220-719: Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1979 season . The Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31–19, becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls . The game was played on January 20, 1980, at
440-656: A cable television program set by a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 (18.6 million viewers). The Vikings beat the New York Giants, 44–7, in Week 17 to help the team clinch the second seed in the conference and a first-round-bye with an Eagles loss later that same day. The Vikings ended the regular season with a 12–4 record, their best record since 2000 and
660-491: A domed stadium. Though neither were selected, Detroit was invited to bid for a future game at the next meeting. The selection of Pasadena came just six months after the Rose Bowl hosted its first Super Bowl ( XI ). Observers noted that the owners stuck with familiar venues this time around, choosing Miami for XIII and Pasadena for XIV. Early favorite Houston ( Rice Stadium ) reportedly fell out of favor with owners when it
880-403: A halftime period, and the first and third quarters are followed by a short break. Before the game starts, the referee and each team's captain meet at midfield for a coin toss . The visiting team can call either "heads" or "tails"; the winner of the toss chooses whether to receive or kick off the ball or which goal they wish to defend. They can defer their choice until the second half. Unless
1100-588: A .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game (The St. Louis Rams did the same thing only a day earlier). In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles . On March 2, 2005, Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was traded to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and the Raiders' first-round draft pick. After struggling to
1320-401: A 10-yard-long chain between them, are used to measure for a first down. The chain crew stays on the sidelines during the game, but if requested by the officials they will briefly bring the chains on to the field to measure. A typical chain crew will have at least three people—two members of the chain crew will hold either of the two sticks, while a third will hold the down marker. The down marker,
1540-603: A 12-yard run by Tyler to end the third quarter with the Rams still in the lead, 19–17, seemingly in control of the game. To make matters worse for the Steelers, prior to Brown's interception, Pittsburgh lost Swann to injury, when he was knocked out of the game by Thomas. After being forced to punt to start the final period, with 12:59 left in the game, Rams punter Ken Clark 's 59-yard punt planted Pittsburgh back to their own 25-yard line. Then faced with 3rd-and-8, Steelers head coach Chuck Noll called for "60 prevent slot hook and go",
1760-459: A 24-yard pass to wide receiver Preston Dennard . His 14-yard completion to Waddy on 3rd-and-13 moved the Rams to the Pittsburgh 32-yard line with just under 6 minutes remaining. However, on the following play, Ferragamo made his first and only mistake of the game; despite the fact that Waddy had broken free down the right side of the field, Ferragamo had zeroed in on Ron Smith down the middle of
1980-521: A 24–10 deficit in the final four minutes of regulation. Favre threw for a career-high 446 passing yards. The Vikings then went on to face the Chicago Bears , but were defeated, and then went on to be blown out 31–3 at home by the Packers the following game. Head coach Brad Childress was fired the following Monday. With Leslie Frazier filling in for the fired Childress, the Vikings won two games in
2200-437: A 31-yard field goal by kicker Frank Corral to tie the game at 10. Anderson gave the Steelers great field position after returning the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the Pittsburgh 46-yard line, but the Steelers could not move the ball and had to punt. The Rams were also forced to punt on their next possession after only gaining 6 yards. On third down, Ferragamo completed a pass to tight end Terry Nelson , who then appeared to fumble
2420-418: A 40-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime. The Vikings performed similarly in the 2010s, only making the playoffs four times and going 2–4 in those games. Additionally, there was inconsistency at the quarterback position, with thirteen quarterbacks starting at least one game for the team during this decade. Despite their performance, the team performed better in the regular season overall after
SECTION 10
#17327725700452640-474: A 51-yard pass to Waddy. Then on the next play, Ferragamo handed the ball off to McCutcheon, who started to run to the right. The Steelers' defense came up to tackle him behind the line of scrimmage, only to watch him throw a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ron Smith . Corral missed the extra point attempt wide left, but the Rams had retaken the lead, 19–17. The Steelers had some success advancing into Rams territory on their next two possessions, only to see
2860-470: A 5–11 record in 2001. The team made the playoffs again in 2004, but did not win a divisional title again until 2008. Since the merger, the 2000s became the decade with the fewest playoff berths for the franchise. In 2000 , the Vikings went 11–5. The Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams , Packers and Colts while starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper
3080-799: A 9–7 record, the worst ever by a team who advanced to the Super Bowl (that record was later tied by the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI ). The team was plagued with injuries during the regular season, including the loss of their starting quarterback Pat Haden . His replacement, Vince Ferragamo , completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw twice as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (5). But he still led
3300-525: A PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team. A safety is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in the carrier's own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a free kick . Football games are played on a rectangular field that measures 120 yards (110 m) long and 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (48.8 m) wide. Lines marked along
3520-839: A big threat with 816 total yards and averaging 5 yards per carry. Pittsburgh also had a solid offensive line, led by center Mike Webster . The Steelers' offense did lead the NFL with a staggering 52 turnovers in the regular season, a trend that would continue in Super Bowl XIV. The Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense finished the regular season as the top rated defense in the AFC, limiting opponents to only 4,621 offensive yards. Up front, linemen Joe Greene and L. C. Greenwood terrorized opposing quarterbacks and rushers. And linebackers Jack Lambert and Jack Ham excelled at run stopping and pass coverage, combining for 8 interceptions. The Steelers also had
3740-420: A disappointing 2–5 start to the 2005 season , Vikings lost quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a season-ending knee injury. This injury was a very significant part to this Minnesota Vikings team due to the fact they also lost Moss. The dynamic duo from years earlier was now gone and a new leader would eventually emerge. The Vikings finished the 2005 season with a 9–7 record. In October, 17 team members were part of
3960-567: A dominant 10-year run as a premier NFL defensive back. The Vikings beat the St. Louis Cardinals 28–10 on August 6, 1983, at Wembley Stadium in London in the first international game in the NFL. On January 27, 1984, Bud Grant retired as head coach of the Vikings. With a career regular-season record of 151–87–5 (.632) in 17 seasons with Minnesota, Grant led the franchise to 12 playoff appearances, 11 division titles, and four Super Bowls. Les Steckel , who
4180-453: A field goal instead. A group of officials, the chain crew, keeps track of both the downs and the distance measurements. On television, a yellow line is electronically superimposed on the field to show the first down line to the viewing audience. There are two categories of kicks in football: scrimmage kicks, which can be executed by the offensive team on any down from behind or on the line of scrimmage, and free kicks. The free kicks are
4400-552: A fine secondary, led by defensive backs Mel Blount , who recorded 3 interceptions, and Donnie Shell , who had 5. In the playoffs, the Rams avenged the previous year's NFC Championship Game shutout loss to the Dallas Cowboys by beating them 21–19. Later, they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game, 9–0, scoring only three field goals. Meanwhile, the Steelers went on to defeat
4620-623: A franchise in the new American Football League (AFL). Five months later, in January 1960, after significant pressure from the NFL, the ownership group, along with Bernard H. Ridder , reneged on its agreement with the AFL and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise, with play to begin in 1961. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to
SECTION 20
#17327725700454840-482: A game Minnesota won, 7–3. The first touchdown in the new facility was scored by Joe Senser on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer . The first regular-season game in the Metrodome was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the Vikings defeated Tampa Bay , 17–10. Rickey Young scored the first regular-season touchdown in the facility on a 3-yard run in the 2nd quarter. That year the defense led by Joey Browner began
5060-457: A group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they could now hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, in a game between Yale and Princeton, both teams used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records. Each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0–0 tie. This "block game" proved extremely unpopular with both teams' spectators and fans. A rule change
5280-533: A large stick with a dial on it, is flipped after each play to indicate the current down and is typically moved to the approximate spot of the ball. The chain crew system has been used for over 100 years and is considered an accurate measure of distance, rarely subject to criticism from either side. Football is a full-contact sport, and injuries are relatively common. Most injuries occur during training sessions, particularly ones that involve contact between players. To try to prevent injuries, players are required to wear
5500-418: A league-leading 5.1 yards per carry average. Fullback Cullen Bryant provided Tyler with excellent blocking while also gaining 846 total yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. Wide receiver Preston Dennard was the team's main deep threat, catching 43 passes for 766 yards and 4 touchdowns. The offensive line, led by tackles Doug France and Jackie Slater , guard Dennis Harrah , and Pro Bowl center Rich Saul , paved
5720-576: A little over a minute left in the game, but failed to get the ball into the end zone. The Vikings' hopes of a Super Bowl ended when Darrin Nelson dropped a pass from Wade Wilson on fourth down at the goal line. On October 12, 1989, the Vikings acquired Herschel Walker from Dallas. The final result of the trade gave the Vikings Walker, third-round choice Mike Jones, fifth-round choice Reggie Thornton and 10th-round choice Pat Newman in 1990 and
5940-408: A long circumference of 28 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (71 to 72 cm), and a short circumference of 21 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). In college and high school play the ball has a long axis of 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 to 11 + 7 ⁄ 16 inches (27.6 to 29.1 cm), a long circumference of 27 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (70 to 72 cm), and
6160-420: A minimum of 10 feet (3.0 m) on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright as indicators of wind strength and direction. The football itself is a prolate spheroid leather ball, similar to the balls used in rugby or Australian rules football . To contain the compressed air within it, a pig's bladder was commonly used before
6380-510: A modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association , although Yale did not join until 1879. Yale player Walter Camp , now regarded as the "Father of American Football", secured rule changes in 1880 that reduced the size of each team from 15 to 11 players and instituted the snap to replace the chaotic and inconsistent scrum . While the game between Rutgers and Princeton
6600-403: A month later, Brett Favre 's NFL investigation for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to Jets' employee Jenn Sterger while he was with the team in 2008, the Metrodome's collapse and resulting venue changes, and finally head coach Brad Childress ' firing on November 22 following a 31–3 loss at the hands of the rival Green Bay Packers . After serving as the interim head coach for
6820-432: A party of about 90 that went out on a pleasure cruise on local Lake Minnetonka . The incident erupted into scandal when media reported that a number of the players had performed sex acts and that prostitutes had been flown in. Four players were ultimately charged with misdemeanors related to the party. Mike Tice was fired by owner Zygi Wilf after the 2005 season and was replaced by Brad Childress . Minnesota began
Super Bowl XIV - Misplaced Pages Continue
7040-428: A pass hits the ground without a player having caught it. A forward pass can be legally attempted only if the passer is behind the line of scrimmage; only one forward pass can be attempted per down. As in rugby, players can also pass the ball backwards at any point during a play. In the NFL, a down also ends immediately if the runner's helmet comes off. The offense is given a series of four plays, known as downs . If
7260-444: A play that the team had practiced all week and couldn't complete it. Before Bradshaw went back on the field, Noll told him to "go deep and get the big play, because they're going to take away high percentage passing". Bradshaw took the snap, dropped back, and then threw a pass to Stallworth, who was running a streak pattern down the middle of the field. Stallworth caught the ball barely beyond the outstretched hand of Perry and took it all
7480-583: A player being paid to participate in a game of American football , although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered indirect benefits, such as helping players attain employment, giving out trophies or watches that players could pawn for money, or paying double in expense money. Despite these extra benefits, the game had a strict sense of amateurism at the time, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not prohibited outright. Over time, professional play became increasingly common, and with it came rising salaries and unpredictable player movement, as well as
7700-470: A powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters , led by Alan Page , Carl Eller , Gary Larsen , and Jim Marshall . In 1968 , that stingy defense earned the Vikings their first Central Division title and their first playoff berth. In 1969 , the Vikings secured a 12–2 record. The team had 12 straight regular-season victories after a season-opening loss to the New York Giants, which
7920-585: A professional American football team based in Minneapolis . The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team , the team began play the following year . They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia , reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota . The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in
8140-427: A quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed. If certain fouls are committed during play while time has expired, the quarter may be extended through an untimed down . Games last longer than their defined length due to play stoppages—the average NFL game lasts slightly over three hours. Time in a football game is measured by the game clock. An operator is responsible for starting, stopping and operating
8360-511: A round ball. An 1875 Harvard–Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two Princeton athletes who were impressed by it. They introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to "selling refrigerators to Eskimos ". Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then agreed to intercollegiate play using a form of rugby union rules with
8580-740: A row. One against the Washington Redskins on the road, and a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills at home. After a winter storm dropped nearly 17 inches (430 mm) of snow in the Minneapolis/St Paul area the Saturday before the Vikings December 12 home game versus the New York Giants and 30 mph (48 km/h) gusts drove snow removers off the dome's roof overnight, several panels were damaged as
8800-436: A secondary signal. Women can serve as officials; Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female official in 2015. The seven officials (of a standard seven-man crew; lower levels of play up to the college level use fewer officials) on the field are each tasked with a different set of responsibilities: Another set of officials, the chain crew , are responsible for moving the chains. The chains, consisting of two large sticks with
9020-403: A separate sport from rugby, and the resulting five-yard lines added to the field to measure distances made it resemble a gridiron in appearance. Other major rule changes included a reduction of the field size to 110 by 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (100.6 m × 48.8 m) and the adoption of a scoring system that awarded four points for a touchdown, two for a safety and a goal following
Super Bowl XIV - Misplaced Pages Continue
9240-545: A set of equipment. At a minimum players must wear a football helmet and a set of shoulder pads , but individual leagues may require additional padding such as thigh pads and guards, knee pads, chest protectors, and mouthguards . Most injuries occur in the lower extremities, particularly in the knee, but a significant number also affect the upper extremities. The most common types of injuries are strains , sprains , bruises , fractures , dislocations , and concussions . Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are
9460-410: A short circumference of 20 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two halves of 30 minutes and four quarters of 15 minutes. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two halves of 24 minutes and four quarters of 12 minutes. The two halves are separated by
9680-495: A single extra point or field goal attempt the entire year), missed a 38-yard field goal attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining , the Falcons' ensuing drive tied the game. This led to a controversial decision by head coach Dennis Green to run out the clock and let the game go to overtime. Though the Vikings won the coin toss, Atlanta went on to win it 30–27 in overtime on Morten Andersen 's 38-yard field goal. The Vikings became
9900-685: A solid secondary, led by free safety Nolan Cromwell , who also grabbed 5 interceptions. On November 4, 1979, the Rams' defense established a still-current NFL record by holding the Seattle Seahawks' offense to a total of minus 7 yards for the game; the Seahawks finished the 1979 season 4th in the league in points scored. The Steelers won the AFC Central with a 12–4 regular season record (including 8–0 at home), and advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl and their fourth appearance in
10120-421: A third-round choice Jake Reed in 1991. Dallas received Issiac Holt, David Howard, Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, Alex Stewart, a first-, second- and a sixth-round choice in 1990, first- and second-round choices in 1991 and a first-, second- and third-round choice in 1992. Two of those selections turned into Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson . Walker's performance fell short of expectations in his three seasons with
10340-416: A touchdown , and five for a goal from the field . Additionally, tackling below the waist was legalized, and a static line of scrimmage was instituted. Despite these new rules, football remained a violent sport. Dangerous mass-formations like the flying wedge resulted in serious injuries and deaths. A 1905 peak of 19 fatalities nationwide resulted in a threat by President Theodore Roosevelt to abolish
10560-680: A trade with the New England Patriots . Even with the addition of Moss, the Vikings lost to the New York Jets 29–20 in Week 5. The Vikings won a crucial victory against another struggling team in the form of the Dallas Cowboys 24–21, but in Week 7 the Vikings lost to the arch-rival Green Bay Packers 28–24. In Week 9, the Vikings played the Arizona Cardinals at home and won 27–24 in overtime, coming back from
10780-460: Is a sport in which two competing teams vie for control of a ball, which can be kicked through a set of goalposts or run into the opponent's goal area to score points. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between Rutgers and Princeton , two college teams. They consisted of 25 players per team and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with
11000-425: Is called on the offense. There are two main ways the offense can advance the ball: running and passing . In a typical play, the center passes the ball backwards and between their legs to the quarterback in a process known as the snap . The quarterback then either hands the ball off to a running back, throws the ball, or runs with it. The play ends when the player with the ball is tackled or goes out-of-bounds or
11220-437: Is caught or recovered behind the line of scrimmage. If it is touched or recovered by the kicking team beyond this line, it becomes dead at the spot where it was touched. The kicking team is prohibited from interfering with the receiver's opportunity to catch the ball. The receiving team has the option of signaling for a fair catch , which prohibits the defense from blocking into or tackling the receiver. The play ends as soon as
SECTION 50
#173277257004511440-579: Is commonly considered the first American football game, several years prior in 1862, the Oneida Football Club formed as the oldest known football club in the United States. The team consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools and played from 1862 to 1865. The introduction of the snap resulted in an unexpected consequence. Before the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position. However,
11660-403: Is known as a two-point conversion . In general, the extra point is almost always successful, while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts. A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is place kicked or drop kicked through the uprights and over
11880-407: Is responsible for all kicking plays. The special teams unit of the team in control of the ball tries to execute field goal (FG) attempts, punts , and kickoffs , while the opposing team's unit will aim to block or return them. Three positions are specific to the field goal and PAT (point-after-touchdown) unit: the placekicker (K or PK), holder (H), and long snapper (LS). The long snapper's job
12100-421: Is to block members of the defensive line from tackling the ball carrier on running plays or sacking the quarterback on passing plays. The leader of the offensive line is the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback, blocking, and for making sure that the other linemen do their jobs during the play. On either side of the center are the guards (G), while tackles (T) line up outside
12320-437: Is to snap the football to the holder, who will catch and position it for the placekicker. There is not usually a holder on kickoffs, because the ball is kicked off a tee; however, a holder may be used in certain situations, such as if wind is preventing the ball from remaining upright on the tee. The player on the receiving team who catches the ball is known as the kickoff returner (KR). The positions specific to punt plays are
12540-484: The 1978 Washington Redskins . In 2004 , Daunte Culpepper amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card game, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in their first-ever playoff meeting, 31–17. In doing so, the Vikings became the second team in NFL history to have
12760-569: The 2006 season 4–2 (with Childress becoming the first Vikings coach to start his career 2–0), but finished the year at 6–10, receiving the 7th pick in the NFL draft ; with it, the Vikings selected Adrian Peterson out of the University of Oklahoma . Peterson's first career touchdown was a 60-yard screen pass against the Atlanta Falcons in his first career game. When the Vikings played
12980-468: The 2012 NFL draft , the team selected USC lineman Matt Kalil with the 4th overall pick after a trade with the Cleveland Browns , and Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith in the first round. Both players were instrumental in helping the Vikings reach the playoffs for the 27th time in franchise history, as was fellow draftee, sixth-round kicker Blair Walsh . After beating the Packers in
13200-647: The 2013 season , including an NFC Championship appearance in 2017 . In the first week of the 2010 NFL regular season, the Vikings played the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints. The Vikings lost 14–9. In Week 2, the Vikings played the Miami Dolphins and lost 14–10. The Vikings defeated the Detroit Lions 24–10 in the third week of the season. After a week four bye-week, the Vikings received star wide receiver Randy Moss in
13420-776: The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1997. The BCS arrangement proved to be controversial , and was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff (CFP). A football game is played between two teams of 11 players each. Playing with more on the field is punishable by a penalty. Teams may substitute any number of their players between downs; this "platoon" system replaced the original system, which featured limited substitution rules, and has resulted in teams utilizing specialized offensive, defensive and special teams units. The number of players allowed on an active roster varies by league;
SECTION 60
#173277257004513640-506: The Chicago Bears in Week 6, Peterson broke the record for single-game All-Purpose (rushing, receiving, kick returning) yards (361 total yards, 224 rushing). In Week 9, Peterson broke the NFL single-game rushing record set by Jamal Lewis in 2003 by rushing for 296 yards against the San Diego Chargers . Despite a strong push in the middle of the season, winning five straight games, the Vikings lost their final two games to finish
13860-601: The Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs , 17–14, on a controversial touchdown pass from the Cowboys' quarterback Roger Staubach to wide receiver Drew Pearson that became known as the Hail Mary . The touchdown was controversial because many felt that Pearson pushed off on Vikings defensive back Nate Wright , committing pass interference . As the Metropolitan Stadium crowd was stunned to learn that no penalty
14080-531: The Downtown East section of Minneapolis. The Vikings have an all-time overall record of 523–435–11 , the highest regular season and combined winning percentage among NFL franchises who have not won a Super Bowl , in addition the most playoff runs, division titles, and (tied with the Buffalo Bills ) Super Bowl appearances. They also have the most conference championship appearances of non-winning Super Bowl teams, with them being one of four (along with
14300-612: The Los Angeles Rams 14–10 in frozen Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings played in their second straight Super Bowl, Super Bowl IX (3rd overall), losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers , 16–6, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on January 12, 1975. Led by Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman , the 1975 Vikings got off to a 10–0 start and easily won another division title. However, the Vikings lost to
14520-565: The Miami Dolphins , 34–14, and the Houston Oilers , 27–13, in the playoffs. During those two playoff games, the Pittsburgh defense limited running backs Larry Csonka and Earl Campbell , respectively, to a combined total of only 35 rushing yards. Campbell was the league's rushing leader during the regular season with 1,697 yards, but could only gain 15 yards against the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Pittsburgh
14740-562: The NFL Most Valuable Player Award given by the Associated Press . He was the first defensive player to win the award. On January 27, 1972, the Vikings traded Norm Snead , Bob Grim, Vince Clements and first-round draft picks in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants to reacquire the popular Fran Tarkenton. While the acquisitions of Tarkenton and wide receiver John Gilliam improved the passing attack,
14960-560: The New York Giants 20–19 in Week 17, when kicker Ryan Longwell made the game-winning field goal. Peterson had 19 carries for 109 yards and added a touchdown during the game. On January 4, 2009, the Vikings hosted the Philadelphia Eagles for the wild-card round, their first home playoff game in eight years. The Eagles led the Viking 16–14 at halftime and, coming off a 44–6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys , went on to defeat
15180-618: The Pittsburgh Penguins , changed its uniform colors to match the black and gold scheme of the Pirates and Steelers, as well as that of the Pittsburgh city flag. This was the third time in Super Bowl history that a team overcame a deficit entering the fourth quarter to win the game. The Baltimore Colts entered the final quarter down 13–6 against Dallas in Super Bowl V and won the game 16–13. The Pittsburgh Steelers started
15400-709: The Pittsburgh Steelers , Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams ) to appear in a conference championship every decade since the 1970s. Professional football in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area (the "Twin Cities") began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets , an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when Minnesota businessmen Bill Boyer , H. P. Skoglund , and Max Winter were awarded
15620-598: The Pro Football Hall of Fame . The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American culture. From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of Metropolitan Stadium 's capacity of 40,800. Eventually,
15840-515: The Ravens 19–3. Tice was named the permanent coach after the season, but he would not lead the Vikings back to the playoffs until 2004. In 2002, as part of the league's realignment with the addition of the Houston Texans , the Vikings and their other traditional NFC Central rivals became part of the newly formed NFC North . During the 2003 season , the Vikings came close to getting into
16060-459: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California , and was attended by a Super Bowl record 103,985 spectators. It was also the first Super Bowl where the game was played in the home market of one of the participants, as Pasadena is 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles . The Rams became the first team to reach the Super Bowl after posting nine wins or fewer during the regular season since
16280-577: The St. Louis Rams in the Divisional matchup. The game was a shootout that Minnesota led 17–14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota 35–20 in the second half to win 49–37. The Vikings entered the decade by winning the divisional championship and an appearance in the NFC Championship game, where they were defeated 41–0 by the New York Giants. The following season, they struggled by posting
16500-421: The Super Bowl , ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $ 18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball ; the sport maintains a growing following in
16720-522: The Twin Cities under the condition that his visit was to be kept secret from his current employer. His cover was blown by local columnist Sid Hartman , who reported the visit and forced Parseghian to issue denials. Philadelphia Eagles assistant Nick Skorich and a man with Minnesota ties who was working in the CFL , Bud Grant , were also candidates until a different Eagle, quarterback Norm Van Brocklin ,
16940-515: The Wayback Machine , Super Bowl XIV Play Finder Pit , Super Bowl XIV Play Finder LA American football American football , referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football , is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down
17160-412: The center (C), are allowed to line up in or cross the neutral zone until the ball is snapped. Interior offensive linemen are not allowed to move until the snap of the ball. The main backfield positions are the quarterback (QB), halfback/tailback (HB/TB), and fullback (FB). The quarterback is the leader of the offense. Either the quarterback or a coach calls the plays. Quarterbacks typically inform
17380-409: The commissioner . NCAA and NFHS teams are "strongly advised" to number their offensive players according to a league-suggested numbering scheme. Although the sport is played almost exclusively by men, women are eligible to play in high school, college, and professional football. No woman has ever played in the NFL, but women have played in high school and college football games. In 2018, 1,100 of
17600-494: The drive . Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby . The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton , using rules based on
17820-411: The kickoff , which starts the first and third quarters and overtime and follows a try attempt or a successful field goal; the safety kick follows a safety. On a kickoff, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line of the kicking team in professional and college play and at the 40-yard line in high school play. The ball may be drop kicked or place kicked. If a place kick is chosen, the ball can be placed on
18040-407: The neutral zone was created along the width of the football before the snap. Scoring was also adjusted: points awarded for field goals were reduced to three in 1909 and points for touchdowns were raised to six in 1912. Also in 1912, the field was shortened to 100 yards (91 m) long, two 10-yard-long (9.1 m) end zones were created, and teams were given four downs instead of three to advance
18260-407: The punter (P), long snapper, upback , and gunner . The long snapper snaps the football directly to the punter, who then drops and kicks it before it hits the ground. Gunners line up split outside the line and race down the field, aiming to tackle the punt returner (PR)—the player who catches the punt. Upbacks line up a short distance behind the line of scrimmage, providing additional protection to
18480-501: The 1960s as the Vikings had a combined record of 32 wins, 59 losses, and 7 ties in their first seven seasons with only one winning season (8–5–1 in 1964). On March 7, 1967, quarterback Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants for a first-round and second-round draft choice in 1967, a first-round choice in 1968 and a second-round choice in 1969. With the picks, Minnesota selected Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in 1967, Ron Yary in 1968 and Ed White in 1969. On March 10, 1967,
18700-413: The 1966 season. Once the merger was completed, it was no longer a championship game between two leagues and reverted to the NFL championship game, which came to be known as the Super Bowl . College football maintained a tradition of postseason bowl games . Each bowl game was associated with a particular conference and earning a spot in a bowl game was the reward for winning a conference. This arrangement
18920-472: The 1983 season before retiring due to recurring elbow injuries, and Blount retired after that season as well. The Steelers were also haunted by their decision to pass on Dan Marino , the standout quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh , in the 1983 NFL draft . The Steelers' first-round selection of 1983 , Texas Tech defensive tackle Gabriel Rivera , was paralyzed in an automobile accident after seven weeks of his rookie season. Terry Bradshaw would miss
19140-537: The 1984 AFC Championship game, where they lost to Marino's Miami Dolphins . But they would not reach a Super Bowl until the 1995 season, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27–17 in Super Bowl XXX. Kicker Matt Bahr would win another Super Bowl with the New York Giants during the 1990 season . He kicked the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV , and a week earlier booted the game-winning field goal against
19360-567: The 225,000 players in Pop Warner Little Scholars youth football were girls, and around 11% of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football are female according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The role of the offensive unit is to advance the football down the field with the ultimate goal of scoring a touchdown . The offensive team must line up in a legal formation before they can snap
19580-704: The Big Game. Slater was the last Ram to have been a teammate of legendary defensive tackle Merlin Olsen , who anchored the Rams' Fearsome Foursome for 15 seasons (1962–76). Pittsburgh would go 9–7 the following season and miss the playoffs. They would go 8–8 in 1981 before making the playoffs the next three seasons. Many of the links that powered the Steelers to their Super Bowl wins began to retire shortly after Super Bowl XIV, starting with Rocky Bleier in 1980 and Joe Greene in 1981. Ham spent all of 1982 on injured reserve before retiring. Bradshaw sat out all but one half of
19800-654: The Butch and Sundance Duo of Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka in Super Bowls VII and VIII (Kiick rushed for a touchdown in both games while Csonka scored twice in VIII en route to winning that game's MVP award). However, like the Rams' previous lead, the Steelers' lead also turned out to be short-lived. Aided by Ferragamo's 12-yard pass to running back Lawrence McCutcheon and a 20-yard pass interference penalty against Shell, Los Angeles advanced 67 yards in 10 plays to score
20020-656: The Central Division with a 9–5 record and advanced to their 4th NFC Championship Game in 5 years, but were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Cowboys , 23–6, at Texas Stadium . By 1978 , age was taking its toll on the Vikings, but they still made the playoffs with an 8–7–1 record. There was no more playoff magic as the Rams finally defeated the Vikings, 34–10 in Los Angeles after having lost in their previous four playoff matchups (in 1969, '74, '76 and '77). Quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired following
20240-598: The Divisional Playoff game, they beat the 13–2 San Francisco 49ers 36–24 at Candlestick Park . During that game, Anthony Carter set the all-time record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 227 yards. The Vikings played the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK Stadium . Trailing 17–10, the Vikings drove to the Redskins' 6-yard line with
20460-594: The LeMont Restaurant in Pittsburgh (which included a brief shot of the newly redesigned Pittsburgh Penguins logo and uniform). Dick Stockton handled the Los Angeles Rams locker room interviews. The national CBS Radio coverage featured Jack Buck and Hank Stram , with Musburger also working its pregame coverage. On local radio, Bob Starr and Al Wisk called the game for the Rams over KMPC in Los Angeles, while WTAE-AM in Pittsburgh featured
20680-416: The Los Angeles 5-yard line, and then Harris ran through the middle to the 4. Wide receiver John Stallworth was then stopped at the 1-yard line, but then Harris ran to the right untouched and scored a touchdown on the next play, putting the Steelers back in front with a 10–7 lead. Harris' touchdown run, his third in Super Bowl play, broke the previous record of two set by Elijah Pitts in Super Bowl I and by
20900-492: The Metrodome on December 29, 2013, defeating the Detroit Lions 14–13 to end the season. Since the team's first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. As of 2022, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962 , and are one of only seven NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship , in 1969 , before
21120-409: The NFL announced that the game versus the Philadelphia Eagles was being postponed to Tuesday, December 28, 2010, because of blizzard conditions . This marks the third consecutive venue or date change for a Vikings game and was the first NFL game played on a Tuesday since 1964. The Vikings proceeded to upset the dynamic Eagles offense, led by a resurgent Michael Vick , 24–14 with rookie Joe Webb at
21340-516: The NFL had established itself as America's premier professional football league. The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level . The upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925, however, when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons , defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game . A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to distinguish itself further from
21560-570: The NFL has a 53-man roster, while NCAA Division I allows teams to have 63 scholarship players in the FCS and 85 scholarship players in the FBS, respectively. Individual players in a football game must be designated with a uniform number between 1 and 99, though some teams may "retire" certain numbers , making them unavailable to players. NFL teams are required to number their players by a league-approved numbering system, and any exceptions must be approved by
21780-407: The NFL season expanded to 16 games in 1978. Their 9–7 regular season record was followed by postseason wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Steelers were the defending Super Bowl XIII champions, and finished the 1979 regular season with a 12–4 record, and posted playoff victories over the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Oilers . Despite the final score, Super Bowl XIV
22000-432: The Pittsburgh 39-yard line. The Steelers lulled the Rams defense by running the ball on three consecutive plays of the drive, and then Bradshaw burned them with a 47-yard touchdown completion to Swann, who made a leaping catch at the Los Angeles 2 and tumbled into the end zone to give Pittsburgh a 17–13 lead. Again, the Steelers' lead did not last long. After the first two plays of the Rams' ensuing drive, Ferragamo completed
22220-412: The Rams 16-yard line on a 19-yard reception by Harris and a 23-yard reception by wide receiver Sidney Thornton , but then after two running plays ended with no gain, Elmendorf deflected a pass intended for Stallworth that was intercepted by cornerback Rod Perry , giving the ball back to the Rams at their own 4-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Los Angeles managed to escape a game-tying safety with
22440-425: The Rams a 13–10 halftime lead. The heavily favored Steelers trailed at the end of the half. "How can you mess up this way?" Steelers assistant coach Woody Widenhofer asked his team at halftime. "Didn't we go over these things a dozen times? You guys are standing out there like statues." Anderson once again gave the Steelers great starting field position, returning the opening kickoff of the second half 37 yards to
22660-407: The Rams intercept the ball both times. On Pittsburgh's next drive, Bradshaw completed a 14-yard pass to Harris, but then threw a deep pass that was intercepted at the Los Angeles 27 by safety Eddie Brown , who then lateraled to cornerback Pat Thomas to gain an additional 7 yards and give the Rams a first down at their own 38. Then after forcing Los Angeles to punt, the Steelers drove all the way to
22880-431: The Rams to victory in 6 of their last 7 games. The Rams gained 6,060 total yards of offense during the regular season, ranking second in the league. The team's main offensive weapon was halfback Wendell Tyler , who despite not becoming the starter until week 5, rushed for a team leading 1,109 yards, caught 32 passes for 308 yards, and scored 10 touchdowns. Tyler's rushing yards came off just 218 rushing attempts, giving him
23100-666: The Rams' running attack to 4th in the NFC during the season despite injuries. They also gave up only 29 sacks. But the Rams' main strength was their defense, which featured defensive end Jack Youngblood , who made the Pro Bowl for the 7th year in a row and was playing with a broken leg, and lightning-quick Fred Dryer on the opposite end. Behind them, the Rams had two outstanding linebackers: Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds , and Jim Youngblood (no relation to Jack), who had recorded 5 interceptions and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. The Rams also had
23320-642: The San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, thus denying the 49ers a chance at three straight Super Bowl victories and surpassing the Steelers' total of four Super Bowl titles. Chuck Noll, the last link to Pittsburgh's dynasty, retired from coaching following the 1991 season . Only Bill Belichick matched (and later surpassed) Noll's four Vince Lombardi Trophies as a head coach. The Steelers' record of four Super Bowls in six seasons has yet to be matched. at Rose Bowl , Pasadena, California Sources: NFL.com Super Bowl XIV Archived July 9, 2018, at
23540-482: The Steeler receiver. On the ensuing kickoff, the Rams tried a reverse, with running back Eddie Hill handing the ball off to fullback Jim Jodat , which resulted in poor field position for the Rams at their own 14. After an exchange of punts, the Rams were given one more chance for a spirited game-winning drive. Ferragamo smartly moved the Rams down the field, completing 3 out of 4 passes around runs by Tyler, including
23760-400: The Steelers marched 53 yards in 9 plays using every offensive weapon in their arsenal. First, Harris ran for 12 yards, running back Rocky Bleier ran for 1, then tight end Bennie Cunningham caught a pass for 8. Bleier ran again for 2, followed by Bradshaw's 12-yard completion to Swann to end the first quarter. The second period opened with Bradshaw's 13-yard completion to Cunningham to reach
23980-526: The Steelers ran out the clock to end the game. The city of Pittsburgh celebrated its third major pro championship in 13 months. The Steelers had also won the previous year's Super Bowl , and the city's Major League Baseball team, the Pirates , had won the World Series three months before this Super Bowl game. Ten days after the Steelers' Super Bowl victory, the city's National Hockey League team,
24200-589: The Steelers' play-by-play team of Jack Fleming and Myron Cope . The KMPC broadcast, thanks to an agreement with the Iranian militants, Iran's Ministry of National Guidance and KMPC reporter Alex Paen, would be recorded and played for the Americans held hostage in Iran . The famous Coca-Cola commercial (titled " Hey Kid, Catch! ") in which "Mean" Joe Greene gives a boy his game jersey aired during CBS' telecast of
24420-481: The Steelers' seventh play of their first possession, quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed a 32-yard pass to running back Franco Harris to reach the Los Angeles 26-yard line. But a deep third down pass intended for wide receiver Lynn Swann fell incomplete, forcing Pittsburgh to settle for a 41-yard field goal by kicker Matt Bahr , giving them an early 3–0 lead. Bahr's ensuing kickoff was very short, giving Los Angeles great field position at their own 41-yard line. On
24640-573: The Vikings 26–14. Since 2006, the Vikings have been known especially for their strong run defense (#1 in the NFL in 2006, 2007, and 2008; they are the first NFL team to accomplish this since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970), anchored by the Williams Wall consisting of defensive tackle Kevin Williams and nose tackle Pat Williams (no relation). With the addition of sack-leader Jared Allen in 2008,
24860-562: The Vikings hired new head coach Bud Grant to replace Van Brocklin, who had resigned on February 11, 1967. Grant came to the Vikings from the Canadian Football League as head coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers , whom he led to four Grey Cup Championships in 10 years. Replacing Tarkenton at quarterback was eight-year CFL veteran and Grey Cup champion Joe Kapp . During the late 1960s, the Vikings built
25080-431: The Vikings, while the Cowboys rode their draft picks to three Super Bowl victories in the early-to-mid-1990s. On December 3, 1991, Jerry Burns announced his retirement effective at the end of the 1991 season. In six seasons as head coach of the Vikings, Burns compiled a career record of 52–43 (.547). He also led Minnesota to three playoff appearances, including a division title and an NFC Championship Game. Dennis Green
25300-467: The Vikings. On October 5, 2009, the Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers as Favre played his former team for the first time. With a 30–23 victory on Monday Night Football , the Vikings moved to a 4–0 record. Favre became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat all 32 current teams as a starter. Over 21.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the game, beating the previous record for
25520-460: The advent of artificial rubber inside the leather outer shell to sustain crushing forces . At all levels of play, the football is inflated to 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 psi (86 to 93 kPa), or just under one atmosphere, and weighs 14 to 15 ounces (400 to 430 g); beyond that, the exact dimensions vary slightly. In professional play the ball has a long axis of 11 to 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (28 to 29 cm),
25740-572: The ball 10 yards (9.1 m). The roughing the passer penalty was implemented in 1914, and eligible players were first allowed to catch the ball anywhere on the field in 1918. On November 12, 1892, Pudge Heffelfinger was paid $ 500 (equivalent to $ 16,956 in 2023) to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . This is the first recorded instance of
25960-435: The ball is caught, and the ball may not be advanced. Officials are responsible for enforcing game rules and monitoring the clock. All officials carry a whistle and wear black-and-white striped shirts and black hats except for the referee, whose hat is white. Each carries a weighted yellow flag that is thrown to the ground to signal that a foul has been called. An official who spots multiple fouls will throw their hat as
26180-451: The ball while getting tackled by Shell, but the officials ruled Nelson down before the ball came out of his hands. On the first play of the Steelers' next drive, Los Angeles safety Dave Elmendorf intercepted a pass from Bradshaw and returned it 10 yards to the Pittsburgh 39. On the first two plays after the turnover, Ferragamo was sacked for a 10-yard loss by linebacker George Andrews and threw an incomplete pass. But he managed to overcome
26400-430: The ball. An offensive formation is considered illegal if there are more than four players in the backfield or fewer than five players numbered 50–79 on the offensive line. Players can line up temporarily in a position whose eligibility is different from what their number permits as long as they report the change immediately to the referee, who then informs the defensive team of the change. Neither team's players, except
26620-430: The capacity of Met Stadium was increased to 47,900. Bert Rose , former public relations director for the Los Angeles Rams , was appointed the team's first general manager. The search for the first head coach saw the team court then- Northwestern University head coach Ara Parseghian , who, according to Minneapolis Star writer Jim Klobuchar —the Vikings' first beat reporter for that newspaper—visited team management in
26840-527: The college game during the late 1930s. Football, in general, became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants , still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major influence on the popularity of the sport. This, along with
27060-608: The conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. After playing McGill University using both American (known as "the Boston game ") for the first game and Canadian (rugby) rules for the second one, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style of having only 11 men on the field, running the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of
27280-502: The conservative NFL to expand to Dallas and Minnesota in an attempt to destroy the new league. Meanwhile, the AFL introduced many new features to professional football in the United States: official time was kept on a scoreboard clock rather than on a watch in the referee's pocket, as the NFL did; optional two-point conversions by pass or run after touchdowns; names on the jerseys of players; and several others, including expansion of
27500-413: The crossbars of the defense's goalposts. In practice, almost all field goal attempts are done via place kick. While drop kicks were common in the early days of the sport, the shape of modern footballs makes it difficult to reliably drop kick the ball. The last successful scoring play by drop kick in the NFL was accomplished in 2006; prior to that, the last successful drop kick had been made in 1941. After
27720-399: The defense is to prevent the offense from scoring by tackling the ball carrier or by forcing turnovers . Turnovers include interceptions (a defender catching a forward pass intended for the offense) and forced fumbles (taking possession of the ball from the ball-carrier). The defensive line (DL) consists of defensive ends (DE) and defensive tackles (DT). Defensive ends line up on
27940-430: The defensive backfield. They are divided into two types: middle linebackers (MLB) and outside linebackers (OLB). Linebackers tend to serve as the defensive leaders and call the defensive plays, given their vantage point of the offensive backfield. Their roles include defending the run, pressuring the quarterback, and tackling backs, wide receivers, and tight ends in the passing game. The defensive backfield , often called
28160-401: The dominant front four began being called by several nicknames, including "Thunder and Plunder" and "Shock and AWE" (an acronym of their surname initials). On August 18, 2009, after months of speculation and negotiations, twice-retired veteran quarterback Brett Favre , who until 2007 had played 16 years for division archrival Green Bay Packers , signed a two-year, $ 25 million deal with
28380-423: The end zone gave the Steelers a first down at the 1-yard line. The Rams managed to keep Bleier and Harris out of the end zone for the first two plays, but Harris then scored on a third-down, 1-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 31–19 lead and cement their fourth Super Bowl title. The Rams responded by driving to Pittsburgh's 37-yard line, but ended up turning over the ball on downs with 39 seconds remaining, and
28600-472: The ends and sides of the field are known as the end lines and sidelines . Goal lines are marked 10 yards (9.1 m) inward from each end line. Weighted pylons are placed the sidelines on the inside corner of the intersections with the goal lines and end lines. White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or hash marks , are short parallel lines that mark off 1-yard (0.91 m) increments. Yard lines , which can run
28820-404: The ends of the line, while defensive tackles line up inside, between the defensive ends. The primary responsibilities of defensive ends and defensive tackles are to stop running plays on the outside and inside, respectively, to pressure the quarterback on passing plays, and to occupy the line so that the linebackers can break through. Linebackers line up behind the defensive line but in front of
29040-499: The feet, hands, head, or sides, with the objective being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6–4. Collegiate play continued for several years with games played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia , Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873, to create a standard set of rules for use by all schools. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from
29260-404: The field but did not notice Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert playing behind Smith. As Ferragamo released the ball, Lambert jumped in front of Smith and intercepted the pass with 5:24 remaining. When faced with 3rd-and-7 on Pittsburgh's ensuing drive, Bradshaw once again made a crucial long pass completion to Stallworth, this time a 44-yard completion to the Los Angeles 22-yard line, barely beyond
29480-412: The field by running with the ball or throwing it , while the defense , the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue
29700-487: The field to make the Super Bowl more competitive. However, the Steelers were not taking their opponents lightly. In their previous meetings, the Rams held a 12–1–2 all-time record over the Steelers, including wins in 1971, 1975, and 1978. The wins in 1975 (by a score of 10–3) and 1978 (by a score of 10–7) were over Steeler teams that eventually won the Super Bowl those seasons. Also, the Steelers had shown clear signs of weakness when playing away from their home stadium during
29920-421: The final game of 2012 to reach the playoffs as the NFC's sixth seed, the Vikings lost 24–10 to the Packers in the rematch at Lambeau Field in the wild-card round. The team was forced to play backup Joe Webb during the game after Ponder was sidelined due to an arm injury sustained from the previous week. Peterson was later named the league's MVP , after rushing for 2,097 yards, the second most rushing yards in
30140-444: The final period against Dallas in Super Bowl X down 10–7 and eventually won the game 21–17. The lead had changed hands seven times, a Super Bowl record to this day. Pittsburgh took the lead four times, while Los Angeles took it three times. Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth became the fourth, fifth and sixth players to score touchdowns in back-to-back Super Bowls, respectively. They had to celebrate when Swann returned from
30360-435: The final six games of the season (finishing with a 3–3 record), defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was officially named the head coach on January 3, 2011, after signing a three-year contract. On January 17, Brett Favre retired for the third, and officially last, time, leaving the team in search of a long-term replacement at the quarterback position. Wasting no time after being appointed head coach, Frazier began to restructure
30580-401: The first 11-plus win season since their record-setting 1998 campaign. The Vikings played the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round on January 17, 2010, and won the game by a score of 34–3, advancing the Vikings to the NFC Championship game, the ninth in franchise history. This would also be the first NFC Championship game for the team since the 2000 season. Minnesota would travel to New Orleans
30800-556: The first 14 games of the 1983 season due to an elbow injury. His final game was against the New York Jets which he started and led two touchdown drives before being forced out due to another elbow injury following a 10-yard TD pass to Calvin Sweeney . Lambert was slowed throughout 1984 by a painful turf toe , retiring after that campaign. Stallworth, Webster, and Shell would play well into the 1980s and helped lead Pittsburgh to
31020-470: The first 15–1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl. Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a lukewarm 2–4 start, Jeff George replaced him as starting quarterback. He finished the season with an 8–2 record, and led the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team record of 10–6. Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild Card game 27–10, and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner and
31240-426: The first play of the drive, running back Wendell Tyler caught a 6-yard pass from quarterback Vince Ferragamo . Then on the next play, Tyler took a handoff, ran left, broke several tackles, and ran 39 yards to the Steelers 14 before he was finally taken down by safety Donnie Shell . This was the longest run against the Steelers all season. Shell saved the touchdown by making the tackle after previously being knocked to
31460-416: The first time since 1973, multiple Super Bowl host sites were selected at the same meeting. A total of eight cities submitted bids: Miami, Pasadena, ( Rose Bowl ), Los Angeles ( Coliseum ), Houston , New Orleans , Dallas ( Cotton Bowl ), Seattle ( Kingdome ), and Detroit ( Pontiac Silverdome ). Seattle and Detroit were attempting to become the first cold-weather city to host a Super Bowl, albeit inside
31680-522: The following week to face the top-seeded Saints in the first conference championship game held at the Superdome . Despite out-gaining the Saints on offense by nearly a twofold margin, the Vikings were severely hindered by five turnovers, including a Favre interception in the final minute of the fourth quarter in Saints territory. They were ousted in overtime, 31–28, as the Saints won the coin toss and kicked
31900-486: The fourth quarter, scoring 14 points with Bradshaw's 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Stallworth , and running back Franco Harris ' 1-yard touchdown run. Despite throwing three interceptions, Bradshaw was named Super Bowl MVP by completing 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XIV to Pasadena on June 14, 1977, at the owners' meetings held in New York City . For
32120-435: The fourth quarter. Los Angeles took the lead three times while Pittsburgh took it four times, including the game clincher. The Rams led 13–10 at halftime before Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw connected with wide receiver Lynn Swann on a 47-yard touchdown pass. Los Angeles regained the lead on a halfback option play with running back Lawrence McCutcheon 's 24-yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith . But Pittsburgh controlled
32340-519: The game are professional and college football , with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. As of 2022 , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA . The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world . Its championship game,
32560-419: The game clock based on the direction of the appropriate official . A separate play clock is used to show the amount of time within which the offense must initiate a play. The play clock is set to 25 seconds after certain administrative stoppages in play and to 40 seconds when play is proceeding without such stoppages. If the offense fails to start a play before the play clock reads "00", a delay of game foul
32780-529: The game in the United States with play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator Tom Brookshier . Brent Musburger hosted CBS's pregame coverage with the NFL Today crew of Irv Cross (who joined Musburger in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room), Jayne Kennedy (the only Super Bowl she would be part of covering for CBS), Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder and Jack Whitaker . One of
33000-655: The game unless major changes were made. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes on December 28, 1905. These proceedings resulted in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The legal forward pass was introduced in 1906, although its effect
33220-505: The game. However, it is technically not viewed as a Super Bowl ad since it actually debuted on October 1, 1979, not during the day of the game. 60 Minutes was CBS's Super Bowl lead-out program . The Los Angeles Unified School District All-City Band played during the pregame ceremonies. Later, actress and singer Cheryl Ladd performed the national anthem. The coin toss ceremony featured longtime Steelers owner Art Rooney . The performance event group Up with People performed during
33440-443: The ground or a tee; a holder may be used in either case. On a safety kick, the kicking team kicks the ball from their own 20-yard line. They can punt, drop kick or place kick the ball, but a tee may not be used in professional play. Any member of the receiving team may catch or advance the ball. The ball may be recovered by the kicking team once it has gone at least ten yards and has touched the ground or has been touched by any member of
33660-434: The guards. The principal receivers are the wide receivers (WR) and the tight ends (TE). Wide receivers line up on or near the line of scrimmage, split outside the line. The main goal of the wide receiver is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback, but they may also function as decoys or as blockers during running plays. Tight ends line up outside the tackles and function both as receivers and as blockers. The role of
33880-772: The guest analysts for the network's pregame show was former Oakland Raiders coach John Madden ; he impressed CBS executives so much that he eventually replaced Brookshier (who was promoted to play by play) as lead game analyst in 1981. George Allen also served as a second guest analyst. Filing remote reports from bars in the respect team's home markets were Paul Hornung in The Ginger Man in Beverly Hills (briefly joined by Jayne Kennedy's NFL Today predecessor Phyllis George and her then-husband, newly inaugurated Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr. along with Houston Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini ) and Tim Ryan at
34100-471: The halftime show titled "A Salute to the Big Band Era". This was the first of 9 consecutive Super Bowls to feature the football-style logo at the 35-yard line. Despite being the underdogs, the Rams managed to hang onto a 13–10 lead at halftime, and a 19–17 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. But the Steelers held the Rams scoreless in the fourth quarter and scored two unanswered touchdowns for
34320-507: The helm. The Vikings finished the season 6–10 with a 20–13 loss against the Detroit Lions. The 2010–11 season was a step down for the Minnesota Vikings. After coming within a few plays of Super Bowl XLIV , Minnesota ended the 2010 season with a 6–10 record and a last place finish in the NFC North for the first time since 1990. During the season, the Vikings had many distractions, including trading for Randy Moss and then waiving him only
34540-401: The hospital after being injured. Ferragamo finished the game with 15 out of 25 completions for 212 yards, with 1 interception. Tyler was the top rusher of the game with 60 yards, and caught 2 passes for 20 yards. Waddy was the Rams leading receiver with 3 catches for 75 yards. Harris led the Steelers in rushing with 44 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also catching 3 passes for 66 yards. Stallworth
34760-555: The illegal payment of college players who were still in school. The National Football League (NFL), a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. By 1922,
34980-451: The innovations introduced by the new American Football League (AFL) in the early 1960s, helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. The rival AFL arose in 1960 and challenged the NFL's dominance. The AFL began in relative obscurity but eventually thrived, with an initial television contract with the ABC television network. The AFL's existence forced
35200-467: The last six seasons. Pittsburgh appeared to be even better than what they were in their three previous Super Bowl victories. They led the league with 6,258 yards in total offense, an average of 391 yards per game and just 31 yards short of an NFL record. The team also led the league in scoring with 416 points. Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw had another fine season as the leader of the Steelers offense, throwing for 3,724 yards and 26 touchdowns during
35420-601: The league's merger with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. Since the merger, the team has qualified for the playoffs 28 times, third-most in the league (trailing only the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers ). The team played in Super Bowls IV , VIII , IX and XI , but failed to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last six NFC Championship Game appearances, stretching back to 1978. The Vikings have 15 members in
35640-527: The league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team. The teams from Ole Haugsrud's high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin , were also called the Vikings and had a similar purple-and-yellow color scheme. From the team's first season in 1961 to 1981 , the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home. The Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965. In 1966,
35860-625: The loss in the 1989 NFC championship game, the Rams suffered through nine consecutive losing seasons and had the NFL's worst record of the 1990s until the 1999 championship season. They would make 2 Super Bowl appearances with the first being 2 years following their return to Los Angeles in 2016 in Super Bowl LIII , but fell to the New England Patriots by a score of 13–3, and their second being in Super Bowl LVI (which
36080-543: The majority of his career with the Vikings to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Following the strike -shortened 1987 season , the 8–7 Vikings, who had finished 8–4 in regular games but 0–3 using strike-replacement players, pulled two upsets in the playoffs. They defeated the 12–3 New Orleans Saints 44–10 at the Louisiana Superdome in the Wild Card game. The following week, in
36300-429: The offense advances ten or more yards in the four downs, they are awarded a new set of four downs. If they fail to advance ten yards, possession of the football is turned over to the defense. In most situations, if the offense reaches their fourth down they will punt the ball to the other team, which forces them to begin their drive from farther down the field; if they are in field goal range , they might attempt to score
36520-423: The outstretched hand of Perry. Stallworth's clutch catch, his third and final reception of the game, came off the same play that he scored the touchdown on and just like before Bradshaw misjudged Stallworth and instead underthrew him. During the same America's Game interview, Stallworth said if Bradshaw threw it out a little more, they could have scored again. Two plays later, a pass interference penalty on Thomas in
36740-445: The plane of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart for professional and collegiate play, and 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) apart for high school play. The uprights extend vertically 35 feet (11 m) on professional fields, a minimum of 10 yards (9.1 m) on college fields, and
36960-404: The playoffs. However, the Arizona Cardinals completed a game-winning touchdown on 4th-and-28 with 0:00 left, knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs. The moment of Arizona's touchdown was actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings hadn't led their division. The Vikings became the second team in football history to miss the playoffs after getting off to a 6–0 start, following
37180-451: The point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT) or conversion, which is a single scoring opportunity. This is generally attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If the PAT is scored by a place kick or drop kick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If the PAT is scored by what would normally be a touchdown, it is worth two points; this
37400-478: The punter. In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try, more commonly known as
37620-401: The receiving team. The three types of scrimmage kicks are place kicks, drop kicks, and punts. Only place kicks and drop kicks can score points. The place kick is the standard method used to score points, because the pointy shape of the football makes it difficult to reliably drop kick. Once the ball has been kicked from a scrimmage kick, it can be advanced by the kicking team only if it
37840-452: The regular season (but he did throw 25 interceptions). Wide receiver John Stallworth was his top target with 70 receptions for 1,183 yards and 8 touchdowns, while wide receiver Lynn Swann caught 41 passes for 808 yards, an average of 19.7 yards per catch. Steelers starting tight end Bennie Cunningham , who missed most of the previous season due to injuries, was also a big contributor with 36 receptions for 512 yards. Fullback Franco Harris
38060-423: The regular season in the 1990s. 1998 was a year to remember for the franchise. With a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham (who replaced an injured Brad Johnson ), running back Robert Smith , veteran wide receiver Cris Carter , and explosive rookie Randy Moss , the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. The Vikings finished
38280-411: The rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. In the United States, American football is referred to as "football". The term "football" was officially established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season , when the sport first shifted from soccer-style rules to rugby-style rules. Although it could easily have been called "rugby" at this point, Harvard, one of the primary proponents of
38500-631: The rest of the offense of the play in the huddle before the team lines up. The quarterback lines up behind the center to take the snap and then hands the ball off, throws it, or runs with it. The primary role of the halfback, also known as the running back or tailback, is to carry the ball on running plays. Halfbacks may also serve as receivers. Fullbacks tend to be larger than halfbacks and function primarily as blockers, but they are sometimes used as runners in short-yardage or goal-line situations. They are seldom used as receivers. The offensive line (OL) consists of several players whose primary function
38720-507: The role of minority players, actively recruited by the league in contrast to the NFL. The AFL also signed several star college players who had also been drafted by NFL teams. Competition for players heated up in 1965, when the AFL New York Jets signed rookie Joe Namath to a then-record $ 437,000 contract (equivalent to $ 4.23 million in 2023). A five-year, $ 40 million NBC television contract followed, which helped to sustain
38940-530: The rugby-style game, compromised and did not request the name of the sport be changed to "rugby". The terms " gridiron " or "American football" are favored in English-speaking countries where other types of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. American football evolved from the sports of rugby and soccer . Rugby, like American football,
39160-451: The rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the "Father of American Football", established the snap , the line of scrimmage , eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass , created the neutral zone , and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football , which evolved in parallel with and at
39380-401: The running game was inconsistent and the Vikings finished with a disappointing 7–7 record. The Vikings addressed the problem by drafting running back Chuck Foreman with their first pick in the 1973 draft . Co-owner Bill Boyer died on February 19, 1973 and was replaced on the team's board of directors by his son-in-law Jack Steele. The Vikings won their first nine games of 1973 and finished
39600-435: The same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football . American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of
39820-414: The season 15–1, their only loss was to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–24 in Week 9. In the playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals 41–21, and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons , who had gone 14–2 in the regular season. After kicker Gary Anderson , who had just completed the first perfect regular season in NFL history (not missing
40040-533: The season at 8–8 and missed the playoffs. In Week 13 of the 2008 season against the Bears , Gus Frerotte hooked up with Bernard Berrian and set the record for longest play in franchise history with a 99-yard touchdown pass. In the 2009 season, Adrian Peterson led the NFL with 1760 rushing yards, breaking the franchise record. The Vikings clinched the NFC North championship for the first time after defeating
40260-453: The season holding league passer records in attempts (6,467), completions (3,686), yards (47,003), and touchdowns (342). In December 1979, ground was broken for construction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. On May 15, 1981, the Vikings moved into a new facility in suburban Eden Prairie that housed the team's offices, locker room and practice fields. The complex
40480-528: The season with a 12–2 record. They then advanced to their second Super Bowl in franchise history, Super Bowl VIII , against the Miami Dolphins at Rice Stadium in Houston , Texas ; however, the Dolphins prevailed, 24–7. The Vikings won the Central Division again in 1974 with a 10–4 record. In the playoffs they built on their cold-weather reputation, defeating both the St. Louis Cardinals 30–14 and
40700-581: The season. Their first loss of the year was on the road in a 4-turnover performance against the Philadelphia Eagles . Two weeks later at 5–1, Pittsburgh was blown out 34–10 in Cincinnati against an 0–6 Bengals team. In week 12, the team lost 8 turnovers (which included Bradshaw's 5 interceptions) in a 35–7 loss on the road against the San Diego Chargers . Bradshaw became the second quarterback to start four Super Bowls, joining his counterpart from Super Bowls X and XIII Roger Staubach . Joe Montana became
40920-503: The secondary, consists of cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S). Safeties are themselves divided into free safeties (FS) and strong safeties (SS). Cornerbacks line up outside the defensive formation, typically opposite a receiver to be able to cover them. Safeties line up between the cornerbacks but farther back in the secondary. Safeties tend to be viewed as "the last line of defense" and are responsible for stopping deep passing plays as well as breakout running plays. The special teams unit
41140-400: The situation with a 12-yard completion to Bryant on third down and a 10-yard completion to wide receiver Billy Waddy on 4th-and-8. Ferragamo's next pass was a 14-yard completion to Nelson for a first down at the 13, but after throwing two incompletions, Pittsburgh defensive end John Banaszak sacked Ferragamo on third down for a 12-yard loss. However, Corral kicked a 45-yard field goal to give
41360-635: The team and fired her stepson after the pre-season (who was hired by the New Orleans Saints to become their general manager ). Prior to Carroll Rosenbloom's death, the Rams had already announced their intentions to leave the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and move to Anaheim Stadium in Orange County for the 1980 season . The Rams barely outscored their opponents, 323–309, and finished the regular season with
41580-416: The team had moved to St. Louis before the 1995 season . The closest the Los Angeles Rams would get to getting back to another Super Bowl in the 1980s, was in 1985 , when they advanced to the NFC title game before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears , and in 1989 ; reaching the NFC Championship before losing to division rival and defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco . Following
41800-522: The team moved to their training camp to Minnesota State University in Mankato . The training camp at Minnesota State was one of the longest continuously running training camp events in the NFL and is remembered as part of the golden era history of the team. The Vikings played their home games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. The Vikings played their last game at
42020-422: The team's coaching staff, including letting go of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and hiring Mike Singletary as linebackers coach and Bill Musgrave as the new offensive coordinator. Their first-round draft pick was Christian Ponder , a quarterback from Florida State University . The team finished with a 3–13 record, tied with the 1984 Vikings for the second-worst record in franchise history. During
42240-442: The third round. Notable veterans acquired in the offseason were George Shaw and Hugh McElhenny . The Vikings won their first regular-season game, defeating the Chicago Bears 37–13 on Opening Day 1961 ; Tarkenton came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes and run for another to lead the upset. Reality set in as the expansion team lost its next seven games on their way to a 3–11 record. The losing continued throughout much of
42460-408: The third to start four Super Bowls, but all were passed by John Elway and Tom Brady , and also matched by Jim Kelly , Peyton Manning , and Patrick Mahomes . The Rams became the first NFC West team to reach the Super Bowl. The NFC West was the last of the six post-merger divisions to reach the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XIV holds the record for attendance with 103,985 spectators. CBS televised
42680-445: The turf 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. Six plays later, however, running back Cullen Bryant scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Rams their first lead of the game, 7–3. The score was the first time the Steelers allowed a rushing touchdown during a Super Bowl in franchise history. But the lead did not last long. Pittsburgh cornerback/kick returner Larry Anderson returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to his own 47, and then
42900-417: The way to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown to make the score 24–19 in favor of the Steelers. When being interviewed for the documentary series America's Game , Stallworth said that Bradshaw had overthrown him and departed his planned route and simply ran towards the goal line. The NFL Films highlight film notes that Brown was supposed to help Perry in covering Stallworth, but for some reason, Brown ignored
43120-500: The weight of the snow caused the roof to collapse. After viewing the damage, Vikings management and the NFL decided to move the game to Monday and play it at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Because of ongoing repairs to the roof of the Metrodome, the Vikings played their December 20 game versus the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium . Favre threw the final touchdown pass of his career (to Percy Harvin ) in this game. On December 26,
43340-411: The width of the field, are marked every 5 yards (4.6 m). A one-yard-wide line is placed at each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in yards are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards. Goalposts are located at the center of
43560-486: The win. Despite the game's uneven matchup and the final score, this game is regarded by some as one of the most competitive games in Super Bowl history. Overall, the lead changed seven times between both teams, a Super Bowl record (Pittsburgh took the lead 4 times, while Los Angeles took it 3 times). The Rams won the coin toss and took the opening kickoff, but the Steel Curtain defense forced a three-and-out. Then on
43780-408: The winning team decides to defer, the losing team chooses the option the winning team did not select—to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game allows the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when
44000-408: The young league. The bidding war for players ended in 1966 when NFL owners approached the AFL regarding a merger, and the two leagues agreed on one that took full effect in 1970. This agreement provided for a common draft that would take place each year, and it instituted an annual World Championship game to be played between the champions of each league. This championship game began play at the end of
44220-503: Was Joe Kapp, who threw for seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts – still an all-time NFL record; however, Kapp refused to accept the award, stating, "There is not one most valuable Viking... there are 40 most valuable Vikings!" The team continued to dominate in 1970 (moving into the newly formed NFC Central) and 1971 , reaching the playoffs behind the stubborn "Purple People Eaters" defensive line. In 1971, Alan Page won
44440-433: Was a seesaw battle for the majority of the contest. The lead changed seven times, which remains a Super Bowl record as of 2023. It was the third Super Bowl where the winning team was behind at halftime ( Super Bowl V and Super Bowl X were the others; the Colts trailed the Cowboys 13–6 at the half in V en route to win 16–13, while the Steelers trailed the Cowboys 10–7 in X and won 21–17) and the first where they were behind by
44660-667: Was also played in the Los Angeles area , albeit at their actual home stadium) where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23–20. Wendell Tyler eventually won a Super Bowl as a featured back for the San Francisco 49ers in 1984 . 1984 was also Jack Youngblood's 14th and final season in the NFL. The last link of the 1979 team was Jackie Slater, who remained on the team until 1995, the club's first season in St. Louis. He set an NFL record by playing 20 seasons with one team, yet Super Bowl XIV remained his lone trip to
44880-414: Was an offensive assistant with the Vikings for 5 seasons, was then named the 3rd head coach in franchise history. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach in the NFL in 1984 at age 38. However, the Vikings lost a franchise-worst 13 games. After the season Steckel was fired, and on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant came out of retirement and
45100-416: Was called, debris was thrown on the field for several minutes. A Corby's Whiskey bottle struck game official Armen Terzian , rendering him unconscious. The Vikings played in Super Bowl XI , their third Super Bowl (fourth overall) in four years, against the Oakland Raiders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California , on January 9, 1977. The Vikings, however, lost 32–14. In 1977 , the Vikings again won
45320-416: Was hampered by injury. Nonetheless, the Vikings made the playoffs for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, they traveled to New York City to face the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Though they were the road team, the Vikings were favored to win the game (since most considered their 11–2 record with Culpepper more indicative than their 0–3 record when he
45540-414: Was heavily favored to win Super Bowl XIV and become the first team to win 4 Super Bowls. Most people did not think that the Rams even belonged on the same field with the Steelers. In fact, Sports Illustrated had called the NFC Championship Game "a game for losers, played by losers". One sports writer sarcastically suggested that Bradshaw throw left-handed and the Rams should be allowed to play with 12 men on
45760-419: Was hired on January 18, 1961. Van Brocklin had just finished his career as a player on a high note, having defeated the Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game . As a new franchise, the Vikings had the first overall selection in the 1961 NFL draft , and they picked running back Tommy Mason of Tulane . They also took a young quarterback from the University of Georgia named Fran Tarkenton in
45980-418: Was initially minimal due to the restrictions placed on its use. The idea of a 40-yard-wider field was opposed by Harvard due to the size of the new Harvard Stadium . Other rule changes introduced that year included the reduction of playing time from 70 to 60 minutes and an increase of the distance required for a first down from 5 to 10 yards (4.6 to 9.1 m). To reduce infighting and dirty play between teams,
46200-444: Was later named the fifth head coach in team history, after turning around a struggling Stanford University football program as head coach from 1989 to 1991. In his 10 seasons as the coach of the Vikings, Green won four NFC Central division titles, had eight playoff appearances, two NFC Championship Game appearances and an all-time record of 97–62. The Vikings therefore had the fifth highest winning percentage among all NFL teams during
46420-416: Was named "Winter Park" after Max Winter , one of the Vikings' founders, who served as the team's president from 1965 to 1987. The Vikings played their final game at Metropolitan Stadium on December 20 to conclude the 1981 NFL season by losing to the Kansas City Chiefs , 10–6. The Vikings played their first game at the Metrodome in a preseason matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on August 21, 1982, in
46640-416: Was named the fourth head coach in team history on January 7, 1986. He served as the Vikings' offensive coordinator from 1968 to 1985, when the team won 11 division titles and played in four Super Bowls. In his first season, the Vikings, led by the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Kramer, went 9–7, their first winning record in four years. On August 2, 1986, Fran Tarkenton was the first player who played
46860-440: Was necessary to prevent this strategy from taking hold, and a reversion to the scrum was considered. However, Camp successfully proposed a rule in 1882 that limited each team to three downs , or tackles, to advance the ball 5 yards (4.6 m). Failure to advance the ball the required distance within those three downs would result in control of the ball being forfeited to the other team. This change effectively made American football
47080-423: Was out); instead, the Vikings were defeated 41–0, their worst defeat in playoff history. Robert Smith, who ran for 1,521 yards that season, retired at the end of the year after only playing eight NFL seasons. In 2001 , after a disappointing 5–11 season, the Vikings bought out the contract of Dennis Green , despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to
47300-431: Was profitable, but it tended to prevent the two top-ranked teams from meeting in a true national championship game, as they would normally be committed to the bowl games of their respective conferences. Several systems have been used since 1992 to determine a national champion of college football. The first was the Bowl Coalition , in place from 1992 to 1994. This was replaced in 1995 by the Bowl Alliance , which gave way to
47520-425: Was rehired as the head coach of the Vikings. On January 6, 1986, following the 1985 season , Bud Grant re-retired, this time permanently, as head coach of the Vikings. At the time of his retirement he held the 6th best winning record for a coach in NFL history with 168 career wins, including playoffs. In 18 seasons, he led the Vikings to a 158–96–5 regular-season record. Longtime Vikings assistant coach Jerry Burns
47740-432: Was revealed that birds were found in the showers of the Vikings training facility during Super Bowl VIII . Likewise New Orleans was passed over since the Superdome was already set to host Super Bowl XII . Team owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned during an off-season accident, resulting in a power struggle between his second wife, Georgia Frontiere , and his son, Steve Rosenbloom . Frontiere eventually gained control of
47960-568: Was the Steelers' leading rusher for the 8th consecutive season with 1,186 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also recorded his 7th consecutive season with more than 1,000 yards, tying an NFL record set by Jim Brown . Harris also had his best year as a receiver out of the backfield, recording career-highs of 36 receptions for 291 yards and another touchdown. Halfback Rocky Bleier also had another superb season, providing Harris with excellent blocking while also contributing 711 combined rushing and receiving yards. And running back Sidney Thornton also emerged as
48180-443: Was the longest single-season winning streak in 35 years. The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns 27–7 in the last pre-merger NFL Championship Game on January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game , and earned a berth in Super Bowl IV ; however, the heavily favored Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs , 23–7. The team MVP that season
48400-401: Was the top receiver of the game with 3 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown, an average of 40.3 yards per catch. Swann had 5 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Larry Anderson set a Super Bowl record with 162 yards from his 5 kickoff returns. The Rams would remain competitive in the 1980s but wouldn't reach another Super Bowl until their victory in Super Bowl XXXIV in January 2000, after
#44955