Editing Super Bowl IX (section)

==Game summary==
As many predicted, the game was low scoring; both teams failed to score a touchdown or a field goal until the third quarter and ended up with the third lowest total of combined points in Super Bowl history.

===First quarter===
The first quarter of the game was completely dominated by both teams' defenses. After both teams punted on their opening possessions, the Steelers started their second possession on their own 42-yard line. After a false start penalty on Pittsburgh offensive tackle [[Gordon Gravelle]] pushed the team back to their own 37, they advanced into Minnesota territory on an 18-yard run by running back [[Rocky Bleier]]. Two plays later, however, a 10-yard clipping penalty on Pittsburgh pushed the team back to their own 44-yard line, but they got those yards back with a 12-yard pass by quarterback [[Terry Bradshaw]] to wide receiver [[Frank Lewis (American football)|Frank Lewis]] to bring up 3rd-and-9. On the next play, however, defensive tackle [[Alan Page]] sacked Bradshaw for a 7-yard loss, forcing Pittsburgh to punt the ball back to Minnesota. After forcing the Vikings to punt again, this time from their own end zone, the Steelers started their next possession at the Minnesota 44. On 3rd-and-7, Bradshaw completed a 15-yard pass to tight end [[Larry Brown (tight end, born 1949)|Larry Brown]] to put Pittsburgh in scoring position. The drive stalled at the Vikings' 21-yard line, so kicker [[Roy Gerela]] attempted to kick a 37-yard field goal, but he missed it wide left. After another Minnesota punt, which put Pittsburgh on their own 47, the Steelers drove to the Vikings' 16-yard line, aided by a 14-yard run by running back [[Franco Harris]] and an 11-yard run by Bradshaw, but during Gerela's second field goal attempt, a 33-yarder, holder/punter [[Bobby Walden]] fumbled the snap and attempted to run the ball himself before getting tackled by linebacker [[Jeff Siemon]], turning the ball back over to the Vikings and keeping the game scoreless.

In the first quarter, the Vikings were limited to 20 passing yards, no rushing yards, and one first down which occurred on their opening play with a [[Fran Tarkenton]] 16-yard completion to [[John Gilliam]]. The Steelers did slightly better with 18 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and four first downs.

===Second quarter===
The Steelers forced another Vikings punt to start the second quarter and got the ball back on their own 14. On 3rd-and-4, Bradshaw completed a 21-yard pass to wide receiver [[Lynn Swann]], but this was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on Swann. On the next play, safety [[Jeff Wright (defensive back)| Jeff Wright]] stripped the ball from Bleier, and safety [[Randy Poltl]] recovered the fumble at the Steelers' 24-yard line. The Vikings failed to capitalize on the turnover, as they could only move the ball 2 yards in their next three plays, and kicker [[Fred Cox]] missed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide right. On their next possession, the Steelers converted a 3rd-and-8 with the longest gain so far in the game, a 22-yard pass from Bradshaw to wide receiver [[John Stallworth]]. Pittsburgh could not get past the Minnesota 45 and were forced to punt, but Walden booted a 39-yarder, and wide receiver [[Sam McCullum]] did not allow the ball to reach the end zone, then failed to make a return and was downed at the Viking 7-yard line by Pittsburgh safety [[Donnie Shell]]. The first score of the game occurred two plays later, when running back [[Dave Osborn]] fumbled a handoff from quarterback [[Fran Tarkenton]] at the 10, and the ball rolled backward into the end zone. Tarkenton recovered the ball in the end zone to prevent a Steelers touchdown, but he was downed by defensive end [[Dwight White]] for a safety, giving Pittsburgh a 2–0 lead. It was the first safety scored in Super Bowl history. The Vikings forced a three-and-out, then got a chance to take their first lead of the game when Tarkenton led them on a 55-yard drive to the Steelers' 25-yard line from their own 20, aided by a pass interference penalty on cornerback [[Mel Blount]] and a 17-yard pass by Tarkenton that was bobbled and caught by running back [[Chuck Foreman]] on 3rd-and-8.<ref name="USA Today Super Bowl IX Play by Play">{{cite news|title=Super Bowl IX play-by-play|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/super/superbowl-ix-plays.htm|work=USA Today|date=January 11, 2002|publisher=USATODAY.com}}</ref><ref name="Pitt Defense Super, 16-6">{{cite news|title=Pitt Defense, Franco's Runs Super, 16-6|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/super-bowl-ix-pitt-defense-franco-runs-super-16-6-article-1.1552404|work=NY Daily News|publisher=nydailynews.com}}</ref> With 1:17 left in the half, Tarkenton threw a pass to wide receiver [[John Gilliam]] at the 5-yard line, but Steelers safety [[Glen Edwards (safety)|Glen Edwards]] broke up the pass as Gilliam caught it, batting the ball high into the air and into the arms of Blount for an interception.

The half ended with the Steelers leading 2–0, the lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history and lowest possible, barring a scoreless tie.

===Third quarter===
On the opening kickoff of the second half, Vikings fullback [[Bill Brown (American football)|Bill Brown]] fumbled the ball on an unintentional squib kick after Gerela slipped on the wet field and only extended his leg halfway for the kick. Steelers linebacker [[Marv Kellum]] recovered the fumble at the Minnesota 30-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Harris moved the ball to the 6-yard line with a 24-yard run. After being tackled by Vikings linebacker [[Wally Hilgenberg]] for a 3-yard loss, Harris scored on a 9-yard touchdown run, giving Pittsburgh a 9–0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, Minnesota got the ball back on their own 20-yard line. On the second play of drive, Tarkenton's pass was deflected behind the line of scrimmage by Pittsburgh defensive end [[L. C. Greenwood]], and bounced back right into the arms of Tarkenton, who then threw a 41-yard completion to Gilliam. Officials ruled Tarkenton's first pass attempt as a completion to himself, and thus his second attempt was an illegal forward pass. After the penalty, facing 3rd-and-11, Minnesota got the first down with Foreman's 12-yard run. Three plays later, Tarkenton completed a 28-yard pass to tight end [[Stu Voigt]] at the Steelers' 45-yard line. But two plays later, White deflected Tarkenton's next pass attempt, and defensive tackle [[Joe Greene]] intercepted the ball, ending the Vikings' best offensive scoring opportunity.

===Fourth quarter===
After an exchange of punts to start the fourth quarter, the Vikings got another scoring opportunity when safety [[Paul Krause (football player)|Paul Krause]] recovered a fumble by Harris on the Steelers' 47-yard line. On the next play, a deep pass attempt from Tarkenton to Gilliam drew a 42-yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh safety [[Mike Wagner]] that moved the ball up to the 5-yard line, but once again, the Steelers stopped them from scoring when Foreman lost a fumble that was recovered by Greene. The Steelers failed to get a first down on their next possession and were forced to punt from deep in their own territory. The next play finally got Minnesota on the board. Vikings linebacker [[Matt Blair]] burst through the line to block Walden's punt, and safety [[Terry Brown (American football)|Terry Brown]] recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Cox's extra point attempt hit the left upright, but the Vikings had cut their deficit to 9–6 and were just a field goal away from a tie.

However, on the ensuing drive, the Steelers responded with a 66-yard, 11-play scoring drive that took 6:47 off the clock and featured three successful third down conversions. The first third down conversion was a key 30-yard pass completion from Bradshaw to Larry Brown, who fumbled the ball as he was being tackled by safety [[Jackie Wallace]], and two officials (back judge Ray Douglas and field judge Dick Dolack) initially ruled the ball recovered for the Vikings by Siemon, but head linesman Ed Marion overruled their call, stating that Brown was downed at the contact before the ball came out of his hands. Faced with 2nd-and-15 after an illegal formation penalty, the Steelers then fooled the Vikings' defense with a misdirection play. Harris ran left past Bradshaw after the snap, drawing in the defense with him, while Bleier took a handoff and ran right through a gaping hole in the line for a 17-yard gain to the Vikings 16-yard line. A few plays later, Bradshaw converted a 3rd-and-5 situation with a 6-yard pass to Bleier that put the ball on the Vikings' 5-yard line. The Steelers gained just one yard with their next two plays, setting up 3rd-and-goal from the 4-yard line. On the next play, Bradshaw threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown, giving the Steelers a 16–6 lead with 3:31 remaining and essentially putting the game away.

Vikings running back [[Brent McClanahan]] returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Minnesota 39-yard line, but on the first play of the drive, Tarkenton's pass to Gilliam was intercepted by Wagner. The Steelers then executed 7 consecutive running plays (including a 15-yard run by Harris totaling up to 159 rushing yards for him, which broke [[Larry Csonka]]'s rushing record of 145 yards in [[Super Bowl VIII]]), taking the game clock all the way down to 38 seconds remaining before turning the ball over on downs. The Vikings ran two more plays before the game ended.

Harris finished the game with 34 carries for a Super Bowl record 159 yards and a touchdown; Harris' record stood until the [[1982 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]]' [[John Riggins]] rushed for 166 yards in [[Super Bowl XVII]]. Bleier had 65 rushing yards, and two receptions for 11 yards. Pittsburgh finished with a total of 57 rushing attempts, which remains the Super Bowl record through [[Super Bowl LVII]].<ref name="Super Bowl team rushing records">{{cite web|title=Super Bowl Team Records:Rushing|website=[[NFL.com]] |url=http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/records/superbowls/team/rushing}}</ref> Bradshaw completed nine out of 14 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Tarkenton completed 11 of 26 passes for 102 yards with 3 interceptions, for a passer rating of only 14.1.<ref name="Worse Super Bowl than Peyton Manning in XLVIII">{{cite web|title=Canzano blog: Who had a worse Super Bowl than Peyton Manning?|date=February 3, 2014 |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2014/02/canzano_blog_so_you_think_peyt.html}}</ref> Foreman was the Vikings' top offensive contributor, finishing the game as the team's leading rusher and receiver with 18 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards.

The loss was the Vikings' record-setting third in Super Bowl play. [[Bud Grant]] vented frustration by saying, "There were three bad teams out there - us, Pittsburgh and the officials.”<ref name="Steelers launch dynasty">{{cite web|title=Steelers launch dynasty|website=[[New York Daily News]] |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/super-bowl-ix-curtains-vikings-steelers-launch-dynasty-article-1.1558548|date=December 26, 2013}}</ref> Minnesota, among many negatives to this point in its Super Bowl history of three games, had only two scoring drives on offense, and only three turnovers forced on defense, none of which resulted in any points. The win made the Steelers' Chuck Noll the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl at the time (He was 42 years, 7 days).

===Box score===
{{Americanfootballbox
| bg = #eee
| titlestyle = text-align:center; {{NFLPrimaryStyle|NFL|year=1974|border=2}};
| title = Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6
| date = January 12, 1975
| time = 2:00 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|CST]]
| Road = '''Steelers (AFC)'''
| R1 = 0
| R2 = 2
| R3 = 7
| R4 = 7
| Home = Vikings (NFC)
| H1 = 0
| H2 = 0
| H3 = 0
| H4 = 6
| stadium = [[Tulane Stadium]], [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]]
| attendance = 80,997 (tickets sold); 79,065 (actual; 1,932 no-shows)
| weather = {{convert|46|°F|°C}}, cloudy and windy<ref>{{cite news|title=Super Bowl Game-Time Temperatures|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/news/super-bowl-game-time-temperatures/|publisher=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|access-date=March 9, 2018}}</ref>
| referee = [[Bernie Ulman]]
| TV = [[NFL on NBC|NBC]]
| TVAnnouncers = [[Curt Gowdy]], [[Al DeRogatis]], [[Don Meredith]], [[Charlie Jones (sportscaster)|Charlie Jones]]
| state = uncollapsed
}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryStart |VisitorName=PIT |HomeName=MIN |state=expanded}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry |Quarter=2 |Time=7:11 |Team=PIT |DrivePlays=— |DriveLength=— |DriveTime=— |Type=SafetyOther |Info=−10-yard fumble, [[Fran Tarkenton]] tackled in the end zone by [[Dwight White]] for a safety |Visitor=2 |Home=0}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry |Quarter=3 |Time=13:25 |Team=PIT |DrivePlays=4 |DriveLength=30 |DriveTime=1:24 |Type=RushTD |yards=9 |Runner=[[Franco Harris]] |kickresult=good |Kicker=[[Roy Gerela]] |Visitor=9 |Home=0}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry |Quarter=4 |Time=10:33 |Team=MIN |DrivePlays=— |DriveLength=— |DriveTime=— |Type=Other |Other=[[Terry Brown (American football)|Terry Brown]] recovered blocked punt in end zone, [[Fred Cox]] kick no good (hit left upright) |Visitor=9 |Home=6}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry |Quarter=4 |Time=3:31 |Team=PIT |DrivePlays=11 |DriveLength=66 |DriveTime=6:47 |Type=RecTD |yards=4 |Receiver=[[Larry Brown (tight end, born 1949)|Larry Brown]] |QB=[[Terry Bradshaw]] |kickresult=good |Kicker=Gerela |Visitor=16 |Home=6}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEnd |Visitor=16 |Home=6}}