NFL game summary for 12/29/1974:

On an unseasonable, sunny, 30-degree December day, the Minnesota Vikings won their second straight NFC championship and the third in the club's 14-year history. Minnesota held a 7-3 lead in the third period when a series of plays developed which proved to be the most decisive in the game. Los Angeles quarterback James Harris slipped from the grasp of two Minnesota tacklers and connected with Harold Jackson for a 73-yard gain to the Vikings' 2-yard line. On second-and-goal at the one, Rams' guard Tom Mack was called for illegal procedure and the ball was moved back to the 6. Harris ran for four to the 2. On third down, Harris' pass was deflected by Vikings' cornerback Jackie Wallace into the hands of Minnesota linebacker Wally Hilgenberg in the end zone for a touchback.

The Vikings then marched 80 yards in 15 plays to build their advantage to 14-3 on Dave Osborn's one-yard run with 12:29 remaining. Los Angeles pulled within the final margin on a 44-yard Harris to Jackson touchdown pass three minutes later. But Minnesota, after two exchanges of possession, ran out the final 5:37 to earn its third trip to the Super Bowl. Chuck Foreman rushed for 80 yards and Dave Osborn 76. Fran Tarkenton completed 10 of 20 passes for 123 yards. Minnesota's defense held NFC rushing champion Lawrence McCutcheon to 32 yards. Harris produced 248 yards, with 13 completions in 23 pass attempts.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

Team		Rush Yds/Gm	Pass Yds/Gm	Tot Yds/Gm	Turnovers
Los Angeles Rams	OFFENSE	151.8 (7)	157.6 (13)	309.4 (9)	27
Los Angeles Rams	DEFENSE	93.0 (1)	150.1 (12)	243.1 (3)	25
Minnesota Vikings	OFFENSE	132.6 (15)	196.8 (2)	329.4 (3)	22
Minnesota Vikings	DEFENSE	114.6 (5)	164.4 (18)	279.1 (10)	33

Line: Rams by 4

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Los Angeles Rams (11-5-0)	0	3	0	7	10
Minnesota Vikings (12-4-0)	0	7	0	7	14

( 0- 7) MIN Jim Lash 29 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)
( 3- 7) LA  David Ray 27 yard field goal
( 3-14) MIN Dave Osborn 1 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
(10-14) LA  Harold Jackson 44 yard pass from James Harris (David Ray kick)

                     LA              MIN
First Downs:         15              18
Rushes-yards:        33-121          47-164
Yards/rush:          3.7             3.5
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     13-23-248-2     10-20-123-1
Sacked-yards:        2-29            2-18
Net pass yards:      219             105
Net yards/pass:      8.8             4.8
Total net yards:     340             269
Total plays:         58 (56% run)    69 (68% run)  
Yards/play:          5.9             3.9
Fumbles-lost:        3-3             5-2
Turnovers:           5               3
Penalties-yards:     7-70            2-20

Attendance: 47,404

Passing:
LA: James Harris, 13 of 23 for 248 yards and 1 TD (2 int)
MIN: Fran Tarkenton, 10 of 20 for 123 yards and 1 TD (1 int)

Rushing:
LA: Jim Bertelsen, 14 for 65 yards; Lawrence McCutcheon, 12 for 32 yards; James Harris, 3 for 17 yards; John Cappelletti, 3 for 8 yards; Tony Baker, 1 for -1 yards
MIN: Chuck Foreman, 22 for 80 yards; Dave Osborn, 20 for 76 yards and 1 TD; Fran Tarkenton, 4 for 5 yards; Ed Marinaro, 1 for 3 yards

Receiving:
LA: Jim Bertelsen, 5 for 53 yards; Harold Jackson, 3 for 139 yards and 1 TD; Lawrence McCutcheon, 2 for 22 yards; Jack Snow, 1 for 19 yards; Bob Klein, 1 for 10 yards; John Cappelletti, 1 for 5 yards
MIN: Stu Voigt, 4 for 43 yards; Jim Lash, 2 for 40 yards and 1 TD; John Gilliam, 2 for 33 yards; Ed Marinaro, 1 for 6 yards; Dave Osborn, 1 for 1 yard

Kick returns:
LA: Cullen Bryant, 3 for 57 yards
MIN: Brent McClanahan, 2 for 55 yards; Sam McCullum, 1 for 23 yards

Punt returns:
LA: Cullen Bryant, 3 for 18 yards; Rob Scribner, 1 for 1 yard; Jim Bertelsen, 1 for 0 yards
MIN: Sam McCullum, 3 for 20 yards; Nate Wright, 1 for 3 yards

Interceptions:
LA: Charlie Stukes, 1 for 0 yards
MIN: Randy Poltl, 1 for 16 yards; Wally Hilgenberg, 1 for 0 yards

Punting:
LA: Mike Burke, 5 for 219 yards
MIN: Mike Eischeid, 6 for 235 yards

Field Goals:
LA: David Ray, 1/1