Monday December 26, 1977
. . . where the 1970s live forever!

NFL game summary for 12/26/1977:



Chuck Foreman led the Minnesota Vikings into their fifth NFC Championship game with 31 carries for 101 yards, including a five-yard touchdown run, in a 14-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. It was the fourth straight time the Vikings had beaten the Rams in postseason play. Foreman scored the first touchdown, climaxing an 11-play, 70-yard first quarter drive after the Rams failed to make the yardage at fourth-and-two on the Vikings' 31. Sammy Johnson ran one yard for a Vikings touchdown early in the fourth quarter ending a 10-play, 40-yard march. The Rams scored with only 56 seconds to play on a one-yard pass from Pat Haden to Harold Jackson. A last-gasp try failed when Jeff Wright intercepted on the Vikings' 3.

Nate AlIen's end zone interception ended a Rams' threat in the first quarter, and Paul Krause also picked off a pass by Haden, who hit with 14 of 32 for 130 yards. Bob Lee, playing for the injured Fran Tarkenton, called over 20 straight running plays in the third and fourth quarters and completed five of 10 passes for 57 yards. Robert Miller played for Brent McClanahan, who underwent knee surgery the previous Thursday, and gained 52 yards on 12 carries. Lawrence McCutcheon rushed for 102 yards on 16 carries for the Rams. Tight end Terry Nelson caught five passes for 85 yards and Harold Jackson three for 21 and a TD on the muddy Coliseum field.

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

TeamRush Yds/GmPass Yds/GmTot Yds/GmTurnovers
OFFENSE130.1  (21)169.1  (6)299.2  (14)46
DEFENSE158.4  (21)112.9  (3)271.4  (11)29
OFFENSE183.9  (3)144.0  (13)327.9  (5)28
DEFENSE121.3  (4)134.1  (9)255.4  (4)41

Line: Rams by 9½

Team1234F
Minnesota Vikings (10-5-0)700714
Los Angeles Rams (10-5-0)00077

( 7- 0) MIN Chuck Foreman 5 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
(14- 0) MIN Sammy Johnson 1 yard rush (Fred Cox kick)
(14- 7) LA  Harold Jackson 1 yard pass from Pat Haden (Rafael Septien kick)
                     MIN             LA
First Downs:         14              14
Rushes-yards:        49-144          29-149
Yards/rush:          2.9             5.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     5-10-57-0       14-32-130-3
Sacked-yards:        1-12            1-12
Net pass yards:      45              118
Net yards/pass:      4.1             3.6
Total net yards:     189             267
Total plays:         60 (81% run)    62 (46% run)  
Yards/play:          3.1             4.3
Fumbles-lost:        1-0             1-0
Turnovers:           0               3
Penalties-yards:     7-50            2-15

Attendance: 62,538

Passing:
MIN: Bob Lee, 5 of 10 for 57 yards LA: Pat Haden, 14 of 32 for 130 yards and 1 TD (3 int)
Rushing:
MIN: Chuck Foreman, 31 for 101 yards and 1 TD; Robert Miller, 12 for 52 yards; Sammy Johnson, 3 for 1 yard and 1 TD; Bob Lee, 3 for -10 yards LA: Lawrence McCutcheon, 16 for 102 yards; John Cappelletti, 7 for 11 yards; Pat Haden, 3 for 27 yards; Rod Phillips, 1 for 9 yards; Terry Nelson, 1 for 0 yards; Wendell Tyler, 1 for 0 yards
Receiving:
MIN: Ahmad Rashad, 2 for 37 yards; Robert Miller, 2 for 14 yards; Chuck Foreman, 1 for 6 yards LA: Terry Nelson, 5 for 85 yards; Harold Jackson, 3 for 21 yards and 1 TD; Lawrence McCutcheon, 2 for 15 yards; Rod Phillips, 2 for 0 yards; Billy Waddy, 1 for 5 yards; John Cappelletti, 1 for 4 yards
Kick returns:
MIN: Manfred Moore, 1 for 25 yards LA: Wendell Tyler, 2 for 43 yards
Punt returns:
MIN: Manfred Moore, 2 for 30 yards LA: Billy Waddy, 3 for 17 yards; Cullen Bryant, 1 for 19 yards; Dwight Scales, 1 for -2 yards
Interceptions:
MIN: Paul Krause, 1 for 14 yards; Jeff Wright, 1 for 3 yards; Nate Allen, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
MIN: Neil Clabo, 8 for 326 yards LA: Glen Walker, 5 for 188 yards
Field Goals:
LA: Rafael Septien, 0/1


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