NFC Championship, 1977: Dallas 23 Minnesota 6

Game information
The Cowboys defense held the Vikings to 214 total yards, 66 rushing yards and 6 points, while forcing them to lose 4 turnovers. Minnesota again started quarterback Bob Lee, who was playing for the injured Fran Tarkenton.

Dallas took the early lead after defensive end Harvey Martin recovered a fumble from Vikings running back Robert Miller on the third play of the game, giving the Cowboys a first down on the Minnesota 39-yard line. Following 7-yard run by Robert Newhouse, Dallas scored on Roger Staubach's 32-yard touchdown pass to receiver Golden Richards, giving the team a 6–0 lead after Efrén Herrera missed the extra point. Later in the quarter, Minnesota had a big chance to score when a Dallas punt back near their goal line gave the Vikings a first down on the Dallas 45-yard line. But this drive was snuffed out by defensive lineman Ed "Too Tall" Jones, who stormed into the Vikings backfield to tackle running back Chuck Foreman immediately after taking a handoff, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Martin.

In the second quarter, Dallas took advantage of a short field after Butch Johnson returned a punt 4 yards to the Vikings 46. The team then drove 46 yards in 8 plays, including a 14-yard run by Danny White on a fake punt, to score on Newhouse's 5-yard rushing touchdown. Vikings receiver Sammy White returned the kickoff 37 yards to the 48-yard line. On the next play, a 44-yard pass interference penalty on Charlie Waters gave Minnesota a first down on the Dallas 8. But after Foreman was stuffed on two running plays, defensive tackle Randy White sacked Lee on the 16-yard line, forcing the Vikings to settle for a 13–3 deficit from Fred Cox's 33-yard field goal. Then after forcing a punt, Lee completed passes to Stu Voigt and Sammy White for gains of 19 and 16 yards as the team drove 68 yards to score on Cox's 37-yard field goal, making the score 13–6 with less than two minutes left in the half. Dallas struck back with a 32-yard completion from Staubach to running back Preston Pearson setting up Herrera's 21-yard field goal, giving the team a 16–6 lead going into halftime.

Minnesota mounted a mild scoring threat early in the third quarter when a 28-yard completion from Lee to White gave them a first down on the Dallas 34, but they could go no further and ended up punting. Near the end of the quarter, Dallas had a huge chance to increase their lead with a drive inside the Vikings 15-yard line. But Minnesota safety Jeff Wright forced a fumble from Tony Dorsett that was recovered by linebacker Fred McNeill.

In the fourth quarter, Cowboys linebacker Thomas Henderson forced Vikings punt returner Manfred Moore to fumble and it was recovered by Dallas tight end Jay Saldi. Five plays later, Dorsett rushed for an 11-yard touchdown to put the game away.

During the first quarter, a fan in dressed in a snowman suit, 24-year old Daniel Yoder, was accidentally set on fire when he bumped into a flaming can of liquid fuel being used by a girl selling hot chocolate in the stands. Yoder was completely engulfed in flames, but other spectators managed to put out the fire and he survived with second-degree burns.

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Vikings and Cowboys. Dallas won two of the previous three meetings.

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