TheNational Football League playoffs for the1974 season began on December 21, 1974. The postseason tournament concluded with thePittsburgh Steelers defeating theMinnesota Vikings inSuper Bowl IX, 16–6, on January 12, 1975, atTulane Stadium inNew Orleans,Louisiana.

This was the last season in which the sites for the playoff games annually alternated by division.

Within each conference, the three division winners and thenon-division winner with the best overall regular season record of all remaining teams in the conference qualified for the playoffs. The NFL did not use aseeding system until the1975 season, and instead home teams during the first two rounds of the playoffs alternated by division. Thus, it is possible that a team could host another club with a better regular season record. For theSuper Bowl, the championship round was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.

Dolphins

Steelers

Raiders

Bills

Cardinals

Vikings

Rams

Redskins

AFC Teams NFC Teams

Note: Prior to the1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation. Had the 1974 playoffs been seeded, the AFC divisional matchups would have been #3 Pittsburgh at #2 Miami and #4 wild card Buffalo at #1 Oakland. The NFC divisional matchups would have been #4 wild card Washington at #1 Minnesota and #3 Los Angeles at #2 St. Louis (the Cardinals, Rams and Vikings all finished 10–4, and since the Cardinals and Rams did not play in the regular season, the tiebreaker would have been winning percentage in conference games. Minnesota and St. Louis were both 8–3 (.727) vs. NFC opponents, compared to 7–3 (.700) for Los Angeles. With the Rams eliminated, the Vikings and Cardinals would then revert to the first tiebreaker step for two teams, head-to-head. Minnesota defeated St. Louis 28–24 in week nine and thus would have earned the higher seed).

In the United States,CBS televised theNFC playoff games, whileNBC broadcast theAFC games andSuper Bowl IX.

Aided by the Cardinals' turnovers, the Vikings scored 16 points in less than 7 minutes in the third quarter. On their first possession of the game, St. Louis drove to the Vikings 35-yard line, but lost the ball on a failed 4th and 1 conversion attempt. St. Louis eventually got onto the scoreboard first with quarterbackJim Hart's 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Earl Thomas, but Minnesota countered when quarterbackFran Tarkenton completed a 16-yard touchdown pass toJohn Gilliam. The 7–7 tie would last till the end of the half. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead with a 56-yard drive to the Vikings 6-yard line, butJim Bakken missed a 23-yard field goal attempt as time expired.^[1]

On the third play of the second half,Jeff Wright intercepted a pass from Hart and returned it 18 yards to set upFred Cox's 37-yard field goal, giving his team a 10–7 lead. Exactly 60 seconds later, on the Cardinals' ensuing drive,Terry Metcalf lost a fumble while being leveled by Vikings linemenAlan Page andCarl Eller. CornerbackNate Wright picked up the loose ball and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown that increased Minnesota's lead to 17–7. A few minutes later, Tarkenton finished off a 16-point quarter with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Gilliam. In the 4th quarter, Vikings running backChuck Foreman, who finished the game with 114 rushing yards and 5 receptions for 54 yards, recorded a 4-yard touchdown run to give Minnesota a 30–7 lead. By the time Metcalf rushed for an 11-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, the game was already out of reach for the Cardinals.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Vikings.^[2]

This was the final NFL on CBS game as a play-by-play announcer for Brent Musburger, and the last for Irv Cross as an analyst until 1990. Musburger and Cross were named hosts ofThe NFL Today along withPhyllis George for the 1975 season.

In a play that became known as theSea of Hands, the Raiders'Clarence Davis somehow caught the winning touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in the game among "the sea of hands" of three Dolphins defenders.

The game began when rookie receiverNat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a Miami touchdown.Dick Anderson then intercepted a pass fromKen Stabler, but fellow safetyJake Scott was hurt on the play and would miss the rest of the game. Oakland's defense made a stand in their own territory to force a punt. Later on, the Raiders tied the game with Stabler's 31-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Smith. But with 1:01 left in the half, Miami'sGaro Yepremian kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the Dolphins back in the lead.

The Raiders scored on their opening drive of the third quarter with Stabler's 13-yard touchdown pass toFred Biletnikoff, who hauled in the ball with one arm along the right sideline and barely tap his feet in bounds through tight coverage by cornerbackTim Foley, giving them a 14–10 lead. Aided by a 29-yard pass interference penalty against the Raiders on third down, Miami struck back withBob Griese's 16-yard touchdown pass toPaul Warfield. But Oakland linemanBubba Smith blocked the extra point attempt, keeping the Miami lead at just 2 points, 16–14.

Early in the fourth quarter, Yepremian increased Miami's lead to 19–14 with a 46-yard field goal. Later in the period, Oakland got the ball on their own 17-yard line. Stabler started the drive with an 11-yard completion to Biletnikoff. On the next play, he threw a pass toCliff Branch at the Dolphins' 27-yard line. Branch made a spectacular diving catch and then got back up and ran the rest of the way to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown reception, giving the Raiders a 21–19 lead with 4:37 left in the game. With 2:08 left to play, the Dolphins took a 26–21 lead with a 68-yard, 4-play drive that ended withBenny Malone's 23-yard touchdown run, evading four tackle attempts by Raider defenders on the way to the end zone.

Following a 20-yard kickoff return by Ron Smith, the Raiders got the ball on their own 32-yard line with 2 minutes left to play and all three timeouts left. After a 6-yard completion to tight end Bob Moore and a short run, Stabler went deep to Biletnikoff, completing two consecutive passes to him for gains of 18 and 20 yards. Then after a 4-yard catch by Branch,Frank Pitts made a bobbling first down catch at the Dolphins 14-yard line. On the next play, Clarence Davis ran the ball 6 yards to the 8-yard line, where the Raiders called their final timeout. On the next play, Stabler dropped back to pass and looked for Biletnikoff in the end zone, but he was tightly covered. With Dolphins defensive endVern Den Herder dragging him down, Stabler threw a desperate pass to the left side of the end zone into a "sea of hands", where Davis fought his way through the Dolphins defenders to make the touchdown catch.

Trailing 28–26, the Dolphins got the ball back with 24 seconds left. But on their second play of the drive, Oakland linebackerPhil Villapiano intercepted Griese's pass at the Raiders 45-yard line, allowing his team to run out the rest of the clock.

"This has to be the toughest loss I've ever suffered", said Miami coach Don Shula, "The Raiders are a great credit to professional football", he added. "They needed touchdowns to win and they got them."[1] Moore finished his first career playoff game with 184 all-purpose yards (142 KR, 40 Rec, 2 PR). Biletnikoff caught 8 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Stabler completed 20 of 30 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception.

This was the third postseason meeting between the Dolphins and Raiders, with both teams splitting the first two meetings.^[2]

Running backFranco Harris led the Steelers to the victory by scoring 3 touchdowns in the second quarter. Pittsburgh outgained the Bills in total yards, 438–264, and first downs, 29–14.

Pittsburgh scored on their first possession withRoy Gerela's 21-yard field goal, but later on, a poor punt fromBobby Walden gave the Bills a first down on their own 44, where they proceeded to drive 56 yards to a 7–3 lead onJoe Ferguson's 27-yard touchdown pass to tight endPaul Seymour.^[3]

The Steelers took over the game in the second quarter, scoring 26 unanswered points with an NFL playoff single quarter record 4 touchdowns. Early in the period, Pittsburgh quarterbackTerry Bradshaw rushed for 8 yards on 3rd and 7 and later picked another 12 yards on a scramble before finishing the drive with a 27-yard scoring pass to running backRocky Bleier, giving the team a 9–7 lead after Gerela's extra point was blocked. Following a Bills punt, the team increased their lead to 16–7 with a 66-yard drive that concluded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Harris. Then Buffalo running backJim Braxton lost a fumble on a combined tackle byMel Blount andMike Wagner, which linebackerJack Ham recovered for Pittsburgh on their 42. Bradshaw subsequently completed a 19-yard pass to Bleier and 35-yard pass toLynn Swann as the team drove to a 22–7 lead (due to another blocked extra point) on Harris' 4-yard score. With 16 seconds left before halftime, Harris scored his 3rd rushing touchdown to cap a 56-yard drive, upping his team's lead to 29–7.

Buffalo cut the score to 29–14 in the third quarter with Ferguson's 3-yard touchdown pass to running backO. J. Simpson, but Gerela's 22-yard field goal in the final period would be the only other score of the game.

In the only playoff game of his 11-season Hall of Fame career, Simpson was held to 49 rushing yards, 3 receptions for 37 yards, and a touchdown. Ferguson threw for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions, but completed just 11 of 26 passes. Bradshaw completed 12 of 19 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 48 yards on five carries.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Bills and Steelers.^[2]

LinebackerIsiah Robertson returned an interception 59 yards in the fourth quarter, the last of six Washington turnovers, to clinch the Rams victory in a brutal defensive battle in which both teams combined for just 444 total yards.^[4] The two teams had met on the same field thirteen days earlier onMonday night, won by Washington 23–17, which was the sole home loss of the season for the Rams.^[5]

Los Angeles scored on the opening drive, moving the ball 72 yards in eight plays, with quarterbackJames Harris' two completions toHarold Jackson for 35 total yards setting up his 10-yard touchdown pass to tight endBob Klein. The Redskins then scored ten unanswered points before halftime.Billy Kilmer's 41-yard completion toCharley Taylor got the team moving on the way to a 35-yardMike Bragg field goal, making the score 7–3. In the second quarter, the Rams forced and recovered a fumble from Kilmer on the Washington 38, but the Redskins defense made a stand to prevent the Rams from scoring. Later on, Washington cornerbackPat Fischer intercepted a pass from Harris and returned it 40 yards to the Rams 23, setting upMoses Denson's 1-yard rushing touchdown to give Washington their first lead at 10–7.^[6]

In the third quarter, Rams defensive tackleMerlin Olsen forced a fumble from running backLarry Brown that linebackerJack Reynolds recovered on the LA 44-yard line, leading toDavid Ray's 37-yard field goal. Then returnerDoug Cunningham lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, resulting Ray's 26-yard field goal to give LA a 13–10 lead. In the fourth quarter, coachGeorge Allen replaced Kilmer withSonny Jurgensen. With the Redskins driving for the possible tying field goal, defensive tackleMerlin Olsen pressured Jurgensen into throwing the game clinching interception to Robertson, who weaved his way back and forth across the field as he ran 59 yards to the end zone. The extra point kick failed, but Olsen then recorded two more sacks, forcing a punt and enabling LA to hold the ball until 3:23 remained in the game. On Washington's next drive, Reynolds intercepted a pass from Jurgensen to put the game away. Third-string quarterbackJoe Theismann was returning punts for the Redskins at this time. This was the last game in hall of famer Jurgensen's career.

This was the second postseason meeting between the franchises; the Rams also won the1945 NFL Championship Game, their final game as theCleveland Rams.^[2]

On an unusually balmy day for December in Minnesota, the Vikings were able to hold onto the ball for the final 5:37 of the game to preserve a 14–10 victory.^[7] After a scoreless first quarter, Minnesota quarterbackFran Tarkenton threw a 29-yard touchdown toJim Lash. Rams kicker David Ray later added a 27-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7–3 before halftime. In the third quarter, Los Angeles advanced the ball from their own 1-yard line to the Minnesota 1-yard line. The big play on the drive was a 73-yard pass play toHarold Jackson, who was finally pushed out of bounds at the Vikings 2 by safetyJeff Wright. With the ball inside the one-yard line, Rams guardTom Mack was controversially called for illegal procedure (replays showed Mack did not move). Moved back to the six-yard line, the Rams were forced to pass for a touchdown on third down but the pass was deflected and Vikings linebackerWally Hilgenberg intercepted the ball in the end zone for atouchback. Minnesota then went on a 15-play drive that took almost eight minutes off the clock to score onDave Osborn's 4-yard touchdown run. With 7:15 left to play in the game, the Rams then cut the deficit to 14–10 withHarold Jackson's 44-yard touchdown reception. Then after forcing the Vikings to punt, Los Angeles drove to the Minnesota 45-yard line. But a third down sack forced the Rams to punt again and the Vikings kept the ball to run out the clock.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Rams and Vikings. Minnesota won the only previous meeting.^[2]

After trailing 10–3 at the end of the third quarter, the Steelers scored three touchdowns in the final period to earn their first championship appearance in team history.

The first half was controlled by both defenses. Oakland got a big opportunity in the first quarter when they recovered a muffed punt return byLynn Swann on the Steelers 41-yard line, butMel Blount's deflection of a 3rd down pass byKen Stabler forced them to settle for a 40-yard field goal fromGeorge Blanda. Meanwhile, the Steelers got close to the Oakland end zone twice, but each time they had to settle forRoy Gerela field goal attempts. He missed his first one from 20 yards in the first quarter but kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second to tie the game at 3 going into halftime.

Steelers linebackerJack Lambert blocked a Blanda field goal in the second quarter, however in the second half, the Raiders eventually took a 10–3 lead with Ken Stabler's 38-yard touchdown pass toCliff Branch. But Pittsburgh tied the game again six seconds into the fourth quarter withFranco Harris' 8-yard touchdown run at the end of a 61-yard drive. Then linebackerJack Ham intercepted a pass from Stabler (his second interception of the day) and returned it to the Raiders' 9-yard line, setting up Bradshaw's 6-yard touchdown pass to Swann. Oakland responded with a drive to the Steelers 7-yard line, featuring a 45-yard reception byFred Biletnikoff, but on 3rd down, a blitz byMike Wagner forced Stabler to throw the ball away, and the team to setting for a 24-yard Blanda field goal, and the Steelers still led, 17–13.^[3]

Oakland got the ball back for a chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown, butJ. T. Thomas made a clutch interception and returned the ball 37 yards to the Raiders 24. Harris then scored on a 21-yard rushing touchdown to put the game away.

Harris rushed for 111 yards and 2 scores, whileRocky Bleier added 98 rushing yards and 2 receptions for 25. Branch finished the game with 9 receptions for 186 yards and a touchdown.

This was the third postseason meeting between the Steelers and Raiders. Both teams split the previous meetings.^[2]

This was the first Super Bowl meeting between the Steelers and Vikings.^[2]

Curt Gowdy andDon Meredith ofNBC Television calling the Sea of Hands at the 1974 AFC Divisional Playoffs.

Gowdy –

There he is... fading... looking, looking, looking... he's under the gun, this time, he throws... it is...

Meredith –

Oh... He caught it! He caught it! He caught it!

Gowdy –

TOUCHDOWN! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE!

Bill King ofKNBR calling the Sea of Hands at the 1974 AFC Divisional Playoffs. –

Back to pass goesStabler... looking, looking, looking... he runs, he's at the 15, he throws, it is... it's TOUCHDOWN RAIDERS! TOUCHDOWN RAIDERS! I can't even see the receiver.Clarence Davis, it looks like Clarence Davis, he's being mobbed.

• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 (ISBN 0-89204-523-X)

• NFL playoffs
• 1974 NFL season
• Los Angeles Rams postseason
• December 1974 sports events in the United States
• January 1975 sports events in the United States

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