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Thanks for the feedback bquinn. I LOVE the playoffs. 13 months of trudging through all of those regular season games was worth it.

Looking forward to seeing how yours plays out as well.

AFC Divisional Playoff

New England Patriots (11-6) vs. Oakland Raiders (15-1)

(this game is an exact rematch of the two teams' real life encounter back in 1976; also the divisional playoffs, and both teams had similar records: 11-4 for New England and 13-1 for Oakland:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxs...97612180rai.htm )

The Raiders hope to earn a trip to the AFC Championship game for the fourth straight season, while the Patriots are hoping to pull off another road upset win. Oakland, with only one loss all season, is led by NFL MVP Ken Stabler and the league's number one rated offense and passing attack. The Patriots are coming off a 20-7 win at Buffalo and a strong defensive effort that held the Bills to only 283 yards total offense.

The Patriots won the coin toss and started on offense first. Steve Grogan's 18 yard pass completion to Darryl Stingley gave the Pats a first down in Oakland territory:


Fullback Sam Cunningham rushed for 38 yards on the 10-play, 69 yard drive that eventually stalled around the Raiders' 10 yard line. On 4th down, John Smith nailed a 27-yard field to give New England an early 3-0 lead.

Both teams traded 3-and-outs before the Raiders got things going on their 2nd drive. Mark van Eeghen gains 8 tough yards early in the drive, setting up a 2nd down and short yardage:


Ken Stabler threw two big passes on the drive to Fred Biletnikoff as he moved the Raiders down into scoring position:


On 3rd down and goal from the 2-yard line, Stabler hit tight end Dave Casper in the left side of the endzone to cap off the 9-play, 78-yard drive, to give Oakland a 7-3 lead as the 1st quarter came to a close:


With just under 9 minutes to play in the first half, the Patriots were on the move closing in on the redzone when the first turnover of the game occured. Cunningham fumbled the exchange from Grogan in the New England backfield, and Raiders' linebacker Willie Hall scooped up the loose ball and raced untouched 78 yards giving Oakland a 14-3 lead:


The Patriots would get another opportunity just before halftime. Wideout Randy Vataha, returning from injury, made a key catch of 35 yards to once again place the Pats into scoring position:


This led to another Smith field goal, this one from 49 yards, that closed the Raider lead to 14-6 as the 1st half came to an end:


This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 21 2009, 09:20 PM

How come the game went from being a night game to a day game?

And when I saw that pic of Tatum sneaking in right behind Stingley, I just had to wince.

New England vs. Oakland (cont.)

Despite being outgained 186-125 in the first half, the Raiders led New England by 8 points as the 3rd quarter began. It didn't take long for the Raiders to exceed the Patriots in the stat department when, on the 3rd play of the 2nd half, Stabler hit Cliff Branch on a 71 yard touchdown pass, extending Oakland's lead to 21-6:


The Patriots responded with a long pass of their own, this one for 39 yards from Grogan to Vataha:


However, the drive ended in failure when John Smith's 48 yard field goal attempt on 4th down bounced off the left upright:


As the 3rd quarter winded down, the Raiders put together another scoring drive. Mike Siani made the big play on the drive: a 22 yard pass from Stabler on 3rd down:


The Patriots defense kept the Raiders out of the endzone, but Erroll Mann's 29 yard field goal made it 24-6, Oakland as the 3rd quarter came to an end.

Steve Grogan would complete 17 of 25 attempts, but for only 189 yards and no touchdowns. His top receiver for the game was tight end Russ Francis, who had 5 receptions for 40 yards:


Here, Grogan commits his biggest error: a pass thrown into the arms of linebacker Ted Hendricks, who returns it 12 yards:


Carl Garrett completes the scoring for the Raiders on a 1-yard touchdown run, finishing off an 8-play, 72-yard drive:


Time expires on the Patriots' season, as the Raiders advance to the next round:


A big win for Oakland as they advance to their 4th AFC title game in as many seasons, and hope to finally win their first conference title since the merger. Stabler finished 14 of 24 for 247 yards and 2 touchdown passes, another strong performance. Biletnikoff was the clutch receiver, catching 4 passes for 86 yards. Meanwhile, the Raider defense pressured Grogan all day, sacking him 6 times. Cunningham rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries and was the game's leading ground carrier. Oakland will now await the winner of the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game to see who they will host in next week's title game.

Great question. I'm usually lucky if I can watch a full game all in one sitting, so often I have to stop the game, save it, and then continue it later. The problem is that when you do that, the time-of-day re-sets itself. So that's what happened. The screenshots are all from the same game.

I was thinking the EXACT same thing.

LOL, Tim Fox can stop chasing Cliff Branch on that TD screenshot, I don't think he's gonna catch him.

Lee, what should I be looking to change on that '76 Rams stadium glitch we discussed?

Just try swapping stadiums with the Chargers or Raiders (for example), but just temporarily until you're done playing out your game. Use Nza's editor. See if that works. If it doesn't, I'm at a loss completely.

AFC Divisional Playoff

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4) vs. Baltimore Colts (13-3)

(again, another simulated re-match of a real life playoff matchup from 1976. The Steelers won that game rather easily, 40-14. Box score: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxs...97612190clt.htm . Another interesting tidbit from that game was the small plane that crashed into the stadium minutes after the game ended: http://baltimorecolts.blogspot.com/2008/07...lane-crash.html )

The defending Super Bowl champion Steelers, coming off a 1st-round playoff win over Houston, come into Baltimore to face the 13-3 Colts. The Steelers have the number 3 ranked defense in the NFL and are number 1 against the run. This will test a high-powered Colts offense that is ranked number 2 in the league, and led by NFL MVP runner-up Bert Jones. The Colts also have an outstanding running attack led by 1,000-yard+ rusher Lydell Mitchell, while Jones is supported by a receiving corp. that includes two 1,000-yard+ receivers in Glenn Doughty and Roger Carr. Raymond Chester is the Colts' Pro-Bowl tight end. The Steelers, of course, have the league's leading rusher in Franco Harris (1,732 yards). It's perfect football weather with a game-time temperature of a cool 35 degrees with little wind factor.

The game began as a defensive battle and remained so for much of the afternoon. Both offenses struggled to establish control in the 1st quarter, with Pittsburgh finally finding some success thanks to Franco Harris who helped move the Steelers down the field on their 3rd drive of the game. Here, Harris picks up a 1st down on an 11 yard run, pushing the ball past mid-field:


This 6-play, 63-yard drive ended with Terry Bradshaw's 10 yard touchdown pass to tight end Bennie Cunningham, giving Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter:


Unbelievably enough, the 4th kickoff return for a touchdown in the post-season occured right after that. This time, it was the Colts' Howard Stevens going the distance, shocking the Steelers with a 100-yard return to immediately tie the game at 7-7, and sending the sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium into a frenzy as the 1st quarter came to a close:


As the 2nd quarter began, the Steelers found themselves in a 7-7 tie despite holding the Colts offense to zero 1st downs, and only 14 yards in total offense. The Colts would continue to struggle finding success on the ground or through the passing game. Here, Lydell Mitchell is met in the hole by linebacker Jack Ham, who drops him for a 1-yard loss:


The Steelers' offense wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire either, but they again got things moving towards the end of the quarter. Here, Bennie Cunningham makes his 2nd catch of the game, this one for 29 yards and a first down deep in Colts' territory:


The Colts' defense stiffened and stopped Pittsburgh on 3rd and goal inside the 10-yard line. Roy Gerela's 26-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 10-7 lead at the 2-minute mark before halftime. As before, the Pittsburgh lead was short-lived (although not quite as short this time). Jones and Colts' offense finally got on-track thanks to a 51-yard pass from Jones to Roger Carr, placing the Colts in the redzone:


A few plays later, Jones capped off the 6-play, 65-yard drive with a 10-yard scoring pass to Ricky Thompson, giving the Colts their first lead of the game at 14-10 with just under a minute to play in the half:


Lloyd Mumphord spoils Pittsburgh's chances of scoring before halftime, stopping a drive as he intercepts an underthrown pass intended for Lynn Swann:


The 1st half ends with Baltimore in front, 14-10, despite being outgained nearly 2-1 and only managing 2 first downs on offense for the entire half:


This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 23 2009, 12:08 PM

Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore (cont.)

The 3rd quarter began pretty much the same as the prior 2 quarters - both defenses controlling the line of scrimmage, and making it tough for each offense's running attack. Here, Mitchell again finds it difficult to even reach the line of scrimmage as he is taken down in the backfield by J.T. Thomas:


This was an extremely hard-hitting game. On the kickoff to begin the 2nd half, Jimmie Kennedy lays a devasting block on Greg Blankenship:


This time it was the Colts' offense that would get things moving as the game went on and the 3rd quarter began to close. Jones began to find some success hitting his receivers downfield. A 21-yard pass to Freddie Scott kept this drive alive, setting up an eventual field goal for Toni Linhart of 47 yards to extend the Colts' lead to 17-10. Here, Jones surveys the field looking for an open receiver on the 11-play, 48-yard drive:


Into the final quarter, the Colts maintained their 7-point lead. The Steelers were getting frustrated, unable to establish anything on offense as the minutes counted down. Jones extended a drive here, diving for a first down as Baltimore hoped to extend their lead and run out the clock on Pittsburgh:


It was at this point, that things got really crazy setting up a wild finish to the game. As the Colts were driving deeper into Steelers' territory just before the 2-minute warning, and looking to ice the victory with at least a field goal, Lydell Mitchell was stripped of the football by Dwight White. Jack Ham picked up the fumble and ran 80 yards to tie the game and stun the Colts and their fans:


Things seemed to get even worse for the Colts when Jones' pass was intercepted by Donnie Shell, setting up the Steelers just inside Colts' territory with an opportunity to steal the win with 1:48 to play:


Bradshaw hit tight end Randy Grossman, his number one target for the afternoon, on a 16-yard play setting up a long field goal attempt by Roy Gerela after the Colts' stopped them on 3rd down. Gerela's 51-yard attempt was good, and with only :56 to play, the Steelers had captured a 20-17 lead.

Still too much time for Jones & Co., however. Jones and Carr connected again on a long pass, as once again Carr got behind cornerback Mel Blount who didn't have the safety help he needed to prevent a 50-yard completion. This set up the Colts at the Steelers' 11-yard line as the seconds ticked away. Carr's catch was an amazing one-hander, and gave the Colts the opportunity they needed to re-take the lead. After 2 incompletions, Jones and Carr would finish off the Steelers with an 11-yard score with only :14 seconds left, giving the Colts a 24-20 lead and securing the win:



The Colts had indeed captured victory from the jaws of defeat, after capturing defeat from the jaws of victory just prior to that (on Mitchell's fumble). Again, this was a defensive struggle despite the final score. The Steelers' Harris was held to only 85 yards on the ground, and Mitchell fared even worse with only 54 yards on 22 carries (a 2.4 yard average). Meanwhile, neither Jones nor Bradshaw exceeded over 200 yards in passing for the game. Bradshaw was sacked 3 times. Carr was the definite offensive star of the game, catching 4 passes for a total 120 yards, including the game-winning touchdown and the long catch that set it up. Pittsburgh's hopes for a 3-peat are now dashed, and now the Colts head to Oakland for the AFC Championship game next week.

This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 23 2009, 12:07 PM

booooooooooooooooooooooo.

oh well great journal so far!.

how are you intending to report the draft?

Great game!! One for the ages

Yeah, sorry the Black & Gold let you down this time SLV. There's always 1977 to look forward to.

Good question on the draft. I haven't decided yet how that's going to go. My options:

1) Draft according to how the teams actually drafted in '77 (Seahawks trade pick to Dallas, who then pick Dorsett, etc.), and thus sim the '77 season with historically accurate rosters? (I'm leaning in this direction)

2) Do something completely radical and draft according to the actual draft order, and team needs according to my 1976 results. So, in other words, a true alternative history where perhaps Dorsett or Ricky Bell ends up on the Packers (or even one of the fictional teams - Ravens, Panthers, etc.).

So once I figure that out, I'll go from there. I wish I had enough time on my hands to do both (yeah, right!). The way I figure it, if I go with option 1, I will probably not place too much emphasis on the draft because we all know how it will turn out anyway. If I go with option 2, I'll spend more time hyping it and analyzing the prospects.

Either way, I will be playing the College All-star game.

nice

id go with option 1 with realism

whatta game!!
hahaha
one handed grab by Carr in the two minute drill..
that would be awesome to watch.

NFC Divisional Playoff

New Orleans Saints (10-7) vs. Dallas Cowboys (13-3)

The Saints and Cowboys meet at Texas Stadium, where New Orleans is making only their 2nd post-season appearance in franchise history (10 seasons), while the Cowboys are making their 18th playoff appearance over a similar period (since 1966). The Saints managed to upset the Redskins in the 1st round of the playoffs, thanks to big offensive plays by their star players Archie Manning and Chuck Muncie, and also a record-setting performance by veteran wide receiver Don Herrmann. Both teams have high-powered offenses with the Saints ranked 3rd overall, and the Cowboys ranked 4th. The key difference is on defense, where Dallas has the league's number 1 ranked defense, while the Saints are ranked 28th.

The Saints won the toss and began on offense with a sustained drive that lasted nearly 7 minutes, impressively keeping the league's number-one rated defense on its heals. A big 3rd down pass play from Manning to tight end Henry Childs gained 47 yards by the time Childs was brought down, and gave the Saints a 1st down in Cowboys' territory at the 12 yard line:


A few plays later, Chuck Muncie ran right over Mel Renfro, falling into the endzone on a 3-yard touchdown run, giving the Saints a surprising early lead of 7-0:


The Cowboys responded with a 7-play, 73-yard drive, with the pivotal moment coming on a 3rd and inches just inside Saints' territory. Cowboys' head coach Tom Landry called a simple right tackle run to Doug Dennison, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, appeared to be stopped, and then bounced outside and ran the distance on a 47-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7:


On the ensuing drive, the Saints made it known they would not be intimidated by the "Doomsday II" defense. As with the opening drive, the Saints again moved down the field in methodical fashion, converting three straight 3rd downs. The big play came on a 3rd and long when Manning hit rookie wideout Larry Burton on a 14-yard completion, keeping the drive alive and moving the Saints closer to paydirt as the 1st quarter came to an end:


The long 15-play, 74-yard drive ended early in the second quarter with Muncie's 2nd touchdown run of the game, this one from a yard out, regaining the lead for New Orleans at 14-7:


It was up to Roger Staubach to keep the Cowboys in the game, and to answer the Saints score again. Staubach engineered the Dallas offense back down the field, completing two big 3rd down passes to Drew Pearson, this one going for 15 yards:


However, the Saints defense stopped the Cowboys just short of the redzone, forcing a field goal attempt of 39 yards by Efren Herrera. Herrera's kick was good, cutting the Saints' lead to 14-10 with 4:38 remaining in the 1st half.

Fortunately for Dallas, its defense finally held its ground, forcing the Saints to punt on their next possession. Following the punt, Staubach moved the Cowboys into scoring position again. Here, Staubach threads a needle past Saints cornerback Ernie Jackson, hitting receiver Golden Richards for a 1st down inside the New Orleans 10-yard line:


A false-start penalty and two incomplete passes later, had the Cowboys faced a 3rd and goal from the 13-yard line. This time Staubach found Preston Pearson, who broke out of the backfield and caught Staubach's pass over the middle for a touchdown. The score concluded a 7-play, 78-yard drive and gave Dallas its first lead of the game at 17-14, as the 1st half ended.



This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 24 2009, 02:23 PM

New Orleans vs. Dallas (cont.)

The heavily-favored Cowboys found that they had their hands full with the Saints, with a halftime score certainly reflecting accurately just how close the game was. Dallas did get the ball first in the 2nd half, and hoped to keep the momentum going and expand their small lead. And to the Saints' credit, they would not go away quietly. On the 3rd play from scrimmage, Staubach committed his first major error, and the first turnover of the game, when his pass intended for Drew Pearson was intercepted by Clarence Chapman, giving the Saints possession inside Cowboys' territory:


The Saints couldn't reach the endzone, but did convert the turnover into points as Rich Szaro kicked a 26-yard field goal to tie the game at 17-17. The fickle Texas Stadium crowd was growing anxious. Preston Pearson, however, helped get the crowd back into the game and on the Cowboys' side. The Cowboys would answer the Saints with a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive, with Pearson accounting for 37 of those 80 yards:


Pearson capped things off with a 15-yard touchdown run to give Dallas some breathing room at 24-17 as the 3rd quarter ended:


The Cowboys defense had now taken control of the game and had finally figured out Manning and the Saints. Here, Lee Roy Jordan stops Henry Childs just short of the first down marker, forcing another Saints' punt as the clock ticked away:


Dallas again established another time-consuming drive in the 4th quarter, hoping to extend their lead. Golden Richards made a big reception on the drive, catching this long pass from Staubach that covered 35 yards:


Fullback Robert Newhouse concluded the 8-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Dallas a commanding 31-17 lead with 8:22 remaining in the game:


The Saints would not give up. Don Herrmann, a guy not known for having great speed, but again showing some deceptive moves, gets behind Benny Barnes and pulls down a 35-yard pass completion from Manning:


A few plays later, the Saints reach the endzone as Henry Childs scores for the Saints on a 7-yard pass play, making it once again a 7-point ballgame at 31-24:


With 3:44 still to play, the Cowboys ate up the clock with Pearson, Newhouse, and Dennison sharing the load. Time had run out on the Saints and their season. Staubach takes a kneal-down as the final seconds tick off:


The Saints, who started out strong, could only manage 90 total yards in the 2nd half. Preston Pearson led the way for Dallas, rushing for 110 yards on 25 carries. Credit to the Saints, however, for keeping the Cowboys off of their quarterback as the Cowboys registered zero sacks on Manning. Childs was the top producer for the Saints, catching 6 passes for 84 yards and the late touchdown. Manning was 15 of 25. Chuck Muncie, after a few big runs early, was basically held in check by the Dallas defense, gaining 74 yards on 26 carries.

The Cowboys now move on to the NFC Championship and will host their old division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, with a trip to Pasadena and Super Bowl XI on the line.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ROUND

AFC Championship Game Matchup


NFC Championship Game Matchup


This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 24 2009, 03:06 PM

AFC Championship

Baltimore Colts (14-3) vs. Oakland Raiders (16-1)

The Colts and Raiders would face off again in a rematch of their week 15 battle in Oakland, won by the Raiders 26-17. The Raiders are coming off a convincing home playoff win over New England, while the Colts toughed it out in a thrilling last-second win over the Steelers in the divisional playoff round. The Raiders and Colts were ranked number one and number two in the NFL in total offense, respectively, during the '76 season. For the Raiders, it is their 4th straight appearance in the AFC title game, having lost in the prior 3 tries. They are attempting to reach the Super Bowl for the 2nd time in franchise history, and 1st time in 9 seasons. Meanwhile, the Colts are in their first AFC title game in 5 seasons, and are hoping to earn their 3rd trip to the Super Bowl.

The cool 58-degree day in the bay area was perfect for football. Although both teams were known for their high-powered offenses, it was the defenses that would rise to the occasion in this title game, at least for much of the afternoon. The Raiders had first possession and immediately went 3-and-out, while the Colts didn't fare much better, although did gain a couple of first downs before having to punt themselves, still early in the quarter. Here Lydell Mitchell has difficulty even reaching the line of scrimmage as he is met head-on by Otis Sistrunk:


The Raiders were able to get things going on their 2nd possession. Ken Stabler converted 3 straight 3rd down attempts with passes to Dave Casper and Fred Biletnikoff. In addition, fullback Mark van Eeghen and tailback Clarence Davis found some success between the tackles. Here, Davis leaps over would-be tacklers as he gains 14 yards and a first down:


The 14-play, 64-yard drive stalled around the Colts' 13-yard line when Erroll Mann came in and kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead with just over 2 minutes remaining in the opening period. Baltimore would continue to struggle, and would only manage 3 first downs and 70 yards in total offense during the game's first half. Bert Jones was hurried and pressured all afternoon, while the Colts' receivers were finding the going tough over the middle. On this play, Roger Carr cannot hold onto the football after a jarring hit by "the Assassin" Jack Tatum:


The Colts defense kept the pressure on the Raiders offense, as well however. Here, Stabler is forced into an intentional grounding penalty as he faces an oncoming rush with no one open downfield:


Although it was largely a game controlled the by defenses, a big play would finally emerge that would give the Raiders some separation from the Colts as the game approached halftime. With still over 8 minutes to go in the half, Stabler hit Cliff Branch on a short curl pattern from his own 26-yard line. The Colts' Nelson Munsey came up and tried to tackle him high and missed as Branch ducked and then raced the remaining 74 yards giving Oakland a 10-0 lead:

Image downsized - click on the image to get an original view


For the remainder of the half, the two teams traded some vicious hits, with neither able to establish a field position advantage. Here, Roosevelt Leaks leads the way for Mitchell, throwing a devastating block on blitzing linebacker Ted Hendricks, and allowing Mitchell a rare decent gain against the Raiders D:


The Colts wouldn't go far, however. Here, Dave Rowe registers one of his three sacks on Bert Jones, throwing him for a 5-yard loss:


The Raiders came close to scoring again before the half, moving the ball down to the Colts' 33-yard line. However, Clarence Davis caught a Stabler pass down the middle and could not get down or out-of-bounds in time for the Raiders to re-set again, and spike the ball, as they had no timeouts remaining. Thus the half came to an end with Oakland maintaining a 10-0 lead:

Baltimore vs. Oakland (cont.)

The 2nd half got underway with the Raiders outgaining the Colts 211-70 in total yardage, and 8 first downs vs. only 3 for Baltimore. Still, it seemed like the Raiders should've been ahead by many more points than they were at this point. The 3rd quarter played out much as the previous two quarters did, with neither offense able to establish much rhythm. It was finally with about 4 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, when Baltimore finally caught a break. With the Raiders on offense, Stabler handed off to Pete Banaszak on a draw play, who burst through the middle, only to be caught from behind and stripped of the football by Joe Ehrmann. Ray Oldham recovered the fumble for Baltimore, giving the Colts a 1st down in Oakland territory at the 47-yard line:


As before, the Raiders defense would allow the Colts little penetration. Three straight plays garnered 9 yards and forced a 4th-down and short. Colts' head coach Ted Marchibroda made a controversial decision to forego the 4th down attempt, and to have Toni Linhart try a long 55-yard field goal to get Baltimore on the scoreboard:


Linhart's kick hit the crossbar, bounced out, and was no-good. The 3rd quarter came to an end with Oakland still ahead 10-0. Through three quarters, the Colts had been held to only 97 yards in total offense, 4 first downs, and only 21 yards on the ground. Still, the Raiders offense could not take advantage and the game remained in reach for Baltimore.

The Colts would get the ball back with about 10 minutes remaining to play. Bert Jones finally hooked up on a long gain to his big-play receiver, Roger Carr. Carr's 27-yard gain gave the Colts a first down inside the Raider 25-yard line, their closest penetration of the entire game:


A play later, tight end Raymond Chester paid the price of catching the ball over the middle, as he gets the forearm to the chin from Skip Thomas:


With just under 9 minutes to play, and facing a 4th-and-inches from the 18-yard line, Marchibroda decided this time to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Luckily for the head coach, the gamble paid off. Don McCauley took Jones' handoff and broke free off right tackle for an 18-yard touchdown run to finally get the Colts on the scoreboard:


With 8:45 remaining, the Colts were now within 3 points of the Raiders after having been dominated and shut out the entire game. The Raiders and their fans were now feeling the pressure. Three straight years, the Raiders had reached this point in the season, and had failed. Now, holding on to a slim lead, it seemed as though it was slipping from them again. Oakland went 3-and-out on the next possession, and the Colts had definitely gained the momentum.

Baltimore took over at their own 20-yard line following a touchback on Ray Guy's punt. There was now just over 5 minutes remaining to play. Here, Bert Jones dives for the first down marker to keep the chains moving:


For the first time all day, the Colts moved the ball with precision down the field, and burned precious time off the clock in doing so. Taking their time running the football, the Colts moved into Oakland territory as the 2-minute warning came and went. A big pass to Freddie Scott move the Colts closer, down to the Raiders' 15-yard line as the clock continued to wind down. At a minimum, it appeared the Colts were setting themselves up for a game-tying field goal and possible overtime. Then on a 2nd-down and 7, at the Oakland 11-yard line, Bert Jones went back to throw, and facing an all-out blitz, threw off his back foot and hit his tight end Raymond Chester, who leaped into the air and pulled it down with only :52 seconds remaining, giving the Colts their first lead of the game at 14-10:


The Raiders were stunned and the capacity crowd at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was suddently silent. Chester, a former Raider, had given Baltimore the lead after the Colts had been dominated for three quarters.

Still, there was time left for the Raiders to try and get back downfield as they had all three of their time-outs remaining. Their hopes were dashed, however, only two plays later, when Stabler's pass intended for Branch was intercepted by Nelson Munsey, clinching the unlikely win for Baltimore:


The Colts ran out the clock and celebrated a 14-10 come-from-behind win at Oakland, earning them a trip to Pasadena:


Bert Jones ended up 14 of 27 for only 152 yards, but had no picks, and his touchdown throw to Chester won the game for Baltimore. The Raiders' Mark van Eeghen was held to only 42 yards rushing on 21 attempts, while Stabler was 14 of 26 for 192 yards, a touchdown, and the one interception that sealed the game.

For the Raiders, it was the ultimate disappointment following a 15-1 season. They have now lost 4 straight AFC title games going back to the 1973 season, while the Colts return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1970 season when they beat Dallas 16-13, under head coach Don McCafferty.

This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 27 2009, 03:05 PM

Check out John Matuszak on pass coverage against Raymond Chester
That mismatch was exploited for the game-winner!

NFC Championship

St. Louis Cardinals (13-5) vs. Dallas Cowboys (14-3)

At Texas Stadium, the Cardinals and Cowboys meet with the winner earning the right to play the Colts in Super Bowl XI. For St. Louis, it is their first NFC title game appearance in franchise history, while the Cowboys are playing in the NFC title game for the 8th time in 11 seasons, and hoping to win for the 4th time. The Cowboys survived a tough battle with the surprising Saints in the divisional playoff round, winning 31-24 thanks to a great performance by Preston Pearson who combined for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Cardinals went to Detroit and beat the Lions 34-13, thanks to special teams play and a record-setting performance by Terry Metcalf, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. The number-one ranked Dallas defense will again be tested by a high-powered offense led by Jim Hart and Metcalf.

The Cowboys won the coin toss, and began on offense at their own 28-yard line following Butch Johnson's kickoff return. On the game's first play, Staubach went back to throw and hit Golden Richards for 16 yards up to the 44-yard line:


On the very next play, Doug Dennison took Staubach's handoff, ran untouched through a hole off left tackle, and went the complete distance - 56 yards - to put the Cowboys up early, 7-0:


It was the 2nd straight week that Dennison scored on a long run for the Cowboys. The Cards were stopped on their initial possession, after gaining a few first downs and appearing as if they might be moving in to Cowboys' territory for a score. Here, a pass down the middle to Metcalf on 3rd down is broken up by Cowboys' safeties Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris, forcing a punt:


After forcing the Cowboys to punt, the Cards again began moving the ball downfield as Jim Hart found tight end J.V. Cain on a 19-yard gain down to the Cowboys' 47-yard line. A couple plays later, Metcalf runs up the middle and into the Dallas secondary for another first down on an 8-yard gain:


Six plays later on a 2nd down and goal from the 2-yard line, Metcalf finishes the drive with a touchdown run around the right end to tie the game at 7-7:


As the first period came to close, Staubach responded for Dallas as he engineered a quick 6-play, 58-yard drive, that included two big pass plays, the first to Drew Pearson for 19 yards:


Then, on 2nd down and 8 from the St. Louis 19-yard line, Staubach found tight end Billy Joe DuPree in the corner of the endzone, who made a leaping grab over defensive back Ken Reaves to give Dallas a 14-7 lead:


The Cowboys continued to pressure Jim Hart and did a good job overall of keeping Metcalf from being a major factor, despite some earlier big plays. After forcing the Cardinals to punt, the Cowboys took over with just under 10:00 remaining in the 1st half. This time, Dallas took their time with a sustained drive that lasted 12 plays and gained 46 yards before stalling at the Cardinal 21-yard line. Drew Pearson, again, had a big pass reception, this one in front of cornerback Roger Wehrli to convert a 3rd down and keep the drive going:


This led to Efren Herrera's 39-yard field goal to extend Dallas' lead to 17-7 with just under five minutes remaining until halftime. Dallas would add to their lead again just before the half. A long pass of 40 yards down the right sideline from Staubach to Richards gave the Cowboys a first down at the Cardinals' 23-yard line as the clock ticked down:


With only :14 seconds left in the half, Herrera kicked his second field goal of the game, extending Dallas' lead to 20-7 as the half ended:


This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 27 2009, 02:47 PM

Oops!! Forgot to include the box score for the Baltimore-Oakland game. It's up now.

St. Louis vs. Dallas (cont.)

The defenses took over the 3rd quarter with neither team able to establish a sustained drive until late in the quarter, when the Cards finally found some success. Here, Mel Gray runs downfield away from Benny Barnes on a 36-yard pass play:


This set up Jim Bakken's 51-yard field goal that cut Dallas' lead to 10 points at 20-10 with just under a minute to play in the 3rd quarter. Staubach and Cowboys responded again. Here, Staubach throws another long pass to Richards, who makes an over-the-shoulder catch that covers 38 yards and gives the Cowboys a first down in St. Louis territory as the 3rd quarter comes to a close:


Richards' play eventually led to another Herrera field goal that extended Dallas' lead now to 23-10 with under nine minutes to play in the game. Now the Cowboys began to work the clock. Following a St. Louis punt, Dallas went to the running game almost exclusively. Dennison's 17-yard run put the Cowboys again in St. Louis territory:


The Cardinals defense at least kept the Cowboys out of the endzone again, forcing a long field goal attempt by Efren Herrera of 53 yards. Herrera, however, would not be denied his 4th field goal of the game, as his kick just sailed over the crossbar giving Dallas a 26-10 lead with 6:37 left to play.

As he attempts to lead a comeback, Jim Hart's pass attempt to Jackie Smith is knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Ed "Too Tall" Jones:


Here, Jones again harrasses Hart into an incompletion:


Hart and the Cardinals overcame these setbacks and drove down the field in the final minutes, scoring with 1:26 remaing on a touchdown throw of 13 yards to Mel Gray:


It was too little, too late for the Cardinals. A 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, as was the onside kick attempt that followed. Dallas emerged as the winner, 26-16:


Staubach finished 15 of 26 for 195 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once. Hart had similar stats, completing 16 of 30 for 216 yards and a touchdown as well. But Hart was playing from behind for much of the game. The Cowboys' Doug Dennison was the game's leading rusher with 79 yards on only 5 carries, while the Cards' Terry Metcalf was held in check, gaining only 70 yards on 23 attempts.

The Cowboys will now travel to Pasadena and Super Bowl XI where they will face Bert Jones and the Baltimore Colts. It will be the first Super Bowl rematch (now there's some alternate history for ya. ), as the two franchises had met 6 years before in Miami with the Colts winning that game, 16-13.

MATCHUP



1976 Results:

This post has been edited by Leeman67 on Sep 27 2009, 06:43 PM

Alright Leeman, here's the deal. If you need any help modding any stadium of your choice for the Super Bowl, let me know. Personally, I have a pretty hectic schedule this week but if you're not looking to sim the Super Bowl ASAP, I can help you out sometime Thursday and Friday. Hell, I'm willing to pull an all nighter and sleep in school if it ever goes there. It's the Super Bowl and it would be a shame if you couldn't get the atmosphere, let alone the stadium, to be as historically accurate as possible.