Raiders 10
''at Three Rivers Stadium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ''
A defense struggle turned into an offensive battle as the Steelers managed to stop the Raiders' final drive for the winning score as time ran out. Only Pittsburgh could manage to score during the first three quarters, with Roy Gerela's 36-yard field goal. But late in the third period, Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert recovered a fumble at the Pittsburgh 30-yard line. The turnover set up running back Franco Harris ' 25-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 10-0 lead. Oakland responded with Mike Siani's 14-yard touchdown reception, but was countered by John Stallworth 's 20-yard touchdown catch. But the Steelers' ensuing extra point was missed, and with the score 16-7, the Raiders found themselves at the Pittsburgh 24-yard line, third down and 2 yards to go, with 18 seconds left in the game. They opted to have George Blanda kick a 41-yard field goal to pull the deficit to 6 points. Then Marv Hilbbard 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 before he could get out of bounds and the clock ran out.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 37, Los Angeles Rams 7
''at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles ''
Quarterback Roger Staubach threw 4 touchdown passes as the Cowboys upset the favored Rams. Linebacker D.D. Lewis intercepted the first passing attempt by Los Angeles, setting up Staubach's first touchdown pass to running back Preston Pearson for 18-yard. A 15-yard touchdown reception by Golden Richards and another scoring catch by Preston Pearson put the Cowboys up 21-0 by halftime. Dallas scored again on their first drive of the second half, with Preston Pearson's third touchdown reception of the game. Toni Fritsch later added three field goals. Only John Cappelletti's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter prevented the Rams from being shutout.
SUPER BOWL Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) 21, Dallas Cowboys (NFC) 17, at Orange Bowl , Miami, Florida BRACKET
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