My Top 10 NFL Playoff Games From the 1970s (Part 3)

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EPISODE SUMMARY

#6 December 23, 1972, Dallas Cowboys 30, SF 49ers 28, Candlestick Park: Dallas fell behind quickly when Vic Washington ran the opening kickoff 97 yards to put the 49ers up 7–0. The Cowboys cut the lead to 7–3 with a 37-yard field goal, and after the teams exchanged turnovers, the 49ers scored another touchdown to go up 14–3. A second Dallas turnover led to another 49ers touchdown. But the Cowboys came back with a field goal and a touchdown to narrow the gap to 21–13. Dallas continued to have problems holding onto the ball in the third quarter. A fumble led to another 49ers touchdown, which increased their lead to 28–13. Towards the end of the third quarter, Cowboys Coach Tom Landry replaced quarterback Craig Morton with Roger Staubach, who had missed most of the season due to injury.

Staubach promptly fumbled on his opening drive, setting the 49ers up for a 32-yard field goal. But kicker Bruce Gosslet missed the attempt, and later running back Calvin Hill broke off a 48- yard run to set up a Toni Fritsch field goal. After the Doomsday Defense forced a 49ers punt, Staubach led the offense to a touchdown with just under two minutes to play. After Dallas recovered an onside kick, Staubach scrambled for 21 yards. Two-pass completions followed the scramble that put Dallas ahead 30–28 with just 52 seconds left. The 49ers came close to field goal range, but an interception by safety Charlie Waters ended the game. The Cowboys outgained the 49ers in total yards 402–255 and first downs 22–13. But they also committed five turnovers and allowed five sacks. 49ers’ defensive end Cedrick Hardman was responsible for 3.5 of those sacks.

#7 December 18, 1976, Oakland Raiders 24, NE Patriots 21, Oakland Alameda County Coliseum: New England defeated Oakland 48–17 in Week 4 of the season, handing the Raiders their only loss of the year. And after the opening drive of the playoff game, it looked like New England would win again. The Patriots marched 86 yards in 10 plays to take a 7–0 lead. But the Raiders narrowed the gap to four points on Errol Mann’s 40-yard field

goal and took the lead, 10–7, in the second quarter on a Ken Stabler-to-Fred Biletnikoff 31-yard touchdown pass. But the Patriots grabbed the lead back on their opening drive of the third quarter. NE went 80 yards in nine plays, scoring a touchdown on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan to tight end Russ Francis. The Patriots expanded the lead to 21–10 on a 10-play, 55-yard drive, but Oakland fought back with a 70-yard drive in eight plays to close the gap to four. The teams exchanged punts before New England misfired on a 50-yard field goal attempt. Oakland took possession with good field position and 4:12 left on the clock. They drove to the Patriots’ 28-yard line before stalling.

An incomplete pass made it 4th and 18, but a roughing the passer penalty on nose tackle Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton gave Oakland a first down on the 13-yard line with 57 seconds on the clock. (Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks questioned the penalty, saying, “It looked to me like Ray hit the ball first. If he did deflect the ball, then it was an incorrect call.”)

With that penalty assist, Oakland moved the ball to the four-yard line and faced a 3rd and 1 when another penalty–this time a personal foul on safety Prentice McCray–gave the Raiders a first down on the 1-yard-line. That’s when Stabler faked a handoff and dove into the end for the winning score with 14 seconds remaining on the clock. Ken Stabler (1976 NFL top ranked QB) went 19-of-32 on the day for 233 yards and a touchdown, and Fred Biletnikoff caught nine of those passes for 137 yards and one touchdown.

You can read the full blog post here.

YESTERDAY'S SPORTS BACKGROUND

Host Mark Morthier grew up in New Jersey just across the river from New York City during the 1970s, a great time for sports in the area. He relives great moments from this time and beyond, focusing on football, baseball, basketball, and boxing. You may even see a little Olympic Weightlifting in the mix, as Mark competed...