1975–76 NFL playoffs
| Dates | December 27, 1975–January 18, 1976 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 8 | ||||
| Games played | 7 | ||||
| Defending champions | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| Champions | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| Runners-up | Dallas Cowboys | ||||
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The National Football League playoffs for the 1975 season began on December 27, 1975. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, 21–17, on January 18, 1976, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
This was the first season in which the league used a seeding system in the playoffs. Thus, the surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round. The three division champions in each conference were seeded 1 through 3 based on their regular season won-lost-tied record, and the wild card qualifier in each conference became the 4 seed.
However, the league continued to prohibit meetings between two teams from the same division in the Divisional Playoffs. Thus, there would be times when the pairing in that round would be the 1 seed vs. the 3 seed and 2 vs. 4.
Within each conference, the three division winners and one wild card team (the top non-division winner with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card team was seeded 4. The first round, the divisional playoffs, had a restriction where two teams from the same division could not meet: the surviving wild card team visited the division champion outside its own division that had the higher seed, and the remaining two teams from that conference played each other. The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the third and final round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
Despite losing 5 turnovers, the Steelers forced 3 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense, while Pittsburgh's Franco Harris shredded Baltimore's defense with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers scored first after linebacker Jack Ham's interception set up a 61-yard touchdown drive. Terry Bradshaw's 34-yard completion to receiver Frank Lewis paved the way for Harris' 8-yard scoring run. Baltimore responded in the second quarter when Lloyd Mumphord returned an interception 58 yards to set up Glenn Doughty's 5-yard touchdown catch from Marty Domres. Then Harris lost a fumble that was recovered by Colts defensive back Nelson Munsey on the Steelers 19, leading to Toni Linhart's 27-yard field goal that gave Baltimore a 10-7 lead going into halftime.
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