NFL Old School Game of the Week: Captain Comeback + Cowboys Conquer Colts

Roger Staubach completed 22 of 28 passes for 339 yards and threw two touchdowns.

 By the time the 1976 NFL season rolled around, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach had established himself as one of the league's clutch quarterbacks.

Thanks to his performance in coming off the bench to lead the Cowboys back from a 15-point deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the 1972 NFC Divisional Playoffs then his famous "Hail Mary" a 50-yard touchdown pass to  Drew Pearson in the final seconds of the Cowboys' 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings, Staubach garnered the nickname "Captain Comeback".

"Captain Comeback" would be needed once again when the Cowboys hosted the Baltimore Colts in week 3 of the 1976 NFL season.

The Cowboys came into the game having gotten off to a 2-0 start under head coach Tom Landry, who had lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in the last six years with Dallas going 1-2.

Staubach had been the backup for the Cowboys initial Super Bowl appearance, a 16-13 heartbreaker to the Colts in Super Bowl V, then was the starter in leading Dallas to a 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, then four years later in a 21-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X.

While the Cowboys had established themselves as one of the NFL's elite, the Colts were seen as a time on the rise early in the 1976 season.

Following three consecutive losing seasons from 1972 through 1974, the Colts turned it around in 1975 as they went 10-4 under first-year head coach Ted Marchibroda in a season that would become known as the "Miracle on 33rd Street" by Colts fans(The Colts played at Memorial Stadium which was on 33rd Street).

With a young core of players including quarterback Bert Jones and running back Lydell Mitchell, the Colts got off to a 2-0 start before they traveled to Texas to take on the Cowboys in a much-anticipated early season showdown.

After the Colts went three-and-out to start the game, the Cowboys got the ball at their seven-yard-line and proceed to drive to the Baltimore 27-yard-line in nine plays until they were faced with a 4th & 1 situation.

Instead of taking a field goal, Landry opted to go for the 1st down which backfired horribly as running back Doug Dennison fumbled the football which was recovered by Colts linebacker Stan White, whose 26-yard return of the fumble gave the Colts the ball at the Cowboys' 46-yard-line.

The Colts would drive to the Dallas 27-yard-line as they would settle for a 44-yard field goal attempt by Toni Linhart, whose kick was no good to give the ball back to the Cowboys at their 27-yard-line only to give it right back one play later as White recovered another fumble this time by Scott Laidlaw.

Seven plays later, the Colts were in the end zone as Roosevelt Leaks punched it in for a three-yard touchdown to give Baltimore a 7-0 lead with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Bert Jones is under pressure from Cowboys defensive tackle Harvey Martin

The Cowboys would get the ball back at their 17-yard-line as Laidlaw was dropped for an one-yard loss on 1st down, which was followed by passes of 12 yards from Staubach to Charley Young and 33 yards to Dennison to put Dallas at the Baltimore 39-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end.

When the second quarter began, Staubach handed the ball off to Dennison, who then handed the ball off to Pearson on an apparent reverse only for Pearson, a former quarterback at the University of Tulsa, stopped and fired a pass that was caught by Golden Richards for a 39-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game 7-7.

Both teams would trade punts until a little under five minutes to go in the second quarter when Laidlaw had his second fumble of the game which was recovered by Colts strong safety Bruce Laird to give Baltimore the ball at its 30-yard-line.

A 44-yard pass from Jones to running back Don McCauley would set up Jones' six-yard touchdown run to give the Colts a 14-7 lead with 2:38 left in the first half.

Following a Dallas punt, the Colts would get the ball back at their 33-yard-line with 88 seconds left before halftime as they looked to increase their lead.

The Colts were drive to the Dallas 36-yard-line until a holding penalty and a pair of incomplete passes would bring up a 4th & 20 situation where Jones completed a 23-yard pass to tight end Raymond Chester as time expired in the first half with Baltimore ahead 14-7.

The Cowboys would get the ball to start the second half as Staubach would connect with Pearson for a 12-yard completion to start the drive, then hit tight end Billy Joe Dupree for 20 yards on an eight-play, 42-yard drive that was capped off with a 37-yard field goal by Efren Herrera to cut the Baltimore lead to 14-10.

The Colts would respond with a 49-yard bomb from Jones to Roger Carr that would set up a a 30-yard field goal by Linhart that would push Baltimore's lead back to seven points at 17-10 midway through the third quarter.

Baltimore was set to get the ball back after forcing the Cowboys to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession until Howard Stevens muffed the punt which was recovered by Dallas linebacker Mike Hegman to give the Cowboys the ball at the Colts' 34-yard-line.

After two plays picked up just three yards, Staubach took a shot at the end zone and found Richards for a 31-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 17.

Golden Richards would catch only three passes but two of those were for touchdowns.

Following a Baltimore three-and-out, Dallas got the ball back at the Baltimore 44-yard-line as the Cowboys ran the ball three straight times for nine yards to set up another 4th & 1 situation.

Like he did in the first quarter, Landry decided to go for the 1st down which this time he got as Staubach snuck it across the middle for two yards and a 1st down at the Colts' 33-yard-line.

Staubach would then throw an incomplete pass on 1st down which was followed by a 12-yard completion to Preston Pearson to give the Cowboys a 1st down at the Baltimore 21-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.

The Cowboys would then run five straight running plays for a total of 20 yards to bring up 4th & goal at the Colts' one-yard-line when Landry sent in the field goal unit to attempt a 18-yard field goal which Herrera made to give Dallas its first lead of the game at 20-17.

The Colts would respond with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that took over six minutes to complete and did not end until McCauley punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give Baltimore a 24-20 lead with a little over six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Dallas would begin its ensuing possession at its 19-yard-line as Staubach connected with Preston Pearson for a 24-yard completion to start the drive then on 3rd & 7 found Dupree for eight yards and a 1st down at the Baltimore 38-yard-line.

That is when Staubach fired a pass toward the end zone that DuPree caught for a 38-yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 27-24 lead with 3:05 left in regulation.

After both teams went three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, the Colts had the ball at their 46 with 1:38 left in regulation for Baltimore to drive and at least kick a potential game-tying field goal.

The drive began with an incomplete pass followed by a pass interference penalty on the Cowboys to give the Colts a fresh set of downs at the 50-yard-line as Jones found Glenn Doughty and a 1st down at the Dallas 30-yard-line.

Jones would then connect with McCauley for nine yards then handed the ball off to Mitchell who picked up six yards for a 1st down at the Dallas 15-yard-line with less than a minute to go.

Colts running back Lydell Mitchell finished with 115 yards on 27 carries.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Jones lofted a pass that was too low for McCauley that if he could have caught might have been a touchdown as they were no Dallas players between McCauley and the end zone.

The Colts would settle for a field goal after a nine-yard scramble by Jones on 3rd down led to a 24-yard field goal by Linhart to tie the game at 27 with 28 seconds left in regulation.

Taking over at their 32-yard-line with 23 seconds left, many assumed the Cowboys would run out the clock and take the game into overtime.

However, that was not the case as Staubach threw a 16-yard pass to Drew Pearson to give Dallas a 1st down at the Dallas 48-yard-line.

This was followed by an incomplete pass intended for Richards which drew a pass interference penalty on Laird to give the Cowboys a 1st down at the Colts' 32-yard-line when Staubach went back to Drew Pearson for an 18-yard completion to put Dallas at the Baltimore 14-yard-line.

That is when Landry sent the field goal unit on to win the game as Herrera would make the 32-yard field goal to give Dallas a 30-27 lead with three seconds remaining.

The Colts could do nothing on the ensuing kickoff as the clock ran out with the Cowboys on top 30-27 following more late-game heroics by "Captain Comeback".

Baltimore would go on to finish the season with a 11-3 record, good enough to clinch their second straight AFC East division title as Jones would be named MVP after he finished with 3,104 passing yards and 24 touchdown passes.

However, the Colts would fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-14 in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs.

As for the Cowboys, they would also go on to finish the 1976 season with a 11-3 record as they won the NFC East division for the first time in 1973.

But like the Colts, the Cowboys would go out in the Divisional Round as they were stunned by the Los Angeles Rams 14-12.

Staubach would remain as the Cowboys' starting quarterback for the next three seasons as he would lead Dallas to another Super Bowl championship in 1977 as they defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII then back to the Super Bowl the following season where Dallas would fall to the Steelers 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII.

After his retirement following the 1979 season, Staubach finished with his career with 23 game-winning drives with 17 of those coming in the final two minutes or overtime.