1975–76 NFL playoffs

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The NFL playoffs following the 1975 NFL season led up to Super Bowl X. 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 became the 4 seed.

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.

Seed	AFC	NFC
Playoff seeds
1	Pittsburgh Steelers (Central winner)	Minnesota Vikings (Central winner)
2	Oakland Raiders (West winner)	Los Angeles Rams (West winner)
3	Baltimore Colts (East winner)	St. Louis Cardinals (East winner)
4	Cincinnati Bengals	Dallas Cowboys

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.

Bracket

*Note: Two teams from the same division were not allowed to play against each other in the Divisional playoff round.

Divisional Playoffs		Conf. Championship Games		Super Bowl X

December 28 – Metropolitan Stadium

4) Dallas Cowboys	17
		January 4 – L.A. Memorial Coliseum
1) Minnesota Vikings	14
		4) Dallas Cowboys	37
December 27 – L.A. Memorial Coliseum
		2) Los Angeles Rams	7
3) St. Louis Cardinals	23
				January 18 – Miami Orange Bowl
2) Los Angeles Rams	35
				N4) Dallas Cowboys	17
December 28 – Oakland Coliseum
				A1) Pittsburgh Steelers	21
4) Cincinnati Bengals	28
		January 4 – Three Rivers Stadium
2)* Oakland Raiders	31
		2) Oakland Raiders	10
December 27 – Three Rivers Stadium
		1) Pittsburgh Steelers	16
3) Baltimore Colts	10

1)* Pittsburgh Steelers	28

Divisional playoffs

December 27, 1975

AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Baltimore Colts 10

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	0	7	3	0	10
Steelers	7	0	7	14	28

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 49,557
Referee: Pat Haggerty
TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson, John Brodie, and Don Meredith

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

The Steelers defense forced 4 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense, while Pittsburgh's Franco Harris shreded Baltimore's defense with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Steelers scored first after linebacker Jack Ham's interception set up running back 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, Pittsburgh 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. The play is claimed by some as the longest single football play in time duration.^[1]

The game is also notable in that it was the debut game for the Terrible Towel.

NFC: Los Angeles Rams 35, St. Louis Cardinals 23

Game summary

	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 time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 73,459
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Hank Stram

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

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 Rams lineman Fred Dryer recovered. Later on, Los Angeles defensive back 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.

The Cardinals came back to score on a rushing touchdown by running back Jim Otis, who had already gained 21 yards on a short reception earlier in the drive. But the extra point was blocked 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 at the end of the half.

In the third quarter, a 19-yard completion from Hart to Metcalf set up his 11-yard touchdown pass to Mel Gray. But after St. Louis cut it to 28–16 with a field goal, Simpson intercepted another pass to set up the Rams final touchdown when receiver Ron Jessie recovered a fumble from McCutcheon and ran it into the end zone. By the time Cardinals running back Steve Jones scored the final points of the game on 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.

December 28, 1975

AFC: Oakland Raiders 31, Cincinnati Bengals 28

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	7	7	14	28
Raiders	3	14	7	7	31

at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 53,030
Referee: Jim Tunney
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis

Game information
Scoring OAK – field goal Blanda 31 OAK 3–0 OAK – Siani 9 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 10–3 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

Game information

Scoring
- OAK – field goal Blanda 31 OAK 3–0
- OAK – Siani 9 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 10–3
- 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 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 was a 1-yard 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, Cincinnati defensive back 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 lineman 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. Two plays later, the Raiders stopped the Cincinnati offense on fourth down and ran out the last two minutes of the game.

Stabler threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, with 1 interception. Anderson threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

NFC: Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	7	10	17
Vikings	0	7	0	7	14

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 48,050
Referee: Chuck Heberling
TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas

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 – Pearson 50 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 17–14

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 Foreman. Dallas did not score until the third quarter when Doug Dennison tied the game with a 4-yard touchdown run. Then after the Cowboys added Toni Fritsch's fourth-quarter field goal, the Vikings took the lead, 14–10, with 5:24 remaining as quarterback Fran Tarkenton completed 4/6 passes for 37 yards on an 11-play, 70 yard drive to score on running back Brent McClanahan's 1-yard touchdown run. Dallas went three and out on their ensuing drive, giving the ball back to Minnesota with 3:12 left and a giving the team a great chance to run out the clock. They managed to force Dallas to use up all their timeouts, but on a 3rd and 2 situation, 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."^[2]

The Cowboys got the ball back on its 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 25. A few plays later, he threw a 25-yard completion to Pearson on fourth-down-and-16 set up the winning "Hail Mary pass." The fourth and 16 completion proved to be a foreshadowing of events to come, as this play had its own minor controversy. Minnesota argued that Pearson was out of bounds when he made this catch. The official ruled that he was forced out by Nate Wright, which replay appeared to confirm. These two would of course participate in a more controversial play two plays later, as Drew Pearson caught a 50-yard reception on what Staubach called (in the postgame interview) a "Hail Mary" pass, the first time that term was used to describe such a play. Wright fell down 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 penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15-yard penalty that allowed Dallas to kick off from the 50, and ejected. Tarkenton then vehemently argued with the referees, inspiring fans to throw objects onto the field, one of which was a liquor bottle that struck official Armen Terzian in the head, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. Terzian had to wear a bandage, later requiring 11 stitches, as he walked off the field and 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 was eventually found by police, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, and was sentenced to a 100 dollar fine.^[3]

It was another disappointing end to a spectacular season for the Vikings. They had finished the season with an NFC best 12–2 record and quarterback Fran Tarkenton 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, as 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 go on to defeat the Rams and lose to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.

Staubach finished the game 17/29 for 246 yards and a touchdown, along with 24 rushing yards. Pearson was the top receiver with 4 receptions for 91 yards, all on Dallas' final game winning drive. Foreman was the top rusher of the game with 56 yards and a touchdown, and caught 4 receptions for 42 yards. Dallas outgained Minnesota in total yards 356–215.

Conference championships

January 4, 1976

AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Oakland Raiders 10

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	0	0	10	10
Steelers	0	3	0	13	16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 15 °F (−9 °C), cloudy, field icy
Game attendance: 50,609
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, and Don Meredith

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.

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.

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 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 before he could get out of bounds and the clock ran out. Harris had a superb performance, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 5 passes for 58 yards.

Raiders defender George Atkinson knocks Steelers receiver Lynn Swann into a severe concussion that has him hospitalized for 2 days before he goes on to win the Super Bowl MVP with yardage records.

NFC Championship: Dallas Cowboys 37, Los Angeles Rams 7

Game summary

	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 time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 88,919
Referee: Tommy Bell
TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Sonny Jurgensen

Game information
Scoring DAL – Pearson 18 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 7–0 DAL – Richards 4 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 14–0 DAL – Pearson 15 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 21–0 DAL – 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

Game information

Scoring
- DAL – Pearson 18 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 7–0
- DAL – Richards 4 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 14–0
- DAL – Pearson 15 pass from Staubach (Fritsch kick) DAL 21–0
- DAL – 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 Preston 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 Preston 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.

Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17

Further information: Super Bowl X

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys (NFC)	7	3	0	7	17
Steelers (AFC)	7	0	0	14	21

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Date: January 18, 1976
Game attendance: 80,187
Referee: Norm Schachter
TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

References

↑ "Steelers tell jokes, share tales at 75th year gala – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Post-gazette.com. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
↑ http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14202901
↑ http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14202901

Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 (ISBN 0-89204-523-X)
Top 10 Weather Games(Raiders vs Steelers)

1975 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets			Washington

v t e National Football League playoffs

Conference Tiebreakers

1941 1943 1947 1950 1952 1957 1958 1965

NFL Playoff Tournament System

1967 1968 1969

1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14

American Football League playoffs

Post-season streaks Post-season droughts AFC Wild Card Playoff Game broadcasters AFC Divisional Playoff Game broadcasters AFC Championship Game broadcasters AFL Championship Game broadcasters NFC Wild Card Playoff Game broadcasters NFC Divisional Playoff Game broadcasters NFC Championship Game broadcasters NFL Championship Game broadcasters Playoff Bowl broadcasters Super Bowl broadcasters NFL playoff results NFL starting quarterback playoff records NFL head coach playoff records

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