Under the direction of head coach Chuck Noll the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers finished off the season with a record of –and-. On the road to the Super Bowl the Steelers battled and beat the Oakland Raiders 24-13 in the in the AFC Championship to win a ticket to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl IX was held on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium, New Orleans. Pittsburgh was to face the Minnesota Vikings Who had beaten the L.A. Rams in the NFC Championship 14-10. This was the first Super Bowl appearance for the Pittsburgh Steelers but the third for the Vikings with back-to-back appearances in Super Bowls VIII and IX. Pittsburgh was the first to score by capturing Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the end zone for a two-point safety. Pittsburgh would then score two unanswered touchdowns. Franco Harris rushed for one and Steelers’ quarterback Terry Bradshaw hooked up with wide receiver Larry Brown in the end zone for the other. Roy Gerela kicked and made both extra points to put Pittsburgh in the lead 16-0 over the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota finally got on the board by recovering a Terry Brown touchdown. The Steel Curtain defense held the Vikings to only 17 yards rushing and 102 yards passing with “Mean Joe” Greene intercepting Tarkenton twice. The Steelers won their first Super Bowl with a score of 16-6 and Franco Harris as the game MVP by breaking two Super Bowl records previously held by Miami Dolphin running back Larry Csonka. Nobody knew this was the beginning of an era.