1972 – 73 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 1972 NFL season led up to Super Bowl VII . Like the previous NFL seasons , the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly divisional rotation , excluding the wild card teams who would always play on the road . Divisional playoffs . December 23 , 1972 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 13 , Oakland Raiders 7 . Steelers running back Franco Harris scored the winning touchdown on what became known as the Immaculate Reception . In a game that was mostly dominated by defense , the contest remained scoreless throughout the entire first half . In the second half , however , Pittsburgh kicker Roy Gerela kicked an 18 - yard field goal in the third quarter . He added a 29 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter to increase Pittsburgh ' s lead , 6 - 0 . But then Raiders backup quarterback Ken Stabler , who had replaced starter Daryle Lamonica , ran for a 30 - yard touchdown to give Oakland a 7 - 6 lead with 1 : 13 left in the game . Facing fourth and ten on their own 40 - yard line with 22 seconds left , Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw the ball toward fullback John " Frenchy " Fuqua . But the pass bounced off Raiders safety Jack Tatum and was caught by Harris , who then ran the rest of the way downfield to score a touchdown that gave the Steelers a 12 - 7 lead with five seconds left in the game . NFC : Dallas Cowboys 30 , San Francisco 49ers 28 . Backup quarterback Roger Staubach led the Cowboys to score 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 28 - 13 San Francisco lead . The 49ers jumped to a 7 - 0 early lead when Vic Washington returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown . Dallas cut the deficit to 7 - 3 with kicker Toni Fritsch ' s 37 - yard field goal , but a fumble by Cowboys starting quarterback Craig Morton set up Larry Schreiber ' s 1 - yard run . Schreiber scored another touchdown after a Morton interception , making it a 21 - 3 deficit . The Cowboys cut the deficit to 21 - 13 at halftime with Fritsch ' s 45 - yard field goal and Lance Alworth ' s 28 - yard touchdown reception . However , Schreiber scored his third touchdown of the game to increase San Francisco ' s lead , 28 - 13 , in the third period . Staubach replaced Morton and led the Cowboys to Fritsch ' s 27 - yard field goal . Then with less than two minutes remaining in the game , Staubach threw a 20 - yard touchdown to Billy Parks . Mel Renfro recovered the ensuing onside kick , and Ron Sellers scored the winning touchdown on a 10 - yard reception with 52 seconds left . Cowboys running back Calvin Hill finished the game with a career postseason high 125 rushing yards , and one reception for six yards . December 24 , 1972 . AFC : Miami Dolphins 20 , Cleveland Browns 14 . An 8 - yard rushing touchdown by Jim Kiick in the fourth quarter kept the Dolphins ' hopes alive for an undefeated season . Miami scored first in the opening quarter when Charlie Babb blocked a Cleveland punt , picked it up , and returned it for a touchdown . The Dolphins then increased their lead to 10 - 0 with kicker Garo Yepremian ' s 40 - yard field goal . But in the third quarter , Cleveland ' s Mike Phipps scored on a 5 - yard touchdown run . Then after Yepremian added another field goal , Phipps threw a 27 - yard touchdown pass to Fair Hooker to give the Browns the lead , 14 - 13 . The Dolphins then marched 80 yards to set up Kiick ' s winning touchdown , aided by Paul Warfield ' s 10 - and 15 - yard receptions , and a pass interference penalty . Miami intercepted 5 of Phipps ' passes . NFC : Washington Redskins 16 , Green Bay Packers 3 . Using a five - man defensive line , the Redskins limited the Packers to only a field goal and held Green Bay running back John Brockington ( who rushed for 1 , 027 yards during the season ) to just 9 yards on 13 carries . Meanwhile , Washington kicker Curt Knight scored 3 field goals , while running back Larry Brown rushed for 101 yards . The Packers scored first on Chester Marcol ' s 17 - yard field goal in the second quarter . But then Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer threw a 32 - yard touchdown pass to Roy Jefferson . With 33 seconds left in the first half , Knight kicked a 42 - yard field goal to give Washington a 10 - 3 halftime lead . The Redskins then dominated the second half , with Knight adding two more field goals . Conference championships . December 31 , 1972 . AFC Championship : Miami Dolphins 21 , Pittsburgh Steelers 17 . The Dolphins continued their unbeaten streak by scoring two touchdowns in the second half . The Steelers scored first after Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw ' s fumble rolled into the Miami end zone , and was recovered by offensive lineman Gerry Mullins . Unfortunately for the Steelers , Bradshaw was injured on play and did not return until the fourth quarter . The Dolphins tied the game after punter Larry Seiple 37 - yard run on a fake punt set up Larry Csonka ' s 9 - yard touchdown catch . In the third quarter , kicker Roy Gerela ' s 14 - yard field goal gave Pittsburgh a 10 - 7 lead . Quarterback Bob Griese , who had been sidelined with a broken leg for 10 weeks , replaced starter Earl Morrall , and threw a 52 - yard pass to Paul Warfield to set up a Jim Kiick 2 - yard touchdown run . Griese led the Dolphins on a 49 - yard drive to score on a Jim Kiick 3 - yard touchdown run . While Bradshaw returned with about 7 minutes left the game and threw a 12 - yard touchdown pass , he also threw two interceptions to Miami linebackers Nick Buoniconti and Mike Kolen . NFC Championship : Washington Redskins 26 , Dallas Cowboys 3 . Charley Taylor led the Redskins to the victory by recording 7 receptions for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns . Meanwhile , Washington limited Dallas to only a field goal , and prevented the Cowboys from crossing midfield in the entire second half . However , the game seemed close before the final period . After the first quarter was scoreless , the Redskins jumped to a 10 - 0 lead with kicker Curt Knight ' s 18 - yard field goal and Taylor ' s 15 - yard touchdown . However , the halftime score was 10 - 3 and neither team scored in the third quarter . But Taylor ' s 45 - yard touchdown and Knight ' s three field goals in the fourth period broke the game open .