- Super Bowl VIII
Infobox SuperBowl
sb_name = VIII
visitor =Minnesota Vikings
home =Miami Dolphins
visitor_abbr = MIN
home_abbr = MIA
visitor_conf = NFC
home_conf = AFC
visitor_total = 7
home_total = 24visitor_qtr1 = 0
visitor_qtr2 = 0
visitor_qtr3 = 0
visitor_qtr4 = 7home_qtr1 = 14
home_qtr2 = 3
home_qtr3 = 7
home_qtr4 = 0date =
January 13 ,1974
stadium = Rice Stadium
city = Houston, Texas
attendance = 71,882
odds = Dolphins by 7
MVP =Larry Csonka ,Running back
anthem =Charley Pride
coin_toss = Game referee
referee =Ben Dreith
halftime =University of Texas at Austin Band
network =CBS
announcers = Ray Scott,Pat Summerall andBart Starr
rating = 41.6
share = 73
commercial = $103,000
last = VII
next = IXSuper Bowl VIII was an
American football game played onJanuary 13 ,1974 atRice Stadium [This was the first time inSuper Bowl history that the game site was a true neutral field. All of the previous Super Bowls were held at a home field of an existing NFL team. The Houston Oilers did in fact play at Rice Stadium from 1965 to 1967, but moved to the Houston Astrodome in 1968.] [This was also the first Super Bowl not to be held in either the Los Angeles, Miami, or New Orleans markets. The NFL would continue on a New Orleans/Miami/Los Angeles (Pasadena) rotation until Super Bowl XVI in 1982 (which was held in Pontiac, Michigan).] inHouston, Texas to decide theNational Football League (NFL) champion following the 1973 regular season. TheAmerican Football Conference (AFC) championMiami Dolphins (15-2) defeated theNational Football Conference (NFC) championMinnesota Vikings (14-3), 24–7. Scoring the first 24 points of the game and leading 24-0 going into the fourth quarter, the Dolphins easily won their second consecutiveSuper Bowl , and became the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls.Dolphins
Running Back Larry Csonka , who ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. His 145 rushing yards and his 33 carries were both Super Bowl records. Csonka became the first running back to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.Background
Miami Dolphins
Although the Dolphins were unable to match their 17-0 perfect season of 1972, many sports writers, fans, and Dolphins players themselves felt that the 1973 team was better. While the '72 team faced no competition in the regular season that had a record of better than 8-6, the '73 team played against a much tougher schedule that included games against the
Oakland Raiders ,Pittsburgh Steelers , andDallas Cowboys (all playoff teams), plus two games against a resurgentBuffalo Bills squad that featured 2,000-yard rusherO.J. Simpson . Miami finished with a 12-2 regular season, including their opening game victory over theSan Francisco 49ers that tied an NFL record with 18 consecutive wins. The Dolphins' streak ended in week two with a 12-7 loss to the Raiders inBerkeley, California .Just like the last two previous seasons, Miami's offense relied primarily on their rushing attack. Fullback
Larry Csonka recorded his third consecutive 1,000 rushing yard season (1,003 yards), while running backMercury Morris rushed for 954 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. Running backJim Kiick was also a key contributor, rushing for 257 yards, and catching 27 passes for 208 yards. QuarterbackBob Griese , the AFC's second leading passer, completed only 116 passes for 1,422 yards, but threw about twice as many touchdown passes (17) as interceptions (8), and earned an 84.3passer rating . Wide receiverPaul Warfield remained the main deep threat on the team, catching 29 passes for 514 yards and 11 touchdowns. Also, the offensive line was strong, once again led by centerJim Langer and right guardLarry Little . Griese, Csonka, Warfield, Langer, and Little would all eventually be elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame .Miami's "No Name Defense" continued to dominate their opponents. Future Hall of Fame linebacker
Nick Buoniconti recovered three fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. SafetyDick Anderson led the team with eight interceptions, which he returned for 163 yards and two touchdowns. And safety Jake Scott, the previous season's Super Bowl MVP, had four interceptions and 71 return yards. The Dolphins were still using their "53" defense devised at the beginning of the 1972 season, whereBob Matheson (#53) would be brought in as a fourth linebacker in a 3-4 defense, with Manny Fernandez atnose tackle . Matheson could either rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage.Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings also finished the regular season with a 12-2 record. Minnesota's offense was led by 13-year veteran quarterback
Fran Tarkenton . During the regular season, Tarkenton completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 2,113 yard, 15 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He also rushed for 202 yards and another touchdown. The team's primary deep threat was Pro Bowl wide receiverJohn Gilliam , who caught 42 passes for 907 yards, an average of 21.6 yards per catch, and scored eight touchdowns. Tight EndStu Voigt was also a key element of the passing game, with 23 receptions for 318 yards and two touchdowns.The Vikings' main weapon on their rushing game was
NFL Rookie of the Year running backChuck Foreman , who rushed for 801 yards, caught 37 passes for 362 yards, and scored six touchdowns. The Vikings had four other significant running backs:Dave Osborn , Bill Brown,Oscar Reed , andEd Marinaro combined for 1,469 rushing/receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. The Vikings offensive line was also very talented, led byRon Yary and six-time Pro BowlerMick Tingelhoff .Their defense was once again anchored by a defensive line nicknamed the "
Purple People Eaters ", consisting of defensive tacklesGary Larsen andAlan Page , and defensive ends Jim Marshall andCarl Eller . Behind them, cornerbackBobby Bryant (seven interceptions, 105 return yards, one touchdown), and safety Paul Krause (four interceptions) led the defensive secondary.Playoffs
The Vikings earned their second trip to the Super Bowl in team history after defeating the
Washington Redskins , 27-20, and theDallas Cowboys 27-10, in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Dolphins went on to beat theCincinnati Bengals , 34-16, and theOakland Raiders , 27-10. The Dolphins were the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls.uper Bowl pregame news and notes
This was the first Super Bowl in which a team that had been a part of the AFL was the favorite, the Colts had been the favorite in
Super Bowl V , but they were in the NFL before the merger.This was also the first Super Bowl played in a stadium that was not the current home to an NFL or AFL team...although the Houston Oilers had played in Rice Stadium in the mid '60s.
The Vikings complained about their practice facilities at a Houston high school, a 20-minute bus ride from their hotel. They said the locker room was cramped, uncarpeted, had no lockers, and that most of the shower heads didn't work. The practice field had no blocking sleds. "I don't think our players have seen anything like this since junior high school," said Vikings head coach
Bud Grant .Herskowitz, Mickey, "Purple People Eaten by Dolphins," "The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game." Simon and Schuster, 1990 ISBN 0-671-72798-2]There were reports of dissension among the Dolphins arising out of owner
Joe Robbie 's decision to allow players to bring their wives at the club's expense. The single players were reportedly angry that they couldn't bring their girlfriends or mothers.Paul Warfield entered the game with a well-publicized hamstring injury. Alan Page and Dolphins left guard
Bob Kuechenberg were former teammates at Notre Dame. Kuechenberg would be blocking Page in Super Bowl VIII. Kuechenberg entered the game with a broken arm that he had suffered in a game vs. the New York Giants and wore a cast on that arm through out the game.On television before the game,
Joe Namath said, "If Miami gets the kickoff and scores on the opening drive, the game is over." [Dave Hyde, "Still Perfect! The Untold Story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins," p271. Dolphins/Curtis Publishing, 2002 ISBN 0-9702677-1-1] . The Dolphins did become the first team to take the game's opening kickoff and march down the field for a touchdown.The Dolphins usually wear white at home for day games, but due to a (since changed) uniform policy, the Dolphins were obligated to wear their aqua jerseys as the designated home team, although Miami wore its aqua jerseys for its final regular season home game (on a Saturday afternoon) that season vs. the
Detroit Lions . Also, many Dolphin players wore a slightly different helmet decal than the rest...starting with the final regular season game of the 1973 season (and continuing thru the playoffs) many players, mostly linemen, wore the decal that the team would adopt in 1974 (with the dolphin jumping thru the sun), while others stayed with the 1969-1973 decal (with the dolphin only halfway thru the sun).Famed "Gonzo" writer
Hunter S. Thompson covered the game for "Rolling Stone " magazine, and his exploits in Houston are legendary.Television and entertainment
The game was televised in the
United States by CBS with play-by-play announcer Ray Scott andcolor commentator sPat Summerall andBart Starr . This was Scott's final telecast for CBS.The
University of Texas at Austin Band performed during the pregame festivities. Later,country music singer Charley Pride sang the national anthem.The halftime show also featured the University of Texas Band, along with
Judy Mallett , Miss Texas 1973, playing the fiddle, in a tribute to American music titled "A Musical America".Game summary
The Dolphins' game plan on offense was to use misdirection, negative-influence traps, and cross-blocking to exploit the Vikings defense's excellent pursuit. (The
Kansas City Chiefs had used similar tactics against the same Vikings defensive line inSuper Bowl IV ). Wrote Jim Langer, "All this was successful right away. We kept ripping huge holes into their defense and Csonka kept picking up good yardage, especially to the right. We'd hear Alan [Page] cussing because those negative-influence plays were just driving him nuts. He didn't know what the hell to do."Jim Langer, "Super Bowl VIII," "Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives," Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. ISBN 0-02-860841-0] On defense the Dolphins' goal was to neutralize Chuck Foreman by using cat-quick Manny Fernandez at nose tackle and to make passing difficult for Tarkenton by double-teaming John Gilliam and knocking down his receivers. They were also depending on defensive endsBill Stanfill andVern Den Herder to contain Tarkenton's scrambling.As they had the two previous Super Bowls, the Dolphins won the coin toss and elected to receive. The Dolphins dominated the Vikings right from the beginning, scoring touchdowns on two 10-play drives in the first quarter. Said Jim Langer, "It was obvious from the beginning that our offense could overpower their defense." First, Dolphins defensive back Jake Scott gave his team good field position by returning the opening kickoff 31 yards to the Miami 38-yard line. Then
Mercury Morris ran right for four yards,Larry Csonka crashed through the middle for two, and quarterbackBob Griese completed a 13-yard pass to tight endJim Mandich to advance the ball to the Vikings 43-yard line. Csonka then ran on second down for 16 yards, then Griese completed a six-yard pass to receiverMarlin Briscoe to the 21-yard line. Three more running plays, two by Csonka and one by Morris moved the ball to the Vikings 5-yard line. Csonka then finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run.Then after forcing Minnesota to punt after three plays, the Dolphins went 56 yards in 10 plays (aided with three runs by Csonka for eight, 12, and eight yards, and Griese's 13-yard pass to Briscoe) to score on running back
Jim Kiick 's one-yard run (his only touchdown of the season) to give them a 14-0 lead.By the time the first quarter ended, Miami had run 20 plays for 118 yards and eight first downs, and scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. Meanwhile the Miami defense held the Minnesota offense to only 25 yards, six plays from scrimmage and one first down. The Vikings did not cross their own 23-yard line.
The situation never got much better for the Vikings the rest of the game. After each team traded punts early in the second period, Miami mounted a seven-play drive starting from their own 35-yard line, culminating in a 28-yard field goal from kicker
Garo Yepremian to make the score 17-0 midway through the second quarter. On the first play of the drive, Minnesota was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct on linebackerWally Hilgenberg , who threw an elbow through Csonka's facemask, cutting Csonka above the eye.The Vikings then had their best opportunity to score in the first half on their ensuing drive. Starting at their own 20-yard line, Minnesota marched to the Miami 15-yard line in nine plays, aided by
Fran Tarkenton 's completions of 17 and 14 yards to tight endStu Voigt and wide receiverJohn Gilliam 's 30-yard reception. Tarkenton's eight-yard run on first down then advanced the ball to the 7-yard line. But on the next two plays, Vikings running backOscar Reed gained only one yard on two rushes, bringing up a fourth-down-and-one with less than a minute left in the half. Instead of kicking a field goal, Minnesota attempted to convert the fourth down with another running play by Reed. However, Reed lost the ball while being tackled by linebackerNick Buoniconti , and Scott recovered the fumble.Jim Langer wrote that at halftime, "We definitely knew that this game was over."
Gilliam returned the second half kickoff 65 yards, but a holding penalty on the play moved the ball all the way back to the Minnesota 11-yard line. Two plays later, Tarkenton was sacked for a six-yard loss by defensive tackle Manny Fernandez on third down, forcing Minnesota to punt from their own 7-yard line. Scott then returned the punt 12 yards to the Minnesota 43-yard line.
Miami then marched 43 yards in eight plays to score on Csonka's two-yard touchdown run through Hilgenberg to increase their lead to 24-0 with almost nine minutes left in the third quarter. [On Larry Csonka's second touchdown, Bob Griese forgot the snap count at the line of scrimmage. He asked Csonka, who said "two." Kiick said, "No, it's one." Griese chose to believe Csonka, which was a mistake; it was "one." Griese bobbled the ball slightly, but still managed to get it to Csonka.] The key play was Griese's third-and-five, 27-yard pass to wide receiver
Paul Warfield to the Minnesota 11-yard line. It was Griese's last pass of the game and only Warfield's second, and last, catch of the game. (Because of his hamstring injury, Warfield had earlier been limping through primarily decoy routes.) After an exchange of punts, Minnesota got the ball back at their 43-yard line. They mounted a nine-play drive, running the ball only twice. On second-and-one at the Miami 4, Tarkenton himself ran it in around right end, and the extra point made it 24-7 with 13 minutes left in the game.Minnesota recovered their ensuing onside kick, but an offsides penalty on the Vikings nullified the play, and they subsequently kicked deep. Miami went three-and-out, and Minnesota got the ball back at their own 3-yard line. Eight plays later the Vikings reached the Miami 32-yard line. After two incomplete passes, Tarkenton's pass intended for wide receiver
Jim Lash was intercepted by Dolphins cornerbackCurtis Johnson at the goal line. Miami got the ball back at their 10-yard line with 6:24 left in the game, and Csonka and Kiick then ran out the clock. With less than four minutes to play, a frustratedAlan Page was called for a personal foul for a late hit on Griese, and then one play later both Page and Kuechenberg were given offsetting personal fouls after getting in a scuffle with each other. From there, the Dolphins killed the clock to win a second straight championship.Wrote Jim Langer, "We just hit the Vikings defense so hard and so fast that they didn't know what hit them. Alan Page later said he knew we would dominate them after only the first couple of plays."
Griese finished the game with just six out of seven pass completions for 73 yards. Miami's seven pass attempts were the fewest ever thrown by a team in the Super Bowl. The Dolphins rushed for 196 yards, did not have any turnovers, and were not penalized in the first 52 minutes. Tarkenton set what was then a Super Bowl record for completions, 18 out of 28 for 182 yards, with one interception, and rushed for 17 yards and a touchdown. Reed was the leading rusher for the Vikings, but with just 32 yards. Voight was the top receiver of the game with three catches for 46 yards. The Vikings performance was a lot like Super Bowl IV
coring summary
*MIA - TD: Larry Csonka 5 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) 7-0 MIA
*MIA - TD: Jim Kiick 1 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) 14-0 MIA
*MIA - FG: Garo Yepremian 28 yards 17-0 MIA
*MIA - TD: Larry Csonka 2 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) 24-0 MIA
*MIN - TD: Fran Tarkenton 4 yard run (Fred Cox kick) 24-7 MIAuper Bowl postgame news and notes
In the Dolphins' locker room after the game, Csonka was asked about his battered face. Without naming Hilgenberg, he said, "It was a cheap shot, but an honest cheap shot. He came right at me and threw an elbow right through my mask. I could see the game meant something to him."
With their 32-2 record over two years, the still-young Dolphins appeared to have established a dynasty. In 1974, however, their offense was hurt by injuries to Csonka and the offensive line, and the defense was hurt by the departure of defensive coordinator
Bill Arnsparger to become theNew York Giants head coach. The Dolphins finished 11-3 but lost a dramatic playoff game to the Oakland Raiders. In 1975 Csonka, Kiick, and Warfield left to join theWorld Football League . The Dolphins would not win another playoff game until 1982.tarting lineups
Source: [Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. "The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present". New York: St. Martins Press, 1994 ISBN 0312114354 ]
*Referee:
Ben Dreith
*Umpire: Ralph Morcroft
*Head Linesman: Leo Miles
*Line Judge: Jack Fette
*Field Judge: Fritz Graf
*Back Judge:Stan Javie "Note: A seven-official system was not used until the 1978 season."
Weather conditions
*50 degrees, overcast
ee also
*
1973 NFL season
*NFL playoffs, 1973-74 References
* [http://www.superbowl.com/ Super Bowl official website]
*cite book | title=2006 NFL Record and Fact Book | publisher=Time Inc. Home Entertainment | id=ISBN 1-933405-32-5
*cite book | title=Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League | publisher=Harper Collins | id=ISBN 1-933405-32-5
*cite book | title=The Official NFL Encyclopedia Pro Football | publisher=NAL Books | id=ISBN 0-453-00431-8
*cite book | title=The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 | id=ISBN 0-89204-523-X
* http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/super/superbowl-plays.htm Super Bowl play-by-plays] fromUSA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
* [http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/superbowl/2005/superbowl-alltime-odds.htm All-Time Super Bowl Odds] from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
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