• With the sun finally peeking through the overcast, Cox kicked 3y deep in the end zone. Hayes returned to the 15.
  Picking up where they left off in the 1st half, the Chiefs had a 1st down thanks to McVea's 5y sweep and Dawson's 6y pass to Taylor–still another quick toss to the outside.
  
  Dawson fires to Taylor.
  
  It took three snaps to move the chains again. Garrett gained 6 over right tackle. After Hayes lost 2, Dawson connected with Garrett for 8y to the 38. But the drive bogged down. First, Mackbee broke up Lenny's pass to SE Gloster Richardson. Following a 3y screen pass to Hayes, the Chiefs were called for holding behind the line of scrimmage on a pass play to make it 3rd-and-29. A Garrett 6y run was followed by a 55y punt by Wilson that West returned to 11y to the 31.
  Dawson: We got really conservative after the first half. When we got ahead, the way our defense was playing, it was no defense. Our defense was so dominant.
  A determined Viking offense finally mounted a scoring march. After the obligatory run, Culp again stopping Brown for no gain, Kapp rolled left to escape the fierce rush and threw back across his body to TE Beasley in the middle of the field for 15y. Another Brown run, for 2y, preceded a Kapp rush-avoiding scramble for 7y. On 3rd-and-1, Osborn gained just enough at left tackle to gain Minnesota's initial 1st down rushing.
  
  Kapp turns to handoff.
  Brown ran on 1st down for the third straight time, this time getting 8y. Then Kapp threw a screen pass to Bill for 11 and a new set of downs. Joe stayed hot, rolling right and throwing a wobbler to Henderson for 9, then RB Oscar Reed for 12 to the 4. Osborn then slammed over right tackle and twisted into the end zone to put the Vikings on the board. Chiefs 16 Vikings 7 (4:32)
  
  Dave Osborn scores Minnesota's TD.
  The Vikings' scoring drive came within about 30y of equaling their entire first half offensive output.
  
  Kapp passes around the rush.
  With momentum now on Minnesota's side, the Chiefs needed to respond, and that's what they did. Starting from the 18 after Hayes's 16y return, two runs produced a first down - Garrett 5 and Hayes 6 on a draw play. The new series started with another Garrett run. But an illegal procedure penalty on the next snap made it 2nd-and-11. Following Hayes getting 4 on a draw, Dawson, at Stram's suggestion, called another reverse, and Pitts gained just enough, as proved by a measurement on the KC sideline with Stram kibitzing, to keep the drive going at the 39.
  Stram told the officials after the measurement, You marked it good. You did a helluva job. Then he turned to his staff and asked, Was that reverse there, boys? It was there, wasn't it?
  Len overthrew Pitts deep downfield, but the Vikings were penalized 15y for a personal foul. Hilgenberg was nailed for roughness of Garrett.
  Hilgenberg told Garrett. I didn't hit you. Oh yes you did, Mike replied, and you're beautiful.
  That set up the play that broke the Vikings' backs. From the Minnesota 46, Dawson, sensing a blitz, threw another quick hitch to Taylor on the right side. Otis broke free from Mackbee, who hit him right after he caught the ball, then escaped Karl Kassulke's lunging attempt at the 20, and pranced down the sideline to pay dirt. Chiefs 23 Vikings 7 (1:22)
  Stram on the sidelines: That's it, boys.Then he found Taylor on the bench and told him, That's the way to inject that ball over the goal line.
  Dawson: That little old hitch pass to Otis Taylor was the biggest play, of course. We got lucky and called it at the most opportune time in the third quarter. They didn't blitz much; they had confidence they could get pressure with their front people. On that play, though, they had an all-out blitz. We went on a quick count, and they were trying to camouflage the blitz. Because of the quick count, I was able to get it to Otis ... It's really not designed to go all the way. Otis is just a great athlete. He made the last forty yards on his own.
  Taylor: It was only a 6y B pass. I got hit on the left side and spun out. Then I hit the last guy downfield with my hand. I always try to punish a pass defender, just as he does me. I wanted to score that touchdown. I remembered watching Minnesota come back to beat the Rams, and I felt we needed to keep scoring today.
  As Otis entered the EZ, he could hear his mother, in the stands in the corner toward which he ran, shouting, That's my boy!
  Bobby Bell recalled: Coach Stram told Lenny, "They don't want to give you the deep stuff? Take the short stuff to Otis. He can run.
  Mackbee said when he hit Taylor on the TD play, My arm was numb, and I did not even feel it. He was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his left shoulder.
  Bud Grant after the game: That was the key play. That is the type of thing you have to do to win. When we scored and made it 16-7, I thought we were coming on, but that touchdown put the game beyond our reach. ... When they got that far ahead, they could afford to run for five or six first downs and be satisfied not to score. We couldn't afford to do that. They ate up the first five minutes of the second half like that.
  
  Following Clint Jones's 33y kickoff return to the 37, the Vikings earned a 1st down on Reed's 1y run and a 9y pass to Henderson as the quarter came to an end.
  END OF Q3: CHIEFS 23 VIKINGS 7
  

Quarter 4

• Osborn swept left for 4, and Reed gained 3. Then MLB Willie Lanier outwrestled Beasley for a pass at the 34 and ran it back 9y.
  
  Willie Lanier returns his interception.
  The Chiefs experienced their first three-and-out of the day when a screen to Pitts lost 7, Sharockman getting a measure of revenge, and two runs by McVea gained only 5. Wilson sent another rocket skyward, this one ending in the end zone.
  A short pass resulted in an ineligible man downfield penalty that made it 1st-and-20. After misfiring on a long aerial to Henderson, Kapp hit the speedy WR from Michigan for a 28y gain to erase the penalty yardage and more. But the drive ended abruptly when Robinson grabbed an overthrown pass down the middle intended for Beasley and returned 9y to the KC 49. It was the Vikings' 5th turnover.
  Content to run clock, Dawson handed to McVea three times for a net of 3y. West returned Wilson's punt 7y to the Minnesota 48.
  Kapp started with a 9y pass to Washington. After Reed lost 2 on an attempted sweep around Aaron Brown's end, Joe hooked up with Reed in the right flat to make it 1st-and-10 at the 30. Kapp tried a bootleg play, hoping to get outside of Brown. But Aaron smashed him to the ground, forcing a fumble that G Jim Vellone recovered at the 17. The Viking QB left the game writhing in pain from a left shoulder injury. Gary Cuozzo took over at QB and handed to Reed who ran for 16. Then the former Saint hit Henderson for 16y down the middle for a 1st down. But Cuozzo's beginner's luck ended when he overthrew Washington downfield, then threw into the hands of CB Thomas, who returned 6y to the KC 34 with four minutes to play. It was the third straight Viking possession that ended in an interception.
  Surprisingly still in the game, Dawson scrambled for 11 around left end. LB Hilgenberg, having a great game, made the tackle, his 8th. Two McVea runs that netted -1 brought the two minute warning. Then Eller sacked Dawson, but the play was erased by a personal foul flag. That impelled Stram to finally send in backup QB Mike Livingston.
  As Dawson came to the sideline, Stram extended his hand. Nice goin', Leonard. Nice goin', baby.
  McVea gained 4, then Hayes ran for 4 and 7 to add a final, 18th 1st down to the Chiefs' tally as the game ended.
  FINAL: CHIEFS 23 VIKINGS 7

Final statistics

• Time of possession: Chiefs 34:33 Vikings 25:27
• First downs: Chiefs 18 Vikings 13
• Rushing: Chiefs 42-151 Vikings 19-67
• Passing: Chiefs 17-12-1/122 Vikings 28-17-3/172
• Return yardage: Chiefs 6-60 Vikings 7-97
• Fumbles-Lost: Chiefs 0-0 Vikings 3-2
• Penalties: Chiefs 4-47 Vikings 6-67
• Punting average: Chiefs 4-48.5 Vikings 3-37.0
• Attendance: 80,562

Len Dawson won Sport Magazine's award as the outstanding player in the game. He would receive a new sports car at a luncheon in his honor in New York.
The Chiefs pocketed $15,000 apiece while each Viking took home $7,500.

Post-Game

Chiefs Locker Room

• C E. J. Holub grabbed Coach Stram and tried to pull him into the showers, but the impeccably dressed coach was having none of it. Not now. Other players persuaded Holub to stop.
• Otis Taylor cried for 15 minutes when he arrived.
• Coach Stram: I thought we could play with anybody several years ago. I was just disappointed that we didn't succeed in the first Super Bowl. There is no question we were more relaxed this time. We always felt we had a chance to win. It's difficult to say if this was our hardest game of the season. But it definitely was one of our most complete games. ... The Vikings are a tough team, but we don't think there's any tougher team than we are.
  On the gambling distraction: My job is to see to it that our players approach the game properly. I assure you it had no effect whatsoever. Lenny Dawson showed what character he has and that he is a great leader and a great player.
  Ed Sabol of NFL Films, who concocted the idea of miking Stram during the game, told him during the dressing room celebration, Hank, it's going to be fantastic. It was great, just unbelievable. The spontaneity, the excitement, all the things that happened were just sensational.
  The Super Bowl IV highlight film would prove to be a groundbreaking classic. However, neither Sabol nor Stram realized how much the video would upset the NFL's old guard.
• Dawson: Any time I'm on a football field, I refuse to let anything distract my concentration. I feel this is such a big game ... that you really don't need any added motivation. I received a tremendous amount of support from the Kansas City fans and my teammates. As far as evaluating my own performance, we won, and that's the only thing I evaluate. ... I can't take any credit. It was the team, not me. They were fired up. They were ready. ... Unfortunately, the gambling report put a great deal of stress and strain on me and more so on my family. But I asked the Good Lord to give me the strength and courage to play my best ... No, the gambling thing didn't give me any extra incentive. How could it? I approached this game as a big game, as an opportunity to be the best.
  Asked about possible retirement, the 34-year-old QB said, I don't know. My wife has some ideas on the subject. We'll see how things turn out this spring and summer.
  While talking to the press, Dawson was called into a little anteroom of the locker room to receive a call from the White House. The Chiefs QB stuck the index finger of his right hand into his right ear as he talked to President Richard Nixon. Who is this? asked Dawson. Oh, yes, sir, thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate it, Mr. President, he repeated four times. After hanging up, Dawson said Nixon had congratulated him and his teammates for playing so well under such adverse conditions. He told us we did a great job and said the youth of the world looks up to pro players for courage. I told him we try to exemplify what is good in professional football.
  Stram also got a call from the Chief Executive. Hank told him, I think we won this game with 40 people. We are very proud of our football team. Thank you very much. Lenny is a great young man, Mr. President, a credit to our team and a credit to professional football. Thank you. Afterward, Stram told newsmen, He congratulated our squad on a great effort. He told us that we earned the right to be world champions.
  Nixon also congratulated Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who beamed when Commissioner Pete Rozelle presented him with the Super Bowl trophy.
• Garrett was interviewed by Frank Gifford of CBS-TV. Just want to say I remember what Vince Lombardi said three years ago about us; that we're not as good as a lot of teams in the NFL. Love ya, Vince.
  Gifford asked Lamar Hunt to sum up his feelings. It's pretty fantastic. It's a beautiful trophy, and it really is a satisfying conclusion to the ten years of the American Football League. I want to say especially a thanks to the people of Kansas City. This trophy really belongs to them as well as the organization. This team is Kansas City's.
• Stenerud was happy he didn't have to made a crucial FG late. I don't enjoy games when things get too close down at the end. I can hardly remember the game, I was so tense. Asked if he thought he might miss any of the three kicks, Jan laughed. I have doubt on every one. But the only one I really worried about was the second one. I kicked it from a mud hole, but the footing was okay.
• G Ed Budde: We knew we could move the ball on them. We stuck to the game plan, and Lenny called it beautifully - traps, sweeps, screens, play-acts, passing. Dave Hill did an outstanding job on Carl Eller and so did Jim Tyrer on Jim Marshall.
• Mays: We just tried to play mechanically. Let them make the errors. And we were all pulling for Lenny. ... We socked it to them. We felt if we could outhit them, we could beat them.
  Lanier: We knew that if we could take away their running game, it would be a big factor.
• LB Bell yelled, I knew I went with the right team! when he entered the locker room. He had chosen the Chiefs over the Vikings in 1962.
  Bell recalled: We played one of the best defensive games we ever played. ... Then there were the special teams - oh, man. On offense, we had so much speed. They never played against anybody like that.

Vikings Locker Room

• Coach Grant: We played as well as we could today, and we were beaten by a better team. Maybe if we played tomorrow, we'd win. ... They just beat us with fine personnel. No secrets. We put our best on the line. They put their best on the line, and they were a better football team ... I can't say Kansas City is the toughest team we've played this year. But production-wise and point-wise, they outplayed us the toughest.
  On the KC QB: Lenny Dawson is very much underrated. He is surrounded by many stars and somehow gets lost in the group.
• Kapp spoke to reporters before heading to the hospital. We seemed to be able to move the ball pretty well. But when we came up to the big play, we weren't able to make it. Their defense was tough in every way, tough at the point of attack and tough in pursuit. ... The Chiefs defensive line is like a redwood forest in California.
• C Tinglehoff, the target of the Chiefs' nose tackles: They have a very fine defense. It's very hard to run against. They do play this odd-man line and during the regular season, we don't see it as much as Kansas City uses it, although we had studied it in the films.
• DT Page: Their execution was the difference. They were getting off on a quick count, but we were getting off the ball well. We were as aggressive as we normally are. I think we came off the ball as fast as ever, but it wasn't good enough. They got where they are by running the ball. It's as simple as this - they've got a good football team.
• DB Kassulke: We made a batch of mistakes. We made more mistakes today than we made in 23 games. ... Personnel-wise, the Chiefs are as fine a team as we faced all year, as fine a team as any in the NFL.
  Dick Cullum wrote one last putdown of the AFL in the Minneapolis Star the following morning: The Vikings may have used up more emotion while beating the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns to get to the Super Bowl than the Chiefs used in beating the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders. Football is a game of emotion.

Postscripts

• CBS announced that its telecast of Super Bowl IV was watched on an estimated 23,000,000 TV sets to make it the largest television audience ever to watch a sports event.
• An estimated 100,000 people, including school children enjoying an unexpected holiday, lined the streets in downtown Kansas City during the victory parade the next day. Ticker-tape and confetti poured from office buildings as red and white convertibles carried the players and coaches to Liberty Memorial Mall, south of the city, where a ceremony was held. The governors of both Missouri and Kansas proclaimed Monday as "Kansas City Chiefs Day."
  At a press conference the day after the Super Bowl, Hank Stram was asked, Do you foresee any new trends in the future? The KC coach's answer was amazingly prescient. I think that the '60s were the decade of simplicity. I feel the '70s, however, will be a decade of variety.
  What do you mean by that?
  Right now in professional football, only two teams use the I formation, Dallas and Kansas City. I think by the end of the '70s every team in the NFL will be using it. I also think that the day of the stationary quarterback is over. I feel the quarterback of the future will have great escape-ability skills. Furthermore, the days of the one and two formations are also over. We'll see a greater degree of variety, a lot more motion. And we'll see the utilization of the zone defenses that will become more prominent than they are today.
  Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated had been one of the most outspoken critics of the quality of AFL football. He said he had trouble writing his story about the Jets' upset of the Colts in Super Bowl III because the AFL upstarts were at least as lucky in that game as they were good. But he had no trouble giving credit to the Chiefs the next year because they were so dominant.
  Stram later said the Super Bowl IV victory was crucial right before the leagues merged. The thing about it was we didn't have to go hat in hand, as second-class citizens, into the NFL. We went in as equals, and that was important.