NFL Super Bowl Winners

Super Bowl XI played on January 9 1977, was won by the Champions of the AFC the Oakland Raiders who defeated the NFC Champions the Minnesota Vikings at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

The Oakland Raiders had won the 1976 AFC West Division coached by John Madden with a near perfect regular season record of 13-1-0. The Oakland Raiders single defeat in the 1976 regular season came at the hands of the New England Patriots who beat them 48 - 17. The Oakland Raiders were 4th of 28 in the NFL on their points scored average of 25 per game but had only been 12th overall in the league on their points conceded average of 16.9 per game.

In the AFC Divisional Playoffs the Oakland Raiders opponents were the New England Patriots coached by Chuck Fairbanks who had finished 1st in the AFC East Division with a regular season record of 11-3-0 and had finished 2nd in the NFL on their point scoring average of 26.9 per game but had not ranked so well in defense only finishing 11th with 16.9 points conceded per game. The Patriots had been the only team in regular season to beat the Raiders when readily outpointing the Oakland team 48 - 17 and although the Raiders had been in near faultless form all season it was the Patriots who ended regular season marginally the higher ranked of the two.

Nevertheless, there was not much between them in rankings and so it was proved on the field. This time it was the Oakland Raiders who edged a close game to win 24 - 21. The Raiders had been on a winning streak of ten games going into the AFC Divisional Playoffs and it is very difficult to oppose a team that keeps on winning.

The Raiders next game was in the AFC Championship Game where they met the Pittsburgh Steelers who were the winners of the 1976 AFC Central Division coached by Chuck Noll and had won the previous two Super Bowl′s IX and X. The Steelers had a regular season record of 10-4-0 with a point scoring average of 24.4 per game making them 5th overall in the NFL and a points allowed average of 9.9 per game making them first in the league in defense. The Steelers had thrashed the Baltimore Colts 40 - 14 in the other AFC Divisional Playoff Game and looked in good form.

The Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers had met in regular season with the Raiders winning a very tight game 31 - 28.

In the Conference Championship though it was a very much different story with the Steelers defense "taking the day off"!
It was a rather one sided affair with the Raiders winning by 24 points to 7.

The Oakland Raiders opponents in Super Bowl XI were the Minnesota Vikings who had finished 1st in NFC Central Division coached by Bud Grant with a regular season record of 11-2-1. The Vikings point scoring average was only 9th best in the league with 21.8 scored per game but they had been 2nd overall defensively in regular season with an average of 12.6 points scored against them per game.

The Vikings postseason games started with the NFC Divisional Playoffs in which they met the Washington Redskins who had finished 2nd in the 1976 NFC East Division with a regular season record of 10-4-0. The Redskins would have been the lower ranked of the two on regular season performances. The game turned out to be quite a free flowing offensive game in which the Vikings scoring with more fluency won by 35 points to 20.

In the NFC Championship Game the Vikings met the Los Angeles Rams coached by Chuck Knox who had won the NFC West Division and had finished their regular season with a record of 10-3-1. The Rams had a point scoring average of 25.1 per game which was 3rd of 28 in the NFL. Their defensive record was also good and they only allowed an average of 13.6 points scored against them per game which also made them 3rd in the league. The Vikings and the Rams had met once in regular season in which they had fought out a 10 - 10 tie. The Rams looked to be tough opposition for the Vikings.

Not for the first time in the 1976 playoffs an offensive minded Viking team turned up and whilst holding a tight line in defense they gave the Rams a comfortable beating of 24 points to 13.

Super Bowl XI looked to be an interesting clash. AFC Champions the Oakland Raiders who were on a long winning streak versus the NFC Champions the Minnesota Vikings who had started to score with some purpose.

However, after a tight first quarter in which no points were scored, it was the Oakland Raiders who took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second when rattling up 16 points to no reply.

In the third quarter the Raiders increased their lead to 19 - 0 after a 40 yard field goal by Errol Mann but the Vikings cut the deficit to 19 - 7 late in the quarter.

The fourth saw the Raiders score freely again getting another 13 points whilst the Vikings only managed 7 in response.

The Oakland Raiders won Super Bowl XI easy by 32 points to 14.

Oakland Raiders Wide Receiver Fred Biletnikoff was named Super Bowl XI Most Valuable Player after 4 key receptions.

Note
The Oakland Raiders playoff averages of 26.6 points scored on average per game (25 regular season) and 14 points allowed per game (16.9 regular season) were very solid figures and showed noticeable improvement in both departments from regular season.

The Minnesota Vikings playoff averages of 24.3 points scored on average per game (21.8 regular season) and 21.6 points allowed per game (12.6 regular season) were once again flawed by their Super Bowl performance, a game in which they conceded 49.2% of their total playoff points allowed.

In Conclusion
The Oakland Raiders ended the 1976 NFL Season with a record of 16-1 and were on a winning streak of 13. They were a force to be reckoned with and obviously "the real deal".

The Vikings yet again met the final fence all wrong and fell! It was the Vikings fourth Super Bowl appearance in 11 years and their fourth defeat.

Team	1	2	3	4	OT / Overtime	T / Total
Oakland Raiders (AFC)	0	16	3	13	-	32
Minnesota Vikings (NFC)	0	0	7	7	-	14

Fred Biletnikoff Oakland Raiders Autographed Deluxe Full-Size Replica Helmet with SB XI MVP and HOF 88 Inscription