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| Roger Staubach would come off the bench to throw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 1972 NFC Divisional Playoff game. |
Roger Staubach has many nicknames such as "Roger The Dodger" because of his scrambling abilities as well as "Captain America" thanks to his service in the United States Naval Academy during the 1960s.
But perhaps Staubach's most famous moniker is "Captain Comeback" which he earned for his ability to lead the Dallas Cowboys to numerous come-from-behind victories during his 11-year NFL career.
Many experts will point to Dallas' comeback from a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter of the Cowboys' 1972 NFC Divisional Playoff against the San Francisco 49ers as the day "Captain Comeback" was born.
The Cowboys were the defending Super Bowl champions and were hoping to go back-to-back as the team entered the playoff as the NFC's Wild Card(there were four playoff teams per conference in 1972) with a 10-4 record.
It had been a bit of a tumultous season as Staubach sat on the bench for the majority of the season because of a separated shoulder he suffered during the preseason while Duane Thomas the team's leading rusher from the year before was traded to the San Diego Chargers before the '72 season began.
In Staubach's place was Craig Morton, who had led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl in 1970 and Calvin Hill, father of future NBA great Grant Hill, who rushed for over 1,000 yards during the '72 season.
While Staubach was now healthy as the playoffs began, head coach Tom Landry decided to stick with Morton as the starting quarterback as the Cowboys traveled to Candlestick Park to take on the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers had made the playoffs for the third straight year as they once again won the NFC West division as San Francisco finished with a 8-5-1 record despite having their starting quarterback John Brodie missed most of the regular season with an ankle injury.
Brodie would come off the bench in the 49ers' regular season finale to lead San Francisco back from a 17-6 4th quarter deficit to throw two touchdown passes to give the Niners a 20-17 and a third straight NFC West title.
The 49ers were hoping this would be the year they could finally beat the Cowboys in the playoffs as San Francisco had fallen to Dallas 17-10 in the 1970 NFC Championship Game, then again 14-3 in the 1971 NFC Championship Game.
It did not take long for the fireworks to begin as the 49ers' Vic Washington returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game.
The Cowboys would start their initial possession of the game at their 32-yard-line as they would drive down to the San Francisco primarily on the legs of Hill, who carried six times for 31 yards to set up a 37-yard field goal by Toni Fritsch to cut the 49ers' lead to 7-3 with 11 minutes left in the first quarter.
After both teams traded punts, the 49ers got the ball at their six-yard-line as two running plays gained five yards to set up 3rd & 5 when Brodie hit Gene Washington for a 52-yard completion to give San Francisco a 1st down at the Dallas 37-yard-line.
However on 2nd & 1 at the 28-yard-line, Brodie threw a pass toward the end zone intended for Gene, only to have Cowboys cornerback Charlie Waters intercept the pass to give the ball back to Dallas at its one-yard-line.
The Cowboys would drive to their 23-yard-line until Morton fumbled the ball after he was hit by 49ers strong safety Windlan Hall leading to a recovery by defensive end Tommy Hart to give San Francisco the ball at the Dallas 15-yard-line with 39 seconds left in the opening period.
The 49ers would keep it on the ground as they ran six straight running plays with Larry Schreiber carrying the ball five times for 10 yards with the last carry being an one-yard touchdown on a 4th down & goal to increase the San Francisco lead to 14-3 with 12:30 to go in the second quarter.
Things would get worse for the Cowboys on their ensuing possession when Morton was intercepted by 49ers linebacker Skip Vanderbundt to give San Francisco the ball back at the Dallas 32-yard-line.
Five plays later, the 49ers were back in the end zone as Schreiber punched it in for another one-yard touchdown to increase make it 21-3 in favor of San Francisco with 9:09 left in the second quarter.
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| 49ers running back Larry Schrieber would only run for 52 yards on 26 carries, but scored three touchdowns. |
Following a 33-yard kickoff return by Cliff Harris, the Cowboys would start their next possession at their 39-yard-line as Dallas would drive 23 yards in six plays to set up a 45-yard field goal by Fritsch to cut the 49ers' lead to 21-6 with 7:09 remaining before halftime.
The "Doomsday Defense" would force a three-and-out to give the Cowboys' offense the ball at the 49ers' 48-yard-line as it took Dallas six plays to get into the end zone as Morton found Lance Altworth for a 28-yard touchdown to cut the 49ers' lead to 21-13 with 1:57 left in the first half.
The 49ers would run out the clock to end the first half still holding on to a 21-13 lead but set to go on defense to start the second half as the Cowboys would get the ball at their 20-yard-line for their inital possession of the second half.
However, Dallas would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the 49ers, who took over at their 29-yard-line as Brodie completed a 23-yard pass to Preston Riley to put San Francisco at the Dallas 48-yard-line.
Five plays later, the 49ers attempted a 40-yard field goal but Bruce Gossett would sail the kick wide left and no good, giving the ball back to the Cowboys, who took over at their 20-yard-line(No matter the distance, a team would begin their possession after a missed field goal at their 20-yard-line).
The Cowboys would drive to their 41-yard-line until Morton threw a pass intended for Billy Parks, only to have the ball bounce off Parks' hands and into the hands of Vanderbundt for another interception to give the 49ers the ball at their 47-yard-line.
Dallas would force another three-and-out to get the ball back at their five-yard-line only to give it right back to the 49ers one play later as Hill lost the football after he was hit by 49ers defensive tackle Charlie Krueger leading to a recovery by Hall at the Dallas one-yard-line.
It would take the 49ers one play to get into the end zone as Schreiber ran it in for another touchdown to push the San Francisco lead to 28-13 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Cowboys would start their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Morton hit Ron Sellers for 11 yards to start the drive which was followed by a 19-yard run by Hill to put Dallas at the 50-yard-line needing a score of some kind.
But Morton would throw three straight incomplete passes to force another Dallas punt to the 49ers who took over at their 20-yard-line.
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| Craig Morton would be benched after throwing for only 96 yards and committing three turnovers. |
After Vic Washington ran for 22 yards to start the drive, the "Doomsday Defense" would stiffen to force another San Francisco punt to give their offense the ball at their 11-yard-line with 1:48 to go in the third quarter.
That is when Landry inserted Staubach into the game to take over for Morton in hopes of saving the Cowboys' season.
The drive got off to a good start as Staubach hit Parks for 27 yards and a 1st down at the Dallas 38-yard-line only to have Staubach be sacked for a 10-yard-loss on the next play, then fumble the football following a hit by defensive tackle Bob Hoskins as linebacker Dave Wilcox recovered the loose ball at the Cowboys' 31-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end.
The 49ers would pick up just six yards on three plays forcing them to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt by Gossett but once again the kick would sail wide left and no good to keep the score 28-13 just 95 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Cowboys got the ball at their 20-yard-line when Hill bursted loose for a 48-yard run to put Dallas at the 49ers' 32-yard-line in hopes of getting a score of some kind in hopes of winning the game.
The Cowboys would pick up one more 1st down before settling for a 27-yard field goal by Fritsch to trim the 49ers' lead to 28-16 with 8:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys would force another three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 17-yard-line as Staubach completed three straight passes for 27 yards to put Dallas at its 44-yard-line when a quarterback sack and two incomplete passes would force another Cowboys punt.
Despite forcing another three-and-out, it seemed hopeless for the Cowboys as they still needed two touchdowns and had only 2:02 left in the game.
That is when Staubach caught fire as he completed back-to-back passes to Garrison for 16 yards which was followed by a 19-yard pass to Parks to put Dallas at the 49ers' 20-yard-line when Staubach fired a pass for Parks in the end zone, who made the catch for the touchdown to cut the 49ers' lead to 28-23 with 90 seconds left in the game.
Now the Cowboys needed to recover the onside kick on the ensuing kickoff to keep their chances of victory alive when Fritsch used a soccer technique to help his team get the football.
As Fritsch came to kick the ball, it looked like he was going to kick it to the left side with his left foot, only for Toni to plant and kick the ball with his right leg or in soccer terms he pulled out a "rabona" to the right side toward Preston Riley could not recover the bouncing ball as Cowboys cornerback Mel Renfro would make the recovery at the 50-yard-line.
Staubach would then scramble for 21 yards to the 49ers' 29-yard-line where he connected with Parks again this time for 19 yards to give Dallas a 1st and goal at the San Francisco 10-yard-line when Roger fired a pass over the middle for Ron Sellers, who made the catch near the goalpost for the touchdown to give the Cowboys a 30-28 lead with 52 seconds left.
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| Ron Sellers would make the game-winning touchdown catch to complete the Cowboys' comeback from a 15-point 4th quarter deficit. |
After giving up two touchdowns in a span of 38 seconds, the 49ers would get the ball back at their 29-yard-line with a chance to drive down into field goal range.
Brodie would throw two incomplete passes to start the drive then tossed an eight-yard pass to Schreiber to set up 4th & 2 when the 1970 NFL MVP found Vic Washington for eight yards and a 1st down at the San Francisco 45-yard-line.
On the next play, it looked that Brodie had put the 49ers in field goal range as he completed a 23-yard pass to Riley, only to have it called back because of an holding penalty, which pushed San Francisco back 15 yards to its 30-yard-line where Brodie would be picked off by Waters, whose second interception of the game allowed for Staubach to run out the clock to allow the Cowboys to come away with the shocking 30-28 win.
The third consecutive playoff loss to the Cowboys not only ended the 49ers' season but also closed their Super Bowl window as San Francisco would miss the playoffs in 1973 after a 5-9 season, which was the last season for Brodie who retried after 17 seasons.
The 49ers would have only one winning season until 1981 when San Francisco won the first of their five Super Bowls in franchise history.
As for the Cowboys, they earned a trip to the nation's capital to take on the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game, with Staubach as the Dallas starting quarterback.
However, the Cowboys could not keep the momentum from the San Francisco comeback going as they were trounced 26-3 to end the ' 72 season.
The Cowboys would move forward with Staubach as their starting quarterback as Dallas would make the playoffs in six of their next seven seasons which included three trips to the Super Bowl and a win in Super Bowl XII over the Denver Broncos at the end of the 1977 season.
Staubach's reputation as "Captain Comeback" would continue to grow as he lead the Cowboys to 20 game winning drives in the 4th quarter with 15 of those drives coming in the final two minutes or overtime until his retirement after the 1979 season.
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