Raiders vs Vikings History Lesson: Super Bowl XI

Many people thought the Vikings would roll past the Raiders with quarterback Fran Tarkenton, running back Chuck Foreman, and wide receiver Sammy White, but the Silver and Black had other ideas.

The Raiders lost defensive linemen Art Thoms, Horace Jones, and Tony Cline to injuries that season, so they signed 6-7 280-pound Dave Rowe and made him the nose tackle in a 3-4 defense and also added linebacker, Willie Hall.

Both made huge plays in the Super Bowl.

Rowe helped the Raiders hold Foreman to 44 yards rushing, while Hall made six tackles, recovered a fumble on the Oakland six-yard-line early in the game, and later intercepted a pass by Tarkenton in the third quarter to help the Raiders build a 26-7 lead.

“After the injuries on our defensive line, Dave Rowe made our defense complete again,” Madden said.

Stabler had much bigger statistical games, but in the Super Bowl, he completed 12 of 19 passes for 182 yards and threw a one-yard pass to tight end Dave Casper for the first touchdown. More importantly, Snake called an almost perfect game, much of it at the line of scrimmage.

With the Vikings double covering speedy wide receiver Cliff Branch, Stabler hit fellow wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff on four passes for 79 yards, three that went inside the Minnesota two-yard line to set up touchdowns -- to by short-yardage specialist Pete Banaszak.

Biletnikoff was selected the game’s most valuable player, but said afterward: “Snake probably should have been the MVP.”

Fullback Mark van Eeghen rushed for 1,012 yards that season, but the Raiders switched their game plan for the Vikings, and Van Eeghen led Clarence Davis to run for 137 yards, although Van Eeghen did add 73.

Many observers probably didn’t realize how great that Raiders team was until later, but Madden, Stabler, Branch, Biletnikoff, Casper, wide receivers coach (later Coach) Tom Flores, tackle Art Shell, guard Gene Upshaw, punter Ray Guy, cornerback Willie Brown and linebacker Ted Hendricks, who made six tackles in the Super Bowl, all have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Canton, Ohio.

Many fans of Raider Nation believe Van Eeghen, safety Jack Tatum, linebacker Phil Villapiano, cornerback Skip Thomas, safety George Atkinson, and others also belong in the Hall. Still, of course, to some people, that would be too many Raiders.

“That’s the best team I’ve ever played on,” Stabler said before he passed away in 2016. “We had so many weapons on offense that defenses couldn’t try to shut down anything or anybody without leaving me an opening elsewhere. It was great that Clarence and Rooster (Banaszak) had big games.

“And the defense made so many big plays all season to get us the ball with excellent field position. Adding Dave Rowe and Willie Hall to the defense made a huge difference so that teams couldn’t do much against them, making it much easier for the offense.

“Obviously winning the Super Bowl was the greatest moment of my career and the defense had a lot to do with it.”

Brown put the finishing touch on the Raiders’ first Super Bowl victory when he intercepted a pass by Tarkenton in the final minutes and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown as legendary Raiders radio play-by-play announcer Bill King laughed: “Old man Willie, he’s all the way.”

And so did perhaps the most incredible team in Raiders history.

The Silver and Black will return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, December 10, at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST.