1976 NFC Championship Game

This was the third NFC title game contested by the Vikings, their third NFC Championship Game in the past four seasons and their fourth title game in the Super Bowl era.[lower-alpha 2] Minnesota won the NFC Central with a 11-2-1 regular season record and defeated the NFC East runner-up Washington Redskins 35–20 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Divisonal Round to advance to the NFC Championship game.

This was the third consecutive NFC title game contested by the Rams and their eighth title game overall.[lower-alpha 3] Los Angeles won the NFC West with a 10-3-1 regular season record. In a rematch of the previous NFC title game, the Rams defeated the NFC East champion and defending conference champion Dallas Cowboys 14–12 at Texas Stadium in the Divisonal Round to reach the NFC title game.

This was the third playoff meeting between these teams and their second meeting in an NFC title game. Minnesota won both previous meetings - the first being in the last pre-merger NFL playoffs in 1969, when Minnesota defeated Los Angeles 23-20 in the Western Conference playoff game and the second was the Vikings' 14-10 win in the 1974 NFC Championship Game.

This was the second season in which a seeding system was used to determine home field advantage in the playoffs. For the second season in a row, the Vikings were the top NFC seed and thus had the right to host the title game after winning their Divisional Round game.[lower-alpha 4] Minnesota and Los Angeles played each other in Week 2 of the regular season. The result was a 10-10 tie, making this the first post-merger title game to feature teams which had played a tied game in the regular season.

Due to the intense criticism the NFL endured for playing on Christmas Day during the 1971 Divisional Round, the league moved the entire 1976 season schedule up one week to avoid any perceived need to play again on Christmas. As a result, the 1976 conference title games were played on Sunday, December 26 as opposed to the Sunday, January 2 date the 1971 title games were played on.

The Vikings forced a blocked field goal, a blocked punt, and two interceptions en route to the victory over the Rams. On offense, running back Chuck Foreman rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries while also catching 5 passes for 81 yards.

In the first quarter, the Rams got off to a good start as they marched down the field to the Viking 2-yard line. The drive stalled there, and coach Chuck Knox, recalling the NFC championship game in Minnesota two years ago (when the Rams were intercepted in the end zone after driving to the Viking 2-yard line) ordered a field goal attempt. Nate Allen blocked the field goal attempt, and the ball bounced off the ground right into the waiting arms of Bobby Bryant, who returned it 90 yards for a Minnesota touchdown. The first quarter ended with the Rams dominating the stat sheet. They had run 22 plays for 89 yards and 7 first downs, while holding the Vikings to 5 plays, one first down, and 17 yards, but they still trailed 7-0.

In the second quarter, linebacker Matt Blair blocked and recovered a punt on the Rams 10-yard line to set up Fred Cox's 25-yard field goal to give the Vikings a 10–0 lead before halftime. Then in the third period, Foreman rushed 62 yards to the Los Angeles 2-yard line, and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run two plays later to increase the lead 17–0.

The Rams rallied back with two quick touchdowns in the third quarter. After a chance to put the game away was wiped out by Monte Jackson's interception of a Tarkenton pass in the end zone, Pat Haden led the Rams on an 80-yard drive highlighted by a 40-yard pass to Harold Jackson, and culminating in a 10-yard touchdown run by Lawrence McCutcheon. Rams kicker Tom Dempsey missed the extra point. Dempsey had missed nine extra points during the season. Announcers Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier speculated that Haden was feeling pressure on this drive because Knox had James Harris warming up on the sidelines. On the Vikings' next drive, Fred Dryer hit Fran Tarkenton on a sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jack Youngblood at the Viking 8-yard line. Three plays later, Haden hit Jackson for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Vikings defense snuffed out two big chances for LA to take the lead. With 7 minutes left, the Rams drove to a third down on the Vikings 33, but Minnesota linebacker Wally Hilgenberg sacked Haden and forced a punt. With 2:40 left in the game, Los Angeles advanced to the Minnesota 39-yard line. On fourth down and needing more than a field goal, Haden thought he had Jackson open deep near the goal line, but Bryant intercepted the pass (his second of the game) rather than batting it down. A few plays later, Tarkenton dumped a short pass off to Foreman, which he turned into a 57-yard gain. Foreman was injured on the play, but backup running back Sammy Johnson scored the clinching touchdown from 12 yards out.

• First quarter
  • MIN – Bryant 90 blocked field goal return (Cox kick) MIN 7–0
• Second quarter
  • MIN – field goal Cox 25 MIN 10–0
• Third quarter
  • MIN – Foreman 2 run (Cox kick) MIN 17–0
  • LA – McCutcheon 10 run (kick failed) MIN 17–6
  • LA – Jackson 5 pass from Haden (Dempsey kick) MIN 17–13
• Fourth quarter
  • MIN – Johnson 12 run (Cox kick) MIN 24–13

The NFC champion Vikings made their fourth Super Bowl appearance, overtaking the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins for the most Super Bowl appearances up to that point. However, Minnesota once again failed to capture a world championship, as they lost 32–14 to the Oakland Raiders of the American Football Conference in Super Bowl XI.

The Vikings would return to the NFC title game the following season, but would lose to the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys would go on to overtake the Vikings for most Super Bowl appearances by repeating as conference champions the year after that.

As of 2021, this is the most recent NFC Championship that the Vikings have won. Whereas Minnesota had never lost a pre-merger NFL or NFC title game up to and including their two victories over Los Angeles, since 1976 they have appeared in and lost six NFC title games - the longest such streak among all NFL teams. The Vikings also now hold the second longest conference title drought in the NFC (the only longer such drought being that of the Detroit Lions, who have never won a title in the Super Bowl era). Meanwhile, the Vikings' record for most Super Bowl appearances without a win has since been matched by the Buffalo Bills (who, unlike the Vikings, lost four consecutive Super Bowls).

This turned out to be the last playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings played four playoff games between 1977 and 1981, all on the road. Minnesota's next home playoff game came after the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Vikings' first in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Vikings would eventually host one NFC title game at the Metrodome. The Vikings have also hosted one home playoff game outdoors since 1976, in January 2016. This occurred during their two year tenancy at TCF Bank Stadium while their current stadium was being built on the former site of the Metrodome.

This was also the last NFC Championship Game played in the same calendar year as the preceding regular season. The NFL returned to its previously-established schedling arrangement the following season, under which the conference title games would have again been played in December the year after, however that was also the year the NFL regular season schedule was extended to sixteen games and the wild card round was introduced in the playoffs. This caused the conference championship games to be moved to what had previously been the bye week prior to the Super Bowl, thus ensuring the title games would always be played in the new year.

• 1976 AFC Championship Game
• NFC Championship Game
• 1976-77 NFL playoffs
• 1976 NFL season
• National Football Conference
• National Football League