1974 NFC Championship Game

This was the second consecutive NFC title game contested by the Vikings, and their third title game in the Super Bowl era.[lower-alpha 2] Minnesota won the NFC Central with a 10-4 regular season record and defeated the NFC East champion St. Louis Cardinals 30-14 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Divisonal Round to advance to the NFC Championship game.

This was the first Super Bowl era title game contested by the Rams, and their sixth title game overall.[lower-alpha 3] Los Angeles won the NFC West with a 10-4 regular season record and defeated the NFC East runner-up Washington Redskins 19-10 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the Divisonal Round to reach the NFC title game.

This was the second playoff meeting between these teams. The first meeting had been during last pre-merger NFL playoffs in 1969, when Minnesota defeated Los Angeles 23-20 in the Western Conference playoff game.

Los Angeles defeated Minnesota 20-17 in Week 11 of the regular season at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Under modern seeding rules, that would have given the Rams home field advantage for the NFC title game since the teams finished with identical 10-4 records. However, at this time home field was determined by a rotation between the division winners. As the team that had hosted another division champion in the Divisional Round, the Vikings automatically had home field advantage for the NFC Championship Game.

This was the first NFC Championship Game not contested by the Dallas Cowboys, and also the first to not include a team from the NFC East. Coincidentally, the 1974 AFC Championship Game was also the first such game to not include a team from the AFC East.

On an unusually balmy day for December in Minnesota, the Vikings were able to hold onto the ball for the final 5:37 of the game to preserve a 14–10 victory. After a scoreless first quarter, Minnesota quarterback Fran Tarkenton threw a 29-yard touchdown to Jim Lash. Rams kicker David Ray later added a 27-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7–3 before halftime. In the third quarter, Los Angeles advanced the ball from their own 1-yard line to the Minnesota 1-yard line. The big play on the drive was a 73-yard pass play to Harold Jackson, who was finally pushed out of bounds at the Vikings 2 by safety Jeff Wright. With the ball inside the one-yard line, Rams guard Tom Mack was controversially called for illegal procedure (replays showed Mack did not move). Moved back to the six-yard line, the Rams were forced to pass for a touchdown on third down but the pass was deflected and Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg intercepted the ball in the end zone for a touchback. Minnesota then went on a 15-play drive that took almost eight minutes off the clock to score on Dave Osborn's 4-yard touchdown run. With 7:15 left to play in the game, the Rams then cut the deficit to 14–10 with Harold Jackson's 44-yard touchdown reception. Then after forcing the Vikings to punt, Los Angeles drove to the Minnesota 45-yard line. But a third down sack forced the Rams to punt again and the Vikings kept the ball to run out the clock.

• First quarter
  • no scoring
• Second quarter
  • MIN – Lash 29 pass from Tarkenton (Cox kick) MIN 7–0
  • LA – field goal Ray 27 MIN 7–3
• Third quarter
  • no scoring
• Fourth quarter
  • MIN – Osborn 4 run (Cox kick) MIN 14–3
  • LA – Jackson 44 pass from Harris (Ray kick) MIN 14–10

The NFC champion Vikings made their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, and became the second team after the Miami Dolphins to make a third Super Bowl appearance. However, Minnesota once again came up short, losing 16-6 the Pittsburgh Steelers of the American Football Conference in Super Bowl IX.

This was the second of six consecutive NFC Championship Games involving only the Vikings, Rams and Dallas Cowboys. The Rams would go on to appear in the next two NFC title games, and would ultimately appear in five out of six. However, they would lose their next three title games as well, first to the Dallas Cowboys, then again to the Vikings and then again to the Cowboys. The Rams would finally win an NFC title when they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a team which did not yet exist in 1974) in the 1979 NFC Championship Game.

This was the last NFC Championship Game in which home field advantage was determined by an annual rotation between the divisions. From the 1975 season to the present, home field advantage for conference title games has been awarded to the highest remaining seed, with the division winners receiving the top seeds and the wild card(s) receiving the bottom seed(s).

• 1974 AFC Championship Game
• NFC Championship Game
• 1974-75 NFL playoffs
• 1974 NFL season
• National Football Conference
• National Football League