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Super Bowl XI
January 9, 1977
Rose Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
Final Score - Raiders 32 - Vikings 14 |
In 1976, the Oakland Raiders thundered into Super Bowl XI with a 13-1-0 regular season record, and a 2-0-0 mark in the playoffs. On a Sunday afternoon, January 9, 1977, these AFC Champions entered the Rose Bowl having won twelve games in a row. With one more win, they would earn their first World Championship in Professional Football. This would be the Raiders second appearance in a Super Bowl, losing only to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II.
The NFC Champion Minnesota Vikings entered the Super Bowl XI in search of their first World Championship in four ties. They had finished their league season with an 11-2-1 record, and then won a pair of playoff games to make to the finals. These favored Vikings had many veterans of previous Super Bowls on every unit. The Raiders only had four veterans who had played for the Silver and Black in Super Bowl II. These were running back Pete Banaszak, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, cornerback Willie Brown, and guard Gene Upshaw, plus linebacker Ted Hendricks, who had been in an earlier Super Bowl with the Baltimore colts.
Raider Owner-Managing General Partner Al Davis had crafted his team with meticulous care. Along with Davis, five of these Raider starters would later be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They included Biletnikoff, Brown, Hendricks, Upshaw and offensive tackle Art Shell. Others, including punter Ray Guy and head coach John Madden would be finalists for this prestigious honor.
The two practice weeks that led to Super Bowl Sunday had gone very well for the Raiders. Mentally and physically, this Raider team would be perfectly honed for the win. In fact, by the Wednesday prior to the game, the Raiders were so convinced that they were going to win, it was said that the only way they would lose would be if the bus turned over on the way to the game. This Raider team didn't even believe that it would be close.
This was a supremely confident football organization. They exhibited total commitment to excellence, motivating each and every wearer of the Silver and Black. To this group of players, coming to the Super Bowl wasn't enough, not nearly enough. These Raiders had traveled south from Oakland to headquarter in Newport Beach, train at Irvine and play at Pasadena's Rose Bowl for one reason only... to win the World Championship.
It was a clear and sunny day, with the temperatures near 60 degrees at kickoff. There was a slight breeze out of the northwest. The game was sold out, 103,424 tickets in the eager hands of waiting spectators. The Raiders were in white jerseys, the Vikings in purple.
Head coach John Madden chose to receive the ball, when Raider special teams captain, tight end Warren Bankston, won the coin toss. The Raiders were in scoring position early, after a 23-yard kickoff return by Carl Garrett, and a 25-yard pass from Ken Stabler to tight end Dave Casper. This drive was halted when Errol Mann's 29-yard field goal attempt misfired, hitting the left upright and bouncing back. Ken Stabler smiled after the miss, he was a man without worries, and expressed his feelings to Madden on the sidelines.
Pound-for-pound, the toughest safety in football was George Atkinson. He broke up a pass from Fran Tarkenton intended for Chuck Foreman, dooming the Vikings first series. A booming punt of 51 yards from Ray Guy after the Raiders next possession, pinned Minnesota deep in their own territory. On third down, Tarkenton went long for wide receiver Sammie White, who could find no free space with Willie Brown in a perfect, tight man-to-man coverage.
On the next Raider series, danger threatened. Fourth down from the Oakland 34, Ray Guy had his first-ever NFL punt blocked. It was now Minnesota's ball, and they were first and goal on the Oakland three-yard line. This was no panic for the Raiders, just dig in and stop them. Play defense... Play tough defense... Play Raiders defense!
On first down, it was giant rookie defensive tackle Charles Philyaw that stopped Chuck Foreman abruptly after one yard. Then, on second down, a wall of white jerseys rose up and stopped Brent McClanahan dead in his tracks. A solid hit by Phil Villapiano jarred the ball loose, and it was inside linebacker Willie Hall that dove on the ball to claim it. Raiders ball on their own three... But not for long.
The Raiders came up on third-and-seven from their six. The play called was "17 Bob Trey O." This would have Clarence Davis going off left tackle behind a lead block by fullback Mark van Eeghen. Tight end Dave Casper would block down from his spot on the left side. Guards Gene Upshaw and George Buelher would pull behind the line to get in front of Clarence Davis as he turned up into the hole. When he did, he broke to the left side and sped for 35 yards. The Raiders were on their way to a Super Bowl record 266 yards rushing. Clarence Davis was the leading rusher with 137 yards, and "17 Bob Trey O" was the featured play.
Ken Stabler mixed passes and runs artfully, as the Raiders moved to the Vikings seven-yard line. With David Humm holding the ball, Errol Mann drilled a 24-yard field goal down the middle, giving the Raiders a 3-0 lead, a lead that would never be relinquished on this Super Bowl Sunday.
Raider defense dominated... three downs and out for the Vikings. With the Raider ball on their own 36, Ken Stabler opened with a quick out to Cliff Branch for eight yards. Then, it was 19 yards to Dave Casper. Cutting back inside left, Carl Garrett at halfback danced his way for 13 yards. Finally, with third and three on the Minnesota six and Ken Stabler straight back to pass, Fred Biletnikoff spit to the right and went down field. With Viking cornerback Nate Wright in tight coverage, Biletnikoff looked inside and broke sharply to the sideline, catching the perfect pitch from Stabler and was pushed out on the one-foot line.
In 1976, the Vikings were the toughest team to score on from in close. John Madden capitalized on Minnesota's aggressiveness by calling a beautifully designed play-action pass on first down. Faking inside, Stabler threw to tight end Dave Casper all alone going left through the end zone. Casper went tall for the high-thrown ball, and the Raiders went ahead 10-0 after seven minutes and fifty seconds of the second quarter.
Again, it was the Raider might and muscle of the defense that gave the Vikings absolutely nowhere to go offensively. Minnesota wide receivers were totally denied any opportunity to get open by cornerbacks Skip Thomas and Willie Brown. Again, three downs and out. A Super Bowl record 25-yard punt return by Neal Colzie put the Raiders just 35 yards from another score. Four plays into the drive, Stabler went to Biletnikoff, again split wide right. Biletnikoff had faked outside and broke into the post, sliding to the ground to catch the low pass less than a yard from the Minnesota goal line. Pete Banaszak bulled his way over right tackle for the touchdown. Mann missed the extra point, but the Raiders lead had climbed to 16-0, the score as the first half ended. Raider defense had limited the Vikings to just four first downs. The Raider offense had gained more than 200 yards than the Vikings, 288 to 86.
There was no let up for the Raider defense as the second half opened. The Vikings could not cross midfield on their first two series. Big John Matuszak stuffed Chuck Foreman for no gain on a third-and-one, forcing Minnesota to punt. Ken Stabler and the Raider offense were back on the field at their own 46 after Colzie's 12-yard return. Davis at left tackle for 16... Stabler to Branch for 10. Then it was Errol Mann that kicked a 40-yard field goal. Raiders 19-Vikings 0.
On the next series, a roughing the punter penalty gave Minnesota a life that a defensive holding call on a long yardage situation kept alive. Tarkenton took full advantage of his breaks. He finally got the Vikings on the board with an eight-yard pass to Sammie White. This cut the Raider margin to 12 points at 19-7. The third quarter ended that way.
Five minutes into the final period, a blitzing Ted Hendricks forced Tarkenton to scramble and throw the ball wildly across the field. Linebacker Willie Hall cut smoothly in front of the intended receiver, intercepting the ball. He returned it for 16 yards to the Raider 46. On third and six from midfield, Stabler dropped back, looked the coverage off deep, then hit Biletnikoff when he broke open late in the vacant short middle area. Biletnikoff legged it all they way to the Minnesota two. This set up a Raider touchdown for the third time in Super Bowl XI. On the very next play, Pete Banaszak slashed off right tackle, and the Raiders jumped ahead 26-7. The competitive aspects of this game were now history.
The Raiders maintained their aggressive attacking style every time the Vikings fired. On the Oakland 28, Tarkenton fired a short out to the left sideline. For two decades the finest cornerback in football, Willie Brown proved again that his instincts and reactions were still at the All-Pro level. "Old Man Willie" cut off the receiver's route, drove to the ball and picked it off, heading down the right sideline, flashing past all the Viking players and coaches as he sped past the now desolate bench.
Seventy-five yards later, the Raiders had 32 points and Willie Brown had a Super Bowl record interception return. Mann missed the extra point. Raiders 32-Vikings 7.
Oakland left tackle Art Shell completely shut out Viking defensive end Jim Marshall... no tackles, no assists and no sacks. Gene Upshaw was simply awesome. At center, Dave Dalby totally controlled Vikings middle linebacker Jeff Siemon. On the Raider right side, George Buehler and John Vella were equally dominating. John Madden cleared the Raider bench, making sure every active player saw game action in the Super Bowl win. The Vikings scored a touchdown that was meaningless with 25 seconds left in the game. By this time, the Raider sideline was total bedlam. Head Coach John Madden was carried off on the shoulders of defensive giants John Matuszak, Charles Philyaw and others. The deafening roar of the crowd filled the Rose Bowl.
Every member of the 1976 Raiders, from Al Davis on down, will always cherish this special January, 1977 Sunday, when they proved convincingly that they were clearly the best in the world.
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