Bradley Ruzicka

Headline: More quarterback woes as the Green Bay Packers complete a mere five touchdown passes, another losing record prompts Dan Devine’s departure.

Regular Season Record: 6 – 8 (Third Place NFC Central Division)

Offseason Highlights: The Green Bay Packers 1974 NFL Draft yielded some solid players but no blue chippers, including 1st round draft choice, University of Richmond RB Barty Smith (12th overall), WR Steve Odom (116th overall), WR Ken Payne (142nd overall), and RB Eric Torkelson (272nd overall).

Given the continued absence of a legitimate quarterback and difference making wide receivers, the choice of Smith as Green Bay’s first draft choice was puzzling. Head Coach and General Manager Dan Devine could have selected players such as Hall of Fame WRs Lynn Swan or John Stallworth, who combined for over 14,000 receiving yards and 100 touchdowns with the Pittsburgh Steelers. QB Danny White, who played 15 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, passing for 21,959 yards and 155 touchdowns during his career, was also available, as well as Hall of Famers LB Jack Lambert and TE Dave Casper. After Smith, the Packers did not have another selection until the fifth round due to various trades Devine had made during the previous three years.

One Green Bay draft choice, however, did go on to rush for over 1,000 yards and was named the 1974 NFL Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, he did it for the San Diego Chargers, not Green Bay. Devine selected New Mexico Highlands University RB Don Woods with the Packers’ 6th round pick (134th overall), but released him at the end of training camp. Woods was subsequently picked up by the Chargers for the $100 waiver fee. The move proved very fruitful for San Diego as Woods, despite not suiting up until the third week of the season, went on to set a then NFL rookie rushing record of 1,162 yards in only 12 games, including a rookie record seven 100 yard rushing performances. Although injuries cut short a promising career, Woods finished with 3,087 career rushing yards and scored a total of 21 touchdowns during his seven seasons as a Charger.

Instead of Woods, Devine decided to keep 11th round selection Eric Torkelson in addition to their 1st round pick, Barty Smith. Torkelson played all eight of his NFL seasons in Green Bay, starting 25 out of 93 games, rushing for only 1,307 yards on 351 rushes (3.7 yards per carry) while scoring 8 touchdowns. Smith, unfortunately, suffered a serious injury to his left knee during the 1974 Coaches’ All-American Football Game before he ever played a down for the Packers, an injury that caused him to miss the first six games of the season, and one from which he never fully recovered. During his seven year career, all with Green Bay, Smith started 42 out of 67 games, rushing for just 1,942 yards on 544 carries (3.6 yards per carry) while scoring 18 touchdowns.

Steve Odom played six seasons with the Packers, starting 35 out of 75 games, catching 84 passes for 1,613 yards (19.2 yards per catch) and scoring 11 touchdowns, before being released in 1979, and finishing his career that year with the New York Giants. Odom made his mark not as a receiver but with his kickoff and punt return abilities, etching his name in the Green Bay record books with the longest punt return (95 yards) as well as career kickoff return attempts (179) and yardage (4,124). Ken Payne spent just over three of his five seasons with the Packers, starting 32 out of 44 games, catching 103 passes for 1,395 yards (13.5 yards per catch) while scoring 5 touchdowns, before ending his career as a Philadelphia Eagle in 1979. Payne was first suspended, then cut, by Green Bay after the fourth game of the 1977 season due to incident with an assistant coach.

Many experts consider the 1974 Steelers to have had the best draft in NFL history, as they selected four players later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including USC’s Lynn Swann (21st overall), Kent State’s Jack Lambert (46th overall), Alabama A&M’s John Stallworth (82nd overall), and Wisconsin C Mike Webster (125th overall). In total, the 1974 draft produced five Hall of Famers, including the Oakland Raiders’ Dave Casper out of Notre Dame (45th overall). The Houston Oilers had the No. 1 pick in the draft based on 1973’s 1-13 record, but they traded that pick, as well as their first pick in the 3rd round, to Dallas in exchange for DE Tody Smith and WR Billy Parks. The Cowboys used these picks to select two future Pro Bowl players, DE Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Danny White.

With the 1970 Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire, NFL players went on strike on July 1 1974. One of the players’ issues concerned the disposition of the so called “Rozelle Rule”. In 1971, the NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit, known as the MacKey case, challenging the “Rozelle Rule” as a violation of federal antitrust laws. The rule, named after Pete Rozelle, who instituted it in 1963, allowed the NFL Commissioner to award compensation, players or draft choices, to a team losing a free agent if both the signing team and the team from which the player was departing could not come to an agreement on compensation. This rule limited player movement, as few teams were willing to sign high profile free agents only to risk having their own rosters raided. At the time of the strike, resolution of the free agency issue was still pending in the courts.

In addition to elimination of the “Rozelle Rule”, players wanted elimination of the option clause, the draft, and the waiver system, as well as impartial arbitration of disputes and individual, rather than uniform, contracts. The strike lasted until August 10, when the players agreed to return to training camp without a new CBA, instead choosing to pursue free agency through the Mackey lawsuit. Only one pre-season game, the College All-Star Game, was canceled as a result of the strike, as the remaining pre-season contests were played with all rookie rosters. While the court eventually ruled in favor of the players in 1976, overturning the “Rozelle Rule”, the NFLPA did not achieve true free agency at that time as compensation remained tied to draft picks that were awarded based on the salary of the departing free agent, while teams maintained the right of first refusal.

Although the issue of unrestricted free agency would remain unresolved until 1992, the NFL and NFLPA did finally reach agreement on a new five year CBA in March 1977.

The start of the World Football League’s inaugural season on July 10 1974 brought additional turmoil to an already busy NFL offseason. By early June, at least in part as a result of on going labor unrest between NFL owners and the NFLPA, the WFL claimed they had some 60 NFL players under contract, including such stars as Oakland QB Ken Stabler, Dallas QB Craig Morton, and Minnesota Vikings’ WR John Gilliam. Fortunately for the NFL, most of these players never actually played for the WFL as, midway through the 1975 season, the league folded due to financial difficulties, severely handicapped by the lack of a television deal.

The WFL did produce a variety of coaches who eventually migrated to the NFL, including Jack Pardee, Marty Schottenheimer, and future Green Bay Head Coach Lindy Infante. The fledgling league also succeeded in raising stagnant NFL salaries at a point in time when average player compensation was among the lowest of the four major North American sports. For example, the WFL’s Memphis franchise paid $3.5M for Miami Dolphins’ stars Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Paul Warfield in what was, at the time, the richest three player deal in sports history. With the WFL threatening to sign away the league’s star players for huge money, NFL salaries began to rise.

Among those players targeted by the WFL was Green Bay RB John Brockington. Acquiring Brockington was rumored to be a priority for the WFL’s Chicago Fire, prompting the Packers to sign him to a controversial three year, no cut contract, worth a guaranteed $150,000 per year through 1977, one of the richest deals in the league. According to Stanton Greene in his book “Falling Starr – Bart Starr as Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers 1975-83“, it was an Executive Committee member, former Green Bay running back Tony Canadeo, who pushed for the unprecedented contract.

However, by far the WFL’s most significant impact was on Miami. The Dolphins had just won consecutive Super Bowls before the WFL snagged three of their star players, effectively breaking up the great Dolphins’ roster at a time when they were arguably playing the best football of any team in the league. This changed the course of NFL history by opening the door to two other AFC teams, Pittsburgh and Oakland, during the second half of the decade, perhaps denying Miami the opportunity to have dominated the 1970s similar to the dominance displayed by Green Bay during the 1960s.

At least partly in reaction to rule changes proposed by the WFL, changes were adopted to add tempo and action to the NFL game beginning in 1974, including addition of a sudden death overtime period and moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone, as well as changes relating to missed field goals, punt returns, pass defense, and offensive penalties. Specifically, to decrease the number of ties, one sudden death overtime period (15 minutes) was added to all pre-season and regular season games; if no team scored in this period, the game would end in a tie. To reduce the number of games decided by field goals as well as increase their difficulty, goal posts were moved from the goal line to the end line.

In addition, for missed field goals, the defensive team would take possession of the ball at the line of scrimmage or the 20 yard line, whichever is farther from the goal line. Similarly, to reduce touchbacks and promote more excitement on kickoff returns, kickoffs were moved from the 40 yard line to the 35 yard line. On punt returns, members of the kicking team could not go beyond the line of scrimmage until the ball was kicked, except for the player at the farthest end of each side of the snapper. To enhance the passing game, an eligible pass receiver could only be contacted once by defenders after the receiver had gone three yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Lastly, in an effort to increase scoring, the penalties for offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and tripping were reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards.

Finally, Green Bay RB Tony Canadeo was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 1974. Canadeo was selected by the Packers in the 9th round (77th overall) of the 1941 NFL draft, playing for 11 seasons. Canadeo was the first Packer to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,052 yards in 1949), as well as only the third player in the NFL at the time to accomplish that feat. Canadeo is also one of only six Packers to have his number retired by the team. His number (3) was retired immediately upon his retirement in 1952, preceded by Don Hutson (14) in 1951, and followed by Bart Starr (15) in 1973, Ray Nitschke (66) in 1983, Reggie White (92) in 2005, and Brett Favre (4) in 2015.

Regular Season Highlights: For the second consecutive season, Green Bay finished third in the NFC Central Division behind the 10-4 Minnesota Vikings and the 7-7 Detroit Lions, ahead of only the 4-10 Chicago Bears.

According to Lew Freedman in his book, The Packer Experience, if 1973 taught Dan Devine anything, it was that he was undermanned at quarterback, and that none of the three at his disposal looked like a winner. The first to go was fourth year veteran Scott Hunter, traded on July 29 to the Buffalo Bills for DT Steve Okoniewski and RB Pete Van Valkenburg. The fact that Devine had demoted Hunter to the taxi squad late in the 1973 season, and hadn’t invited him to spring training camp, made it clear he was not part of the plan for 1974. Next to be shown the door was 1973 acquisition Jim Del Gazio, dealt to the New York Giants for a 1976 3rd round draft pick, on September 10.

That left third year veteran Jerry Tagge as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, the only survivor from the previous year. Devine had traded a 1975 5th round selection on July 20 to the Dallas Cowboys for reserve QB Jack Concannon, a 10 year veteran who hadn’t seen action in an NFL game in three years. He was now the Packers’ backup quarterback. On the same day Devine traded Del Gazio, he subsequently traded the pick obtained for Del Gazio to the Kansas City Chiefs for second year QB Dean Carlson. However, Carlson was ultimately released not having thrown a pass for Green Bay.

The 1974 season started on a down note. In the season opener at Lambeau Field, Tagge was picked off three times in the second half of a 32-17 defeat at the hands of the Vikings. With three of the five starting offensive lineman being newcomers, the running game struggled as well, totaling just 96 yards on 33 carries. The defense would get Green Bay its’ first win of the season, a Week 2 20-13 road victory over the Baltimore Colts, a team that ultimately finished a dismal 2-12. In back-to-back home games, an exciting win over Detroit, 21-19, was followed up with a decisive thumping by the Bills, 27-7, leaving the Packers at 2-2 going into Week 5.

Over the next two weeks, Green Bay fans would experience the season’s highest and lowest points. In Milwaukee County Stadium, the Packers’ 1972 formula of defense, the running game, and special teams defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 17-13. However, Tagge hit his low point in Week 6, a 10-9 road loss to a bad Chicago team on a Monday night, completing only 14 of 32 passes for 140 yards and 2 interceptions. It was the last game Tagge would play for Green Bay, finishing his 1974 season with 70 completions in 146 attempts (47.9%) for 709 yards, 1 touchdown, and 10 interceptions, earning a meager QB Rating of 36.0.

With the Packers at 3-3 and the season teetering on the edge of extinction, Devine took a major gamble. On October 22, the day after the loss to Chicago and the last day of the NFL trading period, Devine traded five draft choices, including a first and second round pick in both 1975 and 1976 as well as a third round pick in 1976, to Los Angeles, the same team Green Bay had defeated two weeks earlier, for 34 year old QB John Hadl. Two days after the trade, Devine stated, “Someone asked me if we’re trading away our future, that’s a ridiculous question.”

However, Hadl was apparently not Devine’s first choice. Prior to the Chicago game, one report had the Packers finalizing a trade with the New Orleans Saints for 25 year old QB Archie Manning. Manning, the second overall pick in 1971, had been demoted in favor of New Orleans’ second year QB Bobby Scott prior to the Saints’ Week 6 game against the Atlanta Falcons. However, when Scott blew out his knee in their loss to Atlanta, leaving only rookie QB Larry Cipa, New Orleans reneged on the deal. Devine also reportedly had discussions with the Dallas Cowboys regarding a trade for 31 year old backup QB Craig Morton. But Devine wanted an established starter and ultimately didn’t pull the trigger on the deal. Morton was subsequently traded to the Giants for a first round draft choice on the same day Green Bay acquired Hadl.

Whether or not acquiring Manning or Morton were real possibilities, the NFL’s trade deadline forced Devine’s hand. Without any advance consultation with Green Bay’s Executive Committee, Devine decided to pull the trigger on the Hadl deal, even though Hadl had lost his starting job with the Rams the previous week to backup QB James Harris. Bob Harlan was quoted as saying, “I don’t think there was a soul in the organization who knew about the deal other than Dan.” Devine considered Hadl a big league quarterback who had led the San Diego Chargers to great success in the 1960s and, most recently, Los Angeles to a division title in 1973. Unfortunately, this was 1974 and Hadl’s career was nearing its end.

Regardless of the reasoning, Hadl was now a Packer. Concannon started the next two games, losses to the Lions, 19-17, and the Washington Redskins, 17-6, dropping Green Bay to a record of 3-5, as the Packers attempted to give Hadl time to assimilate the offense. Overall, Concannon played adequately, finishing the season with 28 completions in 54 attempts (51.9%) for 381 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions (QB Rating: 57.7). The running game, however, continued to struggle, accumulating a total of less than 100 yards in the Week 7 and Week 8 losses. RBs John Brockington and MacArthur Lane both were averaging less than three yards a carry on the season.

Prior to the end of the Washington loss, Concannon left the game with a bruised back after throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, opening the door for Hadl to make his Green Bay debut. And Hadl was sharp, completing 9 out of 15 for 99 yards and 1 interception in less than a quarter of play. Initially, the change in quarterback seemed to motivate the team. Although the offense remained unimpressive in Hadl’s first start, totaling only 215 yards in a 20-3 win over the Bears, the defense and special teams made up for the offense’s struggles.

Week 10 saw the offense play its best game of the season against Minnesota, gaining a total of 393 yards (202 rushing and 191 passing), including a 68 yard touchdown pass from Hadl to Lane in the fourth quarter, to close out a 19-7 road victory. Green Bay then played their most complete game of the season, dominating San Diego, 34-0, in Lambeau Field, for their third win in a row. Although the running game again struggled, gaining only 73 yards, the passing game made up the difference with 224 yards. Hadl completed 14 out of 22 passes for 157 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and a QB Rating of 81.1 before giving way to Concannon. Despite the turmoil to date, the Packers were 6-5, one game behind both Minnesota for the division title and Washington for the wild card, with three games remaining against teams with losing records.

However, all hopes for 1974 ended the next week in Philadelphia, with a 36-14 loss to the 4-7 Eagles. Green Bay fumbled eight times, losing five, with Hadl responsible for three of those fumbles. With nothing left to play for, the Packers folded, losing the last two games of the season. Hadl had started six games, going 3-3, completing 89 out of 184 passes (48.4%) for 1,072 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, earning a QB Rating of 54.0. Due to the high cost and limited return, the Hadl trade is regarded by many experts and a majority of fans as the worst trade in franchise history, and possibly one of the worst in NFL history. One of those experts was noted pro football analyst Dennis Ruzicka who said, “Forget Jim Del Gazio; let’s talk John Hadl!”.

In addition to the chaos at quarterback, the running game continued its’ decent, going from 4th in the NFL in 1971, Devine’s first season, to 19th in 1974. Brockington’s production dropped to 883 yards on 266 attempts (3.3 yards per carry) from 1973’s 1,144 yards (4.3 yards per carry), the first time in his career he finished below 1,000 yards. However, Brockington’s totals were still good enough to rank 2nd in the NFL in rushing attempts and 6th in rushing yards. Lane saw his totals again decline in 1974 to only 362 yards, 2.6 yards per carry, and 3 touchdowns. Third year K Chester Marcol did reclaim the league lead in both points scored (94) and most field goals (25), while finishing 8th overall in field goal percentage (64.1%).

Devine had attempted to shore up the offensive line prior to the season by acquiring eight year veteran OG Bruce Van Dyke, a Pro Bowler the year before, on September 9 from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 1976 3rd round draft choice. Devine also acquired nine year veteran OT Harry Schuh from the Los Angeles Rams on August 28 for a 1975 6th round draft pick. Unfortunately, an injury sidelined Van Dyke for the majority of the season and Schuh was a non-factor. Starting C Ken Bowman was put on injured reserve at the beginning of the season and never returned, replaced by second year C Larry McCarren. Overall, Green Bay finished the season ranked 19th in rushing, 17th in passing, and 21st in total offense (210 points).

As bad as the Hadl trade was for Green Bay, Devine did make a trade on August 14 that turned out to be the steal of the season, giving up second year LB Tom MacLeod and an 8th round pick in 1975 to Baltimore for perennial All-Pro LB Ted Hendricks and the Colts’ 1975 2nd round draft choice. Hendricks had announced earlier in the summer that he had a contract for 1975 season with Jacksonville of the WFL. A week later, Baltimore General Manager Joe Thomas traded him to Green Bay stating, according to Hendricks, “I’m putting you in cold storage.”

As a result of the acquisition, the Packers had arguably the best linebacking core in the league during 1974, with Hendricks, Fred Carr, and Jim Carter. The secondary was top notch as well, with DBs Willie Buchanon and Ken Ellis. On the defensive line, one of the last remaining Vince Lombardi veterans, DT Bob Brown, was traded to San Diego on September 5 for a 1975 3rd round draft pick. Brown would go on to play another three years for the Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring at the end of the 1977 season. Overall, Green Bay’s defense did yeoman’s work, five times holding opponents to a touchdown or less, and finishing 8th against the run, 7th against the pass, and 5th overall, yielding 206 points, a significant improvement over the 259 points allowed in 1973.

Despite improvement in both the defense and special teams, Devine likely sensed that, with his offense stalled, a four year record of only 25-27-4, and an absence of high round draft choices for the foreseeable future as a result of the Hadl trade, 1974 could be his last season, even with a year left on his contract. According to former team trainer Dominic Gentile in 1995, the low point in Devine’s tenure came prior to the final contest of the 1974 season against the Falcons, when reports surfaced of some players and coaches being so dissatisfied with the situation that there was talk of intentionally skipping the flight to Atlanta and potentially forcing the Packers to forfeit the game.

When Gentile heard about the potential mutiny, he did everything he could to discourage it. “I told them it would be suicidal to their football careers and would jeopardize the team’s future in the NFL. At the very least, it would be the blackest mark in the history of the franchise.” Fortunately for all involved, the boycott never happened. Publicly, Devine reiterated his commitment to Green Bay before the Atlanta game, stating, “I would just like to clear the air so that we can be thinking football. I’m making plans for being here in 75. I’m quite happy and satisfied” Privately, Devine looked to return to the collegiate ranks. And he hit the jackpot, accepting an offer to become head coach at Notre Dame beginning with the 1975 season.

All indications were that Devine had been offered, and had accepted, the Notre Dame job prior to the Packers’ final game. According to Stanton Greene, as the closing minutes of the Falcon game ticked away, Hadl offered Devine his consolation. To his astonishment, Devine looked up and said, “John, don’t worry about me. They’re going to announce me as the head Notre Dame coach tomorrow.” However, Devine didn’t tell this to Green Bay’s Executive Committee until after they’d decided to pay him for the final year of his contract. Less than a week after stating his intention to remain in Green Bay, on December 17, Devine’s resignation as the Packers’ Head Coach and General Manager was announced to the press.

Devine’s decision concluded a four year run that had seen the College Football Hall of Fame coach scale the heights of professional football, being named by the Pro Football Writers of America as NFC Coach of the Year in 1972, only to send the team spiraling back into an abyss two years later, deeper than the one he had momentarily rescued them from. The bottom line was that Devine had not been a good fit for the NFL, and was better suited to deal with college players. In any case, the Devine Era was over and, for the third time since Lombardi’s departure at the end of 1967, the Green Bay Packers would have to start again with a new head coach and general manager in 1975.

The Oakland Raiders finished with the NFL’s best record at 12-2, wining the AFC West Division. The Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins finished with the second best record at 11-3, winning the AFC East Division. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Central Division with a record of 10-3-1. The St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota, and Los Angeles all finished the season at 10-4, winning the NFC East, NFC Central, and NFC West Divisions respectively. Washington was in the playoffs as the NFC’s Wild Card team with a record of 10-4, while Buffalo was the AFC’s Wild Card representative with a record of 9-5.

St. Louis finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on a head-to-head sweep. It was the first time the Cardinals had won a division title since 1948, when the franchise was based in Chicago. It was also St. Louis’ first winning season since 1970, when the team went 8-5-1. Similarly, it was the first time in eight seasons that Buffalo had qualified for the post-season. For Dallas, however, 1974 would be the first time in nine seasons the team failed to make the playoffs, and would mark the only time between 1966 and 1983 that they would not qualify for the post-season.

Finally, Oakland QB Ken Stabler won the 1974 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year Awards. Pittsburgh DT Joe Greene won Defensive Player of the Year, and LB Jack Lambert won Defensive Rookie of the Year. San Diego RB Don Woods won Offensive Rookie of the Year while St. Louis Head Coach Don Coryell won Coach of the Year.

Post Season Highlights: In the Divisional Playoffs, the AFC Central Champion Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the AFC’s Wild Card team, the Buffalo Bills, in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium, while the NFC’s Wild Card team, the Washington Redskins, traveled west to the Los Angeles Coliseum to play the NFC West Champion Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, the AFC West Champion Oakland Raiders hosted the AFC East Champion Miami Dolphins in the Oakland Coliseum, while the NFC East Champion St. Louis Cardinals traveled to Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium to play the NFC Central Champion Minnesota Vikings. The winners would advance to their respective Conference Championship games.

On December 21, aided by two St. Louis Cardinals’ turnovers, the Minnesota Vikings scored 16 points in less than seven minutes during the third quarter, to advance to the NFC Championship.

St. Louis got onto the scoreboard first with QB Jim Hart’s 13 yard touchdown pass to WR Earl Thomas, but Minnesota countered when QB Fran Tarkenton completed a 16 yard touchdown pass to WR John Gilliam to tie the game at 7-7. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead with a 56 yard drive to the Vikings 6 yard line, but K Jim Bakken missed a 23 yard field goal attempt as the half expired. On the third play of the second half, the Vikings intercepted a Hart pass and returned it 18 yards, to set up K Fred Cox’s 37 yard field goal, for a 10-7 lead.

On the Cardinals’ ensuing drive, RB Terry Metcalf lost a fumble, which CB Nate Wright picked up and returned 20 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Vikings’ lead to 17-7. A few minutes later, Tarkenton finished off a 16 point third quarter with a 38 yard touchdown pass to Gilliam, for a 23-7 lead, after Cox missed the extra point. In the fourth quarter, Vikings’ RB Chuck Foreman added a 4 yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 30-7 lead. By the time Metcalf rushed for an 11 yard fourth quarter touchdown, the game was already out of reach, and the Vikings had a 30-14 victory.

Later that day, in a famous play that became known as the “Sea of Hands”, Oakland Raiders’ RB Clarence Davis somehow caught the winning touchdown pass between three Miami Dolphins’ defenders with only 24 seconds remaining, to advance to the AFC Championship.

The game began with rookie WR Nat Moore returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a Miami touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Raiders then tied the game, 7-7, on Stabler’s 31 yard touchdown pass to RB Charlie Smith in the second period. With 1:01 left in the half, Miami K Garo Yepremian kicked a 33 yard field goal to put the Dolphins back in the lead, 10-7, at halftime. Oakland scored on their opening drive of the third quarter with Stabler’s 13 yard touchdown pass to WR Fred Biletnikoff, giving the Raiders a 14-10 lead. Aided by a 29 yard pass interference penalty against Oakland, Miami struck back with QB Bob Griese’s 16 yard touchdown pass to WR Paul Warfield. But the Raiders blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the Miami lead at just two points, 16-14.

Early in the fourth quarter, Yepremian increased Miami’s lead to 19-14, with a 46 yard field goal. Later in the period, Oakland got the ball on their own 17 yard line. On the second play of the drive, Stabler threw a pass to WR Cliff Branch at the Dolphins 27 yard line. Branch made a spectacular diving catch, then got back up and ran the rest of the way to the end zone, for a 72 yard touchdown reception, giving the Raiders a 21-19 lead with 4:37 left in the game. With 2:08 left to play, the Dolphins took a 26-21 lead with a 68 yard, 4 play drive that ended with RB Benny Malone’s 23 yard touchdown run.

The Raiders got the ball on their own 32 yard line with 2 minutes left to play and all three timeouts remaining. After a 6 yard completion to TE Bob Moore, Stabler went deep to Biletnikoff, completing two consecutive passes for gains of 18 and 20 yards. Then, after a 4 yard catch by Branch, WR Frank Pitts made a bobbling first down catch at the Dolphins’ 14 yard line. On the next play, Davis ran the ball 6 yards to the 8 yard line, where the Raiders called their final timeout. On the next play, Stabler dropped back to pass and looked for Biletnikoff in the end zone, but he was tightly covered.

With Dolphins’ DE Vern Den Herder dragging him down, Stabler threw a desperate pass to the left side of the end zone, into a “sea of hands”, where Davis fought his way through the Dolphin defenders to make the touchdown catch. Trailing 28-26, the Dolphins got the ball back with 24 seconds left. But, on their second play of the drive, Oakland LB Phil Villapiano intercepted Griese’s pass at the Raiders 45 yard line, allowing the Raiders to run out the clock. Oakland had defeated the two time Super Bowl champions, 28-26, ending Miami’s quest for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory.

On December 22, RB Franco Harris led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a victory over the Buffalo Bills by scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter. Pittsburgh outgained Buffalo in total yards, 438-264, and first downs, 29-14.

Pittsburgh scored on their first possession, with K Roy Gerela’s 21 yard field goal, for a 3-0 lead. A poor punt from the Steelers’ Bobby Walden gave the Bills a first down on their own 44 yard line, where they proceeded to drive 56 yards, and a 7-3 lead, on QB Joe Ferguson’s 27 yard touchdown pass to TE Paul Seymour. In the second quarter, the Steelers took over the game, scoring 26 unanswered points, with an NFL playoff single quarter record four touchdowns. Early in the period, Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw finished one drive with a 27 yard scoring pass to RB Rocky Bleier, giving the Steelers a 9-7 lead after Gerela’s extra point was blocked. Following a Bills punt, Pittsburgh increased their lead to 16-7 with a 66 yard drive that concluded with a 1 yard touchdown by Harris.

Buffalo RB Jim Braxton then lost a fumble, which LB Jack Ham recovered on Buffalo’s 42 yard line. Bradshaw drove the Steelers to a 22-7 lead, on Harris’ 4 yard score, after another blocked extra point. With 16 seconds left in the half, Harris scored his third touchdown to cap a 56 yard drive, upping his team’s lead to 29-7. Buffalo managed to cut the score to 29-14 in the third quarter, with Ferguson’s 3 yard touchdown pass to RB O.J. Simpson. However, that would be the end of the scoring for the Bills. Gerela’s 22 yard field goal in the fourth period made the final score 32-14.

In the last game of the day, LB Isiah Robertson returned an interception 59 yards in the fourth quarter to clinch a Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the Washington Redskins, after a brutal defensive battle in which both teams combined for just 444 total yards.

Los Angeles scored on the opening drive of the game, a 10 yard touchdown pass from QB James Harris to TE Bob Klein, for a 7-0 lead. However, the Redskins then scored 10 unanswered points before halftime. First, QB Billy Kilmer’s 41 yard completion to WR Charley Taylor got the team moving, on the way to a 35 yard Mike Bragg field goal, making the score 7-3. Later on, CB Pat Fischer’s interception of Harris set up RB Moses Denson’s 1 yard touchdown, to give Washington their first lead, 10-7, at the end of the half.

Two Washington turnovers in the second half set up 37 yard and 26 yard field goals by Los Angeles’ K David Ray, to give the Rams the lead, 13-10. In the fourth quarter, Head Coach George Allen replaced Kilmer with veteran QB Sonny Jurgensen. It would be Jurgensen’s first and last playoff appearance. With the Redskins driving for the possible tying field goal, DT Merlin Olsen pressured Jurgensen into throwing the game clinching interception to Robertson, who returned it for a touchdown, and a 19-10 lead after a missed extra point. Olsen then recorded two more sacks, preventing any hopes of a Redskins comeback, securing a 19-10 Los Angeles victory.

On May 1 1975, Christian Adolph Jurgensen III, better known as Sonny Jurgensen, reluctantly retired from professional football after 18 seasons. “I still think I can do it,” Jurgensen said at an emotional news conference. Unfortunately for the 41 year old veteran quarterback, Washington Head Coach George Allen had earlier made it clear he was not of the same opinion, and Jurgensen decided to end his professional career rather than play for another NFL team.

Jurgensen is recognized as the finest pure passer of his time. A five time Pro Bowl selection, he earned three NFL individual passing titles. He exceeded 400 yards passing in a single game five times, and threw five touchdown passes in a game twice. Jurgensen finished with 2,433 completions out of 4,262 attempts (57.1%) for 32,224 yards, 255 touchdowns, 189 interceptions, and an 82.6 career passer rating, the highest for any player in the so called “Dead Ball Era” (pre-1978). He also rushed for 493 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Legendary Coach Vince Lombardi once told Packers’ Director of Player Personnel, Pat Peppler, that, “If we would have had Sonny Jurgensen in Green Bay, we’d never have lost a game.” He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

On December 29, the NFC Championship Game pitted the Los Angeles Rams against the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium, while the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Oakland Raiders in the Oakland Coliseum for the AFC Championship.

In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings were able to hold onto the ball for the final 5:37 of the game, to preserve a victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

After a scoreless first quarter, Minnesota QB Fran Tarkenton threw a 29 yard touchdown to WR Jim Lash for a 7-0 lead. Rams’ K 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. A controversial illegal procedure penalty on the Rams pushed the ball back to the 6 yard line. Two plays later, Vikings LB Wally Hilgenberg intercepted a pass from QB James Harris in the end zone for a touchback, ending the Los Angeles threat.

Minnesota then went on a 15 play drive, taking almost 8 minutes off the clock, and scoring on RB Dave Osborn’s 4 yard touchdown, increasing their lead to 14-3. With 7:15 left in the game, the Rams cut the deficit to 14-10, with WR Harold Jackson’s 44 yard touchdown strike from Harris. 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 ran out the clock for a 14-10 victory.

Later that day, the Pittsburgh Steelers scored three touchdowns in the final period to defeat the Oakland Raiders and earn their first trip to the Super Bowl.

The first half was controlled by both defenses. Oakland got a big opportunity in the first quarter when they recovered a muffed punt by WR Lynn Swann on the Steelers 41 yard line, but CB Mel Blount’s deflection of QB Ken Stabler’s pass forced the Raiders to settle for a 40 yard field goal from K George Blanda, and a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Steelers managed to get close to the Oakland end zone twice, but had to settle for a single Roy Gerela 23 yard field goal, to tie the game at 3-3 going into halftime. The Raiders took a 10-3 lead in the third quarter, with Stabler’s 38 yard touchdown pass to WR Cliff Branch. But Pittsburgh tied the game at 10-10 six seconds into the fourth quarter, with RB Franco Harris’ 8 yard touchdown run at the end of a 61 yard drive.

LB Jack Ham then intercepted his second Stabler pass of the day, returning it to the Raiders’ 9 yard line, setting up QB Terry Bradshaw’s 6 yard touchdown pass to WR Lynn Swann, for a 17-10 lead. Oakland responded with a drive to the Steelers 12 yard line. However, a blitz by Pittsburgh forced Stabler to throw the ball away, limiting Oakland to a 24 yard Blanda field goal, cutting the Steelers’ lead to 17-13. The Raiders managed to get the ball back for a chance at a go ahead touchdown, but CB J.T. Thomas made a clutch interception, returning the ball 37 yards to the Oakland 24 yard line. Harris then scored on a 21 yard touchdown run to put the game away for the Steelers, 24-13.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl IX would be the first NFL Championship Game in their 42 year history. For the Minnesota Vikings, it would be their third Super Bowl appearance in five years, as well as their second consecutive appearance. The Vikings were looking to redeem themselves after two one sided losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowls IV and VIII respectively.

Super Bowl Highlights: On January 12 1975, at New Orleans’ Tulane Stadium, the NFC Champion Minnesota Vikings, again led by Head Coach Bud Grant, played the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, led by six year Head Coach Chuck Noll, in Super Bowl IX. The game was originally scheduled to be played at the new Louisiana Superdome, however, as of July 1974, construction on the dome was not yet finished, so the league moved the Super Bowl to old Tulane Stadium.

Owner Art Rooney had founded the Steelers as an expansion team in 1933. Originally known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team changed its’ name to the Steelers in 1940. Pittsburgh would tally only seven winning seasons and one playoff game through 1968. But in 1969, Rooney hired Chuck Noll to be the team’s head coach, and their fortunes began to turn. Noll rebuilt the Steelers through the draft, selecting DT Joe Greene in his first season as head coach. In 1970, Noll drafted QB Terry Bradshaw and CB Mel Blount. In 1971, LB Jack Ham, DT Ernie Holmes, DT Dwight White, and DB Mike Wagner joined the roster. RB Franco Harris was drafted in 1972. And in 1974, the Steelers added LB Jack Lambert, C Mike Webster, WR Lynn Swan, and WR John Stallworth. Bradshaw, Webster, Swann, Stallworth, and Harris formed the core of the Steeler offense, while the others formed the core of the “Steel Curtain” defense.

In 1972, Pittsburgh made their first playoff appearance since 1947, losing to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers made it back to the playoffs in 1973, losing to the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional round. Pittsburgh started slowly in 1974, as Bradshaw and Joe Gilliam fought to be the team’s starting quarterback. Gilliam started six games, completing 96 out of 212 attempts for 1,274 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions (QB Rating: 55.4), but Noll eventually made Bradshaw the starter after a 2-1-1 start. Although Bradshaw ended up completing only 67 out of 148 passes (45.3%) for 785 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions (QB Rating: 55.2), he helped lead the team to a 10-3-1 record. WR Frank Lewis lead the Steelers in receptions and receiving yards, with 30 catches for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh’s main offensive weapon, however, was their running game. Harris rushed 208 times for 1,006 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and 5 touchdowns, while also finishing second on the team in receptions with 23 catches for 200 yards and another touchdown. RBs Rocky Bleier, Preston Pearson, and Steve Davis also contributed a combined total of 936 yards and 8 touchdowns. Overall, the Steelers finished 2nd in rushing yards (2,417), 6th in points scored (305), but only 21st in passing yards (1,958).

But the Steelers’ primary strength during the season was their staunch “Steel Curtain” defense, which led the league with the fewest total yards allowed (3,074), and the fewest passing yards allowed (1,466), while finishing 2nd in total defense, allowing 189 points, behind only the Los Angeles Rams. Greene won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second time in three seasons, while both he and DE L.C. Greenwood were named to the Pro Bowl. Both the team’s outside linebackers, Jack Ham and Andy Russell, were also selected to play in the Pro Bowl, while Lambert was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the defensive backfield, Blount, Wagner, and S Glen Edwards made a strong impact on opposing quarterbacks.

Minnesota’s powerful offense finished 5th in total offense, scoring 310 points, 2nd in passing yards (2,755), and 15th in rushing yards (1,856). The Vikings were still led by 14 year veteran QB Fran Tarkenton, who completed 199 out of 351 attempts (56.7%) for 2,598 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions (QB Rating: 82.1), while also running for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Minnesota’s primary offensive weapon was RB Chuck Foreman, who led the team with 777 yards on 199 attempts (3.9 yards per carry) and 9 touchdowns. RBs Dave Osborn, Oscar Reed, and Ed Marinaro combined for another 853 yards and 5 touchdowns. WRs Jim Lash and John Gilliam were major deep threats, with 32 receptions for 631 yards and 26 receptions for 578 yards respectively.

The “Purple People Eaters” defense, led by future Hall of Fame defensive linemen Carl Eller and Alan Page as well as future Hall of Fame S Paul Krause, allowed only 24 points total in their two playoff wins. Minnesota ranked 3rd overall in total defense during the regular season, allowing 195 points, behind only Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, while finishing 5th in rushing yards allowed (1,605) and 18th in passing yards allowed (2,302).

The game would be played in some of the worst conditions ever for a Super Bowl. An early morning rainstorm, cold, overcast skies, and a strong wind left participants and fans alike with a damp, penetrating chill that lasted throughout the afternoon.

The first quarter was completely dominated by both teams’ defenses. Minnesota was limited to 20 passing yards, zero rushing yards, and one first down. Pittsburgh did only slightly better, with 18 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and 4 first downs. Pittsburgh managed to get close enough for two Roy Gerela field goal attempts, however, Gerela missed his first attempt, and a bad snap prevented the second one from getting off the ground. In the second quarter, the Vikings got an opportunity to score when they recovered RB Rocky Bleier’s fumble at the Steelers 24 yard line, but they could only move the ball two yards in their next three plays. Minnesota K Fred Cox then missed a 39 yard field goal attempt.

The first score of the game occurred later in the period when Dave Osborn fumbled a pitch from Fran Tarkenton deep in Minnesota territory. Tarkenton quickly dove on the ball in the end zone to prevent a Steeler touchdown, but he was downed by Dwight White for a safety, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead. It was the first safety ever scored in a Super Bowl. The Vikings later threatened to score when Tarkenton led them on a 55 yard drive to the Steelers 20 yard line. With 1:17 left in the half, Tarkenton threw a pass to John Gilliam at the 5 yard line, but the Steelers’ Glen Edwards hit him just as he caught the ball. It popped out of his hands and into the arms of Mel Blount for an interception, ending Minnesota’s scoring threat. The half finished with Pittsburgh leading 2-0, the lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, with the Vikings trailing by only two points, Minnesota RB Bill Brown fumbled the return, and Pittsburgh recovered the ball at the Vikings’ 30 yard line. Franco Harris moved the ball to the 6 yard line with a 24 yard run. One play later, Harris carried the ball for 9 yards and a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 9-0 lead. On the second play of their next drive, Tarkenton’s pass was deflected behind the line of scrimmage by Pittsburgh’s LC Greenwood, and bounced back into Tarkenton’s hands, who then threw a 41 yard completion to Gilliam. Officials ruled that Tarkenton’s first pass attempt was a completion to himself, and thus his second attempt was an illegal forward pass. Five plays later, White deflected a Tarkenton pass attempt, and Joe Greene intercepted the ball, ending another Minnesota scoring threat.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings got one more opportunity, when Minnesota’s Paul Krause recovered a Harris fumble on the Steelers 47 yard line. On the next play, a 42 yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh S Mike Wagner moved the ball to the 5 yard line. Once again, the Steelers stopped the Vikings from scoring, when Greene forced and recovered a Chuck Foreman fumble. Pittsburgh failed to get a first down on their next possession, and was forced to punt from deep in their own territory. Minnesota LB Matt Blair burst through the line to block the punt, and the Vikings recovered the ball in the end zone for touchdown. Cox missed the extra point, but the Vikings had cut the deficit to 9-6 and were, incredibly, just a field goal away from a tie, after more than three quarters of offense ineptitude.

On the ensuing drive, the Steelers put the game out of reach with a 66 yard, 11 play scoring drive that took 6:47 off the clock and featured three successful third down conversions. The first was a 30 yard pass completion from Bradshaw to TE Larry Brown. Brown fumbled the ball as he was being tackled, and two officials initially ruled the ball recovered by the Vikings. But, in what would prove to be the game’s final turning point, Head Linesman Ed Marion overruled their call, and Pittsburgh retained possession. Another third down pass to Rocky Bleier advanced the ball to the Minnesota 5 yard line. The Steelers gained just 1 yard with their next two plays. On 3rd down from the 4 yard line, Bradshaw’s 4 yard touchdown pass to Brown gave the Steelers a commanding 16-6 lead with only 3:31 remaining.

On the first play of their next drive, Tarkenton’s pass was intercepted by Mike Wagner. The Steelers then executed seven consecutive running plays, taking the clock all the way down to 38 seconds remaining, before turning the ball over on downs. Minnesota attempted two pass plays to close out the game, giving Pittsburgh their first NFL Championship, 16-6. In total, the Steelers limited the Vikings to Super Bowl record lows of 9 first downs, 119 total offensive yards, 17 rushing yards, and no offensive scores. Pittsburgh accomplished this despite losing starting LBs Russell and Lambert to injuries for most of the second half.

Franco Harris, who ran for a Super Bowl record 158 yards and one touchdown, was named Super Bowl IX’s Most Valuable Player. Pittsburgh finished with a total of 57 rushing attempts, which remains the Super Bowl record. QB Terry Bradshaw completed just 9 out of 14 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. After the game, 74 year old owner Art Rooney was presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle in an iconic scene, ending his franchise’s 42 year championship drought.

Conclusion: The 1974 season demonstrated that bad endings can be relative. Minnesota had become the first franchise in the Super Bowl era to lose three times. Embarrassing, yes, but they were still considered to be a championship caliber team despite those losses. Green Bay, on the other hand, was a team facing an uncertain future.

Talent wise, the Packers were, at best, an average team, with a solid defense and good special teams when healthy, but with an offense in need of a complete rebuilding. And, thanks to Dan Devine, Green Bay had mortgaged their immediate future to acquire the services of an aging quarterback. And now their head coach and general manager was gone. For Devine, the pieces came together early, and he thought he’d found the magic formula when Green Bay won the division and a playoff berth in 1972. However, it slipped away as fast as he had found it, leaving a severely divided franchise at the time of Devine’s departure. As of 1974 came to a close, Packer fans could only wish for the Vikings’ troubles.

To end this post, I’ve attached the NFL Films Super Bowl IX Highlight video narrated once again by the great John Facenda. In addition, I’ve included a clip highlighting the Miami Dolphins vs. Oakland Raiders Divisional Playoff game, including the famous “Sea of Hands” catch. Enjoy!

As always, your feedback is appreciated!