NFL game summary for 12/12/1977:

Roger Staubach threw three touchdown passes to lead Dallas to a 42-35 win and assure the Cowboys home field for the opening round of the playoffs. The Cowboys needed a big offensive performance from Staubach to counteract the throwing of Jim Plunkett, who had four touchdown passes including a 27-yard scoring toss to Gene Washington that cut the Dallas lead to 28-21 late in the third period. Tony Dorsett, who gained 92 yards on the ground, came up with his first NFL touchdown catch and also got his 12th rushing touchdown to set a Cowboys' single-season record.

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

	Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
OFFENSE	172.8 (4)	173.2 (2)	346.0 (1)	22
DEFENSE	121.7 (4)	101.1 (3)	222.8 (1)	30
OFFENSE	156.3 (8)	87.0 (27)	243.3 (23)	22
DEFENSE	131.9 (12)	96.2 (2)	228.1 (2)	18

Line: Cowboys by 7

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Dallas Cowboys (11-2-0)	0	21	7	14	42
San Francisco 49ers (5-8-0)	7	7	7	14	35

( 0- 7) SF Bob Ferrell 1 yard rush (Ray Wersching kick) ( 7- 7) DAL Roger Staubach 1 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick) (14- 7) DAL Preston Pearson 36 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick) (14-14) SF Kenny Harrison 10 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick) (21-14) DAL Tony Dorsett 20 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick) (28-14) DAL Tony Dorsett 21 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick) (28-21) SF Gene Washington 27 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick) (35-21) DAL Butch Johnson 22 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efren Herrera kick) (35-28) SF Delvin Williams 1 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick) (42-28) DAL Preston Pearson 3 yard rush (Efren Herrera kick) (42-35) SF Paul Seal 47 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)

                     DAL             SF
First Downs:         24              19
Rushes-yards:        45-183          35-93
Yards/rush:          4.1             2.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     14-19-220-0     16-30-278-0
Sacked-yards:        2-5             1-9
Net pass yards:      215             269
Net yards/pass:      10.2            8.7
Total net yards:     398             362
Total plays:         66 (68% run)    66 (53% run)  
Yards/play:          6.0             5.5
Fumbles-lost:        3-0             1-0
Turnovers:           0               0
Penalties-yards:     4-30            5-38

Attendance: 55,851

Passing:
DAL: Roger Staubach, 14 of 19 for 220 yards and 3 TDs SF: Jim Plunkett, 15 of 29 for 263 yards and 4 TDs; Tom Wittum, 1 of 1 for 15 yards
Rushing:
DAL: Tony Dorsett, 20 for 92 yards and 1 TD; Robert Newhouse, 13 for 48 yards; Roger Staubach, 9 for 23 yards and 1 TD; Preston Pearson, 3 for 20 yards and 1 TD SF: Delvin Williams, 17 for 44 yards; Wilbur Jackson, 12 for 20 yards; Jim Plunkett, 3 for 10 yards; Bob Ferrell, 2 for 13 yards and 1 TD; Dave Williams, 1 for 6 yards
Receiving:
DAL: Drew Pearson, 4 for 61 yards; Preston Pearson, 3 for 59 yards and 1 TD; Tony Dorsett, 3 for 39 yards and 1 TD; Billy Joe DuPree, 2 for 28 yards; Butch Johnson, 1 for 22 yards and 1 TD; Jay Saldi, 1 for 11 yards SF: Gene Washington, 5 for 130 yards and 1 TD; Delvin Williams, 4 for 29 yards and 1 TD; Paul Seal, 2 for 75 yards and 1 TD; Kenny Harrison, 2 for 16 yards and 1 TD; Tony Cline, 1 for 15 yards; Tom Mitchell, 1 for 10 yards; Wilbur Jackson, 1 for 3 yards
Kick returns:
DAL: Butch Johnson, 3 for 92 yards; Larry Brinson, 2 for 51 yards; Tony Hill, 1 for 19 yards SF: Paul Hofer, 4 for 114 yards; Dave Williams, 2 for 29 yards; Jim Obradovich, 1 for 9 yards
Punt returns:
DAL: Butch Johnson, 4 for 43 yards SF: Stan Black, 3 for 3 yards
Interceptions:

Punting:
DAL: Danny White, 3 for 108 yards SF: Tom Wittum, 5 for 183 yards
Field Goals:
DAL: Efren Herrera, 0/1