All NFL game summaries for 12/07/1974:
Two early touchdown passes, covering 35 and 43 yards, from Roger Staubach to Golden Richards sparked the Cowboys to their best offensive production (469 yards) and highest point total of the season. Staubach later connected with Billy Joe Dupree for a 42-yard score. Dallas had four interceptions, including Cornell Green's first two of the season. Cleveland's Greg Pruitt, who returned one kickoff for 58 yards, took over the AFC lead in that category.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 141.2 (12) | 114.0 (24) | 255.2 (22) | 30 |
| DEFENSE | 165.1 (24) | 142.2 (9) | 307.3 (20) | 36 | |
 | OFFENSE | 171.5 (2) | 171.3 (5) | 342.8 (2) | 28 |
| DEFENSE | 94.2 (2) | 150.7 (14) | 244.9 (4) | 20 |
Line: Cowboys by 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns (4-9-0) | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Dallas Cowboys (8-5-0) | 14 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 41 |
( 0- 7) DAL Golden Richards 35 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick)
( 0-14) DAL Golden Richards 41 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick)
( 7-14) CLE Steve Holden 4 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Don Cockroft kick)
( 7-17) DAL Efren Herrera 39 yard field goal
(10-17) CLE Don Cockroft 28 yard field goal
(10-20) DAL Efren Herrera 19 yard field goal
(17-20) CLE Ken Brown 12 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
(17-27) DAL Walt Garrison 3 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick)
(17-34) DAL Billy Joe DuPree 42 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick)
(17-41) DAL Walt Garrison 1 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick)
CLE DAL
First Downs: 19 25
Rushes-yards: 27-87 46-252
Yards/rush: 3.2 5.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 15-29-195-4 15-25-236-1
Sacked-yards: 2-25 2-19
Net pass yards: 170 217
Net yards/pass: 5.5 8.0
Total net yards: 257 469
Total plays: 58 (46% run) 73 (63% run)
Yards/play: 4.4 6.4
Fumbles-lost: 1-1 1-0
Turnovers: 5 1
Penalties-yards: 5-60 8-86
Attendance: 48,754
Passing:
CLE: Mike Phipps, 15 of 29 for 195 yards and 1 TD (4 int) DAL: Roger Staubach, 14 of 24 for 230 yards and 3 TDs (1 int); Clint Longley, 1 of 1 for 6 yards
Rushing:
CLE: Hugh McKinnis, 10 for 32 yards; Ken Brown, 8 for 28 yards and 1 TD; Greg Pruitt, 5 for 0 yards; Mike Phipps, 4 for 27 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 14 for 66 yards; Robert Newhouse, 12 for 69 yards; Walt Garrison, 7 for 18 yards and 2 TDs; Charley Young, 6 for 46 yards; Doug Dennison, 4 for 31 yards; Roger Staubach, 3 for 22 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Steve Holden, 5 for 87 yards and 1 TD; Hugh McKinnis, 3 for 32 yards; Greg Pruitt, 2 for 36 yards; Milt Morin, 2 for 25 yards; Ken Brown, 2 for 10 yards; Fair Hooker, 1 for 5 yards DAL: Golden Richards, 3 for 92 yards and 2 TDs; Billy Joe DuPree, 3 for 74 yards and 1 TD; Drew Pearson, 3 for 40 yards; Walt Garrison, 2 for 9 yards; Calvin Hill, 1 for 8 yards; Jean Fugett, 1 for 6 yards; Robert Newhouse, 1 for 4 yards; Charley Young, 1 for 3 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Billy Lefear, 4 for 77 yards; Jim Romaniszyn, 3 for 28 yards; Greg Pruitt, 1 for 58 yards DAL: Dennis Morgan, 4 for 104 yards
Punt returns:
CLE: Greg Pruitt, 1 for 8 yards; Thom Darden, 1 for 7 yards DAL: Dennis Morgan, 4 for 57 yards; Cliff Harris, 1 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 7 yards DAL: Cornell Green, 2 for 2 yards; D.D. Lewis, 1 for 27 yards; Charlie Waters, 1 for 2 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 6 for 243 yards DAL: Duane Carrell, 5 for 204 yards
Field Goals:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 1/1 DAL: Efren Herrera, 2/3
CLE: Mike Phipps, 15 of 29 for 195 yards and 1 TD (4 int) DAL: Roger Staubach, 14 of 24 for 230 yards and 3 TDs (1 int); Clint Longley, 1 of 1 for 6 yards
Rushing:
CLE: Hugh McKinnis, 10 for 32 yards; Ken Brown, 8 for 28 yards and 1 TD; Greg Pruitt, 5 for 0 yards; Mike Phipps, 4 for 27 yards DAL: Calvin Hill, 14 for 66 yards; Robert Newhouse, 12 for 69 yards; Walt Garrison, 7 for 18 yards and 2 TDs; Charley Young, 6 for 46 yards; Doug Dennison, 4 for 31 yards; Roger Staubach, 3 for 22 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Steve Holden, 5 for 87 yards and 1 TD; Hugh McKinnis, 3 for 32 yards; Greg Pruitt, 2 for 36 yards; Milt Morin, 2 for 25 yards; Ken Brown, 2 for 10 yards; Fair Hooker, 1 for 5 yards DAL: Golden Richards, 3 for 92 yards and 2 TDs; Billy Joe DuPree, 3 for 74 yards and 1 TD; Drew Pearson, 3 for 40 yards; Walt Garrison, 2 for 9 yards; Calvin Hill, 1 for 8 yards; Jean Fugett, 1 for 6 yards; Robert Newhouse, 1 for 4 yards; Charley Young, 1 for 3 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Billy Lefear, 4 for 77 yards; Jim Romaniszyn, 3 for 28 yards; Greg Pruitt, 1 for 58 yards DAL: Dennis Morgan, 4 for 104 yards
Punt returns:
CLE: Greg Pruitt, 1 for 8 yards; Thom Darden, 1 for 7 yards DAL: Dennis Morgan, 4 for 57 yards; Cliff Harris, 1 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 7 yards DAL: Cornell Green, 2 for 2 yards; D.D. Lewis, 1 for 27 yards; Charlie Waters, 1 for 2 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 6 for 243 yards DAL: Duane Carrell, 5 for 204 yards
Field Goals:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 1/1 DAL: Efren Herrera, 2/3
Dave Osborn rushed for 96 yards -- his fourth trip over 90 this season -- and scored touchdowns on runs of 10 and 5 yards as the NFC Central champion Vikings handed the Falcons their eighth straight defeat. Bob Berry, subbing for quarterback Fran Tarkenton, completed 14 of 22 passes for 114 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Stu Voigt.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 104.0 (22) | 97.0 (26) | 201.0 (26) | 49 |
| DEFENSE | 190.9 (26) | 110.8 (1) | 301.8 (16) | 25 | |
 | OFFENSE | 132.8 (16) | 200.6 (1) | 333.4 (4) | 19 |
| DEFENSE | 117.2 (7) | 169.1 (19) | 286.2 (12) | 28 |
Line: Vikings by 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons (2-11-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Minnesota Vikings (9-4-0) | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
( 0- 7) MIN Dave Osborn 10 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
( 7- 7) ATL Art Malone 1 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
( 7-10) MIN Fred Cox 21 yard field goal
( 7-16) MIN Dave Osborn 5 yard rush (kick failed)
(10-16) ATL Nick Mike-Mayer 36 yard field goal
(10-23) MIN Stu Voigt 10 yard pass from Bob Berry (Fred Cox kick)
ATL MIN
First Downs: 15 18
Rushes-yards: 28-116 43-148
Yards/rush: 4.1 3.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 11-25-125-2 14-22-114-1
Sacked-yards: 4-50 1-10
Net pass yards: 75 104
Net yards/pass: 2.6 4.5
Total net yards: 191 252
Total plays: 57 (49% run) 66 (65% run)
Yards/play: 3.4 3.8
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 1-0
Turnovers: 2 1
Penalties-yards: 9-65 2-10
Attendance: 47,105
Passing:
ATL: Kim McQuilken, 11 of 25 for 125 yards (2 int) MIN: Bob Berry, 14 of 22 for 114 yards and 1 TD (1 int)
Rushing:
ATL: Dave Hampton, 15 for 54 yards; Art Malone, 10 for 54 yards and 1 TD; Vince Kendrick, 2 for 7 yards; Kim McQuilken, 1 for 1 yard MIN: Dave Osborn, 24 for 96 yards and 2 TDs; Ed Marinaro, 11 for 43 yards; Chuck Foreman, 4 for 7 yards; Bill Brown, 4 for 2 yards
Receiving:
ATL: Ken Burrow, 3 for 50 yards; Vince Kendrick, 3 for 18 yards; Jim Mitchell, 2 for 30 yards; Art Malone, 2 for 14 yards; Al Dodd, 1 for 13 yards MIN: Dave Osborn, 6 for 39 yards; Chuck Foreman, 2 for 18 yards; Bill Brown, 2 for 14 yards; Ed Marinaro, 2 for 13 yards; Jim Lash, 1 for 20 yards; Stu Voigt, 1 for 10 yards and 1 TD
Kick returns:
ATL: Molly McGee, 4 for 74 yards; Ken Mitchell, 1 for 11 yards MIN: Sam McCullum, 2 for 62 yards; Brent McClanahan, 1 for 32 yards
Punt returns:
ATL: Gerald Tinker, 2 for 9 yards; Ray Brown, 1 for 4 yards MIN: Jackie Wallace, 5 for 40 yards; Sam McCullum, 1 for 12 yards; Wally Hilgenberg, 1 for -2 yards
Interceptions:
ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 1 for 0 yards MIN: Paul Krause, 1 for 45 yards; Jeff Wright, 1 for 27 yards
Punting:
ATL: John James, 7 for 281 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 186 yards
Field Goals:
ATL: Nick Mike-Mayer, 1/1 MIN: Fred Cox, 1/1
ATL: Kim McQuilken, 11 of 25 for 125 yards (2 int) MIN: Bob Berry, 14 of 22 for 114 yards and 1 TD (1 int)
Rushing:
ATL: Dave Hampton, 15 for 54 yards; Art Malone, 10 for 54 yards and 1 TD; Vince Kendrick, 2 for 7 yards; Kim McQuilken, 1 for 1 yard MIN: Dave Osborn, 24 for 96 yards and 2 TDs; Ed Marinaro, 11 for 43 yards; Chuck Foreman, 4 for 7 yards; Bill Brown, 4 for 2 yards
Receiving:
ATL: Ken Burrow, 3 for 50 yards; Vince Kendrick, 3 for 18 yards; Jim Mitchell, 2 for 30 yards; Art Malone, 2 for 14 yards; Al Dodd, 1 for 13 yards MIN: Dave Osborn, 6 for 39 yards; Chuck Foreman, 2 for 18 yards; Bill Brown, 2 for 14 yards; Ed Marinaro, 2 for 13 yards; Jim Lash, 1 for 20 yards; Stu Voigt, 1 for 10 yards and 1 TD
Kick returns:
ATL: Molly McGee, 4 for 74 yards; Ken Mitchell, 1 for 11 yards MIN: Sam McCullum, 2 for 62 yards; Brent McClanahan, 1 for 32 yards
Punt returns:
ATL: Gerald Tinker, 2 for 9 yards; Ray Brown, 1 for 4 yards MIN: Jackie Wallace, 5 for 40 yards; Sam McCullum, 1 for 12 yards; Wally Hilgenberg, 1 for -2 yards
Interceptions:
ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 1 for 0 yards MIN: Paul Krause, 1 for 45 yards; Jeff Wright, 1 for 27 yards
Punting:
ATL: John James, 7 for 281 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 186 yards
Field Goals:
ATL: Nick Mike-Mayer, 1/1 MIN: Fred Cox, 1/1