NFL game summary for 10/17/1976:
Greg Pruitt rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns as the Browns dealt Falcons' coach Pat Peppler a defeat in his NFL debut. Pruitt scored Cleveland's first TD on a one-yard run and his 64-yard dash in the second quarter set up Willie Miller's touchdown for a 14-0 Browns lead. Kim McQuilken tied the game 14-14 with 23 seconds left in the half on an 18-yard touchdown pass to John Gilliam and the Falcons went ahead 17-14 on a third quarter field goal. Pruitt scored the winning TD on the final play of the third quarter.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 141.8 (14) | 196.2 (6) | 338.0 (9) | 13 |
| DEFENSE | 126.2 (8) | 149.0 (10) | 275.2 (8) | 11 | |
 | OFFENSE | 120.4 (26) | 114.0 (23) | 234.4 (26) | 18 |
| DEFENSE | 169.4 (22) | 113.0 (3) | 282.4 (10) | 13 |
Line: Browns by 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns (3-3-0) | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| Atlanta Falcons (1-5-0) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
( 7- 0) CLE Greg Pruitt 1 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
(14- 0) CLE Cleo Miller 1 yard rush (Don Cockroft kick)
(14- 7) ATL Bubba Bean 23 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
(14-14) ATL John Gilliam 18 yard pass from Kim McQuilken (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
(14-17) ATL Nick Mike-Mayer 33 yard field goal
(20-17) CLE Greg Pruitt 2 yard rush (run failed)
CLE ATL
First Downs: 23 13
Rushes-yards: 57-321 26-89
Yards/rush: 5.6 3.4
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 12-18-134-2 15-28-180-1
Sacked-yards: 2-23 1-11
Net pass yards: 111 169
Net yards/pass: 5.5 5.8
Total net yards: 432 258
Total plays: 77 (74% run) 55 (47% run)
Yards/play: 5.6 4.7
Fumbles-lost: 4-1 0-0
Turnovers: 3 1
Penalties-yards: 6-59 4-22
Attendance: 32,837
Passing:
CLE: Brian Sipe, 12 of 18 for 134 yards (2 int) ATL: Kim McQuilken, 15 of 28 for 180 yards and 1 TD (1 int)
Rushing:
CLE: Greg Pruitt, 26 for 191 yards and 2 TDs; Cleo Miller, 22 for 82 yards and 1 TD; Brian Sipe, 5 for 25 yards; Larry Poole, 3 for 23 yards; Mike Phipps, 1 for 0 yards ATL: Bubba Bean, 14 for 54 yards and 1 TD; Woody Thompson, 8 for 23 yards; Kim McQuilken, 2 for 9 yards; Haskel Stanback, 2 for 3 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Paul Warfield, 4 for 69 yards; Reggie Rucker, 3 for 31 yards; Greg Pruitt, 3 for 21 yards; Oscar Roan, 1 for 11 yards; Cleo Miller, 1 for 2 yards ATL: Alfred Jenkins, 6 for 74 yards; John Gilliam, 3 for 38 yards and 1 TD; Woody Thompson, 3 for 12 yards; Jim Mitchell, 2 for 47 yards; Bubba Bean, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Steve Holden, 2 for 51 yards; Brian Duncan, 1 for 24 yards ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 2 for 60 yards; Rick Byas, 2 for 46 yards
Punt returns:
CLE: Ricky Feacher, 2 for 35 yards; Steve Holden, 2 for 19 yards ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 3 for 23 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 13 yards ATL: Frank Reed, 1 for 6 yards; Ray Easterling, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 4 for 152 yards ATL: John James, 8 for 328 yards
Field Goals:
ATL: Nick Mike-Mayer, 1/1
CLE: Brian Sipe, 12 of 18 for 134 yards (2 int) ATL: Kim McQuilken, 15 of 28 for 180 yards and 1 TD (1 int)
Rushing:
CLE: Greg Pruitt, 26 for 191 yards and 2 TDs; Cleo Miller, 22 for 82 yards and 1 TD; Brian Sipe, 5 for 25 yards; Larry Poole, 3 for 23 yards; Mike Phipps, 1 for 0 yards ATL: Bubba Bean, 14 for 54 yards and 1 TD; Woody Thompson, 8 for 23 yards; Kim McQuilken, 2 for 9 yards; Haskel Stanback, 2 for 3 yards
Receiving:
CLE: Paul Warfield, 4 for 69 yards; Reggie Rucker, 3 for 31 yards; Greg Pruitt, 3 for 21 yards; Oscar Roan, 1 for 11 yards; Cleo Miller, 1 for 2 yards ATL: Alfred Jenkins, 6 for 74 yards; John Gilliam, 3 for 38 yards and 1 TD; Woody Thompson, 3 for 12 yards; Jim Mitchell, 2 for 47 yards; Bubba Bean, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CLE: Steve Holden, 2 for 51 yards; Brian Duncan, 1 for 24 yards ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 2 for 60 yards; Rick Byas, 2 for 46 yards
Punt returns:
CLE: Ricky Feacher, 2 for 35 yards; Steve Holden, 2 for 19 yards ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 3 for 23 yards
Interceptions:
CLE: Thom Darden, 1 for 13 yards ATL: Frank Reed, 1 for 6 yards; Ray Easterling, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
CLE: Don Cockroft, 4 for 152 yards ATL: John James, 8 for 328 yards
Field Goals:
ATL: Nick Mike-Mayer, 1/1