I've never understood why The Vikings incredible defense could never get it done in The Super Bowl. Perhaps it was the fact that they ran into incredibly good teams, perhaps the week off in between the games distracted them, or perhaps it was the fact that the offense was so inept, in 4 super bowl games, that they never scored a single point in the 1st half of any of those games and put their defense in a hole.
This game turned late in the 1st period. Announcer, (the late, great) Curt Gowdy, boasted about the incredible, Raider Punter, Ray Guy. He stated Guy had never had a kick blocked. The Vikings had a propensity for blocking kicks. Well with 5 minutes to go in the 1st quarter, Viking Linebacker, Fred Mcneil, exploded off the corner and blocked Ray Guy's punt and recovered it on The Raiders 3 yard line. A golden opportunity for The Vikings, but they lost the initiative, and the game, when Vikings RB Brent McClanahan fumbled the ball on the 2 yard line where Raiders LB, Willie Hall, recovered.
The Vikings still had a chance to make The Raiders punt from their endzone, when on 3rd and 7, from the Raiders 6 yard line, RB Clarence Davis ran left for a 35 yard gain. The Raiders continued the march and after 12 plays and 90 yards, came away with a field goal. They then ran all over The Vikings, who put up little resistance and allowed 429 total yards. 137 of them by RB Clarence Davis, who somehow wasn't chosen the game's MVP. That honor was bestowed upon Raider WR, Fred Biletnikoff. Perhaps it was a lifetime achievement award for the great WR, because Biletnikoff only had 4 catches for 79 yards (48 of them coming on one reception) and no TD's. Raiders TE, Dave Casper had 4 catches for 70 yards and 1TD.
32-14 isn't even indicitive of how much The Raiders completely whooped The Vikings in this one-sided Super Bowl. My most fond memory of this Super Bowl was when Raiders CB HOF'er Willie Brown Picked off a Tarkenton pass and returned it 75 yards for a TD to give The Raiders a 32-7 lead. Announcer Don Meredith, started singing "Turn out the Lights".
The Willie Brown interception is a play that will be shown, all time, on any NFL films highlight reel.
