NFL game summary for 12/09/1972:
A goal-line interception by LB Billy Andrews in the last half-minute prevented the Bengals from overtaking or tying the Browns and eliminated Cincinnati from playoff contention. Mike Phipps threw a pair of TD passes and Leroy Kelly scored on a five-yard run in a 12-for-42 effort which brought his lifetime rushing yardage total to 6,807 and gave him fourth place on the all-time NFL list behind Jim Brown, Jim Taylor and Joe Perry. Chip Myers caught eight passes and racked up 116 yards for the Bengals.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 124.2 (20) | 134.8 (20) | 259.0 (20) | 23 |
| DEFENSE | 163.1 (22) | 131.0 (5) | 294.1 (17) | 22 | |
 | OFFENSE | 137.4 (16) | 165.9 (11) | 303.3 (13) | 24 |
| DEFENSE | 131.2 (11) | 118.6 (3) | 249.8 (2) | 22 |
Line: Bengals by 3½
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns (9-4-0) | 0 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 27 |
| Cincinnati Bengals (7-6-0) | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
( 7- 0) CLE Frank Pitts 50 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Don Cockroft kick)
(14- 0) CLE Leroy Kelly 5 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
(14- 7) CIN Virgil Carter 8 yard rush (Horst Muhlmann kick)
(14-10) CIN Horst Muhlmann 31 yard field goal
(14-17) CIN Essex Johnson 9 yard rush (Horst Muhlmann kick)
(21-17) CLE Fair Hooker 20 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Don Cockroft kick)
(24-17) CLE Don Cockroft 27 yard field goal
(24-24) CIN Doug Dressler 1 yard rush (Horst Muhlmann kick)
(27-24) CLE Don Cockroft 27 yard field goal
CLE CIN
First Downs: 15 25
Rushes-yards: 29-109 38-194
Yards/rush: 3.8 5.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 11-26-165-2 13-26-154-2
Sacked-yards: 2-15 4-14
Net pass yards: 150 140
Net yards/pass: 5.4 4.7
Total net yards: 259 334
Total plays: 57 (50% run) 68 (55% run)
Yards/play: 4.5 4.9
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 5-2
Turnovers: 2 4
Penalties-yards: 6-47 5-45
Attendance: 59,524
Passing:
CLE: Mike Phipps, 10 of 24 for 151 yards and 2 TDs (1 int); Bill Nelsen, 1 of 2 for 14 yards (1 int) CIN: Virgil Carter, 7 of 16 for 95 yards (2 int); Ken Anderson, 6 of 10 for 59 yards
Rushing:
CLE: Bo Scott, 12 for 59 yards; Leroy Kelly, 12 for 42 yards and 1 TD; Mike Phipps, 4 for 10 yards; Bill Nelsen, 1 for -2 yards CIN: Doug Dressler, 14 for 75 yards and 1 TD; Essex Johnson, 13 for 48 yards and 1 TD; Jess Phillips, 5 for 23 yards; Virgil Carter, 4 for 22 yards and 1 TD; Dave Lewis, 1 for 15 yards; Ken Anderson, 1 for 11 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Frank Pitts, 4 for 77 yards and 1 TD; Fair Hooker, 3 for 44 yards and 1 TD; Leroy Kelly, 3 for 25 yards; Bo Scott, 1 for 19 yards CIN: Chip Myers, 8 for 116 yards; Doug Dressler, 2 for 11 yards; Charlie Joiner, 1 for 17 yards; Bruce Coslet, 1 for 8 yards; Essex Johnson, 1 for 2 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Ken Brown, 3 for 57 yards; Billy Lefear, 1 for 21 yards CIN: Bernard Jackson, 6 for 179 yards
Punt returns:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 2 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 16 yards; Billy Andrews, 1 for 4 yards CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 0 yards; Ken Riley, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 5 for 208 yards CIN: Dave Lewis, 4 for 161 yards
Field Goals:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 2/2 CIN: Horst Muhlmann, 1/1
CLE: Mike Phipps, 10 of 24 for 151 yards and 2 TDs (1 int); Bill Nelsen, 1 of 2 for 14 yards (1 int) CIN: Virgil Carter, 7 of 16 for 95 yards (2 int); Ken Anderson, 6 of 10 for 59 yards
Rushing:
CLE: Bo Scott, 12 for 59 yards; Leroy Kelly, 12 for 42 yards and 1 TD; Mike Phipps, 4 for 10 yards; Bill Nelsen, 1 for -2 yards CIN: Doug Dressler, 14 for 75 yards and 1 TD; Essex Johnson, 13 for 48 yards and 1 TD; Jess Phillips, 5 for 23 yards; Virgil Carter, 4 for 22 yards and 1 TD; Dave Lewis, 1 for 15 yards; Ken Anderson, 1 for 11 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Frank Pitts, 4 for 77 yards and 1 TD; Fair Hooker, 3 for 44 yards and 1 TD; Leroy Kelly, 3 for 25 yards; Bo Scott, 1 for 19 yards CIN: Chip Myers, 8 for 116 yards; Doug Dressler, 2 for 11 yards; Charlie Joiner, 1 for 17 yards; Bruce Coslet, 1 for 8 yards; Essex Johnson, 1 for 2 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Ken Brown, 3 for 57 yards; Billy Lefear, 1 for 21 yards CIN: Bernard Jackson, 6 for 179 yards
Punt returns:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 2 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 16 yards; Billy Andrews, 1 for 4 yards CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 0 yards; Ken Riley, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 5 for 208 yards CIN: Dave Lewis, 4 for 161 yards
Field Goals:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 2/2 CIN: Horst Muhlmann, 1/1