Sunday January 13, 1974
. . . where the 1970s live forever!

All NFL game summaries for 01/13/1974:



Miami became the first team to appear in three (and three consecutive) Super Bowls and tied Green Bay's mark of two consecutive victories with their 24-7 win over Minnesota. During their first Super Bowl appearance in VI, the Dolphins had been completely dominated by the Dallas Cowboys. In VIII, they turned the same trick on the Vikings. The Fish jumped off to a two touchdown lead in the first quarter and totaled all their points in the first three quarters before allowing Minnesota a meaningless score in the final period.

For the Vikings, the game marked their second Super Bowl, their second loss, and the second time they were held to a single touchdown. Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton actually passed for more than twice the yardage gained by the Dolphins' Bob Griese, but he didn't have Miami's rushing attack to control the game. Griese threw only seven passes in the game, but he completed six. Game MVP Larry Csonka smashed for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries to exactly double the rushing yardage of the entire Minnesota backfield.

The Dolphins took the opening kickoff 62 yards to a five-yard touchdown smash by Csonka. Minnesota was three downs and out. Miami came right back with a 56-yard drive for another touchdown. This time Jim Kiick did the honors with a one-yard plunge. Early in the second quarter, Miami marched down the field again. The drive culminated in a 28-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian.

Trailing 17-0, Minnesota finally put its offense in gear. Paced by four Tarkenton pass completions good for 66 yards, the Vikings went 74 yards only to lose the ball when Oscar Reed fumbled on a fourth-and-one at the Miami six. Minnesota opened the second half with John Gilliam's 65-yard kickoff return, but the play was called back by a Viking clip. When the Dolphins got the ball, they cemented their lead with a drive from midfield that saw Csonka score on a two-yard smash.

The Vikings' only score came early in the final quarter. Tarkenton's four-yard run finished off a drive from the Minnesota 43. Although it was much too late, Minnesota put together another strong drive in the quarter. It was foiled by Curtis Johnson's interception at the Miami goal line. The Dolphins used their ground game to hold the ball for the final 6:24 of the game.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

TeamRush Yds/GmPass Yds/GmTot Yds/GmTurnovers
OFFENSE162.5  (6)139.7  (14)302.2  (7)26
DEFENSE141.0  (11)135.3  (12)276.3  (11)36
OFFENSE180.1  (3)113.0  (21)293.1  (10)28
DEFENSE142.2  (12)92.1  (1)234.4  (3)29

Line: Dolphins by 6½

Team1234F
Minnesota Vikings (14-3-0)00077
Miami Dolphins (15-2-0)1437024

( 0- 7) MIA Larry Csonka 5 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick) ( 0-14) MIA Jim Kiick 1 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick) ( 0-17) MIA Garo Yepremian 28 yard field goal ( 0-24) MIA Larry Csonka 2 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick) ( 7-24) MIN Fran Tarkenton 4 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
                     MIN             MIA
First Downs:         14              21
Rushes-yards:        24-72           53-196
Yards/rush:          3.0             3.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     18-28-182-1     6-7-73-0
Sacked-yards:        2-16            1-10
Net pass yards:      166             63
Net yards/pass:      5.5             7.9
Total net yards:     238             259
Total plays:         54 (44% run)    61 (86% run)  
Yards/play:          4.4             4.2
Fumbles-lost:        2-1             1-0
Turnovers:           2               0
Penalties-yards:     7-65            1-4

Attendance: 68,142

Passing:
MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 18 of 28 for 182 yards (1 int) MIA: Bob Griese, 6 of 7 for 73 yards
Rushing:
MIN: Oscar Reed, 11 for 32 yards; Chuck Foreman, 7 for 18 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 4 for 17 yards and 1 TD; Ed Marinaro, 1 for 3 yards; Bill Brown, 1 for 2 yards MIA: Larry Csonka, 33 for 145 yards and 2 TDs; Mercury Morris, 11 for 34 yards; Jim Kiick, 7 for 10 yards and 1 TD; Bob Griese, 2 for 7 yards
Receiving:
MIN: Chuck Foreman, 5 for 27 yards; John Gilliam, 4 for 44 yards; Stu Voigt, 3 for 46 yards; Ed Marinaro, 2 for 39 yards; Bill Brown, 1 for 9 yards; Doug Kingsriter, 1 for 9 yards; Jim Lash, 1 for 9 yards; Oscar Reed, 1 for -1 yards MIA: Paul Warfield, 2 for 33 yards; Jim Mandich, 2 for 21 yards; Marlin Briscoe, 2 for 19 yards
Kick returns:
MIN: John Gilliam, 2 for 41 yards; Charlie West, 2 for 28 yards MIA: Jake Scott, 2 for 47 yards
Punt returns:
MIA: Jake Scott, 3 for 20 yards
Interceptions:
MIA: Curtis Johnson, 1 for 10 yards
Punting:
MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 211 yards MIA: Larry Seiple, 3 for 119 yards
Field Goals:
MIA: Garo Yepremian, 1/1


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