All NFL game summaries for 01/02/1972:

George Andrie's interception of a screen pass and an 80-yard scoring drive engineered by Roger Staubach moved the Dallas Cowboys into the Super Bowl with a 14-3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. Andrie picked off a John Brodie pass intended for Ken Willard and returned it to the 49ers' 2 in the second period. Calvin Hill scored on a diving plunge from the one.

After yielding a 28-yard field goal by Bruce Gossett in the third quarter, the Cowboys put the game away in the final period with another 80-yard drive in 14 plays, climaxed by Duane Thomas' 2-yard run. Staubach hit with key passes to Dan Reeves, Billy Truax and Mike Ditka in the long drive. Lee Roy Jordan and Cliff Harris also intercepted Brodie passes and the Cowboys defense held the 49ers to 61 yards rushing. Staubach ran for 55 yards to top the Dallas running game.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

Line: Cowboys by 7½

( 0- 7) DAL Calvin Hill 1 yard rush (Mike Clark kick)
( 3- 7) SF  Bruce Gossett 28 yard field goal
( 3-14) DAL Duane Thomas 2 yard rush (Mike Clark kick)

                     SF              DAL
First Downs:         9               16
Rushes-yards:        16-61           46-172
Yards/rush:          3.8             3.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     14-30-184-3     9-18-103-0
Sacked-yards:        1-6             6-31
Net pass yards:      178             72
Net yards/pass:      5.7             3.0
Total net yards:     239             244
Total plays:         47 (34% run)    70 (65% run)  
Yards/play:          5.1             3.5
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             2-1
Turnovers:           3               1
Penalties-yards:     1-12            2-30

Attendance: 63,409

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Three interceptions, one a 62-yard touchdown run by Dick Anderson, played a strong role in Miami's first championship before a record Dolphins' home crowd. The Miami victory also featured a pair of Bob Griese to Paul Warfield passes, one good for a 75-yard scoring ice-breaker in the opening period. The Dolphins' defense stopped Baltimore on a fourth and 2 situation in the second period on the Miami 9, and the Dolphins also blocked the last of three field goal efforts by Jim O'Brien after he had missed from the 46 and 48. Larry Csonka's 5-yard smash in the fourth quarter, following Griese's 50 yard play-action peg to Warfield, wrapped up the scoring. Garo Yepremian, leading scorer in the AFC, added all three extra points.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

Line: Dolphins by 1½

( 0- 7) MIA Paul Warfield 75 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 0-14) MIA Dick Anderson 62 yard interception return (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 0-21) MIA Larry Csonka 5 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick)

                     BAL             MIA
First Downs:         16              13
Rushes-yards:        29-93           35-144
Yards/rush:          3.2             4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     20-36-224-3     4-8-158-1
Sacked-yards:        3-15            2-16
Net pass yards:      209             142
Net yards/pass:      5.4             14.2
Total net yards:     302             286
Total plays:         68 (42% run)    45 (77% run)  
Yards/play:          4.4             6.4
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             0-0
Turnovers:           3               1
Penalties-yards:     2-20            1-12

Attendance: 76,622

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