FILE - In this Nov. 23, 1970, file photo, Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr (15) looks for a receiver as Minnesota Vikings' Alan Page (88) charges him and Carl Eller (81), left, grabs his arm during second half of an NFL football game in Minneapolis, Minn. Page, a future Minnesota Supreme Court justice was a member of the Purple People Eaters. (AP Photo/File)
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The NFL's final and biggest merger kicked the league into a new era in 1970, the start of a decade where pro football entered the modern era. Combining the AFL and NFL meant splitting 26 teams into two conferences.
Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New England, New York Jets, Oakland, Pittsburgh and San Diego went to the new American Football Conference.
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 1973, file photo, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula lets out with a roar as the gun sounds to give his Dolphins a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins in Los Angeles. Shula coached the 1972 Dolphins to a 17-0 record. (AP Photo/File)
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Miami: Three straight Super Bowl berths, two titles and a perfect 17-0 season in 1972.
Pittsburgh: NFL's first team to win three Super Bowl championships.
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 1976, file photo, Buffalo Bills' O.J. Simpson rushes through a large hole in the center ofthe Detroit Lions defensive line to score on a 12-yard run for his second touchdown in the NFL football game in Pontiac, Mich. The former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Cal became the first player in NFL history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1973, finishing with 2,003 yards. (AP Photo/File)
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O.J. Simpson, Buffalo. The former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Cal became the first player in NFL history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1973, finishing with 2,003 yards.
Bob Griese, Miami. The quarterback led the Dolphins to three AFC titles and two Super Bowl victories.
FILE - This is a Dec. 1967 file photo showing Dallas Cowboys football coach Tom Landry. Landry built that franchise from the ground up to challenge the Packers for NFL dominance at the end of the 1960s and later become known as "America's Team." (AP Photo/File)
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Tom Landry: Took Dallas to five Super Bowls in this decade winning two titles and losing three others by a combined 11 points. Landry also coached the first wild-card team to reach a Super Bowl in January 1976.
Chuck Noll: Turned the Steelers into one of the best teams of all-time as the NFL's first to win three Super Bowl titles with a Steel Curtin defense that sent four players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
FILE - In this Dec. 28, 1975, file photo, Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Drew Pearson (88) nears the end zone on a game-winning 50-yard touchdown pass play in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Bloomington, Minn. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach explained his game-winning throw by saying, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary." (AP Photo/File)
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The Immaculate Reception: If not for Franco Harris scooping the ball up before hitting the turf at Three Rivers Stadium, the Steelers' run to three Super Bowl championships might've been delayed a year. Instead, he helped Pittsburgh beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 for the Steelers' first win in the playoffs on Dec. 23, 1972.
Sea of Hands: The Raiders ended Miami's run of consecutive Super Bowl berths at three straight Dec. 21, 1974, with a playoff victory in Oakland. Stabler was being pulled down by Vern Den Herder when he shoved the ball toward the end zone where Clarence Davis grabbed the ball away from a pair of Dolphins defenders for the game-winning TD.
All Together: Names went on the back of jerseys, and the point after touchdown changed to one point. In 1972, owners decided to start counting tie games as a half-game won and lost. The NFL agreed in 1973 to use a uniform numbering system for jerseys limiting groups of numbers to different positions. Division winners started earning home-field advantage in the playoffs in 1975, the same year referees got wireless microphones. The head slap was outlawed in 1977.
