All NFL game summaries for 12/14/1975:

Rookie Steve Bartkowski enjoyed his best day, completing 19 of 37 passes for 305 yards and a pair of touchdown passes that covered 20 and 63 yards to Alfred Jenkins. Running back Haskel Stanback also tossed a scoring pass to Wallace Francis for 41 yards. Dave Hampton's 81 yards boosted his rushing total to 941 yards.

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

Line: Falcons by 7

( 0- 3) ATL Nick Mike-Mayer 22 yard field goal
( 6- 3) SF  Delvin Williams 4 yard rush (kick failed)
( 6-10) ATL Alfred Jenkins 20 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
( 9-10) SF  Steve Mike-Mayer 26 yard field goal
( 9-17) ATL Dave Hampton 6 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
( 9-24) ATL Alfred Jenkins 63 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
( 9-31) ATL Wallace Francis 41 yard pass from Haskel Stanback (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)

                     SF              ATL
First Downs:         23              21
Rushes-yards:        28-212          35-100
Yards/rush:          7.6             2.9
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     21-49-232-2     21-39-371-0
Sacked-yards:        3-38            1-9
Net pass yards:      194             362
Net yards/pass:      3.7             9.1
Total net yards:     406             462
Total plays:         80 (35% run)    75 (46% run)  
Yards/play:          5.1             6.2
Fumbles-lost:        2-0             1-0
Turnovers:           2               0
Penalties-yards:     5-39            9-70

Attendance: 38,501

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The streaking Colts moved into a first-place tie with the Dolphins in the AFC East on Toni Linhart's 31-yard field goal at 12:44 of sudden death overtime for their eighth straight victory. Baltimore swept the season series from Miami by tying the score on a Lydell Mitchell touchdown with 5:30 to go, stopping the Dolphins who had won the toss in overtime, and then driving from their own 4 to the Miami 14 to set up the kick by Linhart who had missed a 29-yarder earlier. Mike Barnes made a key sack of quarterback Don Strock and Fred Cook recovered a Dolphins fumble at a critical spot in the fourth quarter.

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

Line: Colts by 5

( 7- 0) MIA Mercury Morris 3 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 7- 7) BAL Lydell Mitchell 6 yard rush (Toni Linhart kick)
( 7-10) BAL Toni Linhart 31 yard field goal

                     MIA             BAL
First Downs:         15              22
Rushes-yards:        43-192          46-146
Yards/rush:          4.5             3.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     8-19-97-1       23-39-232-0
Sacked-yards:        1-11            3-26
Net pass yards:      86              206
Net yards/pass:      4.3             4.9
Total net yards:     278             352
Total plays:         63 (68% run)    88 (52% run)  
Yards/play:          4.4             4.0
Fumbles-lost:        3-1             1-0
Turnovers:           2               0
Penalties-yards:     7-54            5-60

Attendance: 59,398

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With Terry Metcalf sidelined with a bruised hip, Jim Otis took over the workload for the Cardinals and exploded for a career-high 147 yards in 33 attempts, the best rushing performance in the NFC in 1975, which lifted his season total to 1,007 yards and moved Otis into first place among NFC rushers. Otis scored a pair of short yardage touchdowns as St. Louis clinched its second straight NFC East title.

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

Line: Cardinals by 12

( 7- 0) STL Steve Jones 16 yard pass from Jim Hart (Roger Wehrli run)
(10- 0) STL Jim Bakken 40 yard field goal
(17- 0) STL Jim Otis 2 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
(20- 0) STL Jim Bakken 29 yard field goal
(27- 0) STL Steve Jones 2 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
(34- 0) STL Jim Otis 1 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
(34- 7) CHI Bob Grim 24 yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)
(34-13) CHI Walter Payton 10 yard rush (kick failed)
(34-20) CHI Bo Rather 48 yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)

                     STL             CHI
First Downs:         19              18
Rushes-yards:        47-190          25-67
Yards/rush:          4.0             2.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     9-20-172-0      20-36-268-1
Sacked-yards:        0-0             1-9
Net pass yards:      172             259
Net yards/pass:      8.6             7.0
Total net yards:     362             326
Total plays:         67 (70% run)    62 (40% run)  
Yards/play:          5.4             5.3
Fumbles-lost:        2-1             1-1
Turnovers:           1               2
Penalties-yards:     4-51            7-45

Attendance: 35,052

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Greg Pruitt raced for 214 yards in a sensational performance that sent his season rushing total to 1,030 to join Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly in the Browns' exclusive 1,000-yard club. Pruitt scored three touchdowns and came within 23 yards of the Browns' club rushing record. It was the third win in four starts for the Browns after losing their first nine. Mike Phipps passed for 204 yards, completing six to Reggie Rucker for 130 yards.

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

Line: Browns by 6

( 0- 7) CLE Greg Pruitt 11 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
( 0-10) CLE Don Cockroft 26 yard field goal
( 0-17) CLE Hugh McKinnis 1 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
( 0-19) CLE Safety, Charlie Getty tackled in end zone by Ron East
( 0-26) CLE Greg Pruitt 3 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
( 0-33) CLE Reggie Rucker 40 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Don Cockroft kick)
( 7-33) KC  Woody Green 1 yard rush (Jan Stenerud kick)
( 7-40) CLE Greg Pruitt 14 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
(14-40) KC  Billy Masters 9 yard pass from Tony Adams (Jan Stenerud kick)

                     KC              CLE
First Downs:         15              27
Rushes-yards:        29-47           44-278
Yards/rush:          1.6             6.3
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-31-141-1     14-21-203-0
Sacked-yards:        5-42            0-0
Net pass yards:      99              203
Net yards/pass:      2.8             9.7
Total net yards:     146             481
Total plays:         65 (44% run)    65 (67% run)  
Yards/play:          2.2             7.4
Fumbles-lost:        4-3             6-3
Turnovers:           4               3
Penalties-yards:     6-28            7-86

Attendance: 44,368

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Floyd Little made a dramatic farewell appearance at home before retiring by scoring two touchdowns in a Denver victory over the Eagles. The former Syracuse star raced 66 yards after taking a screen pass from Steve Ramsey and ran two yards for the final score. He was carried off the field after rushing for 56 yards and catching five passes for 94 yards. Jim Turner's two field goals gave him 250 for his career and rookie Rick Upchurch boosted his total yardage to 1,863 with an additional 141 yards.

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

Line: Broncos by 5

( 7- 0) PHI Charlie Smith 14 yard pass from Mike Boryla (Horst Muhlmann kick)
( 7- 3) DEN Jim Turner 47 yard field goal
( 7-10) DEN Fran Lynch 1 yard rush (Jim Turner kick)
(10-10) PHI Horst Muhlmann 19 yard field goal
(10-16) DEN Floyd Little 66 yard pass from Steve Ramsey (kick failed)
(10-19) DEN Jim Turner 29 yard field goal
(10-25) DEN Floyd Little 2 yard rush (kick failed)

                     PHI             DEN
First Downs:         17              20
Rushes-yards:        25-114          49-197
Yards/rush:          4.6             4.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     16-34-170-3     11-28-188-1
Sacked-yards:        0-0             2-16
Net pass yards:      170             172
Net yards/pass:      5.0             5.7
Total net yards:     284             369
Total plays:         59 (42% run)    79 (62% run)  
Yards/play:          4.8             4.7
Fumbles-lost:        3-2             0-0
Turnovers:           5               1
Penalties-yards:     5-40            11-95

Attendance: 36,860

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The Lions stopped a Vikings' threat when Levi Johnson intercepted a Fran Tarkenton pass at the goal line and drove 55 yards to score. Then, following a successful onside kick, they moved in to score on Bobby Thompson's 46-yard run and take a 14-0 lead which Minnesota could not overcome. Paul Krause, who intercepted 2 passes to lift his season total to 10 and career total to 74, scored the Vikings' touchdown on the finishing end of an 86-yard play that began with Wally Hilgenberg's recovery of a fumble on the Minnesota 16 and lateral to Krause at the Vikings' 30. Tarkenton's 34 passing attempts pushed his career total passes to 5,189 to break John Unitas' NFL record of 5,186.

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

Line: Vikings by 19

( 0- 7) DET Marlin Briscoe 8 yard pass from Joe Reed (Errol Mann kick)
( 0-14) DET Bobby Thompson 46 yard rush (Errol Mann kick)
( 3-14) MIN Fred Cox 39 yard field goal
( 3-17) DET Errol Mann 30 yard field goal
(10-17) MIN Paul Krause 86 yard fumble return (Fred Cox kick)

                     MIN             DET
First Downs:         16              14
Rushes-yards:        26-74           43-204
Yards/rush:          2.8             4.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     18-34-156-2     9-17-88-2
Sacked-yards:        4-29            4-34
Net pass yards:      127             54
Net yards/pass:      3.3             2.6
Total net yards:     201             258
Total plays:         64 (40% run)    64 (67% run)  
Yards/play:          3.1             4.0
Fumbles-lost:        2-1             2-2
Turnovers:           3               4
Penalties-yards:     8-58            8-55

Attendance: 72,742

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Tom Dempsey kicked three field goals and reserve quarterback Ron Jaworski and backup runner Rob Scribner picked up some slack as Rams' starting QB James Harris was sidelined with a sore shoulder and RB Jim Bertelsen suffered a knee injury. Jaworski completed 14 passes for 174 yards and Scribner ran for 82 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown. It was the fifth straight victory for the NFC Western champions, whose defense permitted only two touchdowns during the win streak.

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

Line: Rams by 10

( 2- 0) GB  Safety, Ron Jaworski tackled in end zone by Dave Pureifory
( 5- 0) GB  Joe Danelo 48 yard field goal
( 5- 3) LA  Tom Dempsey 40 yard field goal
( 5- 9) LA  Rob Scribner 3 yard rush (kick failed)
( 5-12) LA  Tom Dempsey 39 yard field goal
( 5-15) LA  Tom Dempsey 38 yard field goal
( 5-22) LA  John Cappelletti 2 yard rush (Tom Dempsey kick)

                     GB              LA
First Downs:         9               22
Rushes-yards:        24-53           43-195
Yards/rush:          2.2             4.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-29-146-2     15-26-176-2
Sacked-yards:        6-29            5-37
Net pass yards:      117             139
Net yards/pass:      3.3             4.5
Total net yards:     170             334
Total plays:         59 (40% run)    74 (58% run)  
Yards/play:          2.9             4.5
Fumbles-lost:        3-2             1-0
Turnovers:           4               2
Penalties-yards:     4-35            3-20

Attendance: 59,312

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O. J. Simpson ran for 185 yards and his 21st touchdown, one short of the NFL record of 22 set by Gale Sayers in 1965, and Jim Braxton added 101 yards and two scores in a Buffalo victory. The yardage boosted O. J. to 8,066 for his career and 1,760 for the current season. The Bills sacked rookie Steve Grogan eight times but he passed for 272 yards and had the Patriots on top 7-6 at one stage in the second quarter. The Patriots lost four fumbles and had two passes intercepted. Joe Ferguson threw his 25th touchdown pass and gave way to Gary Marangi in the third quarter. Buffalo set a NFL record with 298 first downs in the season.

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

Line: Bills by 7

( 6- 0) BUF Jim Braxton 1 yard rush (kick failed)
( 6- 7) NE  Don Calhoun 62 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick)
(13- 7) BUF Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)
(20- 7) BUF Jim Braxton 1 yard rush (John Leypoldt kick)
(27- 7) BUF O.J. Simpson 63 yard rush (John Leypoldt kick)
(34- 7) BUF J.D. Hill 41 yard pass from Gary Marangi (John Leypoldt kick)
(34-14) NE  Andy Johnson 20 yard rush (John Smith kick)

                     BUF             NE
First Downs:         26              16
Rushes-yards:        53-349          30-86
Yards/rush:          6.6             2.9
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     11-19-137-1     17-30-272-2
Sacked-yards:        2-18            8-87
Net pass yards:      119             185
Net yards/pass:      5.7             4.9
Total net yards:     468             271
Total plays:         74 (71% run)    68 (44% run)  
Yards/play:          6.3             4.0
Fumbles-lost:        3-3             5-4
Turnovers:           4               6
Penalties-yards:     6-45            5-56

Attendance: 58,393

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Following a 7-7 first half, the Giants scored three big-play touchdowns to snap a five-game losing streak. Rondy Colbert returned a punt 65 yards to score, Doug Kotar dashed 46 yards into the end zone, and Craig Morton completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Ray Rhodes.

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

Line: Giants by 4

( 7- 0) NO  Archie Manning 1 yard rush (Rich Szaro kick)
( 7- 7) NYG Doug Kotar 1 yard rush (George Hunt kick)
( 7-14) NYG Rondy Colbert 65 yard punt return (George Hunt kick)
( 7-21) NYG Doug Kotar 46 yard rush (George Hunt kick)
(14-21) NO  Don Herrmann 4 yard pass from Archie Manning (Rich Szaro kick)
(14-28) NYG Ray Rhodes 45 yard pass from Craig Morton (George Hunt kick)

                     NO              NYG
First Downs:         19              13
Rushes-yards:        43-176          31-124
Yards/rush:          4.1             4.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     14-34-108-2     11-19-146-0
Sacked-yards:        4-29            3-27
Net pass yards:      79              119
Net yards/pass:      2.1             5.4
Total net yards:     255             243
Total plays:         81 (53% run)    53 (58% run)  
Yards/play:          3.1             4.6
Fumbles-lost:        6-1             2-1
Turnovers:           3               1
Penalties-yards:     9-60            2-16

Attendance: 40,150

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Dan Pastorini boosted the Oilers' record to 9-4 with a two-yard touchdown pass to Mack Alston on the final play of the game for a victory over the Raiders. George Blanda, trying for 2,000 points, had to settle for 1,998 after missing a field goal try and two conversions. Pastorini also threw two scoring passes to Ken Burrough of 68 and 13 yards. Ken Stabler passed for 176 yards and one touchdown before giving way to rookie David Humm. Rookie Neal Colzie broke the NFL record with 633 yards on punt returns, topping Rodger Bird's 612 in 1967.

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

Line: Raiders by 7

( 0- 6) OAK Cliff Branch 13 yard pass from Ken Stabler (kick failed)
( 3- 6) HOU Skip Butler 23 yard field goal
( 3-13) OAK Pete Banaszak 3 yard rush (George Blanda kick)
(10-13) HOU Ken Burrough 68 yard pass from Dan Pastorini (Skip Butler kick)
(17-13) HOU Ken Burrough 13 yard pass from Dan Pastorini (Skip Butler kick)
(17-20) OAK Harold Hart 3 yard rush (George Blanda kick)
(17-26) OAK Morris Bradshaw 13 yard pass from David Humm (kick failed)
(20-26) HOU Skip Butler 47 yard field goal
(27-26) HOU Mack Alston 2 yard pass from Dan Pastorini (Skip Butler kick)

                     HOU             OAK
First Downs:         19              23
Rushes-yards:        28-86           44-140
Yards/rush:          3.1             3.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     17-41-217-3     15-25-237-3
Sacked-yards:        4-43            0-0
Net pass yards:      174             237
Net yards/pass:      3.9             9.5
Total net yards:     260             377
Total plays:         73 (38% run)    69 (63% run)  
Yards/play:          3.6             5.5
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             5-3
Turnovers:           3               6
Penalties-yards:     5-45            7-83

Attendance: 50,719

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