Recounting The 1975 NFC Division Round Game (Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings) (2024)

Hello, sports fans, and welcome once again to Yesterday’s Sports on the Sports History Network. Today’s article will be a bit different. I will be joined by my friend and fellow 1970s Dallas Cowboys fan, Dave Depaola. Since we’re in the middle of an intense heat wave here in the northeast, we thought we’d try to briefly cool things off and talk about the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys.

When you think about the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, your first thought is probably the Hail Mary pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson. But most people don’t realize there was much more to this game than that pass.

For those who like a wide-open, high-scoring offensive game, this probably wasn’t an exciting game for you to watch. But this game was a classic for those who want a hard-hitting defensive battle.

As a thirteen-year-old Dallas Cowboys fanatic, I was hyped and nervous about this game. The Vikings, having won the NFC title the last two years, were a popular team, and my neighborhood was loaded with Vikings fans. They were all telling me how the Vikings were going to put an end to the Cowboys’ fairy-tale season. I was beginning to believe that they were right.

While I knew the Cowboys had a good team, it was, in fact, a fairy tale season for them. With twelve rookies on the team, this was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Dallas. But they surprised everyone, including their coach, Tom Landry, by posting a 10–4 regular season record and making the playoffs as the Wild-Card team.

Dave DePaola

“To be honest with you, Mark, because it was a rebuilding year, and the Cowboys were 10–4 compared to the Vikings, who finished at 12–2, I didn’t have high hopes going into that game. I was a high school junior and remember the Cowboys losing some great players. Hall of Fame players like Bob Lilly and Chuck Howley had retired, but the Cowboys had a good draft that year and twelve rookies made the team (The Dirty Dozen).

One of those rookies, Burton Lawless, won the starting job at left guard, and second-year man Ed “Too Tall” Jones was the starter at left defensive end.” I never paid much attention to the betting lines, but Minnesota was an eight-point favorite in this game.

Dave DePaola

“To be honest with you, Mark, because it was a rebuilding year, and the Cowboys were 10–4 compared to the Vikings, who finished at 12–2, I didn’t have high hopes going into that game. I was a high school junior and remember the Cowboys losing some great players. Hall of Fame players like Bob Lilly and Chuck Howley had retired, but the Cowboys had a good draft that year and twelve rookies made the team (The Dirty Dozen).

One of those rookies, Burton Lawless, won the starting job at left guard, and second-year man Ed “Too Tall” Jones was the starter at left defensive end.” I never paid much attention to the betting lines, but Minnesota was an eight-point favorite in this game.

Mark Morthier

That’s right, Dave. The Vikings had breezed through their season with a 12–2 record and easily won their division. But I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps that impressive record wasn’t misleading since they had not played against one single playoff team the entire season.

Dave DePaola

Yes, most people thought the Vikings were better than they were. I even heard some interviews with the Vikings players who said they thought the 1975 team was their best. But if you look at the standings in their division, the Packers and Bears were 4–10, and the Lions were 7–7.

Mark

The Vikings were undefeated after ten games but hadn’t played anyone. Let’s look at the records of those ten opponents. The 49ers finished the season at 5–9; the Browns were 3–11; the Bears were 4–10; the Jets were 3–11; the Lions were 7–7; the Packers and Falcons were 4–10; the Saints and Chargers were 2–12. People talk about the 1972 Dolphins having an easy schedule, but this is pathetic.

Dave

And then they finally played a team with a winning record (the Redskins finished 8–6), and they lost.

Mark

Exactly!

Dave

Another thing I wanted to mention before we get to the game is the Cowboys roster. They only had one player on their team that played for another team, Preston Pearson, who they picked up from the Steelers. Every other player on the team was homegrown. They drafted players, taught them the system, and developed them. That’s one of the significant differences between how the game was back then and now. Rosters didn’t change that much from year to year at that time. Today, teams enter a new season, with at least one-third of the team from the previous season going to other teams.

Mark

That’s true, and I think that’s why the Cowboys and Steelers were the two most dominant teams in the 1970s. They both had great scouting systems, with Gil Brandt as the Cowboys’ head scout and Pittsburgh had Bill Nunn. They both built their teams from the draft, not trades.

The game was played on a Sunday, three days after Christmas. Considering the game was in Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium, the game-time temperature of 25 degrees was considered relatively mild.

Dallas won the coin toss and elected to receive. Minnesota kicker Fred Cox was not known for kicking the ball deep, and this kick went only to the 20-yard line. Backup linebacker Warren Capone dropped it, and running back Preston Pearson picked it up and was immediately tackled. This was not a good way for the Cowboys to start the game.

Three straight runs up the middle gave Dallas a first down at their 30-yard line. Two more runs gave Dallas a first down at their 40-yard line. After a pitchout lost a yard, Roger Staubach connected with fullback Robert Newhouse on a short pass, which gained ten yards. But a clipping penalty negated the play and put the Cowboys in a second-and-sixteen situation from their 35-yard line. I have to question the pitchout, Dave. They had five runs in a row that gained 20 yards. Why not keep running it?

Dave

Exactly! Even Roger Staubach said that sometimes Coach Landry would get too creative and over think things.

Mark

I guess it was difficult for Landry not to over think because he had that degree in engineering, and he couldn’t resist using that mindset in football games.

A 19-yard pass reception by Preston Pearson followed a six-yard run. From the Minnesota 41, Staubach dropped back to pass, but an intense pass rush by Carl Eller forced Roger to run, picking up only one yard. A run up the middle by Newhouse gained two yards. Staubach threw to Drew Pearson on third and seven, but the ball was batted away. Punter Mitch Hoopes tried the coffin corner kick, but the ball went into the end zone, and the Vikings took over at their 20-yard line.

Dave

The Vikings’ defense stopped them when they needed to. Four guys on that defense made it to the Pro Bowl: defensive tackle Alan Page, middle linebacker Jeff Siemon, and defensive backs Bobby Bryant and Paul Krause. Their defense was ranked #1 in the league in several categories. Carl Eller didn’t make the Pro Bowl that season but was having a great game.

Mark

He sure was!

Dave

Mark, we’re always talking about how different the game was back then, and one big difference was the kicking game. Dallas had the ball on the Viking’s 38-yard line and elected to punt instead of attempting a field goal. It would have been about a 53 or 54-yard field goal. That’s a makeable field goal in today’s NFL, but back then, most kickers would miss it from that distance.

Mark

That’s a good point, Dave. There were very few kickers who were successful beyond 45 yards. Tom Dempsey could do it, and maybe Jan Stenurud and Garo Yepremium.

Dave

That’s right, and even those guys were barely clearing the crossbar.

Mark

A short pass to Stu Voight was snuffed out by safety Charlie Waters and lost a yard. A 15-yard pass completion to John Gilliam followed a one-yard run. A screen pass to Chuck Foreman gained nothing. On second down, Fran Tarkenton threw long to John Gilliam, but the pass was overthrown. On third down, defensive tackle Jethro Pugh put pressure on Tarkenton and forced him to throw the ball away.

After a 44-yard punt by Neal Clabo, the Cowboys took over on their 26-yard line. Newhouse ran up the middle for a 9-yard gain. On second and one, the Cowboys were offsides and penalized five yards. Staubach attempted a short pass to Newhouse but threw the ball too high, making it third and six. Alan Page blocked another pass attempt.

A roughing the punter penalty on Minnesota gave the Cowboys the ball back. Alan Page forced a Cowboys fumble after a pitchout gained only one yard. Although Dallas recovered the fumble, they faced a third and seventeen. A run by Preston Pearson gained six yards, and Dallas punted.

Minnesota took possession on their 37-yard line. Three straight runs did not gain enough yardage for a first down, and Minnesota punted. The hitting was getting more intense.
The Cowboys took over on their 25-yard line. Two runs gained eight yards, but a third-down pass was dropped. Dallas punted. Minnesota took over on their 27-yard line.

After an incomplete pass, it appeared that defensive tackle Jethro Pugh had himself a sack on second down, but Tarkenton ducked the tackle and ran for 16 yards. After no gain on a running play, the first quarter ended.

Tarkenton threw a long pass to John Gilliam, but cornerback Mark Washington reached in and knocked the ball away. A 15-yard pass to Jim Lash was enough for the first down. Tarkenton tried another long pass to John Gilliam, but again, Mark Washington had good coverage, and the pass fell incomplete. A completion to John Gilliam followed a three-yard run, but Gilliam could not get full possession of the ball before stepping out of bounds.

The Vikings were offside’s on the punt, and Dallas accepted the five-yard penalty, forcing Minnesota to punt it again. It turned out to be a costly decision. Return man Cliff Harris signaled for a fair catch but was interfered with, which should have been a penalty.

We discussed this play, Dave, and you mentioned that you thought the Vikings player might have been pushed into Harris. I looked at it in slow motion, and that was not the case. I can’t tell who that Vikings player was, but the Cowboys’ Benny Barnes was behind him. I’m not sure why Barnes chose to get that close to him, but he did not push him. Rookie offensive tackle Pat Donovan, perhaps thinking the ball had touched Barnes, which it almost did, dove for it, mishandled it, and the Vikings recovered it on the four-yard line.

Dave

Yeah, I remember that play. Pat Donovan was one of the Dirty Dozen guys.

Mark

That’s right. The announcers for the game were Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas. Bender mentions that the Vikings came close to running into Harris, but in all the excitement of the fumble, it’s quickly forgotten and not mentioned again.

Dave

Gary Bender called a lot of Cowboys games over the years. Unitas was good and brought up a lot of interesting points, but sometimes, he talked over Bender. If that were today, they would have a five-minute discussion on it. Back then, you didn’t make a big deal of it. It was like, okay, the guy made a bad call, and you lived with it and moved on. There wasn’t even a protest on the field.

Mark

Well, we don’t know because, unlike today, there weren’t a thousand cameras everywhere. Looking closely, you can see Thomas Henderson talking to the referee and pointing to where Harris was interfered with.

Dave

Henderson! Another one of the “Dirty Dozen” guys.

Mark

That’s right, but like you said, Dave, they didn’t spend five minutes discussing it. They didn’t review plays in 1975; they got back to the game.

Dave

Exactly!

Mark

I only bring it up because Vikings fans always say Drew Pearson pushed off. Football is a fast game, and the referees aren’t perfect. They will make mistakes, and there will be bad calls in almost every game. Today, we have instant replay and reviews, and there are still bad calls.

Early in the third quarter, Johnny Unitas comments that the switchboards were all lit up at halftime with phone calls. Fans wanted to know why there wasn’t an interference penalty against the Vikings, to which Unitas replied, “The refs missed the call.” And for most fans, that was good enough. They just wanted to hear someone admit that it was a bad call. So, like you said, Dave, you lived with it and moved on.

Okay, back to the game. Two runs brought the ball to the one-yard line, and on third down, running back Chuck Foreman punched it in for a touchdown.

Fred Cox kicked the ball to the ten-yard line, and Preston Pearson returned it 25 yards. A five-yard facemask penalty gave the Cowboys excellent field position at their 40-yard line. A pass to Newhouse gained 12 yards. Three straight runs up the middle gave Dallas another first down at the Vikings’ 36-yard line. On the next play, Staubach dropped back to pass, but strong pressure by tackles Alan Page and Doug Sutherland forced Staubach to run, and Carl Eller sacked him for a two-yard loss.

Dave

I’ll say it again: Carl Eller had a tremendous first half in this game. Every time Staubach tried to roll out to the right, Eller was there to make the tackle, so he was pressuring Staubach and doing a great job of containing him.

Mark

Yeah, Eller was a thorn in the side of Staubach. The sack was followed by an 8-yard pass reception by tight end Jean Fuggett. On third and four, Staubach was sacked again by Carl Eller. Dallas was having success running up the middle on Minnesota, so one has to wonder why they didn’t stick with it.

Dave

I couldn’t agree more, especially with Doug Dennison. He was a little shiftier than Preston Pearson, stronger at running up the middle and having success. Pearson wouldn’t gain much rushing yardage, but he was an excellent receiver out of the backfield.

Mark

That’s right. Pearson’s best rushing season was in 1971 when he gained 605 yards with Pittsburgh. In his six years with Dallas, he only gained 1,207 yards rushing, but he gained 2,274 yards receiving, and many of those yards were first-down conversions.

Dave

That is true, but Landry liked to run Robert Newhouse, who had some excellent receiving yardage in the first half. I think sometimes he overplayed Newhouse even when he wasn’t gaining yardage. For instance, in Superbowl thirteen, he ran Newhouse eight times, and he only gained three yards; meanwhile, Tony Dorsett, who gained 96 yards in that game, had only sixteen carries.

Mark

Newhouse had the best year of his career in 1975. He gained 930 yards rushing that season. He became the primary back because Calvin Hill joined the WFL after the 1974 season, and Walt Garrison retired. But you mentioned Superbowl thirteen, and it was strange that Newhouse got the start in that game over Scott Laidlaw because he was injured.

He had a big game against the Packers in week eleven of that season, gaining over 100 yards. But then he got hurt; it was a thigh injury, and he barely played in the next seven games. He had only one carry in the two playoff games.

Anyway, back to the game. A 49-yard field goal attempt by Toni Fritsch was no good.

Dave

You mentioned Fritsch, and the Cowboys were the only team with a kicking coach. His name was Ben Agajanian, and Ben would go to other countries on what they called the “Kicking Caravan,” scoping out soccer players. So they brought Fritsch back from Austria, where he worked as a mechanic for Mercedes Benz.

I always laugh at Bob Lilly’s story about Dallas playing St. Louis, and Toni Fritsch was about to attempt the game-winning field goal. One of the Cardinals players, I think it was Larry Stallings, was trying to shake Toni’s confidence. He was yelling things like, you’re a bum, Fritsch, you’re going to miss it; this kick is way too far for you. Lilly, who was lined up across from Stallings on the play, responded, “Save your breath, Larry, he can’t understand a word of English.”

Mark

Great story! That brings us back to the topic of kickers. I have always wondered how the Vikings kicker Fred Cox managed to play 15 seasons for the same team. At that time, kickers were expendable. Even the best kickers, like Jan Stenerud, moved from team to team. I don’t think Cox ever had a kickoff beyond the 10-yard line.

We talked before about how the kickers of that era weren’t that successful with field goals beyond 40 yards. Cox only made 38% of his attempts between 40 and 50 yards. Today, that would get you fired. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to knock the guy because 38% at that time was probably considered pretty good. I can’t figure out how he never got traded like all the other kickers.

Dave

A lot of that had to do with the Vikings Coach Bud Grant. He didn’t like the idea of switching kickers. Cox played from 1963 to 1977 and never missed a game. His best season was 1969, when he was successful on 70% of his field goal attempts, 26 out of 37.

Mark

Side note: Cox became a Chiropractor after retiring and invented the Nerf Football.

Okay, back to the game. The Vikings took possession on their 32-yard line. After a handoff to running back Chuck Foreman gained nothing, cornerback Mel Renfro intercepted a Fran Tarkenton pass, and Dallas took over at midfield. Up to this point in the game, the Doomsday Defense had given up minimal yardage to the Vikings’ offense.

Dave

That’s right. The Vikings weren’t able to run the ball on Dallas. Fran Tarkenton was the Vikings leading rusher at halftime. Middle linebacker Lee Roy Jordan was having a great game, and let’s talk about Mel Renfro for a second. This guy shouldn’t have had to wait as long as he did to get into the Hall of Fame. He went to ten straight Pro Bowls in a row. That’s incredible!

Mark

That’s right, and that’s back when it meant something because the players voted on who made the Pro Bowl.

A handoff to Robert Newhouse lost four yards, but two passes to Golden Richards brought the ball to the Vikings’ 34-yard line. Three straight runs left the Cowboys about a foot short of a first down, and the usually conservative Landry decided to go for it on fourth down. The gamble did not pay off, as linebacker Wally Hilgenberg tackled Doug Dennison for a 2-yard loss. The Purple People Eater Defense was bending but not breaking!

Dave

Something went wrong on that fourth-down play, Mark. Preston Pearson looks lost on that play. He didn’t even block anyone.

Mark

I looked at the play Dave and Pearson ran to the left, and he looked back as if surprised that Dennison ran up the middle. When Dennison found no space in the middle, he bounced out and ran to his left, where Pearson was. Pearson did get a good block on defensive back Bobby Bryant, but the Vikings defense did an excellent job of pursuit, and Hilgenberg made the tackle. The only thing I could figure out is that Pearson thought Dennison would run to the left behind him, although I’m not sure why he would have thought that since it appears the play call was to go up the middle. But yeah, you’re right; something didn’t go as planned.

Minnesota took over on their 26-yard line. A run lost a yard, followed by an incompletion. A third-down pass completion left the Vikes a half a yard short of a first down, forcing a punt. Dallas took possession at their 22.

After a run gained four yards, TE Jean Fuggett caught a short pass and carried the tackler to get the first down. Staubach then connected with Preston Pearson on a short pass, and with some outstanding blocking in front of him, Pearson ran for 24 yards. Staubach dropped back to pass again and was pressured by Doug Sutherland, forcing him to run, and Carl Eller caught him for his fourth sack of the game. Staubach dropped back and was again met with pressure from the Purple Gang, forcing him to run for the sidelines to stop the clock. An incomplete pass on third down forced the Cowboys to punt.

Minnesota took over on their nineteen, ran two plays for six yards and the first half was over, with the Vikings holding on to a 7–0 lead.

Up to this point, both defenses had played outstanding, and the hitting was intense.

Dave

The three most significant things I took away from the first half were Carl Eller’s play, the Cowboys’ defense shutting down the Minnesota running game, and Doug Dennison’s success running on the Vikings’ defense.

Mark

I agree with you about Eller, but another guy who was having a good game on the Vikings’ defense was defensive tackle Doug Sutherland. You don’t hear his name mentioned much when they talk about those great “Purple People Eater” defenses. The Cowboys’ defense shut down Chuck Foreman and the Vikings’ passing game. Fran Tarkenton finished the first half with only five completions for 39 yards.

Mark

The second half began with Minnesota starting at their 25-yard line. Tarkenton threw a 13-yard pass to running back Ed Marinaro, who ran it to the Cowboys 35-yard line.

Dave

Ed Marinaro went to Cornell, and he was a candidate for the Heisman trophy.

Mark

That’s right. He was the runner-up to quarterback Pat Sullivan.

Dave

Yes, and he didn’t have the kind of career in the NFL that everyone expected him to have. He only played six seasons: four with the Vikings, one with the Jets, and one with Seattle. Minnesota drafted him in 1972, but then they drafted Foreman the next year, and he turned out to be the featured back.

Mark

Marinaro had a good year in 1975, catching passes out of the backfield. He had 54 receptions for 462 yards and was the Vikings’ leading receiver in this game, with five receptions for 64 yards. After his NFL career ended, he became a reasonably successful actor.

After two runs gained seven yards, Tarkenton tried to connect with Gilliam on a sideline route, but the result was an incompletion. A 45-yard field goal attempt by Fred Cox was way off the mark.

Dallas took possession at their 28-yard line. Two runs gained seven yards, and on third and three, Staubach connected with Preston Pearson for a 13-yard gain. Another fifteen yards were tacked on for a late-hit penalty. A short pass to tight end Billy Joe Dupree gained another eighteen yards.

With no one open, Staubach ran for three yards to bring the ball to the Vikings 17-yard line. Doug Dennison burst up the middle on second and seven for a 10-yard gain. After two runs gained only three yards, Dennison, behind great blocking from the offensive line, burst across the goal line for a touchdown. The point after kick evened the score at seven.

A mishandled kickoff return put Minnesota in poor field position. From their 12-yard line, Tarkenton threw long to Chuck Foreman, but the pass fell incomplete. After another incomplete pass, Tarkenton, facing a strong pass rush, ran for a 13-yard gain. After a three-yard run and an incomplete pass, Tarkenton was sacked by rookie Randy White. Minnesota punted, and Dallas took possession at their 46-yard line.

Dave

In the third quarter, the Cowboys started to play some of their young guys, like rookie Randy White and second-year linebacker Calvin Peterson. They lost Peterson to Tampa Bay in the 1976 expansion draft, but they still had some great veterans like Jethro Pugh and Larry Cole, who moved from defensive end to defensive tackle after Bob Lilly retired.

Harvey Martin was only in his third year, and Ed Jones was in his second, and they would become terrific defensive ends for years to come. DD Lewis was in his seventh season and became a solid replacement for Chuck Howley. Rookie Thomas Henderson eventually became a starting linebacker, replacing Dave Edwards, who retired at season’s end. Defensive backs Mark Washington, Cliff Harris, and Charlie Waters were in their sixth season, so they had a good mixture of young and veteran players.

Mel Renfro played two more seasons, and he might have played a little longer, but he started having a lot of problems with his feet.

Mark
The artificial turf likely caused those foot problems. That turf messed up a lot of player’s feet.
Two runs up the middle gained 7 yards. On third and three, Staubach rolled out to the right and took off running, gaining five yards. A run up the middle and an end around brought up a third and three.

Staubach rolled right on the option play again and ran for the first down marker but came up about a foot short. The Cowboys went for it as they had done earlier in the game. Behind some great blocking, Doug Dennison got the first down. After a run lost one yard, Staubach connected with Robert Newhouse on a 13-yard pass completion. The next three plays gained nine yards, bringing up a fourth and one as the third quarter ended.

A 25-yard field goal by Toni Fritsch gave Dallas a 10–7 lead to begin the fourth quarter.

A good kickoff return gave the Vikings decent field position at their 34-yard line. A five-yard reception and a five-yard run gave Minnesota a first down, but an illegal procedure penalty put them back at their 34 again. An incomplete pass followed a one-yard run by Foreman.

Foreman, who had rushed for 1,070 yards during the regular season and made All-Pro, was completely shut down by the Doomsday Defense, gaining 27 yards on 14 carries up to this point. 1975 NFL MVP Fran Tarkenton was also having a tough day, throwing for just 84 yards. The Viking faithful were getting frustrated, and some slight booing could be heard.

Dave

They were putting the clamps on the Viking’s offense. Those who weren’t around back then might not know how good Foreman was. He gained a lot of yardage for Minnesota, both rushing and receiving, but the Dallas defense completely shut him down in this game. Their defensive line was tying up the blockers, and the linebackers were making a lot of tackles.

Jordan, Dave Edwards, and DD Lewis were all excellent tacklers. The entire Cowboys defense was putting the screws to Tarkenton. Staubach outplayed him in this game, and he was playing with injured ribs. I think one of the announcers mentioned it. He didn’t do much running in this game, and I think that’s why.

Those are all excellent points, Dave. The Vikings punted, and Dallas took possession at their 20-yard line. After two plays gained only five yards, Staubach dropped back to pass, but good coverage by the Vikings secondary and a strong pass rush by Alan Page forced Roger to run.

He got enough for the first down, but a penalty put them back on the 20-yard line. Staubach threw long to Golden Richards on third and eleven, but the usually reliable Richards dropped the ball. Richards, one of the fastest players on the team (he ran a 4.29 forty-yard dash), had nothing but an open field in front of him.

Dave

Yeah, and Richards passed away in February of this year. He and Larry Cole went to the University of Hawaii. Larry Cole may have been the first player out of that college to start in the NFL.

Mark

I think you’re right.

The Cowboys punted, and Minnesota took possession at their 30-yard line. Tarkenton threw long to Gilliam, and Mark Washington almost had himself an interception. An ineligible receiver downfield penalty against Minnesota put the ball back at the Vikes 20-yard line. Foreman gained seven yards on a run and fumbled, but Minnesota recovered it. On the next play, Tarkenton connected with Foreman on a 16-yard pass reception.

The next play gained only two yards, but then Foreman ran for seven yards. A short pass to Ed Marinaro gained six more as the cheering got louder. After an incomplete pass, Foreman caught a short pass and gained twelve yards. A reverse to Brent McClanahan gained thirteen more yards. A run by Foreman gained twelve yards, and another run by Foreman gained four yards, putting the ball at the one-yard line. McClanahan bulled in for the touchdown — the point after made the score Minnesota 14, Dallas 10.

The drive took eleven plays, gained 70 yards, and took 6 minutes and eight seconds. The Vikings only sustained drive of the game came at the right time. Or did it? There were still five minutes and eleven seconds left in the game.

The Cowboys took possession at their 25-yard line. The Vikings’ defense was ready, forcing an incompletion followed by a Jim Marshall and Alan Page sack. A delay of gain penalty put the Cowboys in a third-and-23 situation. A bad snap left Staubach scrambling for the ball and his life.

Dave

Yeah, this was the second bad snap, with more to come. The Cowboys started using the shotgun formation that season. In today’s game, everyone uses it, but back then, no one was using the shotgun. No team had used the shotgun in at least fifteen years.

Mark

That’s right, Dave. Red Hickey invented the shotgun in 1960. Hickey was the head coach of the 49ers from 1959 to 1963. Tom Landry hired Hickey as a receivers coach in 1964. He did that job for two years and then worked as a scout for the Cowboys until 1982. In 1975, Tom Landry asked for Hickey’s assistance in bringing back the shotgun, and they’ve been using it ever since.

The Cowboys punted, and Minnesota took over at their 45-yard line. After two runs gained seven yards, Tarkenton rolled out to his right and was sacked by Charlie Waters.

Dave

The sack by Charlie Waters might have been the most crucial play in the game, but it gets overlooked. The game would likely have been over if Minnesota had made that first down. There were only two minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys did have two timeouts left, so they might have still got the ball back, but there would have been very little time left on the clock. This play was similar to the tackle Larry Cole made on John Riggins in 1979 in that double comeback game. If Riggins made that first down, there would be no double comeback.

Mark

You’re right, Dave; the sack by Waters was a huge play, and right before that play, Dallas called a timeout, and Waters went over to the sideline to talk to one of the coaches. I think it was Gene Stallings, the defensive backs coach. I think Stallings knew what play the Vikings were going to run.

Tarkenton rolled out to the right on the option. Brent McClanahan ran out of the backfield and stopped just beyond the first down marker. But before Tarkenton could throw the ball to him, Waters slipped the attempted block of Chuck Foreman and brought Fran down.

The Vikings punted, and Dallas took possession at their 15-yard line with 1:51 left in the game. A pass to Drew Pearson, his first reception of the day, gained nine yards. On the next play, Bobby Bryant batted away a pass to Golden Richards. Drew Pearson caught a pass on third and one that gained six yards. They lost six yards on the next play due to another bad snap.

Dave

After that bad snap, they took John Fitzgerald out at center and put rookie Kyle Davis in the game.

Mark

Yeah, John Fitzgerald had an elbow injury, and that’s why he was having trouble with the snaps. Davis was the long snapper on special teams and messed up his knee the following season. Unfortunately, his career was pretty much over after that.

After an incompletion, the Cowboys faced a fourth down and seventeen from their 25-yard line. Viking fans sensed victory and began to celebrate.

Dave

It looked pretty grim for the Cowboys, Mark. After that incompletion, they started rolling the closing credits. I was watching the game at home, and my Uncle Jerry would always come over to watch the games with us. I was standing behind my Uncle, about to walk out and throw the football around in the yard with my buddy Frank Devino. Comebacks and last-minute heroics are common in today’s game, but they didn’t happen often back then.

Mark

No, they didn’t. I didn’t have much hope either, Dave. I watched the game at home with my family, and we all felt dejected, thinking there was no chance, but we all started cheering when Staubach connected with Drew Pearson on a sideline route. The 25-yard pass was thrown a little high, and as Pearson jumped up to catch the ball, Nate Wright pushed him out of bounds. Vikings players and fans argued that Pearson caught the ball out of bounds.

Dave

I was headed outside but sat back down after Pearson caught that sideline pass for the first down.

The head linesman, Jerry Bergman, ruled that Pearson would have landed inbounds without being pushed. In 1975, the rule clearly stated that the official could rule it a completion in case of a “force out” before being able to get two feet down in bounds. Coach Bud Grant disagreed with the rule, but that rule stood until 2008.

Mark

After an incompletion on first down, Staubach dropped back and let it fly. The ball was slightly underthrown, but Drew Pearson reached back for it with one hand and cradled it against his hip. Touchdown! The point after was good, and the Cowboys led 17–14. To add insult to injury, the Vikings were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The penalty may not have seemed like a big deal, but it was. Like Vikings kicker Fred Cox, Cowboys kicker Toni Fritsch was not known for kicking the ball deep. The penalty allowed Fritsch to kickoff from the 50-yard line instead of the 35-yard line.

The 15-yard difference enabled Fritsch to kick the ball into the end zone, and the Vikings could only return it to the 12-yard line. The Vikings only needed a field goal to send the game into overtime, but with only 18 seconds remaining and poor field position, which was a direct result of that unsportsmanlike penalty, the Vikings’ chances looked slim.

Tarkenton dropped back to pass and was sacked by Ed “Too Tall” Jones at the one-yard line.

Dave

When Tarkenton got up, he started yelling at the referee. The announcers commented on it, but I’m still curious what he was complaining about. I imagine he was just mad about the whole situation.

Mark

The only other thing I can think of is that Jones might have gotten a piece of Tarkenton’s facemask or that he was arguing about the unsportsmanlike penalty from the previous play.

Then, an unruly fan threw a whiskey bottle onto the field, hitting a referee in the head. The game was delayed while the medical team tended to the injured official, who required numerous stitches.

Dave

Yeah, they were throwing all kinds of debris on the field. The field judge was knocked out cold, and when he regained consciousness, they bandaged him up and led him off the field. He looked like one of the soldiers from the Civil War. His name was Armand Terzian, and there’s a famous clip from NFL films showing Coach Marv Levy yelling at him and calling him an “overofficious jerk.”

Mark

Yes, I remember watching that clip.

Dave

Here’s another interesting piece of information about that bottle-throwing incident. While the field judge was getting tended to, a security guard approached to lend a hand. That security guard is the guy who kicked Drew Pearson when he caught that fourth-down sideline pass. Many years later, the security guard (Dick Jonckowski) invited Drew Pearson to his house in Minnesota. You can find the video of this visit on YouTube—Drew Pearson and Dick Jonckowski’s Unique Connection | NFL Films Presents.

A picture on Footballzebras.com shows Jonckowski walking out onto the field. In the background, you can see where they set up scaffolding for the cameramen to stand on. It looks very primitive and crude by today’s standards. You would never see something like that today, but it was considered acceptable in the 1970s.

And while they were tending to the field judge, Alan Page headed to the dressing room. Page was so disgusted that he just wanted to get out of there.

Mark

He might not have felt safe with all the stuff the fans were throwing on the field. Meanwhile, Tarkenton was still giving the referee an earful. Tarkenton’s day got a lot worse when he later received news that his father had died during the game.

A short pass to Foreman brought the ball out to the 14-yard line. Tarkenton dropped back to pass and was sacked by Ed Jones and Harvey Martin. For the Vikings, the season was over.

The Cowboys moved on to the NFC Championship against the heavily favored Rams in LA. Dallas won that game 37–7 before losing a close game to the Steelers 21–17 in the Superbowl.

Was there a push-off?

Forty-nine years later, people still debate whether Drew Pearson pushed Nate Wright on the famous “Hail Mary Pass.” Most Viking fans say yes, while most Cowboys fans say no. I remember seeing something orange fly past where the play took place. At first, I thought the object, which turned out to be orange, was a penalty flag.

Dave

Yeah, we all thought that orange was a penalty flag at first. There isn’t a perfect angle where you can see a definite push-off. That field was very muddy, and it looks like Nate Wright may have slipped or lost his balance as he reached back for the ball, but it’s hard to tell. Pearson caught the ball between his elbow and his hip.

Mark

There weren’t any reviews back then, and they didn’t have a hundred different camera angles. I can’t tell if he pushed off; maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t, but I’ll say this much as a Cowboys fan. If Pearson did push off, the referees either didn’t see it or ignored it, just like they ignored the interference against Cliff Harris in the second quarter. Both of those controversial non-calls led to touchdowns.

Dave

That’s right. About eight years ago, I flew down to Texas with a buddy of mine for a short vacation. We went to the game and their new facility, which they named “The Star.” They have a building there in Frisco, Texas, that’s like a Dallas Cowboys Museum, and when you walk up the staircase, they have large frame-by-frame photos of the “Hail Mary” throw and catch. It’s a tremendous display.

Mark

Sounds great. A look at the stats from the game shows that Dallas outplayed Minnesota in every aspect of the game. The Cowboys had nineteen first downs, while the Vikings had only twelve. The Cowboy’s defense held Fran Tarkenton to just twelve completions for 135 yards and Chuck Foreman to only 56 yards rushing on 18 carries and 42 yards receiving.

Dave

That’s right. People talk about this game; all they want to talk about is the Hail Mary Pass, but the Cowboy’s defense won this game. They held Minnesota to 215 total yards and did it on the road.

Mark

The “Doomsday Defense” was excellent. I wanted to point out that cornerback Mark Washington played a great game. He completely shut down receiver John Gilliam, who had one reception for 15 yards.

Dave

Gilliam was their primary receiver. I had a teacher in Junior High School, Bernard Gilliam, who was also our baseball and basketball coach. He was John Gilliam’s cousin. What are the odds of that?

Mark

Pretty slim. Offensively, Roger Staubach had 17 completions for 246 yards despite getting sacked five times.

Dave

Staubach had a solid game. He never lost control of the ship, and the game never got away from him.

Mark

That’s a good way to put it. The Viking’s defense did an excellent job of stopping the Cowboy’s top receiver, Drew Pearson, until the fourth quarter, when he caught four passes for 91 yards.

Dave

And he caught all four of those passes on the final drive, Mark. You want to talk about a guy who was clutch.

Mark

That’s true. The Vikings also had difficulty stopping Preston Pearson, who caught five passes for 77 yards.

It’s interesting to note that despite the vicious hitting in this game, there were no serious injuries.

Dave

It was a very hard-hitting game, and people who weren’t around back then don’t understand that there is so much more to this game than that Hail Mary pass.

Let’s not forget to thank Dave Volsky for putting this game on YouTube. He’s the guy who re-enhances all those old games from the 1970s and does a fantastic job. It even has the pre-game show with Phyllis George, Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, and Jimmy the Greek.

And how about Metropolitan Stadium? That was a great stadium. The cheerleaders were all bundled up, and people were ice skating, where a rink was set up just outside the stadium. The other unique thing about that stadium was that both teams stood on the same sideline. The only other stadium like that was County Stadium in Milwaukee, where the Packers played sometimes.

Mark

That’s right. Both stadiums were built for baseball, and they could barely fit a football field in them.

That about wraps it up, Dave.

Dave

Thanks for having me on, Mark. It was a great game, and it was a lot of fun reliving it. God bless!

Mark

God bless! Talk to you soon.

Mark Morthier is the host ofYesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author ofNo Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited TimeandRunning Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)

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