NFL game summary for 10/31/1976:

Dolphins' defensive tackle Don Reese sacked Steve Grogan at the Miami 40 for a 16-yard loss in the fourth quarter, snuffing out a possible game tying scoring drive. Bob Griese threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jim Mandich in the second quarter which proved to be the margin of victory. Miami evened its record at 4-4 to keep its playoff hopes alive and dropped the Patriots two games behind Baltimore in the AFC East.

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

Team		Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
New England Patriots	OFFENSE	210.7  (1)	155.7  (15)	366.4  (6)	22
	DEFENSE	147.7  (16)	168.0  (17)	315.7  (17)	22
Miami Dolphins	OFFENSE	172.7  (6)	156.9  (14)	329.6  (10)	18
	DEFENSE	159.4  (21)	233.3  (28)	392.7  (27)	12

Line: Patriots by 3

Team	1	2	3	4	F
New England Patriots (5-3-0)	0	3	0	0	3
Miami Dolphins (4-4-0)	0	10	0	0	10

( 0- 7) MIA Jim Mandich 16 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 0-10) MIA Garo Yepremian 47 yard field goal
( 3-10) NE  John Smith 43 yard field goal

                     NE              MIA
First Downs:         11              18
Rushes-yards:        27-130          37-157
Yards/rush:          4.8             4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     10-31-112-1     12-22-132-0
Sacked-yards:        1-16            3-32
Net pass yards:      96              100
Net yards/pass:      3.0             4.0
Total net yards:     226             257
Total plays:         59 (45% run)    62 (59% run)  
Yards/play:          3.8             4.1
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             0-0
Turnovers:           1               0
Penalties-yards:     11-80           5-33

Attendance: 52,863

Passing:
NE: Steve Grogan, 10 of 31 for 112 yards (1 int)
MIA: Bob Griese, 12 of 22 for 132 yards and 1 TD

Rushing:
NE: Sam Cunningham, 14 for 79 yards; Steve Grogan, 6 for 15 yards; Ike Forte, 3 for 10 yards; Jess Phillips, 2 for 17 yards; Andy Johnson, 2 for 9 yards
MIA: Benny Malone, 21 for 119 yards; Don Nottingham, 11 for 29 yards; Bob Griese, 2 for -5 yards; Stan Winfrey, 1 for 7 yards; Gary Davis, 1 for 6 yards; Nat Moore, 1 for 1 yard

Receiving:
NE: Russ Francis, 4 for 47 yards; Sam Cunningham, 3 for 25 yards; Andy Johnson, 2 for 28 yards; Randy Vataha, 1 for 12 yards
MIA: Jim Mandich, 5 for 51 yards and 1 TD; Andre Tillman, 3 for 32 yards; Freddie Solomon, 2 for 38 yards; Nat Moore, 1 for 11 yards; Don Nottingham, 1 for 0 yards

Kick returns:
NE: Jess Phillips, 2 for 54 yards; Don Calhoun, 1 for 20 yards
MIA: Duriel Harris, 1 for 28 yards; Nat Moore, 1 for 0 yards

Punt returns:
NE: Mike Haynes, 4 for 47 yards
MIA: Freddie Solomon, 3 for 30 yards; Nat Moore, 2 for 6 yards

Interceptions:
MIA: Curtis Johnson, 1 for 14 yards

Punting:
NE: Mike Patrick, 8 for 345 yards
MIA: Larry Seiple, 7 for 267 yards

Field Goals:
NE: John Smith, 1/1
MIA: Garo Yepremian, 1/1

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