All NFL game summaries for 10/10/1976:

Bert Jones picked apart the Dolphins' defense with nine consecutive passes in four scoring drives for the win. Norm Bulaich's one-yard touchdown brought the Dolphins even with the Colts midway through the second quarter, but Jones hit Glenn Doughty with a 10-yard touchdown pass and ran in from the seven before the half ended. Earl Morrall came off the Dolphins' bench after Bob Griese was shaken up to throw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Nat Moore but two other comeback drives were stopped at the Baltimore 13 and 6-yard lines.

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

Line: Colts by 6

( 0- 7) BAL Don McCauley 1 yard rush (Toni Linhart kick)
( 7- 7) MIA Norm Bulaich 1 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 7-14) BAL Glenn Doughty 10 yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick)
( 7-21) BAL Bert Jones 7 yard rush (Toni Linhart kick)
( 7-28) BAL Don McCauley 1 yard rush (Toni Linhart kick)
(14-28) MIA Nat Moore 67 yard pass from Earl Morrall (Garo Yepremian kick)

                     MIA             BAL
First Downs:         14              22
Rushes-yards:        28-88           49-169
Yards/rush:          3.1             3.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-31-209-1     11-14-177-0
Sacked-yards:        3-29            2-14
Net pass yards:      180             163
Net yards/pass:      5.3             10.2
Total net yards:     268             332
Total plays:         62 (45% run)    65 (75% run)  
Yards/play:          4.3             5.1
Fumbles-lost:        1-1             3-1
Turnovers:           2               1
Penalties-yards:     4-54            8-56

Attendance: 58,832

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Tommy Casanova plagued the Tampa Bay offense and a varied Bengals' attack stymied the Buccaneers' defense in leading Cincinnati to its fourth victory. Casanova set up a first-quarter Boobie Clark touchdown run with a 21-yard interception and then scored himself in the third quarter after picking up a fumble and racing 25 yards.

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

Line: Bengals by 21

( 0- 7) CIN Bob Trumpy 10 yard pass from Ken Anderson (Chris Bahr kick)
( 0-14) CIN Boobie Clark 3 yard rush (Chris Bahr kick)
( 0-21) CIN Tommy Casanova 25 yard fumble return (Chris Bahr kick)

                     TB              CIN
First Downs:         12              17
Rushes-yards:        33-114          39-188
Yards/rush:          3.5             4.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     12-23-122-2     10-15-98-0
Sacked-yards:        4-36            2-9
Net pass yards:      86              89
Net yards/pass:      3.2             5.2
Total net yards:     200             277
Total plays:         60 (55% run)    56 (69% run)  
Yards/play:          3.3             4.9
Fumbles-lost:        3-1             4-3
Turnovers:           3               3
Penalties-yards:     7-54            5-37

Attendance: 49,700

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Don Cockroft's four field goals and a drive engineered by first-year quarterback David Mays proved too much for Pittsburgh as the Browns dealt the Steelers their fourth loss in five games. Trailing 10-6, Mays drove Cleveland 29 yards with Cleo Miller scoring from the 1. Cockroft then kicked 50 and 40-yard field goals to give the Browns an eight-point spread, which was cut to two points on a 22-yard touchdown run by Steelers' rookie quarterback Mike Kruczek with 1:05 remaining.

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

Line: Steelers by 10

( 0- 3) CLE Don Cockroft 43 yard field goal
( 7- 3) PIT Franco Harris 1 yard rush (Roy Gerela kick)
( 7- 6) CLE Don Cockroft 28 yard field goal
(10- 6) PIT Roy Gerela 30 yard field goal
(10-12) CLE Cleo Miller 1 yard rush (kick failed)
(10-15) CLE Don Cockroft 50 yard field goal
(10-18) CLE Don Cockroft 40 yard field goal
(16-18) PIT Mike Kruczek 22 yard rush (kick failed)

                     PIT             CLE
First Downs:         13              15
Rushes-yards:        25-111          48-147
Yards/rush:          4.4             3.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-23-134-1     10-25-179-0
Sacked-yards:        4-49            1-0
Net pass yards:      85              179
Net yards/pass:      3.1             6.9
Total net yards:     196             326
Total plays:         52 (48% run)    74 (64% run)  
Yards/play:          3.8             4.4
Fumbles-lost:        2-2             4-2
Turnovers:           3               2
Penalties-yards:     8-63            10-84

Attendance: 75,769

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Greg Landry completed 15 of 18 passes, including three for touchdowns, while the Lions' defense picked off five Steve Grogan passes to present Tommy Hudspeth with a victory in his coaching debut. Landry connected with rookie David Hill and Charlie Sanders for touchdowns in guiding the Lions to a 20-3 halftime lead.

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

Line: Patriots by 7

( 0- 6) DET Dexter Bussey 5 yard rush (kick failed)
( 0-13) DET David Hill 21 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)
( 0-20) DET Charlie Sanders 5 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)
( 3-20) NE  John Smith 41 yard field goal
(10-20) NE  Randy Vataha 35 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick)
(10-27) DET David Hill 3 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)
(10-30) DET Errol Mann 36 yard field goal

                     NE              DET
First Downs:         10              20
Rushes-yards:        22-96           48-196
Yards/rush:          4.4             4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     11-25-131-5     15-18-146-0
Sacked-yards:        4-28            2-13
Net pass yards:      103             133
Net yards/pass:      3.6             6.7
Total net yards:     199             329
Total plays:         51 (43% run)    68 (70% run)  
Yards/play:          3.9             4.8
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             1-0
Turnovers:           5               0
Penalties-yards:     7-48            7-37

Attendance: 59,730

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Barty Smith's six-yard run and Chester Marcol's PAT with 7:42 remaining put the Packers back on top of the Seahawks 21-20 after Green Bay saw an early 7-0 lead fall to 20 unanswered Seattle points. Lynn Dickey, 16 of 24 for 215 yards, brought the Packers back with a 66-yard touchdown pass to Steve Odom. Following Smith's fourth quarter score, Willard Harrell added insurance points on a six-yard run with 2:42 left.

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

Line: Packers by 9

( 0- 7) GB  Barty Smith 1 yard rush (Chester Marcol kick)
( 7- 7) SEA Steve Raible 26 yard return of blocked punt (John Leypoldt kick)
(10- 7) SEA John Leypoldt 48 yard field goal
(13- 7) SEA John Leypoldt 44 yard field goal
(20- 7) SEA Ralph Nelson 1 yard rush (John Leypoldt kick)
(20-14) GB  Steve Odom 66 yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Chester Marcol kick)
(20-21) GB  Barty Smith 6 yard rush (Chester Marcol kick)
(20-27) GB  Willard Harrell 6 yard rush (kick failed)

                     SEA             GB
First Downs:         17              24
Rushes-yards:        23-58           44-187
Yards/rush:          2.5             4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     18-33-202-1     16-24-215-2
Sacked-yards:        4-33            3-22
Net pass yards:      169             193
Net yards/pass:      4.6             7.1
Total net yards:     227             380
Total plays:         60 (38% run)    71 (61% run)  
Yards/play:          3.8             5.4
Fumbles-lost:        1-1             2-1
Turnovers:           2               3
Penalties-yards:     7-69            10-74

Attendance: 54,983

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Houston running backs Ronnie Coleman and Fred Willis were limited to a combined 68 yards on 25 carries but they put points on the scoreboard, leading the Oilers to their fourth win of the season. Dan Pastorini threw for 217 yards, 107 to Ken Burrough on five passes. Willis' second quarter touchdown erased a 3-0 Denver lead and Coleman scored from 10 yards out following Zeke Moore's interception.

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

Line: Oilers by 3

( 3- 0) DEN Jim Turner 31 yard field goal
( 3- 7) HOU Fred Willis 14 yard rush (Skip Butler kick)
( 3-10) HOU Skip Butler 18 yard field goal
( 3-17) HOU Ronnie Coleman 10 yard rush (Skip Butler kick)

                     DEN             HOU
First Downs:         8               18
Rushes-yards:        26-87           31-95
Yards/rush:          3.3             3.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     6-23-95-1       24-40-217-0
Sacked-yards:        6-28            0-0
Net pass yards:      67              217
Net yards/pass:      2.3             5.4
Total net yards:     154             312
Total plays:         55 (47% run)    71 (43% run)  
Yards/play:          2.8             4.4
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             0-0
Turnovers:           1               0
Penalties-yards:     2-10            6-40

Attendance: 47,928

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Fred Cox kicked a 39-yard field goal in the first minute of the fourth quarter, giving the Vikings the point they needed to stay ahead of a second-half Chicago comeback effort. Minnesota took a 17-0 halftime lead on two Chuck Foreman touchdowns and a Cox field goal, but Walter Payton scored twice in the third quarter as the Bears closed the gap to 17-13. Following Cox's second field goal, Chicago drove 80 yards in nine plays with Roland Harper scoring from the 7, but Bob Thomas' PAT attempt missed. Payton rushed for 141 yards in 19 carries, his third 100-yard game of the season.

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

Line: Vikings by 9

( 0- 7) MIN Chuck Foreman 5 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
( 0-10) MIN Fred Cox 29 yard field goal
( 0-17) MIN Chuck Foreman 1 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
( 7-17) CHI Walter Payton 13 yard rush (Bob Thomas kick)
(13-17) CHI Walter Payton 11 yard rush (kick failed)
(13-20) MIN Fred Cox 39 yard field goal
(19-20) CHI Roland Harper 7 yard rush (kick failed)

                     CHI             MIN
First Downs:         19              16
Rushes-yards:        40-235          40-111
Yards/rush:          5.9             2.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-20-116-1     18-30-210-0
Sacked-yards:        2-22            4-34
Net pass yards:      94              176
Net yards/pass:      4.3             5.2
Total net yards:     329             287
Total plays:         62 (64% run)    74 (54% run)  
Yards/play:          5.3             3.9
Fumbles-lost:        3-1             3-2
Turnovers:           2               2
Penalties-yards:     11-90           7-67

Attendance: 47,948

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Jim Merlo picked off an Atlanta pass at the Saints' 17-yard line, one of four first half Falcons turnovers, and raced 83 yards for the Saints' initial score, the longest interception return in the NFC in 1976. Maurice Spencer picked up two fumbles, both deep in New Orleans territory, the second leading to a 79-yard drive culminated by Mike Strachan's two-yard touchdown run. Bobby Scott led the Saints by completing 19 of 31 passes for 182 yards, scoring himself on a one-yard run and throwing a 25-yard pass to James Thaxton for the final New Orleans score.

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

Line: Falcons by 1

( 0- 6) NO  Jim Merlo 83 yard interception return (kick failed)
( 0-13) NO  Mike Strachan 2 yard rush (Rich Szaro kick)
( 0-20) NO  Bobby Scott 1 yard rush (Rich Szaro kick)
( 0-23) NO  Rich Szaro 18 yard field goal
( 0-30) NO  Jim Thaxton 25 yard pass from Bobby Scott (Rich Szaro kick)

                     ATL             NO
First Downs:         12              20
Rushes-yards:        29-100          39-144
Yards/rush:          3.4             3.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     11-31-117-2     19-31-182-1
Sacked-yards:        5-49            3-14
Net pass yards:      68              168
Net yards/pass:      1.9             4.9
Total net yards:     168             312
Total plays:         65 (44% run)    73 (53% run)  
Yards/play:          2.6             4.3
Fumbles-lost:        6-5             2-1
Turnovers:           7               2
Penalties-yards:     9-59            9-70

Attendance: 51,521

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Roger Staubach completed his first seven passes, including a 40-yard touchdown to Drew Pearson, and completed 13 of 15 passes for 178 yards to lead the Cowboys to their fifth victory, spoiling the Giants' new stadium opener. Robert Newhouse scored from the 8 on Dallas' first possession and the Cowboys took a 17-0 halftime lead, keeping the Giants at bay by blocking a punt and field goal attempt.

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

Line: Cowboys by 8

( 7- 0) DAL Robert Newhouse 8 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick)
(14- 0) DAL Drew Pearson 40 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick)
(17- 0) DAL Efren Herrera 24 yard field goal
(17- 7) NYG Jim Robinson 30 yard pass from Craig Morton (Joe Danelo kick)
(24- 7) DAL Doug Dennison 4 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick)
(24-14) NYG Larry Csonka 6 yard rush (Joe Danelo kick)

                     DAL             NYG
First Downs:         18              18
Rushes-yards:        42-163          33-138
Yards/rush:          3.9             4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-15-178-0     12-16-190-1
Sacked-yards:        2-10            5-37
Net pass yards:      168             153
Net yards/pass:      9.9             7.3
Total net yards:     331             291
Total plays:         59 (71% run)    54 (61% run)  
Yards/play:          5.6             5.4
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             2-0
Turnovers:           0               1
Penalties-yards:     5-55            5-49

Attendance: 76,042

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Pat Leahy's 38-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining broke a 14-14 deadlock, giving the Jets their first win of the season. Buffalo rookie Keith Moody tied the game with four minutes left on a 67-yard punt return but the Jets came right back with an eight-play, 69-yard drive setting up Leahy for his third field goal of the season. Ed Marinaro had his second consecutive 100-yard performance, gaining 119 yards on 31 carries.

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

Line: Bills by 10

( 0- 7) NYJ Ed Marinaro 1 yard rush (Pat Leahy kick)
( 0-14) NYJ Richard Osborne 2 yard pass from Joe Namath (Pat Leahy kick)
( 7-14) BUF Gary Marangi 1 yard rush (George Jakowenko kick)
(14-14) BUF Keith Moody 67 yard punt return (George Jakowenko kick)
(14-17) NYJ Pat Leahy 38 yard field goal

                     BUF             NYJ
First Downs:         11              20
Rushes-yards:        33-125          51-207
Yards/rush:          3.8             4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     11-24-104-1     7-22-79-1
Sacked-yards:        3-24            3-16
Net pass yards:      80              63
Net yards/pass:      3.0             2.5
Total net yards:     205             270
Total plays:         60 (55% run)    76 (67% run)  
Yards/play:          3.4             3.6
Fumbles-lost:        6-4             3-3
Turnovers:           5               4
Penalties-yards:     5-49            6-55

Attendance: 52,416

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Ken Stabler's 339-yard passing performance, including three touchdown passes, helped defeat San Diego. Dave Casper, with seven catches for 104 yards, got the first Raider touchdown. Then Stabler connected with Cliff Branch on a 74-yard pass play. Later the pair teamed up to score on a play covering 41 yards.

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

Line: Raiders by 6

( 0- 7) SD  Bo Matthews 0 yard fumble return (Toni Fritsch kick)
( 7- 7) OAK Dave Casper 4 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Fred Steinfort kick)
(14- 7) OAK Cliff Branch 74 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Fred Steinfort kick)
(14-10) SD  Toni Fritsch 45 yard field goal
(14-17) SD  Mercury Morris 1 yard rush (Toni Fritsch kick)
(21-17) OAK Cliff Branch 41 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Fred Steinfort kick)
(27-17) OAK Pete Banaszak 4 yard rush (kick failed)

                     OAK             SD
First Downs:         22              22
Rushes-yards:        38-153          38-154
Yards/rush:          4.0             4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     20-26-339-1     16-31-249-1
Sacked-yards:        1-16            3-20
Net pass yards:      323             229
Net yards/pass:      12.0            6.7
Total net yards:     476             383
Total plays:         65 (58% run)    72 (52% run)  
Yards/play:          7.3             5.3
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             1-0
Turnovers:           1               1
Penalties-yards:     9-64            3-20

Attendance: 50,223

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Jim Hart's 49-yard touchdown pass to Mel Gray was the only Cardinals' score that didn't come as a result of a Philadelphia turnover. St. Louis turned two fumble recoveries and two interceptions into touchdowns with four different Cardinals backs scoring. The Eagles took a 7-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass from Mike Boryla to Keith Krepfle and held St. Louis scoreless until midway through the second period when the Cardinals scored 19 quick points.

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

Line: Cardinals by 8

( 7- 0) PHI Keith Krepfle 3 yard pass from Mike Boryla (Horst Muhlmann kick)
( 7- 6) STL Steve Jones 1 yard rush (kick failed)
( 7-12) STL Mel Gray 49 yard pass from Jim Hart (kick failed)
( 7-19) STL Wayne Morris 6 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
( 7-26) STL Jerry Latin 4 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
( 7-33) STL Jim Otis 1 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
(14-33) PHI Bill Olds 2 yard rush (Horst Muhlmann kick)

                     PHI             STL
First Downs:         14              29
Rushes-yards:        24-58           59-198
Yards/rush:          2.4             3.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     12-24-123-2     13-17-191-0
Sacked-yards:        1-6             1-5
Net pass yards:      117             186
Net yards/pass:      4.7             10.3
Total net yards:     175             384
Total plays:         49 (48% run)    77 (76% run)  
Yards/play:          3.6             5.0
Fumbles-lost:        3-2             2-1
Turnovers:           4               1
Penalties-yards:     11-90           15-139

Attendance: 44,933

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Mike Livingston's 36-yard touchdown pass to Larry Brunson was the end result of flea-flicker play that the Chiefs pulled on the Redskins to put Kansas City on top with 1:04 left for their first victory of the season. Joe Theismann threw for 270 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns, one to Frank Grant who caught eight passes for 138 yards, but Livingston countered with 332 yards through the air. The Chiefs' winning score came shortly after John Riggins put the Redskins ahead 30-26 on a six-yard run with 2:50 remaining. The flea-flicker began when Livingston handed off to Woody Green, who gave the ball to Henry Marshall, who lateraled back to Livingston, who threw to Brunson.

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

Line: Redskins by 13

( 0- 3) WAS Mark Moseley 30 yard field goal
( 3- 3) KC  Jan Stenerud 37 yard field goal
( 6- 3) KC  Jan Stenerud 52 yard field goal
( 9- 3) KC  Jan Stenerud 38 yard field goal
( 9-10) WAS Joe Theismann 1 yard rush (Mark Moseley kick)
(16-10) KC  Walter White 33 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick)
(23-10) KC  MacArthur Lane 6 yard rush (Jan Stenerud kick)
(23-17) WAS Jerry Smith 5 yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)
(23-24) WAS Frank Grant 37 yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)
(26-24) KC  Jan Stenerud 45 yard field goal
(26-30) WAS John Riggins 6 yard rush (kick failed)
(33-30) KC  Larry Brunson 36 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick)

                     KC              WAS
First Downs:         20              26
Rushes-yards:        39-119          39-174
Yards/rush:          3.1             4.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     15-29-332-0     20-38-270-2
Sacked-yards:        1-8             1-6
Net pass yards:      324             264
Net yards/pass:      10.8            6.8
Total net yards:     443             438
Total plays:         69 (56% run)    78 (50% run)  
Yards/play:          6.4             5.6
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             3-2
Turnovers:           0               4
Penalties-yards:     9-59            6-62

Attendance: 53,060

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