NFL game summary for 12/27/1975:

Lawrence McCutcheon set an NFC postseason rushing record with 202 yards on 37 carries, and the Rams' defense harnessed the Cardinals' explosive attack to reach the NFC championship round for the second straight year. The Rams broke away fast with a 79-yard scoring march, a 47-yard interception touchdown by Jack Youngblood, and a 65-yard interception touchdown by Bill Simpson, and led 21-0 only 14 seconds into the second quarter.

Ron Jaworski, who got the starting quarterback call three minutes before game time over James Harris, who had a sore shoulder, threw a 66-yard bomb to Harold Jackson in the second quarter after scoring the first touchdown. Ron Jessie's two-yard run after recovering McCutcheon's fumble completed the Rams' scoring. The Los Angeles defense allowed only 95 yards rushing, intercepted Jim Hart three times, and never let the Cardinals get closer than 12 points.

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

Team		Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
St. Louis Cardinals	OFFENSE	171.6 (6)	182.4 (6)	353.9 (4)	39
St. Louis Cardinals	DEFENSE	137.5 (10)	190.7 (24)	328.2 (18)	37
Los Angeles Rams	OFFENSE	169.4 (7)	156.8 (15)	326.1 (9)	25
Los Angeles Rams	DEFENSE	109.5 (2)	127.8 (3)	237.3 (2)	40

Line: n/a

Team	1	2	3	4	F
St. Louis Cardinals (11-4-0)	0	9	7	7	23
Los Angeles Rams (13-2-0)	14	14	0	7	35

( 0- 7) LA  Ron Jaworski 5 yard rush (Tom Dempsey kick)
( 0-14) LA  Jack Youngblood 47 yard interception return (Tom Dempsey kick)
( 0-21) LA  Bill Simpson 65 yard interception return (Tom Dempsey kick)
( 6-21) STL Jim Otis 2 yard rush (kick failed)
( 6-28) LA  Harold Jackson 66 yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tom Dempsey kick)
( 9-28) STL Jim Bakken 29 yard field goal
(16-28) STL Mel Gray 11 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)
(16-35) LA  Ron Jessie 2 yard fumble return (Tom Dempsey kick)
(23-35) STL Steve Jones 3 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)

                     STL             LA
First Downs:         22              26
Rushes-yards:        27-95           52-237
Yards/rush:          3.5             4.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     22-41-291-3     12-23-203-0
Sacked-yards:        2-23            0-0
Net pass yards:      268             203
Net yards/pass:      6.2             8.8
Total net yards:     363             440
Total plays:         70 (38% run)    75 (69% run)  
Yards/play:          5.2             5.9
Fumbles-lost:        3-2             5-3
Turnovers:           5               3
Penalties-yards:     6-70            5-38

Attendance: 73,459

Passing:
STL: Jim Hart, 22 of 41 for 291 yards and 1 TD (3 int)
LA: Ron Jaworski, 12 of 23 for 203 yards and 1 TD

Rushing:
STL: Jim Otis, 12 for 38 yards and 1 TD; Terry Metcalf, 8 for 27 yards; Steve Jones, 6 for 28 yards and 1 TD; Jerry Latin, 1 for 2 yards
LA: Lawrence McCutcheon, 37 for 202 yards; Ron Jaworski, 6 for 7 yards and 1 TD; Rob Scribner, 4 for 16 yards; Cullen Bryant, 3 for 12 yards

Receiving:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 6 for 94 yards; Jim Otis, 4 for 52 yards; Mel Gray, 3 for 52 yards and 1 TD; Ike Harris, 2 for 33 yards; Jerry Latin, 2 for 23 yards; Steve Jones, 2 for 19 yards; J.V. Cain, 2 for 17 yards; Jackie Smith, 1 for 1 yard
LA: Ron Jessie, 4 for 52 yards; Lawrence McCutcheon, 3 for 8 yards; Harold Jackson, 2 for 84 yards and 1 TD; Cullen Bryant, 2 for 26 yards; Terry Nelson, 1 for 33 yards

Kick returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 2 for 102 yards; Gary Hammond, 2 for 36 yards; Dwayne Crump, 1 for 28 yards; Jerry Latin, 1 for 22 yards
LA: Cullen Bryant, 3 for 61 yards; Ron Jessie, 1 for 17 yards

Punt returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 2 for 6 yards
LA: Dave Elmendorf, 2 for 12 yards; Rob Scribner, 1 for 7 yards

Interceptions:
LA: Bill Simpson, 2 for 83 yards and 1 TD; Jack Youngblood, 1 for 47 yards and 1 TD

Punting:
STL: Jeff West, 6 for 256 yards
LA: Duane Carrell, 5 for 158 yards

Field Goals:
STL: Jim Bakken, 1/1
LA: Tom Dempsey, 0/1