All NFL game summaries for 12/24/1972:

Jim Kiick scored the winning touchdown on an eight-yard run as Miami came from behind in the fourth quarter to nip Cleveland 20-14 for its fifteenth straight victory. The Miami defense intercepted five of Mike Phipps' passes, two each by Doug Swift and Dick Anderson and one by Curtis Johnson. Charlie Babb, a rookie, blocked a Don Cockroft punt in the first quarter and carried the ball in for a touchdown.

The Dolphins led 10-0 at halftime and 13-7 early in the final period before Phipps hit Fair Hooker with a 27-yard touchdown pass to put Cleveland ahead for the first time. Kiick's winning score climaxed a drive featured by a great catch by Paul Warfield and a costly interference penalty against the Browns. A final Cleveland threat ended with Swift's second interception in the closing seconds.

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

Line: n/a

( 0- 7) MIA Charlie Babb 5 yard return of blocked punt (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 0-10) MIA Garo Yepremian 40 yard field goal
( 7-10) CLE Mike Phipps 5 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
( 7-13) MIA Garo Yepremian 46 yard field goal
(14-13) CLE Fair Hooker 27 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Don Cockroft kick)
(14-20) MIA Jim Kiick 8 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick)

                     CLE             MIA
First Downs:         15              17
Rushes-yards:        32-165          47-198
Yards/rush:          5.2             4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     9-23-131-5      6-13-88-0
Sacked-yards:        2-13            4-14
Net pass yards:      118             74
Net yards/pass:      4.7             4.4
Total net yards:     283             272
Total plays:         57 (56% run)    64 (73% run)  
Yards/play:          5.0             4.2
Fumbles-lost:        2-0             2-2
Turnovers:           5               2
Penalties-yards:     3-25            3-25

Attendance: 78,196

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Curt Knight kicked three field goals and Billy Kilmer threw a touchdown pass to Roy Jefferson to lead Washington into the NFC finals with a 16-3 victory over Green Bay. The Redskins used a five-man defensive line and shut down the Packers' running game, holding John Brockington, a 1,000-yard runner, to nine yards on 13 carries. Larry Brown, who sat out the last two regular season games, carried 25 times for 101 yards, the seventh time he had gained over 100 yards this season. Chester Marcol's 17-yard field goal early in the second quarter put the Packers out front, but the Kilmer-to-Jefferson touchdown pass late in the same period gave the Redskins a lead they never yielded.

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

Line: n/a

( 3- 0) GB  Chester Marcol 17 yard field goal
( 3- 7) WAS Roy Jefferson 32 yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Curt Knight kick)
( 3-10) WAS Curt Knight 42 yard field goal
( 3-13) WAS Curt Knight 35 yard field goal
( 3-16) WAS Curt Knight 46 yard field goal

                     GB              WAS
First Downs:         10              13
Rushes-yards:        29-78           36-138
Yards/rush:          2.7             3.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     12-24-150-1     7-14-100-0
Sacked-yards:        2-17            1-6
Net pass yards:      133             94
Net yards/pass:      5.1             6.3
Total net yards:     211             232
Total plays:         55 (52% run)    51 (70% run)  
Yards/play:          3.8             4.5
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             1-1
Turnovers:           1               1
Penalties-yards:     6-54            4-39

Attendance: 53,140

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