NFL playoffs, 1969

The NFL playoffs following the 1969 NFL season determined who would represent the league in Super Bowl IV.

This was the last NFL playoff tournament before the AFL-NFL Merger.

Tournament bracket

Round4
RD1 = Conference championship
RD2 = NFL Championship
December 28, 1969 - Cotton Bowl|Cleveland Browns|38|Dallas Cowboys|14
December 27, 1969 - Metropolitan Stadium|Los Angeles Rams|20|Minnesota Vikings|23
January 4, 1970 - Metropolitan Stadium|Cleveland Browns|7|Minnesota Vikings|27

Conference championships

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Browns
R1=7
R2=10
R3=7
R4=14
RT=38
Home=Cowboys
H1=0
H2=0
H3=7
H4=7
HT=14

Cleveland Browns 38, Dallas Cowboys 14

:"December 28, 1969 at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas"

Scoring
*CLE - Scott 2 run (Cockroft kick)
*CLE - Morin 6 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)
*CLE - field goal Cockroft 29
*CLE - Scott 2 run (Cockroft kick)
*DAL - Morton 2 run (Clark kick)
*CLE - Kelly 1 run (Cockroft kick)
*CLE - Sumner 88 interception return (Cockroft kick)
*DAL - Rentzel 5 pass from Staubach (Clark kick)

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Rams
R1=7
R2=10
R3=0
R4=3
RT=20
Home=Vikings
H1=7
H2=0
H3=7
H4=9
HT=23

Minnesota Vikings 23, Los Angeles Rams 20

:"December 27, 1969 at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota"

Three weeks prior to this game, the teams met in Los Angeles in a battle between the undefeated (11-0) Rams and the 10-1 Vikings. The Vikings won that game 20-13. The rematch was played in the cold and snow of Minnesota. Early on, it appeared that the Vikings took a quick lead as Carl Eller forced a Roman Gabriel fumble and returned for a touchdown but there was a reason he got to Gabriel so quickly - he was offside and the score was nullified.

In the game in L.A., the Viking defense shut down the Rams' wide receivers and outside running game, so in this game, the Rams attacked the middle of the Viking defense and neutralized the Viking pass rush with short quick passes to the tight ends. The Rams opened up a 17-7 halftime lead with touchdown passes going to tight ends Bob Klein and Billy Truax. The Rams could have had more but had to settle for a field goal after driving to the Minnesota 3 yard line. The Rams defense held Minnesota's high powered offense in check, with the "fearsome foursome" defensive line harassing Viking QB Joe Kapp.

In the second half, Viking coach Bud Grant adjusted his defense to stop the Ram tight ends, and his "purple people eaters" continued to punish the Ram running game. They also got increasing pressure on Ram QB Roman Gabriel. On offense, Grant neutralized the Ram pass rush by having QB Kapp run the ball, either on designed plays like quarterback draws or roll outs, or by instructing him to take off and run at the first sign of pressure. Kapp began frustrating the Rams with runs; this threat caused their pass rush to be less aggressive. The Vikings scored in the 3rd quarter to cut the Ram lead to 17-14, but early in the 4th quarter, the Rams answered with a drive of their own. Once again, the Viking defense bent but didn't break, stopping the Rams inside the 10 yard line and making them settle for a short field goal. So instead of being down 24-14, it was only 20-14 and Kapp subsequently marched to Vikings down field, going the final 2 yards himself as Minnesota took its first lead of the game, 21-20. Then the Viking defense took over, and with under 4 minutes to play, Carl Eller sacked Gabriel in the end zone for a safety, giving the Vikings a 23-20 lead and the ball. But the Rams defense held, and 1969 NFL MVP Roman Gabriel began to march the Rams down field in the last two minutes. As they crossed mid field, it appeared the Rams might get the tying field goal or winning touchdown, but a Gabriel pass was tipped and then intercepted at the Viking 40 yard line and Minnesota ran out the clock.

Scoring
*LA - Klein 3 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick) LA 7-0
*MIN - Osborn 1 run (Cox kick) 7-7
*LA - field goal Gossett 20 LA 10-7
*LA - Truax 2 pass from Gabriel (Gossett kick)LA 17-7
*MIN - Osborn 1 run (Cox kick) LA 17-14
*LA - field goal Gossett 27 LA 20-14
*MIN - Kapp 2 run (Cox kick) MIN 21-20
*MIN - Safety, Eller tackled Gabriel in end zone MIN 23-20

NFL Championship Game

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Browns
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=7
RT=7
Home=Vikings
H1=14
H2=10
H3=3
H4=0
HT=27

Minnesota Vikings 27, Cleveland Browns 7

:"January 4, 1970 at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota"

Scoring
*MIN - Kapp 7 run (Cox kick)
*MIN - Washington 75 pass from Kapp (Cox kick)
*MIN - field goal Cox 30
*MIN - Osborn 20 run (Cox kick)
*MIN - field goal Cox 32
*CLE - Collins 3 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)

References