Super Bowl VIII

The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings, 24–7. Aided by 24 unanswered points during the first three quarters of the game, the Dolphins won their second consecutive Super Bowl, and became the first team to appear in three consecutive ones.

Dolphins Running Back Larry Csonka, who ran for a 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.

1 Background
2 Television and entertainment
3 Game summary
- 3.1 Scoring summary
4 Super Bowl postgame news and notes
5 Starting lineups
6 Trivia
7 Officials
8 Weather Conditions
9 See also
10 References

[edit] Background

[edit] 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, and Dallas Cowboys (all playoff teams), plus two games against a resurgent Buffalo Bills squad that featured 2,000-yard rusher O.J. Simpson. Miami finished with a 12-2 regular season, including their opening game victory over the San 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 in Berkley, 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 back Mercury Morris rushed for 954 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. Running back Jim Kiick was also a key contributor, rushing for 257 yards, and catching 27 passes for 208 yards. Quarterback Bob 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 84.3 passer rating. Wide receiver Paul 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 center Jim Langer and right guard Larry Little. Griese, Csonka, Warfield, Langer, and Little would all eventually be elected to the Pro 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. Safety Dick 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, where Bob Matheson (#53) would be brought in as a fourth linebacker in a 3-4 defense, with Manny Fernandez at nose tackle. Matheson could either rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage.

[edit] 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 receiver John Gilliam, who caught 42 passes for 907 yards, an average of 21.6 yards per catch, and scored eight touchdowns. Tight End Stu 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 back Chuck 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, and Ed Marinaro combined for 1,469 rushing/receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. The Vikings offensive line was also very talented, led by Ron Yary and six-time Pro Bowler Mick Tingelhoff.

Their defense was once again anchored by a defensive line nicknamed the "Purple People Eaters", consisting of defensive tackles Gary Larsen and Alan Page, and defensive ends Jim Marshall and Carl Eller. Behind them, cornerback Bobby Bryant (seven interceptions, 105 return yards, one touchdown), and safety Paul Krause (four interceptions) led the defensive secondary.

[edit] Playoffs

For more details on this topic, see NFL playoffs, 1973-74.

The Vikings earned their second trip to the Super Bowl in team history after defeating the Washington Redskins, 27-20, and the Dallas Cowboys 27-10, in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Dolphins went on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-16, and the Oakland Raiders, 27-10.

[edit] Super Bowl pregame news and notes

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 Bud Grant.^[1]

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.

On television before the game, Joe Namath said, "If Miami gets the kickoff and scores on the opening drive, the game is over."^[2]

[edit] Television and entertainment

The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS with play-by-play announcer Ray Scott and color commentators Pat Summerall and Bart Starr. This was Scott's final Super Bowl as play-by-play announcer.

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".

[edit] 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 in Super 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."^[3] 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 ends Bill Stanfill and Vern 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."^[3] 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 quarterback Bob Griese completed a 13-yard pass to tight end Jim 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 receiver Marlin 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 linebacker Wally 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 end Stu Voigt and wide receiver John 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 back Oscar 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 linebacker Nick Buoniconti, and Scott recovered the fumble.

Jim Langer wrote that at halftime, "We definitely knew that this game was over."^[3]

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. 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 cornerback Curtis 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 frustrated Alan 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."^[3] Griese finished the game with just six out of seven pass completions for 73 yards. 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

[edit] Scoring summary

MIA - Larry Csonka 5 run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 7-0
MIA - Jim Kiick 1 run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 14-0
MIA - FG Garo Yepremian 28 MIA 17-0
MIA - Larry Csonka 2 run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 24-0
MIN - Fran Tarkenton 4 run (Fred Cox kick) MIA 24-7

[edit] Super 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."^[1]

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 the New 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 the World Football League. The Dolphins would not win another playoff game until 1982.

[edit] Starting lineups

Source:^[4]

Miami	Position	Minnesota
OFFENSE
Paul Warfield	WR	John Gilliam
Wayne Moore	LT	Grady Alderman
Bob Kuechenberg	LG	Ed White
Jim Langer	C	Mick Tingelhoff
Larry Little	RG	Frank Gallagher
Norm Evans	RT	Ron Yary
Jim Mandich	TE	Stu Voigt
Marlin Briscoe	WR	Carroll Dale
Bob Griese	QB	Fran Tarkenton
Larry Csonka	FB	Oscar Reed
Mercury Morris	RB	Chuck Foreman
DEFENSE
Vern Den Herder	LE	Carl Eller
Manny Fernandez	LDT	Gary Larsen
Bob Heinz	RDT	Alan Page
Bill Stanfill	RE	Jim Marshall
Doug Swift	LOLB	Roy Winston
Nick Buoniconti	MLB	Jeff Siemon
Mike Kolen	ROLB	Wally Hilgenberg
Lloyd Mumphord	LCB	Nate Wright
Curtis Johnson	RCB	Bobby Bryant
Dick Anderson	LS	Jeff Wright
Jake Scott	RS	Paul Krause

[edit] Trivia

This was the first time in Super 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).
Houston would not host another Super Bowl until Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Reliant Stadium on February 1, 2004. The 30-year wait is the longest gap between Super Bowls in one city.
The Dolphins became the first team to take the game's opening kickoff and march down the field for a touchdown.
Miami's seven pass attempts were the fewest ever thrown by a team in the Super Bowl
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.
Linesman Leo Miles became the first African-American to officiate a Super Bowl.
This was the last Super Bowl to have have goalposts in the front of the endzone.
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.
Miami's backup tight end, Marv Fleming became the first player to win four Super Bowl rings as he was a member of both of the Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl teams in 1966 and '67, along with the 1972 Dolphins team. He is also one of two tight ends to win four rings, along with former Pittsburgh Steeler, Randy Grossman. Fleming is also one of three non-Steelers to be a member of teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls two different times, the only others being Bill Romanowski and Charles Haley.

[edit] Officials

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.

[edit] Weather Conditions

50 degrees, overcast

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b 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
^ Dave Hyde, Still Perfect! The Untold Story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, p271. Dolphins/Curtis Publishing, 2002 ISBN 0-9702677-1-1
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jim Langer, "Super Bowl VIII," Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives, Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. ISBN 0-02-860841-0
^ 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

Super Bowl official website
2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. Time Inc. Home Entertainment. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. Harper Collins. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
The Official NFL Encyclopedia Pro Football. NAL Books. ISBN 0-453-00431-8.
The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)

Super Bowl

I 1967 | II 1968 | III 1969 | IV 1970 | V 1971 | VI 1972 | VII 1973 | VIII 1974 | IX 1975 | X 1976 | XI 1977 | XII 1978 | XIII 1979 | XIV 1980 | XV 1981 | XVI 1982 | XVII 1983 | XVIII 1984 | XIX 1985 | XX 1986 | XXI 1987 | XXII 1988 | XXIII 1989 | XXIV 1990 | XXV 1991 | XXVI 1992 | XXVII 1993 | XXVIII 1994 | XXIX 1995 | XXX 1996 | XXXI 1997 | XXXII 1998 | XXXIII 1999 | XXXIV 2000 | XXXV 2001 | XXXVI 2002 | XXXVII 2003 | XXXVIII 2004 | XXXIX 2005 | XL 2006 | XLI 2007 | XLII 2008 | XLIII 2009 | XLIV 2010 | XLV 2011

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/u/p/Super_Bowl_VIII_da1e.html"

Categories: Super Bowl | 1974 in sports | Miami Dolphins | Minnesota Vikings