NFL game summary for 10/08/1972:
Falling behind 13-3 after Pittsburgh's Mel Blount grabbed a Bob Hayes fumble and ran 35 yards for a touchdown, Dallas pulled to within 13-10 with a 57-yard second period drive. Then, in the third period, on first down at the Dallas 45, running back Calvin Hill faked a sweep and threw a 55-yard scoring pass to Ron Sellers. Hill rushed for 108 yards and caught four passes for 27 in addition to throwing his TD pass.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 122.7 (17) | 148.7 (16) | 271.3 (17) | 9 |
| DEFENSE | 92.0 (4) | 203.7 (23) | 295.7 (16) | 13 | |
 | OFFENSE | 143.7 (10) | 174.7 (9) | 318.3 (9) | 8 |
| DEFENSE | 92.7 (5) | 186.7 (19) | 279.3 (13) | 6 |
Line: Cowboys by 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2-0) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Dallas Cowboys (3-1-0) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
( 3- 0) PIT Roy Gerela 39 yard field goal ( 3- 3) DAL Toni Fritsch 40 yard field goal ( 6- 3) PIT Roy Gerela 39 yard field goal (13- 3) PIT Mel Blount 35 yard fumble return (Roy Gerela kick) (13-10) DAL Calvin Hill 1 yard rush (Toni Fritsch kick) (13-17) DAL Ron Sellers 55 yard pass from Calvin Hill (Toni Fritsch kick)
PIT DAL
First Downs: 14 21
Rushes-yards: 26-130 40-191
Yards/rush: 5.0 4.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 12-39-166-1 12-30-197-2
Sacked-yards: 3-24 2-21
Net pass yards: 142 176
Net yards/pass: 3.4 5.5
Total net yards: 272 367
Total plays: 68 (38% run) 72 (55% run)
Yards/play: 4.0 5.1
Fumbles-lost: 3-1 3-2
Turnovers: 2 4
Penalties-yards: 7-54 8-79
Attendance: 65,682
Passing:
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 12 of 39 for 166 yards (1 int) DAL: Craig Morton, 11 of 29 for 142 yards (2 int); Calvin Hill, 1 of 1 for 55 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 11 for 51 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 7 for 29 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 4 for 32 yards; Franco Harris, 3 for 16 yards; Warren Bankston, 1 for 2 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 23 for 108 yards and 1 TD; Walt Garrison, 12 for 76 yards; Mike Montgomery, 3 for 2 yards; Bob Hayes, 1 for 7 yards; Jean Fugett, 1 for -2 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Ron Shanklin, 5 for 64 yards; Frank Lewis, 3 for 54 yards; Dave Smith, 1 for 25 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 1 for 9 yards; Franco Harris, 1 for 8 yards; Preston Pearson, 1 for 6 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 4 for 27 yards; Ron Sellers, 2 for 75 yards and 1 TD; Mike Ditka, 2 for 36 yards; Walt Garrison, 2 for 30 yards; Mike Montgomery, 1 for 16 yards; Bob Hayes, 1 for 13 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 1 for 40 yards DAL: Cliff Harris, 1 for 44 yards; Robert Newhouse, 1 for 17 yards; Mike Montgomery, 1 for 15 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Frank Lewis, 3 for 22 yards DAL: Charlie Waters, 1 for 2 yards; Cliff Harris, 1 for 1 yard
Interceptions:
PIT: Mike Wagner, 1 for 30 yards; Jack Ham, 1 for 16 yards DAL: Cliff Harris, 1 for 17 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 4 for 190 yards; Roy Gerela, 1 for 29 yards DAL: Marv Bateman, 4 for 162 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Roy Gerela, 2/4 DAL: Toni Fritsch, 1/4
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 12 of 39 for 166 yards (1 int) DAL: Craig Morton, 11 of 29 for 142 yards (2 int); Calvin Hill, 1 of 1 for 55 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 11 for 51 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 7 for 29 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 4 for 32 yards; Franco Harris, 3 for 16 yards; Warren Bankston, 1 for 2 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 23 for 108 yards and 1 TD; Walt Garrison, 12 for 76 yards; Mike Montgomery, 3 for 2 yards; Bob Hayes, 1 for 7 yards; Jean Fugett, 1 for -2 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Ron Shanklin, 5 for 64 yards; Frank Lewis, 3 for 54 yards; Dave Smith, 1 for 25 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 1 for 9 yards; Franco Harris, 1 for 8 yards; Preston Pearson, 1 for 6 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 4 for 27 yards; Ron Sellers, 2 for 75 yards and 1 TD; Mike Ditka, 2 for 36 yards; Walt Garrison, 2 for 30 yards; Mike Montgomery, 1 for 16 yards; Bob Hayes, 1 for 13 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 1 for 40 yards DAL: Cliff Harris, 1 for 44 yards; Robert Newhouse, 1 for 17 yards; Mike Montgomery, 1 for 15 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Frank Lewis, 3 for 22 yards DAL: Charlie Waters, 1 for 2 yards; Cliff Harris, 1 for 1 yard
Interceptions:
PIT: Mike Wagner, 1 for 30 yards; Jack Ham, 1 for 16 yards DAL: Cliff Harris, 1 for 17 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 4 for 190 yards; Roy Gerela, 1 for 29 yards DAL: Marv Bateman, 4 for 162 yards
Field Goals:
PIT: Roy Gerela, 2/4 DAL: Toni Fritsch, 1/4