Golden Football Magazine
NFL Championship Games
Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings: First Half
Note: The gray boxes contain asides that provide interesting material but could be skipped
without losing the continuity of the article.
Part 1 - Pregame | Part 3 - 2nd Half


Fred Cox


Preston Pearson


Bob Lurtsema


Bud Grant on sidelines


Bobby Walden


Sam McCullum


Stu Voigt


Mike Eischeid


Lynn Swann


Gordon Gravelle


Franco Harris heads around RE.


Doug Sutherland


Frank Lewis


Jim Clack


Roy Gerela


Nate Wright


Rocky Bleier breaks loose
on "sucker" play..


Tarkenton tries to throw over Greenwood.


Carl Eller can't get to Bradshaw.


Bradshaw bootlegs in Q1.


Carl Eller (88) chases Harris.


Ron Shanklin


Ron Shanklin on end-around.


Bradshaw throws before rush gets to him.


John Stallworth


Siemon waits for Harris.


Harris in the clear.
Jim Marshall chases Harris.



Tarkenton helped up after safety.


Tarkenton rolls out to throw.


Ed Marinaro


Glen Edwards smashed Gilliam, causing INT.


Ed Bradley


Mick Tinglehoff

Quarter 1

Pittsburgh won the toss and elected to receive. For some reason, the Vikings chose to go against the North wind.
Fred Cox kicked off to Preston Pearson on the 12, and he returned to the 36. QB Terry Bradshaw started implementing the game plan, which was to run the ball with some short passes mixed in. Rocky Bleier took a handoff on a crossbuck over the left side for a gain of 3.

Bradshaw hands to Bleier.
Bleier's story is the most remarkable of all Super Bowl participants. After his rookie season with the Steelers in 1968, he was drafted by the U.S. Army. He volunteered for duty in Vietnam, where he suffered a bullet wound in his left thigh. A couple of hours later, a grenade explosion sent shrapnel into his lower right leg. He lost part of his right foot as well. Doctors told him he would never play football again, but while recuperating he received a postcard from Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney: Rock - the team's not doing well. We need you. After several surgeries, he was discharged from the military and rejoined the Steelers for their 1970 training camp. He played mostly on special teams until 1974, when he finally regained his playing weight and earned a starting spot at HB.
Franco Harris tried to skirt RE but slipped down for no gain. Expecting a pass, the Vikings made multiple substitutions. Sure enough, Bradshaw faded, but DE Alan Page collapsed the pocket, allowing DT Bob Lurtsema to get the sack at the 35. Bobby Walden, punting with the wind, boomed one 52y to Sam McCullum, who returned 5y to the 18.

Bradshaw goes back in the pocket.
TV announcer Curt Gowdy pointed out that Dwight White was starting at RE for the Steelers but didn't mention his hospital stay. Fran Tarkenton rolled right and threw to the sideline for a 16y gain to WR John Gilliam, who was playing with a broken wrist.

Tarkenton throws over Greene.
Tarkenton then faked to Chuck Foreman and threw over the middle too high for Stu Voigt, who was well covered.

Greene (75) and Greenwood (yellow shoes) can't get to Tarkenton.
FB Dave Osborn took a quick handoff up the middle, but Mean Joe Greene stopped him for a gain of 1. Fran went back to pass but, in a pattern that would be repeated all afternoon, had to roll to his right to avoid the rush and threw incomplete to Gilliam at the sideline. So Mike Eischeid punted to rookie WR Lynn Swann, who returned 17y to the Pitt 42.
Voigt: We knew they were going to be tough to run on with the two big guys right in the middle, Fats Holmes and Joe Greene, but you've got to mix things in and we were going to try that. We had Chuck Foreman, so we were going to try and run outside a little bit.
Each time White came off the field following a defensive series, the training staff and assistant coaches surrounded him. You okay? How's your breathing? Each time, Mad Dog replied, Fine, fine. Leave me alone. He ended up playing almost the whole game and tying for most tackles by a Steelers.
S Mike Wagner: None of the players ... were up to date on just how sick Dwight was. ... Most of us didn't know until the game was over the sacrifice Dwight made.
Bleier: Dwight embodied the "whatever it takes" mantra espoused by Coach Noll with his gutsy performance.
Vikings RB Chuck Foreman recalled: Dwight was a standout player. He brought an energy to that team. A fighting spirit.
The Steelers immediately went back 5y for a false start on RT Gordon Gravelle. Bleier then gained that back and more by bursting through a big hole at RG on a "sucker play" to the Minnesota 45 for Pitt's initial first down.
Bleier: On our second possession, the Vikings come with an "underdefense." Alan Page, the Viking RT, plays opposite our C instead of the LG, as he normally would. When Terry Bradshaw sees it, he screams, "Brown-93." Brown is the "live" color for an audible today. 93 is the new play, a tackle-trap to exploit Page. From studying film, we know his first move will be to his right ... Bradshaw fakes a toss that way, just to encourage him a little more. Page chases a few steps, and Gordy Gravelle, our RT, rides him out of the play. Bradshaw pivots and hands the ball back to me. I blow through the vacated space for 18y. I get up, thinking, "Boy, I wish I had more speed. A chasm like that, I should have made more of it.
Then it was Harris's turn to go up the middle to the 41 on a counter play, where the back takes his first step one way, then spurts the opposite direction. The Steelers had not run such a play before.

Bradshaw hands to Harris.
Bleier: Next play, they're in an "over defense." Instead of Page opposite our C, it's Doug Sutherland, the LT. Bradshaw sees it and goes immediately to the audible, just as he's been instructed. "Brown-92." That's the mirrored play to the opposite side. Fake the toss to me, then hand back to Franco Harris. Sutherland is trapped, and Franco gets four yards. Isn't this easy? Our game plan is working. Minnesota's line is jumpy, overreacting to our every fake. ... We can run traps all day. We've got them pursuing false movement. Even if they take only one step in the wrong direction, that's enough to give our linemen a good blocking angle.
The Steelers came out in a new formation with a flanker wide right with two slot men next to him. But the Vikings weren't fooled and dumped Harris as he tried to run that way for a loss of 3. When Pittsburgh was called for clipping, Minnesota took the 15y penalty to make it 2nd-and-21 on the Steeler 44. Bradshaw threw a wide receiver screen to Frank Lewis for a gain of 12. With a more manageable 3rd-and-9, Terry pedaled back to pass, but Page got past G Jim Clack to dump the QB for a loss of 8 to the Pitt 48. So Walden punted, this time 39y to Nate Wright who was downed immediately after a 1y gain.
Starting from the 14, Foreman tried to get outside RE but was nailed by LB Jack Ham for a loss of 2. Tarkenton threw a quick hitch to Osborn to set up 3rd-and-8. Fran tried to pass again, but 6'6" L. C. Greenwood was in his face and knocked the ball down.
L. C. wore gold shoes throughout the season and during the playoffs, paying the fine to the NFL every game for the equipment violation.
Steelers D-coordinator Bud Carson: We were perfectly set up for Tarkenton. What he did was obviously outstanding, as he did it so often and for so long. But with L. C. Greenwood, it was going to be awful hard to spring out and get that tackle (Ron Yary) to block L.C. on any kind of pass play on that side. We had Dwight White on the other side. ... Even though they didn't run down Tarkenton, they got him changing direction so many times. Bud also admitted that the weather helped his defense.
Eischied got a good bounce on his punt to the Pitt 47. But a flag caused everyone to go back, Minnesota being penalizingalf the distance to the goal for clipping. Kicking from the EZ this time, Mike boomed a low click to Dave Edwards on the Viking 44. Trying to get around the left side of the coverage, Edwards slipped down for a 0 return.
Continuing to enjoy good field position, the Steelers continued to work on rookie RCB Jackie Wallace. Lewis broke open on a slant pattern but dropped the pass. After a 3y run by Harris, Brad connected for a first down to TE Larry Brown, who caught the ball as he slipped down onto his butt at the 26. Bleier rammed through LG for a tough 4y, and a crossbuck by Harris gained another 2.

Siemon grabs Harris.
On 3rd-and-4, Terry went to Lewis on a slant from the left again but, under pressure from Page and Lurtsema, threw off his back foot and the ball sailed too high. So Roy Gerela came on for a 37y FG attempt that hooked left.
Starting from the 20, Minnesota went three and out. Foreman gained a yard, then Tarkenton rolled out again and threw too high on a deep sideline pattern to Gilliam who caught the ball with a toe on the sideline. So Eischeid launched his third punt of the period, the ball being downed at the Pitt 48.

Chuck Foreman takes handoff from Tarkenton.
Bleier zipped through RT for 4y. Ron Shanklin took a flanker reverse but, slipping and sliding, gained zilch. However, Minnesota was penalized 5y for offsides. For 3rd-and-1, Brad sent Harris off RT on a delay for 14y.

Jim Clack (50) takes out Roy Winston (60) to open running room for Harris.
1st-and-10 at the 29. Bradshaw took a bootleg around RE for 11y to move the chains to the 18. Franco found the going tough at RG for no gain, then tried the other side of the line for just 2. On 3rd down, Terry threw to Lewis at the left pylon, but Wallace, playing the best game of his young NFL life, broke it up. With another chance to put the first points on the board, the Pittsburgh kicking team failed again. The low snap from C was fumbled by holder Walden, who recovered it and tried to run but lost 7y.
On the last play of the quarter, Osborn gained nothing at the 23. Minnesota had 0y rushing at this point.
Pittsburgh had dominated the quarter but had nothing to show for it thanks to two botched FG tries. The Steelers gained 64y on 12 running plays, all but two of them traps. The Vikings had just 27 total yards and one first down and never got past their own 35.
END OF Q1: STEELERS 0 VIKINGS 0
Bleier: On the sideline, we're telling each other: "Don't worry about it." "Let's keep moving." "We'll get some more chances." Still, we're all a little anxious.
Russell: We were surprised they tried to run the football because we had just stuffed a very good Oakland attack. We kind of thought they'd try to do a lot of rollouts with Tarkenton, and we certainly didn't expect them to run at our strength. They attacked the middle of our line and that went nowhere.
Carson cited the weather as a reason the Vikings were so conservative. I don't care what anybody says, it was one of the coldest games I was ever involved in, and I've been around a few. The offenses just weren't going to be able to throw the ball like they did during the year. Everybody had gloves on .... The weather helped us. ... Minnesota wasn't really a running team, but they tried to run the football anyway. That day they had to run the football.

MLB Jeff Siemon (50) stops Harris.
Quarter 2

Would having the wind at their backs help Minnesota? Tarkenton hustled out from C to his right and flipped sidearm to Foreman on the run at the 28. Chuck was pushed out of bounds at the 35 for a 1st down. Tark again rolled right to throw but the pass was deflected by Greenwood. Then DT Ernie Holmes met Osborn as soon as he took the handoff for a loss of 1. The next play almost resulted in disaster for the Vikes. Under a heavy rush again, Fran ran back one way, then the other to the 10 as Gilliam, all alone downfield, waved frantically. By the time Tark got in position to throw the ball toward Gilliam, LB Andy Russell had rushed over and missed a good chance to intercept in front of John. So Eischeid punted with the wind 38y, Edwards returning 2. But a 15y tripping penalty sent Pittsburgh back to its 15.
Starting deep in their territory for the first time, the Steelers began the series with "Statue Right," a delayed handoff to Harris after a pass fake. Franco ran around RE for 5y.
Bleier: This is about the closest thing we have to a sweep, though it's surely not the old Green Bay Packers sweep with two guards pulling and a back leading. That kind of play says, "Here we come. See if you can stop us." We don't do anything that obvious.
On 2nd down, Brad sent John Stallworth long down the left sideline against Wallace, but the rookie again was up to the task, knocking down the pass. The 3rd-down aerial was complete to Swann for 16y, but Lynn was called for pushing off the DB when making his cut to the inside. On 3rd-and-14, with the Vikings in a five-man line expecting a pass, the Steelers outguess them again. Bradshaw called 52-straight. Bleier took the handoff and popped into the clear up the middle but lost the ball when hit from the side by S Jeff Wright. The ball squirted forward to the 24 where rookie DB Randy Poltl recovered.
Bleier: Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jeff Wright ... He has me man-to-man. He's coming ... but I should be able to carry him a few steps to get the 15y and a first down. I let go of the ball with my left hand, reaching out to stiff-arm him. He flings his right arm around my back and ... goddam it. He punches the ball out. I see it bouncing. I have a shot at it. If only it will bounce sideways or backward ... No, it bounces forward. Randy Poltl falls on it ... I feel lousy as I get up. I'm putting our defense into a pressure situation. ... They'd just gotten off the field for a little breather. Now I'm making them come back. On the sideline, ... Noll glares at me in silent admonition. ... Guys come around with all the cliches: "Shake it off." "Get 'em next time." "Don't let it bother you."
With a great opportunity to put the first points on the board, Minnesota started with a quick hitter by Osborn that gained 2. But two straight passes to Foreman fell incomplete to bring on the FG unit. Cox's boot from the 39 just missed to the right.
Starting from the 22, the Steelers gained one 1st down before having to punt. Bleier lost 1, then Harris gained 3. On 3rd-and-8, Bradshaw flipped to Stallworth on a slant in front of Wallace to the 46. But three runs by Bleier (for 6), Harris (2), and Bleier again (for no gain thanks to a hard tackle by MLB Jeff Siemen) brought in Walden, who punted 39y to McCullum, who unwisely fielded the bouncing ball on the 7 and was hit immediately.
Foreman squirmed over LT for 3. Then came the play that led to the only points of the half. Tarkenton took the snap and turned to hand the ball to Osborn. The pigskin appeared to hit Dave's hip and fall out of Fran's hand. L.C. Greenwood inadvertently kicked the pigskin with one of his gold shoes toward the EZ. Tarkenton won the race to the ball, jumping on it at the 1 and sliding into the EZ, where he was touched down for a safety. STEELERS 2 VIKINGS 0 (7:11)


Tarkenton chases fumble kicked by Greenwood (68).


Steelers rejoice after safety.
Voigt: That was the Vikings' luck in the Super Bowls. We had the same deal against the Dolphins [in 1974]; Oscar Reed fumbled in the EZ. ... That (the fumble for a safety) was our mistake. I'd like to say that was caused by the Steelers, but it was caused by a mistake by the Vikings offense. That cost us. And, although that was only two points, I think it took us out of our game. It was a key play.
Eischeid punted the free kick from the 20, and it bounded around in Pittsburgh territory before going out of bounds at the 35 just before the streaking Vikings could corral it.
Bleier: For the rest of the period on offense, our traps and inside running game are suddenly ineffective. Jeff Siemon, their MLB, apparently has gotten an adjustment from the coaches in the press box. He's filling the holes quickly. Near the end of the first half, he makes the tackle on four of five trap plays ... all of them for 2y gain or less.
Bradshaw threw to Bleier at the right sideline for 5, then handed to Harris around LE for 2 more. On 3rd-and-3, Wallace came up hard on a screen pass to Stallworth to dump the receiver for a 6y loss. Walden drove a low spiral against the wind for 50y to McCullum, who returned 6y to the 20.
Tark rolled right and threw incomplete to Gilliam in the middle of the field. But Mel Blount was penalized for pass interference to give 1st down at the 35. After White stuffed Osborn for a loss of 1, Tarkenton took the snap, rolled right as usual, and threw to Foreman for 10y to bring up 3rd-and-inches after a measurement.

White stops Osborn for 1y loss.
On their 5th 3rd-down try, the Vikes finally succeeded on Chuck's 2y plunge. Again running right after taking the next snap, Tark flipped the ball out of bounds just before going out of bounds himself. The Steelers screamed in vain for intentional grounding. With the Pitt fans booing, Foreman gained 2 before lining up as a receiver wide right on the next snap. Chuck cut over the middle, where Fran's pass hit him in the hands, bounced into the air before returning to his clutches for a gain of 17y to the Pitt 35. The second-year man from Miami U. then handled the ball again, gaining 4 before losing his shoe and leaving the field in favor of Ed Marinaro. After the two-minute warning, Fran went back to the air, but with everyone downfield covered, he threw short to Voigt, who stepped out after a gain of 3. Then another short pass, this one to Osborn, gained another 3 to move the chains to the 25. Finally having time to let a pattern develop, Tark threw down the middle to Gilliam at the 10. Jim leaped and took the ball just a second before Dave Edwards belted him with both forearms in the face - a hit that would draw a flag and an expulsion today. The pigskin flew intp the air to the goal line where Blount gathered it in and ran out to the 10 to stop a major threat with 1:05 on the clock.


Edwards belts Gilliam, causing INT by Blount
Tarkenton: I had a chronically bad shoulder made worse by doctors giving me cortisone when I was with the Giants. Then the Vikings doctors shot me up with butazolidin [an anti-inflammatory pain-killer often given to horses] to allow me to play. My right shoulder continued to deteriorate and it flared up early in the '74 season ... That whole year, I couldn't throw a ball more than 40y. Just before the half in the Super Bowl, John Gilliam was running across the 5y line and I was at about the 30, and he was open. It would have been a great TD in a tight game. I threw and the ball hung because I didn't have anything on it. ... If I'd have had my arm, we would have had a TD.
Blount
: They were driving the ball and Gilliam came across the middle. That was a turning point. Glen Edwards made just a tremendous hit on John Gilliam, knocked his helmet off. I was able to make the play because I hustled across the field running toward the ball ... When you look at the film, I saw the ball being thrown and just took off running that way. Glen Edwards made what was, in my opinion, one of the all-time hits. ... Pound for pound there wasn't anybody who could hit like Glen Edwards ... He shook the ball loose and it popped up in the air. It kind of hung up there for a while, and that gave me a chance because I was moving toward the ball. And it was a big play for us.
LB Mike Wagner: The rest of that game John Gilliam did not want to run over the middle.
Bill Nunn was perhaps the only spectator in Tulane Stadium who knew that two of his former Black College All-Americans had just made a play that kept the Vikings from scoring. Bill was proud of his role in showing the world that, given a chance, graduates of black colleges could compete with the best in the world.
During this possession, Pittsburgh MLB Lambert injured his ankle and left the field. Third-year pro Ed Bradley replaced Jack for the rest of the game and held his own. By using their two remaining timeouts, the Vikings had a chance to get the ball back if they stuffed the Steelers. When Bradshaw lost a yard, the Vikes stopped the clock. But their plan went awry on the next snap as Harris rambled 25y over the left side.

Harris on the loose.
Siemon then dropped Bleier in his tracks for a loss of 1. Finally, Bradshaw went back to pass but, finding no one open, scrambled out of the pocket for 17y to run out the clock.
END OF 1ST HALF: STEELERS 2 VIKINGS 0
Vikings C Mick Tinglehoff: They had a very good defensive line. We knew it was hard to run up the middle on them. They were big and mobile up there. We just ran our same offense that we'd been running and had been successful with against other teams. It just didn't work out. ... On that particular day it seemed like we never got started. I've watched that damn game film: we just didn't play very well at all. Nothing went right.
Jack Ham: I'm not an offensive coordinator, but I would have tried something a whole lot different against us than trying to run against that stunt we had with Joe Greene turned toward the center. And they try to run the football inside with offensive linemen who could not dominate those two big guys in the middle. [Their game plan] just didn't make any sense to me. First, if you're in a stunt 4-3, you should try to throw the ball on first down; don't try to pound the ball up the middle, which is truly the strength. Because we have two guys in there plus Lambert and you're not going to move Ernie Holmes ... and Joe Greene. So I always questioned whether it was Bud Grant or the offensive coordinator, or whomever ...