NFL game summary for 01/07/1979:

Dallas used a hard-nosed defense and an opportunistic offense to down Los Angeles for the Cowboys' second straight NFC Championship on an overcast 66-degree day. The first half was a balanced game with the Cowboys and Rams having scoring opportunities that produced no points. In the second half, the Cowboys took control of the game when free safety Charlie Waters set up two touchdowns with interceptions. The first came when Waters returned an interception to the Rams' 10. Five plays later running back Tony Dorsett, who led all rushers with 101 yards on 17 carries, raced around right end for the game's first touchdown. With 1:52 to go in the third quarter, Waters again picked off a Pat Haden pass and returned it 29 yards to the Rams' 20. Quarterback Roger Staubach, who completed 13 of 25 for 126 yards, hit Laidlaw for a four-yard touchdown 58 seconds into the final period to put the Cowboys ahead 14-0.

Los Angeles had a good chance to get back into the game between Waters' two interceptions. The Rams had excellent field position via a 23-yard punt return by Jackie Wallace to the Cowboys' 23. But on a fourth-and-one at the Dallas 14, the Cowboys' defense stiffened and stopped the Rams for no gain. Backup quarterback Vince Ferragamo replaced the injured Haden (broken thumb) and the Rams had to play catchup football in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys' defense again halted a Los Angeles threat at the Dallas 10 when defensive end Harvey Martin recovered another Rams' fumble. Seven plays later, Staubach found tight end Billy Joe DuPree in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown. The Cowboys' final tally came with only 1:19 remaining when linebacker Thomas Henderson returned an interception 68 yards for a score.

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

Team		Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
Dallas Cowboys	OFFENSE	173.9 (3)	198.5 (3)	372.4 (2)	35
Dallas Cowboys	DEFENSE	107.6 (1)	143.0 (5)	250.6 (2)	36
Los Angeles Rams	OFFENSE	144.2 (12)	179.6 (7)	323.9 (6)	44
Los Angeles Rams	DEFENSE	115.3 (3)	128.0 (2)	243.3 (1)	43

Line: Even

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Dallas Cowboys (14-4-0)	0	0	7	21	28
Los Angeles Rams (13-5-0)	0	0	0	0	0

( 7- 0) DAL Tony Dorsett 5 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick)
(14- 0) DAL Scott Laidlaw 4 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Rafael Septien kick)
(21- 0) DAL Billy Joe DuPree 11 yard pass from Roger Staubach (Rafael Septien kick)
(28- 0) DAL Thomas Henderson 68 yard interception return (Rafael Septien kick)

                     DAL             LA
First Downs:         16              15
Rushes-yards:        33-126          31-81
Yards/rush:          3.8             2.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-25-126-2     14-35-206-5
Sacked-yards:        3-17            3-10
Net pass yards:      109             196
Net yards/pass:      3.9             5.2
Total net yards:     235             277
Total plays:         61 (54% run)    69 (44% run)  
Yards/play:          3.9             4.0
Fumbles-lost:        2-1             3-2
Turnovers:           3               7
Penalties-yards:     10-85           5-40

Attendance: 67,470

Passing:
DAL: Roger Staubach, 13 of 25 for 126 yards and 2 TDs (2 int)
LA: Pat Haden, 7 of 19 for 76 yards (3 int); Vince Ferragamo, 7 of 16 for 130 yards (2 int)

Rushing:
DAL: Tony Dorsett, 17 for 101 yards and 1 TD; Scott Laidlaw, 10 for 20 yards; Roger Staubach, 3 for 7 yards; Robert Newhouse, 1 for 4 yards; Billy Joe DuPree, 1 for 3 yards; Jackie Smith, 1 for -9 yards
LA: Cullen Bryant, 20 for 52 yards; John Cappelletti, 3 for 19 yards; Rod Phillips, 3 for 2 yards; Pat Haden, 2 for 20 yards; Jim Jodat, 2 for -5 yards; Billy Waddy, 1 for -7 yards

Receiving:
DAL: Billy Joe DuPree, 3 for 48 yards and 1 TD; Drew Pearson, 2 for 19 yards; Butch Johnson, 2 for 19 yards; Tony Dorsett, 2 for 15 yards; Preston Pearson, 2 for 12 yards; Tony Hill, 1 for 9 yards; Scott Laidlaw, 1 for 4 yards and 1 TD
LA: Ron Jessie, 4 for 42 yards; Willie Miller, 3 for 96 yards; Billy Waddy, 2 for 23 yards; Cullen Bryant, 2 for 2 yards; Dwight Scales, 1 for 18 yards; John Cappelletti, 1 for 15 yards; Terry Nelson, 1 for 10 yards

Kick returns:
LA: Jim Jodat, 3 for 59 yards; Larry Marshall, 2 for 47 yards

Punt returns:
DAL: Butch Johnson, 4 for 40 yards
LA: Jackie Wallace, 2 for 22 yards

Interceptions:
DAL: Charlie Waters, 2 for 49 yards; Thomas Henderson, 1 for 68 yards and 1 TD; Cliff Harris, 1 for 5 yards; Randy Hughes, 1 for 1 yard
LA: Nolan Cromwell, 1 for 0 yards; Pat Thomas, 1 for 0 yards

Punting:
DAL: Danny White, 8 for 280 yards
LA: Glen Walker, 5 for 195 yards

Field Goals:
LA: Frank Corral, 0/2