All NFL game summaries for 12/22/1973:
Fran Tarkenton threw two touchdown passes to John Gilliam in a 17-point fourth quarter that boosted the Vikings into the NFC title game with a 27-20 victory over the Washington Redskins, the wild card team with the best second place record in the conference. Tarkenton completed 16 of 28 for 222 yards and Oscar Reed carried 17 times for 95 yards, including a brilliant 45-yard run to set up the first Vikings' touchdown. Larry Brown rushed for 115 yards against the tough Vikings' defense. Nate Wright's 26-yard run after intercepting a Billy Kilmer pass led to Tarkenton's second scoring pass.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 102.8 (25) | 168.4 (6) | 271.2 (18) | 32 |
| DEFENSE | 114.5 (4) | 162.6 (21) | 277.1 (12) | 44 | |
 | OFFENSE | 162.5 (6) | 139.7 (14) | 302.2 (7) | 26 |
| DEFENSE | 141.0 (11) | 135.3 (12) | 276.3 (11) | 36 |
Line: n/a
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins (10-5-0) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| Minnesota Vikings (13-2-0) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 27 |
( 0- 3) MIN Fred Cox 19 yard field goal
( 7- 3) WAS Larry Brown 3 yard rush (Curt Knight kick)
( 7-10) MIN Bill Brown 2 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
(10-10) WAS Curt Knight 52 yard field goal
(13-10) WAS Curt Knight 42 yard field goal
(13-17) MIN John Gilliam 28 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
(13-24) MIN John Gilliam 8 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
(20-24) WAS Roy Jefferson 28 yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Curt Knight kick)
(20-27) MIN Fred Cox 30 yard field goal
WAS MIN
First Downs: 18 17
Rushes-yards: 42-155 34-141
Yards/rush: 3.7 4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 13-24-159-1 16-28-222-1
Sacked-yards: 0-0 1-4
Net pass yards: 159 218
Net yards/pass: 6.6 7.5
Total net yards: 314 359
Total plays: 66 (63% run) 63 (53% run)
Yards/play: 4.8 5.7
Fumbles-lost: 2-1 2-2
Turnovers: 2 3
Penalties-yards: 0-0 2-9
Attendance: 46,065
Passing:
WAS: Billy Kilmer, 13 of 24 for 159 yards and 1 TD (1 int) MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 16 of 28 for 222 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
WAS: Larry Brown, 29 for 115 yards and 1 TD; Charlie Harraway, 13 for 40 yards MIN: Oscar Reed, 17 for 95 yards; Chuck Foreman, 11 for 40 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 4 for 1 yard; Ed Marinaro, 1 for 3 yards; Bill Brown, 1 for 2 yards and 1 TD
Receiving:
WAS: Roy Jefferson, 6 for 84 yards and 1 TD; Charley Taylor, 4 for 56 yards; Larry Brown, 2 for 13 yards; Charlie Harraway, 1 for 6 yards MIN: Oscar Reed, 5 for 76 yards; Stu Voigt, 3 for 39 yards; Chuck Foreman, 3 for 23 yards; John Gilliam, 2 for 36 yards and 2 TDs; Carroll Dale, 2 for 31 yards; Jim Lash, 1 for 17 yards
Kick returns:
WAS: Herb Mul-Key, 3 for 69 yards; Bob Brunet, 2 for 35 yards MIN: John Gilliam, 3 for 78 yards; Charlie West, 2 for 49 yards
Punt returns:
WAS: Speedy Duncan, 3 for 8 yards; Herb Mul-Key, 1 for 10 yards MIN: Bobby Bryant, 2 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
WAS: Mike Bass, 1 for 28 yards MIN: Nate Wright, 1 for 26 yards
Punting:
WAS: Mike Bragg, 4 for 149 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 191 yards
Field Goals:
WAS: Curt Knight, 2/4 MIN: Fred Cox, 2/2
WAS: Billy Kilmer, 13 of 24 for 159 yards and 1 TD (1 int) MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 16 of 28 for 222 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
WAS: Larry Brown, 29 for 115 yards and 1 TD; Charlie Harraway, 13 for 40 yards MIN: Oscar Reed, 17 for 95 yards; Chuck Foreman, 11 for 40 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 4 for 1 yard; Ed Marinaro, 1 for 3 yards; Bill Brown, 1 for 2 yards and 1 TD
Receiving:
WAS: Roy Jefferson, 6 for 84 yards and 1 TD; Charley Taylor, 4 for 56 yards; Larry Brown, 2 for 13 yards; Charlie Harraway, 1 for 6 yards MIN: Oscar Reed, 5 for 76 yards; Stu Voigt, 3 for 39 yards; Chuck Foreman, 3 for 23 yards; John Gilliam, 2 for 36 yards and 2 TDs; Carroll Dale, 2 for 31 yards; Jim Lash, 1 for 17 yards
Kick returns:
WAS: Herb Mul-Key, 3 for 69 yards; Bob Brunet, 2 for 35 yards MIN: John Gilliam, 3 for 78 yards; Charlie West, 2 for 49 yards
Punt returns:
WAS: Speedy Duncan, 3 for 8 yards; Herb Mul-Key, 1 for 10 yards MIN: Bobby Bryant, 2 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
WAS: Mike Bass, 1 for 28 yards MIN: Nate Wright, 1 for 26 yards
Punting:
WAS: Mike Bragg, 4 for 149 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 191 yards
Field Goals:
WAS: Curt Knight, 2/4 MIN: Fred Cox, 2/2
A 361-yard offense, led by quarterback Ken Stabler, running back Marv Hubbard and two pivotal interceptions carried the Raiders into the AFC championship game for the second time in four years. Stabler set a divisional playoff record for percentage of completions with 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) and Hubbard ran 20 times for 91 yards to lead the 232-yard attack. Willie Brown's 54-yard scoring return on an interception and George Atkinson's steal that set up one of George Blanda's four field goals turned a 16-7 game into a 26-7 Raiders' romp midway through the second half.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 153.1 (8) | 137.6 (15) | 290.7 (12) | 40 |
| DEFENSE | 118.0 (5) | 119.4 (5) | 237.4 (4) | 55 | |
 | OFFENSE | 179.3 (4) | 161.6 (9) | 340.9 (3) | 34 |
| DEFENSE | 105.0 (2) | 120.7 (8) | 225.7 (2) | 33 |
Line: n/a
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Oakland Raiders (10-4-1) | 7 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 33 |
( 0- 7) OAK Marv Hubbard 1 yard rush (George Blanda kick)
( 0-10) OAK George Blanda 25 yard field goal
( 7-10) PIT Barry Pearson 4 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
( 7-13) OAK George Blanda 31 yard field goal
( 7-16) OAK George Blanda 22 yard field goal
( 7-23) OAK Willie Brown 54 yard interception return (George Blanda kick)
( 7-26) OAK George Blanda 10 yard field goal
(14-26) PIT Frank Lewis 26 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
(14-33) OAK Marv Hubbard 1 yard rush (George Blanda kick)
PIT OAK
First Downs: 15 24
Rushes-yards: 20-65 55-232
Yards/rush: 3.2 4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 12-25-167-3 14-17-142-0
Sacked-yards: 1-9 2-13
Net pass yards: 158 129
Net yards/pass: 6.1 6.8
Total net yards: 223 361
Total plays: 46 (43% run) 74 (74% run)
Yards/play: 4.8 4.9
Fumbles-lost: 1-0 0-0
Turnovers: 3 0
Penalties-yards: 4-60 9-75
Attendance: 50,094
Passing:
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 12 of 25 for 167 yards and 2 TDs (3 int) OAK: Ken Stabler, 14 of 17 for 142 yards
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 10 for 29 yards; Preston Pearson, 4 for 14 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 3 for 13 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 3 for 9 yards OAK: Marv Hubbard, 20 for 91 yards and 2 TDs; Charlie Smith, 17 for 73 yards; Clarence Davis, 12 for 48 yards; Pete Banaszak, 5 for 17 yards; Bob Moore, 1 for 3 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Frank Lewis, 4 for 70 yards and 1 TD; Frenchy Fuqua, 4 for 52 yards; Barry Pearson, 2 for 7 yards and 1 TD; Preston Pearson, 1 for 24 yards; Dave Williams, 1 for 14 yards OAK: Mike Siani, 5 for 68 yards; Bob Moore, 3 for 26 yards; Charlie Smith, 2 for 10 yards; Marv Hubbard, 1 for 17 yards; Fred Biletnikoff, 1 for 8 yards; Cliff Branch, 1 for 8 yards; Pete Banaszak, 1 for 5 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 4 for 79 yards; Steve Davis, 3 for 77 yards OAK: Clarence Davis, 3 for 58 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Glen Edwards, 1 for 20 yards OAK: George Atkinson, 2 for 11 yards
Interceptions:
OAK: Willie Brown, 1 for 54 yards and 1 TD; George Atkinson, 1 for 8 yards; Phil Villapiano, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 5 for 208 yards OAK: Ray Guy, 2 for 78 yards
Field Goals:
OAK: George Blanda, 4/5
PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 12 of 25 for 167 yards and 2 TDs (3 int) OAK: Ken Stabler, 14 of 17 for 142 yards
Rushing:
PIT: Franco Harris, 10 for 29 yards; Preston Pearson, 4 for 14 yards; Frenchy Fuqua, 3 for 13 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 3 for 9 yards OAK: Marv Hubbard, 20 for 91 yards and 2 TDs; Charlie Smith, 17 for 73 yards; Clarence Davis, 12 for 48 yards; Pete Banaszak, 5 for 17 yards; Bob Moore, 1 for 3 yards
Receiving:
PIT: Frank Lewis, 4 for 70 yards and 1 TD; Frenchy Fuqua, 4 for 52 yards; Barry Pearson, 2 for 7 yards and 1 TD; Preston Pearson, 1 for 24 yards; Dave Williams, 1 for 14 yards OAK: Mike Siani, 5 for 68 yards; Bob Moore, 3 for 26 yards; Charlie Smith, 2 for 10 yards; Marv Hubbard, 1 for 17 yards; Fred Biletnikoff, 1 for 8 yards; Cliff Branch, 1 for 8 yards; Pete Banaszak, 1 for 5 yards
Kick returns:
PIT: Preston Pearson, 4 for 79 yards; Steve Davis, 3 for 77 yards OAK: Clarence Davis, 3 for 58 yards
Punt returns:
PIT: Glen Edwards, 1 for 20 yards OAK: George Atkinson, 2 for 11 yards
Interceptions:
OAK: Willie Brown, 1 for 54 yards and 1 TD; George Atkinson, 1 for 8 yards; Phil Villapiano, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
PIT: Bobby Walden, 5 for 208 yards OAK: Ray Guy, 2 for 78 yards
Field Goals:
OAK: George Blanda, 4/5