All NFL game summaries for 01/04/1976:

Roger Staubach, the heartbeat of the Cowboys' offense, Preston Pearson, a refugee from Pittsburgh, and a punishing defense were a combination the Rams were unable to handle as Dallas exploded for a 37-7 NFC championship victory in sun-swept Memorial Coliseum, and became the first wild card team ever to gain the Super Bowl. Dallas, which was the NFC East runner-up behind St. Louis with a 10-4 record, joined Super Bowl IV Champion Kansas City as the only team ever to move into the Super Bowl with consecutive postseason road victories, and did it in convincing fashion while achieving its third NFC title.

Staubach threw four touchdown passes while completing 16 of 26 for 220 yards, and running back Pearson caught three of the scoring passes to tie a postseason game record. Preston's touchdown catches covered 18, 15 and 19 yards as the Cowboys bolted into a 28-0 lead, with Staubach connecting for four yards to Golden Richards for the other touchdown. Pearson had been waived by the Steelers and cleared through the entire NFL before being signed by Dallas two days before the season opened, and was the only player on the Cowboys' roster who ever played for another NFL team.

Dallas free safety Cliff Harris set the tempo for the defense when he intercepted a James Harris pass at the Rams' 30 and returned it to the Los Angeles 18. On the first play from scrimmage, Staubach hit Pearson with a screen pass to the left and Preston crossed the goal line after only 6:27 elapsed. The Cowboys' defense limited the Rams to only 22 yards rushing and 118 total yards, while sacking the passer five times. Los Angeles' only first down rushing came on its only touchdown, a one-yard plunge by John Cappelletti with 14:03 remaining in the game.

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

Line: Rams by 6

                     DAL             LA
First Downs:         24              9
Rushes-yards:        50-195          16-22
Yards/rush:          3.9             1.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     18-28-246-1     11-24-147-3
Sacked-yards:        0-0             5-51
Net pass yards:      246             96
Net yards/pass:      8.8             3.3
Total net yards:     441             118
Total plays:         78 (64% run)    45 (35% run)  
Yards/play:          5.7             2.6
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             1-0
Turnovers:           1               3
Penalties-yards:     5-59            4-25

Attendance: 88,919

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The Steelers moved into the Super Bowl for the second straight year with a 16-10 victory over the Raiders in a hard-hitting game played in 16-degree temperature, 20-mile-an-hour winds, and snow flurries. A 3-0 defensive battle for three quarters with Pittsburgh leading on a 36-yard Roy Gerela field goal, the game turned into a free scoring affair with 23 points in the last period. Franco Harris ran 25 yards for a touchdown after Jack Lambert recovered Clarence Davis' fumble. Oakland came right back with a 14-yard scoring pass from Ken Stabler to Mike Siani. Lambert's third fumble recovery set up the Steelers' TD that proved to be the winner, a 20-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw to John Stallworth.

With only 17 seconds to play and the Steelers leading 16-7, coach John Madden gambled on a 41-yard successful field goal by George Blanda and an onside kick by Ray Guy that Marv Hubbard recovered with seven seconds left. Stabler passed 37 yards to Cliff Branch on the Pittsburgh 15 as time ran out. Harris led the rushers with 27 carries for 79 yards and Bradshaw hit with 15 of 25 passes for 215 yards. Pete Banaszak's 33 yards led the Raiders and Stabler completed 18 of 42 for 246 yards. Harris caught five passes for 58 yards, Siani five for 80, and Casper five for 67 yards. Pittsburgh lost the ball five times on fumbles and Bradshaw had three passes intercepted, two by Jack Tatum. Oakland lost three fumbles, all recovered by Lambert, and Stabler had two picked off, both by Mike Wagner.

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

Line: Steelers by 6

                     OAK             PIT
First Downs:         18              16
Rushes-yards:        32-93           39-117
Yards/rush:          2.9             3.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     18-42-246-2     15-25-215-3
Sacked-yards:        2-18            0-0
Net pass yards:      228             215
Net yards/pass:      5.2             8.6
Total net yards:     321             332
Total plays:         76 (42% run)    64 (60% run)  
Yards/play:          4.2             5.2
Fumbles-lost:        4-3             5-5
Turnovers:           5               8
Penalties-yards:     4-40            3-32

Attendance: 50,609

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