All NFL game summaries for 12/21/1974:
Amid light snow flurries and with the temperature at 21 degrees, the Vikings forced a pair of Cardinals' turnovers that resulted in 10 points, which broke a 7-7 halftime deadlock and sent the defending champions into the conference title game for the second year in a row. Strong safety Jeff Wright's interception of a Jim Hart pass set up Fred Cox's tie-breaking 37-yard field goal 3:31 into the third period. One minute later cornerback Nate Wright picked up a Terry Metcalf fumble and raced 20 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 Minnesota lead. Fran Tarkenton and John Gilliam combined on two touchdown passes covering 16 and 38 yards. Chuck Foreman rushed for 114 yards, including a four-yard touchdown.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 139.7 (13) | 168.4 (7) | 308.1 (10) | 17 |
| DEFENSE | 134.9 (15) | 168.8 (19) | 303.6 (17) | 25 | |
 | OFFENSE | 132.6 (15) | 196.8 (2) | 329.4 (3) | 22 |
| DEFENSE | 114.6 (5) | 164.4 (18) | 279.1 (10) | 33 |
Line: n/a
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals (10-5-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Minnesota Vikings (11-4-0) | 0 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 30 |
( 7- 0) STL Earl Thomas 13 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)
( 7- 7) MIN John Gilliam 16 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
( 7-10) MIN Fred Cox 37 yard field goal
( 7-17) MIN Nate Wright 20 yard fumble return (Fred Cox kick)
( 7-23) MIN John Gilliam 38 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (kick failed)
( 7-30) MIN Chuck Foreman 4 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
(14-30) STL Terry Metcalf 11 yard rush (Jim Bakken kick)
STL MIN
First Downs: 17 19
Rushes-yards: 25-100 42-197
Yards/rush: 4.0 4.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 18-40-200-1 13-23-169-2
Sacked-yards: 2-16 1-3
Net pass yards: 184 166
Net yards/pass: 4.4 6.9
Total net yards: 284 363
Total plays: 67 (37% run) 66 (63% run)
Yards/play: 4.2 5.5
Fumbles-lost: 2-1 0-0
Turnovers: 2 2
Penalties-yards: 1-15 4-39
Attendance: 44,626
Passing:
STL: Jim Hart, 18 of 40 for 200 yards and 1 TD (1 int) MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 13 of 23 for 169 yards and 2 TDs (2 int)
Rushing:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 15 for 55 yards and 1 TD; Jim Otis, 8 for 35 yards; Jim Hart, 1 for 10 yards; Ken Willard, 1 for 0 yards MIN: Chuck Foreman, 23 for 114 yards and 1 TD; Dave Osborn, 16 for 67 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 2 for 0 yards; John Gilliam, 1 for 16 yards
Receiving:
STL: Earl Thomas, 6 for 64 yards and 1 TD; Mel Gray, 5 for 77 yards; Terry Metcalf, 4 for 43 yards; Gary Hammond, 1 for 10 yards; Jackie Smith, 1 for 7 yards; Jim Otis, 1 for -1 yards MIN: Chuck Foreman, 5 for 54 yards; Dave Osborn, 4 for 36 yards; John Gilliam, 2 for 54 yards and 2 TDs; Stu Voigt, 2 for 25 yards
Kick returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 3 for 85 yards; Greg Hartle, 3 for 14 yards MIN: Sam McCullum, 2 for 49 yards; Doug Kingsriter, 1 for 0 yards
Punt returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 3 for 18 yards MIN: Jackie Wallace, 1 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
STL: Roger Wehrli, 1 for 10 yards; Mark Arneson, 1 for 7 yards MIN: Jeff Wright, 1 for 18 yards
Punting:
STL: Hal Roberts, 7 for 255 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 191 yards
Field Goals:
STL: Jim Bakken, 0/1 MIN: Fred Cox, 1/1
STL: Jim Hart, 18 of 40 for 200 yards and 1 TD (1 int) MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 13 of 23 for 169 yards and 2 TDs (2 int)
Rushing:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 15 for 55 yards and 1 TD; Jim Otis, 8 for 35 yards; Jim Hart, 1 for 10 yards; Ken Willard, 1 for 0 yards MIN: Chuck Foreman, 23 for 114 yards and 1 TD; Dave Osborn, 16 for 67 yards; Fran Tarkenton, 2 for 0 yards; John Gilliam, 1 for 16 yards
Receiving:
STL: Earl Thomas, 6 for 64 yards and 1 TD; Mel Gray, 5 for 77 yards; Terry Metcalf, 4 for 43 yards; Gary Hammond, 1 for 10 yards; Jackie Smith, 1 for 7 yards; Jim Otis, 1 for -1 yards MIN: Chuck Foreman, 5 for 54 yards; Dave Osborn, 4 for 36 yards; John Gilliam, 2 for 54 yards and 2 TDs; Stu Voigt, 2 for 25 yards
Kick returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 3 for 85 yards; Greg Hartle, 3 for 14 yards MIN: Sam McCullum, 2 for 49 yards; Doug Kingsriter, 1 for 0 yards
Punt returns:
STL: Terry Metcalf, 3 for 18 yards MIN: Jackie Wallace, 1 for 3 yards
Interceptions:
STL: Roger Wehrli, 1 for 10 yards; Mark Arneson, 1 for 7 yards MIN: Jeff Wright, 1 for 18 yards
Punting:
STL: Hal Roberts, 7 for 255 yards MIN: Mike Eischeid, 5 for 191 yards
Field Goals:
STL: Jim Bakken, 0/1 MIN: Fred Cox, 1/1
Clarence Davis made a fantastic catch of an eight-yard touchdown pass from Ken Stabler with 25 seconds to play to give Oakland a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Miami that sent the Raiders into the AFC title game and snuffed out the Dolphins' hopes of a third straight Super Bowl win. Linebacker Phil Villapiano intercepted a Bob Griese pass with 21 seconds left for the final blow to Miami. Stabler threw four scoring passes to Charlie Smith, Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch and Davis. Miami rookie Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 156.5 (4) | 151.0 (15) | 307.5 (11) | 31 |
| DEFENSE | 116.0 (7) | 155.9 (16) | 271.9 (8) | 33 | |
 | OFFENSE | 166.7 (3) | 170.3 (6) | 337.0 (2) | 28 |
| DEFENSE | 150.6 (21) | 150.8 (13) | 301.4 (16) | 41 |
Line: n/a
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins (11-4-0) | 7 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 26 |
| Oakland Raiders (13-2-0) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
( 7- 0) MIA Nat Moore 89 yard kickoff return (Garo Yepremian kick)
( 7- 7) OAK Charlie Smith 31 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)
(10- 7) MIA Garo Yepremian 33 yard field goal
(10-14) OAK Fred Biletnikoff 13 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)
(16-14) MIA Paul Warfield 16 yard pass from Bob Griese (kick failed)
(19-14) MIA Garo Yepremian 46 yard field goal
(19-21) OAK Cliff Branch 72 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)
(26-21) MIA Benny Malone 23 yard rush (Garo Yepremian kick)
(26-28) OAK Clarence Davis 8 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)
MIA OAK
First Downs: 18 19
Rushes-yards: 41-213 32-135
Yards/rush: 5.2 4.2
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 7-14-101-1 20-30-293-1
Sacked-yards: 2-20 2-17
Net pass yards: 81 276
Net yards/pass: 5.1 8.6
Total net yards: 294 411
Total plays: 57 (71% run) 64 (50% run)
Yards/play: 5.2 6.4
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 0-0
Turnovers: 1 1
Penalties-yards: 3-15 3-59
Attendance: 52,817
Passing:
MIA: Bob Griese, 7 of 14 for 101 yards and 1 TD (1 int) OAK: Ken Stabler, 20 of 30 for 293 yards and 4 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
MIA: Larry Csonka, 24 for 114 yards; Benny Malone, 14 for 83 yards and 1 TD; Bob Griese, 2 for 14 yards; Jim Kiick, 1 for 2 yards OAK: Marv Hubbard, 14 for 55 yards; Clarence Davis, 12 for 59 yards; Pete Banaszak, 3 for 14 yards; Ken Stabler, 3 for 7 yards
Receiving:
MIA: Paul Warfield, 3 for 47 yards and 1 TD; Nat Moore, 2 for 40 yards; Don Nottingham, 1 for 9 yards; Jim Kiick, 1 for 5 yards OAK: Fred Biletnikoff, 8 for 122 yards and 1 TD; Cliff Branch, 3 for 84 yards and 1 TD; Bob Moore, 3 for 22 yards; Charlie Smith, 2 for 35 yards and 1 TD; Clarence Davis, 2 for 16 yards and 1 TD; Marv Hubbard, 1 for 9 yards; Frank Pitts, 1 for 5 yards
Kick returns:
MIA: Nat Moore, 3 for 137 yards and 1 TD; Hubert Ginn, 2 for 46 yards OAK: Harold Hart, 4 for 88 yards; Ron Smith, 2 for 47 yards
Punt returns:
MIA: Nat Moore, 2 for 5 yards; Dick Anderson, 1 for 0 yards OAK: Ron Smith, 3 for 16 yards
Interceptions:
MIA: Dick Anderson, 1 for 14 yards OAK: Phil Villapiano, 1 for 5 yards
Punting:
MIA: Larry Seiple, 6 for 199 yards OAK: Ray Guy, 7 for 299 yards
Field Goals:
MIA: Garo Yepremian, 2/2
MIA: Bob Griese, 7 of 14 for 101 yards and 1 TD (1 int) OAK: Ken Stabler, 20 of 30 for 293 yards and 4 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
MIA: Larry Csonka, 24 for 114 yards; Benny Malone, 14 for 83 yards and 1 TD; Bob Griese, 2 for 14 yards; Jim Kiick, 1 for 2 yards OAK: Marv Hubbard, 14 for 55 yards; Clarence Davis, 12 for 59 yards; Pete Banaszak, 3 for 14 yards; Ken Stabler, 3 for 7 yards
Receiving:
MIA: Paul Warfield, 3 for 47 yards and 1 TD; Nat Moore, 2 for 40 yards; Don Nottingham, 1 for 9 yards; Jim Kiick, 1 for 5 yards OAK: Fred Biletnikoff, 8 for 122 yards and 1 TD; Cliff Branch, 3 for 84 yards and 1 TD; Bob Moore, 3 for 22 yards; Charlie Smith, 2 for 35 yards and 1 TD; Clarence Davis, 2 for 16 yards and 1 TD; Marv Hubbard, 1 for 9 yards; Frank Pitts, 1 for 5 yards
Kick returns:
MIA: Nat Moore, 3 for 137 yards and 1 TD; Hubert Ginn, 2 for 46 yards OAK: Harold Hart, 4 for 88 yards; Ron Smith, 2 for 47 yards
Punt returns:
MIA: Nat Moore, 2 for 5 yards; Dick Anderson, 1 for 0 yards OAK: Ron Smith, 3 for 16 yards
Interceptions:
MIA: Dick Anderson, 1 for 14 yards OAK: Phil Villapiano, 1 for 5 yards
Punting:
MIA: Larry Seiple, 6 for 199 yards OAK: Ray Guy, 7 for 299 yards
Field Goals:
MIA: Garo Yepremian, 2/2