All NFL game summaries for 10/24/1976:

The Patriots jumped to a 26-9 fourth quarter lead but had to fight off a scoring blitz by the Bills to stay one game behind Baltimore in the AFC East. O. J. Simpson, with two touchdowns and 110 yards to take over second place in NFL career rushing, scored on a two-yard run with 1:07 left, bringing Buffalo within four points of New England.

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

Line: Patriots by 6

                     NE              BUF
First Downs:         18              21
Rushes-yards:        41-184          42-209
Yards/rush:          4.5             5.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     8-21-122-1      11-29-100-1
Sacked-yards:        3-29            0-0
Net pass yards:      93              100
Net yards/pass:      3.9             3.4
Total net yards:     277             309
Total plays:         65 (63% run)    71 (59% run)  
Yards/play:          4.3             4.4
Fumbles-lost:        5-3             6-4
Turnovers:           4               5
Penalties-yards:     8-57            6-68

Attendance: 45,144

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Brian Sipe capped 82 and 63-yard drives with touchdown passes to Reggie Rucker and Oscar Roan as the Browns evened their series record with the Chargers at 2-2-1. Greg Pruitt's one-yard touchdown put Cleveland ahead 14-0 at the end of the first period but San Diego scored two second quarter touchdowns to tie the game at halftime. Ray Wersching's 22-yard field goal gave the Chargers their first lead before the Browns regained the lead on Sipe's 10-yard scoring pass to Roan in the fourth quarter.

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

Line: Chargers by 1

                     SD              CLE
First Downs:         19              22
Rushes-yards:        27-78           34-137
Yards/rush:          2.9             4.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     24-36-246-1     23-28-246-2
Sacked-yards:        2-14            1-9
Net pass yards:      232             237
Net yards/pass:      6.1             8.2
Total net yards:     310             374
Total plays:         65 (41% run)    63 (53% run)  
Yards/play:          4.8             5.9
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             1-0
Turnovers:           1               2
Penalties-yards:     9-50            8-78

Attendance: 60,018

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Danny White replaced Roger Staubach, who suffered a fractured finger in the third quarter, and threw two touchdown passes to Preston Pearson while the Dallas defense limited Chicago to 110 total yards to pick up the win. White staked the Cowboys to a 24-7 lead on his first TD pass before Ross Brupbacher grabbed one of his passes and lateraled to Mike Hartenstine who took the ball for a score. Johnny Musso closed the gap to three points on a two-yard touchdown run before White and Pearson struck again.

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

Line: Cowboys by 8

                     CHI             DAL
First Downs:         8               29
Rushes-yards:        28-93           55-241
Yards/rush:          3.3             4.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     6-16-54-0       19-31-307-2
Sacked-yards:        4-37            2-19
Net pass yards:      17              288
Net yards/pass:      0.8             8.7
Total net yards:     110             529
Total plays:         48 (58% run)    88 (62% run)  
Yards/play:          2.3             6.0
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             1-1
Turnovers:           0               3
Penalties-yards:     8-83            9-86

Attendance: 60,790

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The Bengals' defense picked up a touchdown while Ken Anderson and John Reaves each added a scoring pass to lead Cincinnati past Houston and into a one-game lead in the AFC Central. Anderson threw a seven-yard pass to Isaac Curtis for the first TD, Reaves hit Bruce Coslet with a 14-yarder for the second, and Coy Bacon picked up a fourth-quarter fumble at the Cincinnati 20 and carried it 48 yards before lateraling to Melvin Morgan who carried it the final 32 yards for a score.

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

Line: Bengals by 1

                     CIN             HOU
First Downs:         18              12
Rushes-yards:        40-162          9-28
Yards/rush:          4.0             3.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     16-24-187-0     23-42-198-3
Sacked-yards:        3-21            6-50
Net pass yards:      166             148
Net yards/pass:      6.1             3.1
Total net yards:     328             176
Total plays:         67 (59% run)    57 (15% run)  
Yards/play:          4.9             3.1
Fumbles-lost:        3-1             1-1
Turnovers:           1               4
Penalties-yards:     9-84            7-50

Attendance: 45,499

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Rick Upchurch tied an NFL record with his fourth punt return touchdown, the Broncos' defense twice held the Chiefs scoreless from the 1 yard line, and Denver snapped a two-game losing streak. Otis Armstrong had his first 100-yard game, including the Broncos' first score on a 16-yard run, and he led Denver receivers with six catches for 60 yards. Upchurch also returned a Chiefs' kickoff 64 yards to set up Armstrong's touchdown.

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

Line: Broncos by 6

                     DEN             KC
First Downs:         24              29
Rushes-yards:        38-192          42-169
Yards/rush:          5.1             4.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     16-25-203-2     25-39-334-1
Sacked-yards:        0-0             3-36
Net pass yards:      203             298
Net yards/pass:      8.1             7.1
Total net yards:     395             467
Total plays:         63 (60% run)    84 (50% run)  
Yards/play:          6.3             5.6
Fumbles-lost:        3-3             2-1
Turnovers:           5               2
Penalties-yards:     6-64            4-35

Attendance: 57,961

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Pat Haden came off the bench in the fourth quarter and completed his first pass to Harold Jackson for a 40-yard touchdown, breaking a 10-10 tie and keeping the Rams a half-game behind San Francisco in the NFC West race. Los Angeles had taken a 10-0 lead in the second quarter following a one-yard touchdown run by Lawrence McCutcheon. Bobby Douglass came off the Saints' bench to throw a 28-yard pass to Tony Galbreath and set up a field goal to tie the Rams.

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

Line: Rams by 12

                     LA              NO
First Downs:         14              20
Rushes-yards:        42-122          31-114
Yards/rush:          2.9             3.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     5-15-92-1       24-40-292-0
Sacked-yards:        5-35            9-78
Net pass yards:      57              214
Net yards/pass:      2.9             4.4
Total net yards:     179             328
Total plays:         62 (67% run)    80 (38% run)  
Yards/play:          2.9             4.1
Fumbles-lost:        4-3             7-5
Turnovers:           4               5
Penalties-yards:     6-59            8-103

Attendance: 51,984

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Franco Harris ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns while the Pittsburgh defense picked up five sacks for the second week in a row and allowed the Giants to cross midfield only twice as the Steelers picked up their second win following three straight losses. Harris' first score came with 1:41 left in the first half to finish a nine-play, 80-yard drive and Roy Gerela added a 21-yard field goal 1:16 later following a J. T. Thomas interception at the Giants' 41.

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

Line: Steelers by 8

                     PIT             NYG
First Downs:         18              10
Rushes-yards:        47-230          29-88
Yards/rush:          4.9             3.0
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     12-19-120-0     11-26-97-1
Sacked-yards:        3-19            5-34
Net pass yards:      101             63
Net yards/pass:      4.6             2.0
Total net yards:     331             151
Total plays:         69 (68% run)    60 (48% run)  
Yards/play:          4.8             2.5
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             2-1
Turnovers:           0               2
Penalties-yards:     15-120          6-41

Attendance: 69,783

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Bert Jones and Roger Carr combined on five passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns while the Baltimore defense picked up six sacks and their first shutout to stay one game ahead of New England in the AFC East. Jones hit Carr on a 41-yard scoring play in the first quarter and the duo picked up the final TD on a 79-yard play in the fourth quarter.

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

Line: Colts by 15

                     BAL             NYJ
First Downs:         18              15
Rushes-yards:        42-136          19-123
Yards/rush:          3.2             6.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     16-27-297-1     17-37-206-2
Sacked-yards:        1-16            6-52
Net pass yards:      281             154
Net yards/pass:      10.0            3.6
Total net yards:     417             277
Total plays:         70 (60% run)    62 (30% run)  
Yards/play:          6.0             4.5
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             2-0
Turnovers:           1               2
Penalties-yards:     6-42            2-18

Attendance: 49,768

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Ken Stabler passed for 202 first-half yards and three second-quarter touchdowns for Oakland's second straight win over the Packers since Super Bowl ll. Stabler's three scoring passes came within 8:45 of the second period and the second an 88-yard pass to Cliff Branch, was the longest of the duo's careers and longest in the NFL in 1976.

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

Line: Raiders by 14

                     GB              OAK
First Downs:         21              15
Rushes-yards:        30-108          33-115
Yards/rush:          3.6             3.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     22-34-303-2     13-21-220-1
Sacked-yards:        4-39            5-59
Net pass yards:      264             161
Net yards/pass:      6.9             6.2
Total net yards:     372             276
Total plays:         68 (44% run)    59 (55% run)  
Yards/play:          5.5             4.7
Fumbles-lost:        3-2             3-1
Turnovers:           4               2
Penalties-yards:     13-151          13-119

Attendance: 52,232

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Fran Tarkenton, with 249 yards passing and two TD passes, became the second 40,000-yard career passer in the NFL and Chuck Foreman, who had two touchdowns and 200 yards rushing, set a single game club rushing record with the NFC's best rushing performance in 1976 in bringing the Vikings back from a 9-0 deficit to take a 3½ game lead in the NFC Central. Mike Boryla passed three yards to Harold Carmichael for the Eagles' 9-0 lead but Tarkenton cut the lead to two points at the half with a five-yard pass to Ahmad Rashad. Tarkenton finished off a 10-point third quarter with a 35-yard TD pass to Sammy White before Foreman got his pair of scores on 2 and 32-yard runs in the fourth period.

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

Line: Vikings by 10

                     MIN             PHI
First Downs:         27              17
Rushes-yards:        43-242          31-161
Yards/rush:          5.6             5.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     23-33-249-1     11-25-142-0
Sacked-yards:        0-0             3-21
Net pass yards:      249             121
Net yards/pass:      7.5             4.3
Total net yards:     491             282
Total plays:         76 (56% run)    59 (52% run)  
Yards/play:          6.5             4.8
Fumbles-lost:        2-1             0-0
Turnovers:           2               0
Penalties-yards:     8-60            6-45

Attendance: 56,233

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Greg Landry threw three touchdown passes and the Lions' defense returned two of six interceptions for touchdowns for Tommy Hudspeth's second win in three games since taking over as coach at Detroit. Hugh McKinnis scored two second quarter touchdowns to pull Seattle within six points at the half, but Landry opened the gap to 34-14 with third period scoring passes to Charlie Sanders and Lawrence Gaines. Lem Barney added a 24-yard interception return TD.

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

Line: Lions by 7

                     DET             SEA
First Downs:         22              20
Rushes-yards:        38-152          30-97
Yards/rush:          4.0             3.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     19-31-235-0     18-38-249-6
Sacked-yards:        2-18            2-7
Net pass yards:      217             242
Net yards/pass:      6.6             6.0
Total net yards:     369             339
Total plays:         71 (53% run)    70 (42% run)  
Yards/play:          5.2             4.8
Fumbles-lost:        4-1             3-2
Turnovers:           1               8
Penalties-yards:     5-55            5-30

Attendance: 61,280

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Garo Yepremian's 29-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the game broke a 20-20 tie and Dick Anderson's interception preserved the Dolphins' win with 13 seconds left in the first all-Florida NFL game. Benny Malone led the Miami offensive attack with his second 100-yard game but it was a blocked field goal and blocked extra point by the Dolphins' special teams that helped give Miami the victory despite three touchdown catches by Morris Owens.

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

Line: Dolphins by 14

                     MIA             TB
First Downs:         19              20
Rushes-yards:        42-200          30-143
Yards/rush:          4.8             4.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     8-15-132-1      19-28-203-1
Sacked-yards:        6-42            1-12
Net pass yards:      90              191
Net yards/pass:      4.3             6.6
Total net yards:     290             334
Total plays:         63 (66% run)    59 (50% run)  
Yards/play:          4.6             5.7
Fumbles-lost:        0-0             1-0
Turnovers:           1               1
Penalties-yards:     2-20            8-58

Attendance: 59,115

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