Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings: Second Half
This series covers the history of the NFL through the prism of its yearly championship games.
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 2 - 1st 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 2 - 1st Half
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The Steelers tweaked their game plan at halftime but not Minnesota.
Quarter 3 Trying for extra leverage to fulfill his coach's wish, Roy Gerela planted his left foot as he swung his right leg into the ball. But the plant foot slipped, resulting in a bouncer that skipped along the ground to Bill Brown, who bobbled it, causing a wild scramble for the ball. Marv Kellum won the struggle for the Steelers.Brown was playing in the final game of his 14-year NFL career.
Not expecting to be on the field so soon, Bradshaw started with a handoff to Bleier over the right side for no gain. So the play-caller tried his left side, where the Steelers had been more successful. After stepping right for one count, Harris took the handoff and followed Bleier through LT, then cut to the outside to take advantage of WR Stallworth's block.
For a moment it looked like Franco might go all the way, but a hustling Sutherland pushed him out of bounds after a 24y gain to the 6.
Noll loved Bleier's blocking, calling him a third guard.
Giving his big HB no time to catch his breath, Terry had Harris run right, but Hilgenberg dropped him for a 3y loss. So go left, young man, go left. Harris ran the same play that gained 24. Pulling T Gerry Mullins cut down Hilgenberg, and Franco ran untouched to the EZ just inside the pylon. After an offside penalty on the Vikings, Gerela converted. Steelers 9 Vikings 0 (13:25)
Rocky: Instead of the deceptive trap plays, we come at them with straight power. First dive-34 to me, then 19-straight to Franco. They stop me for no gain, but Franco shakes loose on a diagram-come-to-life. Siemon jumps into the line, and Ray Mansfield cuts him. I kick out Wally Hilgenberg, who is playing very wide in another of the "guesses" that can make him look very good or very bad. And Franco is just Franco, slamming his 235 pounds into high gear at the point of attack.  Harris scores as Jackie Wallace comes too late. Harris: My TD was on a counterplay - nothing they wouldn't have seen on film. It had been a big play for us all year. I would go one step to my right and then reverse direction and go toward the end of the left side. Then I'd read the defense to see where I should make my cut. ... I got in without being touched.
Gerela had no trouble with his footing this time, booming the kick to the 2, from where McCullum made a nice return of 26y.
The hard-headed Vikings continued to run into the middle of the defense. Osborn gained 2, then Foreman got 1 on a counter play. On 3rd-and-7, the Steelers substituted a fourth LB, Loren Toews, for Ernie Holmes. Tarkenton rolled left and flipped to Foreman coming out of the backfield. Chuck slipped down at the 38, a foot short of the line to gain. On 4th down, Tarkenton tried to draw the Steelers offside. Amid confusion with no flag thrown, the officials ruled both teams offside. So Grant sent in Eischeid, who punted 42y into the wind to Swann, who returned 6y to the 27.Bleier on the TD: The call is counter-15 special. Three times in the first half, the Vikings' RE, Jim Marshall, saw me run past him to block Hilgenberg on 15-trap. Counter-15 special looks identical to him for the first split second. But this time, as Marshall stands there ... hesitating, reading, waiting for the inside trap play ... I bury him. Hit him in the thighs with my head and shoulders, as if I were going to run through him. ... The helmet jams down on the bridge of my nose. The shoulder pads whack against his legs. My back arches and my head raises, knowing they cannot drive up through his massive weight, but trying nonetheless. The first impact stuns my upper body, sending shock waves from one vertebra to another, down my spine. Then the burden lightens as I feel him off balance. My legs keep driving, convinced they can support my weight and his, too. He teeters on one foot. Momentarily, I have him in the air ... before the damn 275-pound monster lands on top of me with a thud. But oh, it feels good. Nothing is as much fun as lying under Jim Marshall, looking over at Gerry Mullins, our RG, who has blasted Hilgenberg ... then looking up at Franco, who is easing into the EZ. Incidentally, the man chasing him, four steps away, is Siemon. He jumped into the line again, as if to fill a trap, and couldn't recover to the outside. Our halftime counteradjustment is paying off. With a chance to put the game away, the Steelers started with Harris moving through a hole at RT, as he was hit, Franco fumbled. Page made the mistake of trying to pick up the ball. Instead, he dropped it and the ball carrier grabbed it back. On 2nd and a foot, Harris ran over LT for 4 to go over the magic 100y mark. Bradshaw through a quick out to Stallworth in front of Wallace for 8y to the 47. Harris knifed up the middle for a 1st down at the Minnesota 48. Bradshaw tried a rare 1st down pass but had to escape the rush of Page and head around RE, going out of bounds after a gain of 5. Then Terry carried again up the middle for a yard. Facing 3rd-and-5, the Steelers couldn't convert as Eller smacked Bleier down for no gain. Walden punted into the EZ. Bleier: On the next series, the Vikings pay me back. In their gambling, stunting style, the Minnesota tackles slant to the left on a third-down play. They make a huge hole, and I think, "Big yardage." Suddenly, in the corner of my vision, a large purple figure is coming ... unimpeded. It's Carl Eller ... looping behind the tackles for a clear shot. I flinch, try to cut away. He waffles me, bending my left foot back and turning the ankle sharply. He drives me down, adding his force to mine until the ankle collapses with a twist. It hurts like hell. As we get up, Eller has a slightly astonished look on his face. I sense that our violent chance meeting surprised him as much as it surprised me. But it surely did not hurt him as much.
After Foreman was submarined by Russell for a 1y loss, one of the most bizarre plays in Super Bowl history took place. Tarkenton rolled right and tried to bloop a pass to a receiver in the flat. But Greenwood blocked it, the ball landing back in Fran's hands. Showing more poise than Miami K Garo Ypremian did in Super Bowl VII, Tarkenton took a few stides to his left to get clear of the rushers and threw a long one to Gilliam, who ran all the way to the Steeler 40 as former QB Don Meredith kept saying No, that's illegal in the TV booth. You can't throw two forward passes on the same play. So the ball was brought back to the original line of scrimmage, and Minnesota suffered a loss of the down.
At the bench, I say to Ralph Berlin, "I need some tape.' "What's the matter with you?" "Nothing, nothing. I just want to tighten my ankle a little." "You sure there's nothing wrong with you?" "Sure, I'm sure. Just wrap it a couple times, please." It feels stiff and sore as I run behind the bench. I can't seem to push off it. I can't get a drive. I hope Ralph won't tell Chuck. And I hope nobody sees me limping around back here. If I keep moving, maybe it'll work itself out. Tim Rooney on Greenwood: If he walked into an airport, somebody would say he was playing for the Celtics. ... There was a joke after the game. One of the writers had said, "Pass attempt by Tarkenton, defended by Greenwood. I think he has as many [passes defended] as the DBs.
On 3rd-and-11, Foreman burst up the middle for the Vikings' best run of the day - 12y to the 30.
Greenwood: My objective was to try and stay in front of Tarkenton. I didn't want to let him get outside of me. I thought that I had a chance of getting my hand up in his face, and that's what I wanted to do because I knew he was going to try and sprint out. ... fortunately when he threw the ball, I was able to just get my hands up and knock the ball down. That was the objective going into the game - not to let him run the football. I think I accomplished that. I know that in some instances, DBs and LBs were screaming because they were sitting there waiting to pick the ball off. Voigt defended Ron Yary, the tackle opposite Greenwood. That was one of those deals where L.C. was getting blocked, but he was tall and he could jump up. There's a situation, what do you do when a guy is at the line of scrimmage and he can jump up and get a piece of the ball? Ron was doing his job. He's got the guy at the line of scrimmage. Apparently, the Vikings had never heard of a cut block. After the game, Greene revealed that a mixup with Greenwood on the pre-snap stunt created the opening that allowed the 12y gain. Take away that run and the Vikes would have ended with 5y on 20 carries, or an average of 9 inches per rush.
Osborn tried the middle but Holmes, Green, and Greenwood said, No way you're getting past us again.
 Steelers stuff Dave Osborn. During this Minnesota possession, Russell left the field, never to return. I leg whipped a guy and my leg went numb and I took myself out of the game. I was going to throw Foreman for a loss of about three yards. I had him. Then he makes this unbelievably quick move inside, and I'm going to miss him unless I leg whip him. I just throw my knee at his knees and I caught him dead center of his thigh, made my whole leg go numb.
Harris again found running room at LT, gaining 6. Franco up the middle gained nothing, forcing Bradshaw to pass. Siemon intercepted the ball at the Viking 49 and returned 6y. But the turnover was nullified by a 5y offsides penalty on Minnesota. After Harris gained one, then three, the quarter ended.Loren Toews replaced Russell, who later begged the coaches to put him back in. But when they asked him how he felt, he told the truth. So we had two backup LBs playing the fourth quarter when the game was still on the line. And they attacked Loren Toews and he did great. They ran some screens against him, and he came up and made the plays. We weren't just 11 good players: we had a helluva team. End of Q3: Steelers 9 Vikings 0 Quarter 4 On 3rd-and-6, Bradshaw threw incomplete to TE Brown at the right sideline. Walden tried to kick high to bottle up the Vikings inside their 10. But he didn't get much on the punt, which traveled 21y into the hands of Wallace, who made a fair catch at the 24.Tarkenton tried Foreman three straight snaps - a 5y pass down the middle, no gain on a LE sweep, and an incomplete pass over the middle amid double coverage. Eischeid punted to Swann, who returned 11y to the Pitt 46. The Vikings finally got a break on the first play. Harris never controlled the handoff, and Paul Krause beat his to the bouncing ball for Minnesota at the 47. Tarkenton threw long to Gilliam down the right sideline. The ball bounced off John's hand, but Mike Wagner was called for interference because he rode the receiver out of bounds without turning to make a play on the ball. That put Minnesota in business at the 5. But just when Viking Nation thought their boys would get back in the game, Foreman fumbled and Greene recovered on the 7. Wagner: Pass interference, I was upset about that. Put the ball on the 5-yard line in a close game. That's a questionable ruling there. I had position on that receiver. If I had been standing still and that receiver ran into me, would that be pass interference? It would be like basketball charging. He said, "Well, you didn't make an effort for the ball." Well I'm standing there running down the sidelines and the receiver wants to run over my back.
Harris ran a counter play, this time to the right, for 8y. But the remaining 2 to move the chains proved more difficult as Siemon stopped Harris for no gain, and Page did the same to Bleier. So Walden stood at the 1 to punt. Al DeRogatis told the TV audience that the Vikings had come close to blocking punts twice. Sure enough, LB Matt Blair roared in from Walden's right and blocked the punt. Terry Brown caught the ball on the bounce in the EZ for a TD. Cox failed to convert when his kick hit the left upright. Steelers 9 Vikings 6 (10:33)
 Matt Blair blocks Walden's punt. The blocked punt was the third screw-up by the Steelers' special teams. Not learning from George Allen's example about the importance of special teams, Noll himself managed them without much help from his assistants. Bud Carson recalled, Chuck did a nice job, but he just didn't have a lot of time to do it.
Reggie Harrison picked up the squib kick on the 17 and ran to the 34. How would Bradshaw fare against a fired-up defense with the game on the line? Just fine, thank you. Terry led an 11-play, 66y drive against the wind that consumed 6:47 and produced the clinching TD. Two Harris runs (0 and 8y) made it 3rd-and-2.
Bleier on Harris's 8y run: The play is 35-trap. I'm supposed to take Hilgenberg. But before I can get him, Marshall penetrates, so I block him. Gerry Mullins takes Hilgenberg on the "read," and Franco makes a helluva run.
The much-maligned Steeler QB dropped back in the pocket and cooly found TE Brown in the open at the Viking 40. S Jeff Wright cut underneath him trying to intercept only to have the ball sail past him. Larry ran to the 28 where he was hit and fumbled. The Vikings jumped on the ball and couldn't contain their excitement. A pair of officials signaled Minnesota's ball, but after a conference, the officiating crew ruled Brown was down before he lost the ball. However, the TV replay showed that the ball carrier might have started losing control of the pigskin before his butt hit the turf. With coaches' challenges still several decades in the future, the Pittsburgh drive continued.
 Wallace wrestling ball from Larry Brown as TE lands on ground.  Brown tries to recover his fumble that wasn't. Receivers coach Lionel Taylor: It was a sail route. The TE takes an inside release, goes up the field 10 to 12 yards and then breaks out on a 45-degree angle to the sideline where the flanker cleared out. Larry was a very good blocking TE (who would later be moved to T), but he came up with the catches when we needed them.
Amid boos from Minnesota fans, Bleier gained 5 but the play was called back for illegal motion. Next, the Steelers try the tackle-trap on Page again, but he was not fooled this time and stuffed Rocky for no gain. Then Bleier took it again, this time running through a huge hole at RT behind pulling T Jon Kolb for 17y and a 1st down at the 16 to keep the drive alive.
Bleier on the fumble: The two officials nearest the play signal: "Minnesota ball." At this, the Vikings begin rushing off the field. A moment later, they're in confusion. The head linesman, Ed Marion, runs up to them, signaling: "Pittsburgh ball." The officials confer a few seconds before giving it to us on a no-fumble ruling. The Minnesota players are screaming at Marion. "Jesus Christ, you were back on the line of scrimmage. It's not your call. How could you see it better than these two guys?" Bleier: Second-and-fifteen. For the third time in the game, we run a "sucker play" at Doug Sutherland. twice, we've gotten good yardage on the sucker, which is simply a trap play without the blocking. Sutherland is taught to "key" or follow Mullins, who plays opposite him. So we pull Mullins, as if to run a wide play, and fake to Harris, just to make it look convincing. Our linemen leave Sutherland alone as he chases Mullins and Franco. The next sound he hears is swoosh, as I go zipping through the hole he's just created. ... I make the 17 yards on the play, but I don't do it with the expected woosh. My ankle is really hurting. My takeoff is very poor. But I still am not going to leave this game.
Harris fought for 4 up the middle, then gained 1 over the right side. The next play would determine whether the Steelers had to settle for a FG or continue for a TD. Bradshaw called his own number and threw a 6y pass to Bleier over the middle. 1st-and-10 at the 5.
Bleier: It's third-and-five at the Viking 11-yard line. We have to pass. As I circle out of the backfield, I notice Siemon has dropped very deep. I hook up at the 5-yard line, just in front of Paul Krause, their free safety, and Bradshaw drills me. First-and-goal at the 5.
Harris plunged to the 3 but lost 1 trying a LE sweep on the next snap. Facing another crucial 3rd down, Terry rolled right to run or pass. TE Brown took off for the right corner of the EZ but stopped. MLB Siemon then left him and ran at Bradshaw to keep Terry from running into the EZ. Meanwhile, Larry ran to an open spot, and the pride of Louisiana Tech fired the ball over Jeff's head to Brown in the EZ. Steelers 16 Vikings 6 (3:31) [STOP ACTION SEQUENCE]
The TD play had been suggested to Noll on the sideline after the previous play by backup QB Joe Gilliam.
Minnesota started on its 22 after McClanahan returned Gerela's bouncing kick 5y. Needing to score twice, Tark threw long down the middle. Wagner snared the pass intended for Gilliam and meandered 26y to the Viking 41 with 3:07 left.Taylor: Bradshaw drilled it. Larry couldn't drop it if he wanted to. Bleier on the TD: My pass route is into the right corner. Larry Brown curls behind me, deep in the end zone. Bradshaw rolls toward us. Franco devastates somebody with a block. Bradshaw might run ... he might pass. Siemon can't decide. He comes up to play the run, and Bradshaw rifles the ball past him to Brown. As (RB coach) Dick Hoak would say later, "It was embedded in his stomach." ... Back near the line of scrimmage, Alan Page takes off his elbow pad and flips it at Jim Clack, who has blocked him to a Mexican standoff all afternoon. "Hell, Clack, I'm all through," he says. Alan was a college teammate of mine (at Notre Dame). He's a man of intense pride. Stung by the realization of another Super Bowl loss, he takes himself out of the game. Needing only to run some clock to ice the game, Bradshaw took care of one last objective by handing to Harris three times for gains of 2, 1, and 15. That gave Franco 158y to break the record of 145 set by Larry Csonka the year before against Minnesota. Bleier: With victory in hand, our huddle is raucous ... Bradshaw giggles. "Okay, okay, what play you guys want to run?"
After Bleier's 6y gain, Swann lost 7 on a reverse. Following Rocky's run for 7y, Minnesota called its last timeout with 41 seconds left.
In chorus, the linemen respond, "Sucker. Sucker. We've got some new meat in there. Let's try sucker again." "Sucker, it is," says Bradshaw. Page's replacement at tackle is Gary Larsen. Like Sutherland, he dutifully follows his key, the pulling guard, and makes a hole for me. I hobble through for six yards. The play would normally succeed just once a game, but we've worked it four times. Bleier: Our linemen are laughing and pounding each other's shoulder pads. ... Back in the huddle, Mansfield says to Clack, "I'll bet the 'Burgh is in ashes by now."
Bleier ran again on 4th down, losing 6 against the massed defense.Greenwood deflected another pass, which fell incomplete. Then Tark threw a backward pass to Reed in the left flat for a loss of 2 as the Steeler fans counted down the seconds. Tarkenton had failed to throw a TD pass in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
Before signing off, Curt Gowdy predicted that the young Steelers' "best years were ahead of them."
Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney had watched the entire game from the warmth of the press box. Los Angeles sportswriter Jim Murray, sitting next to him, said The Chief watched the game with a kind of bemused detachment. With so many decades of experience with losing teams, Rooney expressed sympathy for Tarkenton at halftime. He's playing his heart out. As the final minutes wound down, the Pittsburgh owner went down to the Steelers locker room. FINAL SCORE: STEELERS 16 VIKINGS 6 The Steelers stormed the field to celebrate their victory.
Final statistics
Harris: If anyone had told me going into the game I would run more than 30 times, I'd have told them they were crazy. So I was totally surprised when I learned I had run 34 times during the game and 11 times in the fourth quarter. It didn't feel like it - I wasn't tiring ... Also, I didn't even know I was approaching Larry Csonka's Super Bowl rushing record until the game was over. |
Post Game
Steelers
- When Bleier reached the locker room, he spotted Mr. Rooney, standing strangely alone against the wall, while the latecomers celebrate his long-awaited victory. Rocky went to him and gave him a hug. Thanks for everything. Art put out his hand and said, Thank you. You did it. Bleier recalled: There are tears welling up in his eyes. He doesn't seem capable of saying anything. Now I feel like crying. But instead, I walk away. Bleier then went around the room, shaking hands with every teammate and coach.
- Andy Russell, the defensive captain, gave a ball after every victory to a member of his defense. He was all set to present the ball Mansfield found on the field to Joe Greene. But then he saw Art Rooney, in the corner of the locker room and called to him. Chief, come up here. This is your ball. The players cheered as the white-haired owner took the ball. Andy yelled, This one's for the Chief! It's a long time coming. A few minutes later, Commissioner Pete Rozelle arrived and presented Mr. Rooney the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I didn't want to accept the trophy, said Art. Dan Rooney and Chuck Noll deserved it. I guess they just wanted me to be a big shot for a day.
Commissioner Pete Rozelle with Steelers' owner Art Rooney, whose clutching his game ballRooney always said he loved that game ball more than the Super Bowl trophy.
Russell: I got real emotional at the time. The Chief had been wonderful all during those losing years. ... It was the right thing to do. I think Joe would have agreed with me 100 percent.
Blount, like almost all the Steelers, admited Art Rooney. Mel recalled how he talk to the players. He'd be like, "How's your family, how you doing? Hang in there. Keep up the good work." He was such an inspiration. And we're talking about a guy who was in his seventies. He was just a guy who was a father figure. He represented stability and wisdom. ... So when we won our first Super Bowl and to see the Chief, man, I think when he was presented that trophy, that memory of all the things that happened and all the experiences, to me, I think it epitomized what perserverance and never giving up is all about. For 40 years his team had been the doormat for the NFL. And he finally got his moment, and to witness that and to be a part of it was very special to me. - Noll: You could see it in their eyes on the field. They wouldn't let themselves be denied. Asked why his locker room was not all that boisterous after the win, Chuck replied, You only get excited when you surprise yourself.
- Carson was asked about his DT. I'll tell you, Joe Greene is ... the best I ever saw. I just didn't think he could be any better. Only he was.
- Bradshaw was asked if his mistake-free performance would end the questions about his intelligence. I'd like to stay that it's all said and done and in the past. But Super Bowl or not, it's just something that I'm going to have to live with.
- Harris praised Bleier's blocking. Rocky was just hurtin' guys, punishing them.
- Wearing a black and gold ski cap, Greene gushed, This is beyond my wildest dreams. I didn't think I could get this big a charge out of it. ... A great part of me would've died if we had lost.
Vikings
- Coach Bud Grant seemed to be apologizing: It wasn't a very good football game, and that's a shame because this is football's showcase. The kicking game was not good, with three missed FGs, some fluke interceptions, some penalties. It was not the type of game either team played to get here. ... There were three bad teams out there. Us, Pittsburgh, and the officials.
- O coordinator Jerry Burns: They kicked our ass offensively. We couldn't get them blocked. They were tough as hell. We didn't get the job done.
- Tarkenton: They deserved to win. They did it. We didn't.
MLB Jeff Siemon was still steamed about the missed call on Larry Brown's fumble in Q4. They said that he was down, which was not the case. He was hit and fumbled. We stopped them and had the ball.Years later, Siemon would recall: We had some weaknesses and they showed up against great teams, but we were typically good enough to keep a team from going down the field against us. We had an older team. Perhaps what we gave up physically, we made up for with moxie and experience. Sometimes, though, you get to the tipping point where experience can only go so far. You need to have the physical capacity to beat the opponent. - T Ron Yary: They beat us with their defensive line. They beat with with their LBs. They beat us in our secondary. Today our defense played well enough to win, but our offense didn't do the job.
- WR Stu Voigt: I thought, quite frankly, that they would not be able to do much against our defense. But Franco Harris had a nice day and they got the safety. And I think the surprise was how tough their defense was. ... They pretty much dominated the line of scrimmage and made the plays when they had to. ... Don't get me wrong that I'm not giving all the credit in the world to the Steelers, but the weather and everything, nobody was doing anything. I'm talking about the Steelers too, on offense. It was a hard-hitting game, and both defenses were excellent.
Some Steelers joked among themselves that they would return home to find that fans had burned the city to the ground in celebration. They were partially right.
- When the game ended, about 20,000 people spilled into Pittsburgh's downtown area. They set off firecrackers and Roman candles, climbed on top of a billboard and a bus, and opened a fire hydrant in the freezing weather. Police arrested 233 people, mostly for public intoxication, and 69 people were injured, including ten officers.
- The team arrived in Pittsburgh Monday. Dwight White went directly into a local hospital where he spent 2 1/2 weeks recuperating. During that time, he missed the team picture.
White years later: To this day I'm still upset about not being in the team picture and it not saying "not listed: Dwight White." Couldn't they have said "missing"? And I'm the guy that got out of the hospital bed. I'm the guy that scores the safety. I'm the guy that played my ass off, and I don't even get the courtesy of having "Dwight White missing." I'm a big boy and you move on. I'm sure it was an oversight. They probably were not as efficient in the front office as they should have been. But goddamned right it hurts my feelings. I'm still pissed off about it.
- An estimated 120,000 fans came out in 25° Pittsburgh weather to hail the champions.
Steelers' victory parade - When the Steelers finally received their $15,000 checks for winning the Super Bowl, each found a personal note on the stub from Art Rooney.
Super Bowl IX Champion Pittsburgh Steelers
Future Hall of Famers in Super Bowl IX:
Pittsburgh Steelers - Owner Art Rooney, Coach Chuck Noll, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster
Minnesota Vikings - Coach Bud Grant, Carl Eller, Paul Krause, Alan Page, Fran Tarkenton, Mike Tinglehoff, Ron Yary
Pittsburgh Steelers - Owner Art Rooney, Coach Chuck Noll, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster
Minnesota Vikings - Coach Bud Grant, Carl Eller, Paul Krause, Alan Page, Fran Tarkenton, Mike Tinglehoff, Ron Yary