Super Bowl IX, 1975: Pittsburgh 16 Minnesota 6

Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1974 season. The game was played on January 12, 1975, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Steelers defeated the Vikings by the score of 16–6 to win their first Super Bowl championship.

This game matched two of the NFL's best defenses and two future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain defense, the Steelers advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting a 10–3–1 regular-season record and playoff victories over the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders. The Vikings were led by quarterback Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters defense; they advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl and third overall after finishing the regular season with a 10–4 record and defeating the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.

The first half of Super Bowl IX was a defensive struggle, with the lone score being the first safety in Super Bowl history when Tarkenton was downed in his own end zone. The Steelers then recovered a fumble on the second-half kickoff and scored on fullback Franco Harris's 9-yard run. The Vikings cut the score, 9–6, early in the fourth quarter by recovering a blocked punt in Pittsburgh's end zone for a touchdown, but the Steelers then drove 66 yards on their ensuing possession to score on Larry Brown's 4-yard touchdown reception to put the game out of reach.

In total, the Steelers limited the Vikings to Super Bowl record lows of nine first downs, 119 total offensive yards, 17 rushing yards, and no offensive scores (Minnesota's only score came on a blocked punt, and they did not even score on the extra point attempt). The Steelers accomplished this despite losing starting linebackers Andy Russell and Jack Lambert, who were injured and replaced by Ed Bradley and Loren Toews for most of the second half. On the other hand, Pittsburgh had 333 yards of total offense. Harris, who ran for a Super Bowl record 158 yards (more than the entire Minnesota offense) and a touchdown, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Game summary
As many predicted, the game was low scoring; both teams failed to score a touchdown or a field goal until the third quarter and ended up with the third lowest total of combined points in Super Bowl history.

First quarter
The first quarter of Super Bowl IX was completely dominated by both teams' defenses. The Vikings were limited to 20 passing yards, zero rushing yards, and one first down. The Steelers did slightly better with 18 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and four first downs. Pittsburgh even managed to get close enough for their kicker Roy Gerela to attempt two field goals, but Gerela missed his first attempt, and a bad snap prevented the second one from getting off the ground.

Second quarter
In the second quarter, the Vikings got an opportunity to score when defensive back Randy Poltl recovered a fumble from halfback Rocky Bleier at the Steelers' 24-yard line, but they could only move the ball two yards in their next three plays, and kicker Fred Cox missed a 39-yard field goal attempt. The Steelers then converted a third down with the longest gain so far in the game, a 22-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw to John Stallworth. Pittsburgh was forced to punt, but Bobby Walden booted a 39-yarder, and rookie Sam McCullum did not allow the ball to reach the end zone, then failed to make a return and was downed at the Viking 7-yard line. The first score of the game occurred two plays later, when halfback Dave Osborn fumbled a pitch from Tarkenton at the 10, and the ball rolled backward into the end zone. Tarkenton recovered the ball to prevent a Steeler touchdown, but he was downed by Dwight White for a safety, giving Pittsburgh a 2–0 lead. It was the first safety scored in Super Bowl history. The Vikings forced a three-and-out, then threatened to score when Tarkenton led them on a 55-yard drive to the Steelers' 20-yard line. With 1:17 left in the half, Tarkenton threw a pass to receiver John Gilliam at the 5-yard line, but Steelers safety Glen Edwards hit him just as he caught the ball. The ball popped out of his hands and right into the arms of Mel Blount for an interception.

The half ended with the Steelers leading 2–0, the lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history and lowest possible, barring a scoreless tie.

Third quarter
On the opening kickoff of the second half, Minnesota's Bill Brown lost a fumble on an unintentional squib kick after Gerela slipped on the wet field and only extended his leg halfway for the kick. Marv Kellum recovered the ball for Pittsburgh at the Vikings' 30-yard line. Franco Harris then moved the ball to the 6-yard line with a 24-yard run. After being tackled for a three-yard loss, Harris carried the ball for nine yards and a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 9–0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, Minnesota got the ball back on their own 20-yard line. On the second play of drive, Tarkenton's pass was deflected behind the line of scrimmage by Pittsburgh defensive lineman L. C. Greenwood, and bounced back right into the arms of Tarkenton, who then threw a 41-yard completion to Gilliam. Officials ruled Tarkenton's first pass attempt was a completion to himself, and thus his second attempt was an illegal forward pass. After the penalty, facing third and 11, Minnesota got the first down with running back Chuck Foreman's 12-yard run. Three plays later, Tarkenton completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Stu Voigt at the Steelers' 45-yard line. But White deflected Tarkenton's next pass attempt, and Joe Greene intercepted the ball, ending the Vikings' best offensive scoring opportunity.

Fourth quarter
Early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings got another scoring opportunity when Minnesota safety Paul Krause recovered a fumble from Harris on the Steelers' 47-yard line. On the next play, a deep pass attempt from Tarkenton to Gilliam drew a 42-yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh defensive back Mike Wagner that moved the ball up to the 5-yard line. Once again, the Steelers stopped them from scoring when Greene forced and recovered a fumble from Foreman. Pittsburgh failed to get a first down on their next possession and was forced to punt from deep in their own territory. Minnesota linebacker Matt Blair burst through the line to block the punt, and Terry Brown recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Cox missed the extra point, but the Vikings had cut their deficit to 9–6 and were just a field goal away from a tie.

However, on the ensuing drive, the Steelers sealed their victory with a 66-yard, 11-play scoring drive that took 6:47 off the clock and featured three successful third down conversions. The first was a key 30-yard pass completion from Bradshaw to tight end Larry Brown. Brown fumbled the ball as he was being tackled, and two officials (back judge Ray Douglas and field judge Dick Dolack) initially ruled the ball recovered for the Vikings by Jeff Siemon, but head linesman Ed Marion overruled their call, stating that Brown was downed at the contact before the ball came out of his hands. Faced with 2nd and 15 after a penalty, Pittsburgh then fooled the Vikings defense with a misdirection play. Harris ran left past Bradshaw after the snap, drawing in the defense with him, while Bleier took a handoff and ran right through a gaping hole in the line for a 17-yard gain to the Vikings 16-yard line. A few plays later, Bradshaw converted a 3rd and 5 situation with 6-yard pass to Bleier that put the ball on the Vikings' 5-yard line. The Steelers gained just one yard with their next two plays, setting up third and goal from the four. Bradshaw's 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown on third down gave the Steelers a 16–6 lead with only 3:31 remaining.

Vikings running back Brent McClanahan returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the 39-yard line, but on the first play of the drive, Tarkenton's pass was intercepted by Wagner. The Steelers then executed 7 consecutive running plays, taking the game clock all the way down to 38 seconds remaining before turning the ball over on downs.

Harris finished the game with 34 carries for a Super Bowl record 158 yards and a touchdown; Harris' record stood until the Washington Redskins' John Riggins rushed for 166 yards in Super Bowl XVII. Bleier had 65 rushing yards, and two receptions for 11 yards. Pittsburgh finished with a total of 57 rushing attempts, which remains the Super Bowl record through Super Bowl LV. Bradshaw completed nine out of 14 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Tarkenton completed 11 of 26 passes for 102 yards with 3 interceptions, for a passer rating of only 14.1. Foreman was the Vikings' top offensive contributor, finishing the game as the team's leading rusher and receiver with 18 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards.

The loss was the Vikings' record-setting third in Super Bowl play. Bud Grant vented frustration by saying, "There were three bad teams out there - us, Pittsburgh and the officials.” Minnesota, among many negatives to this point in its Super Bowl history of three games, had only two scoring drives on offense, and only three turnovers forced on defense, none of which resulted in any points. The win made the Steelers' Chuck Noll the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl at the time (He was 42 years, 7 days).

Wikipedia

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris, (32), tries for some extra yardage.

Steelers running back Franco Harris.