Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9 , 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , California to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion following the 1976 regular season . The American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Oakland Raiders ( 16 – 1 ) won their first Super Bowl by defeating the National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion Minnesota Vikings ( 13 – 3 – 1 ) , 32 – 14 . Oakland gained a Super Bowl record 429 yards , including a Super Bowl record 288 yards in the first half , en route to winning their first Vince Lombardi Trophy . Raiders wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff had 4 catches for 79 yards that set up three Raider touchdowns and was named the Super Bowl ' s Most Valuable Player . There have been six wide receivers named MVP in the Super Bowl and Biletnikoff is the only one to not have gained 100 yards in his MVP performance . Background . Oakland Raiders . This game marked the second Super Bowl appearance for the Oakland Raiders , who lost Super Bowl II . Two years after their Super Bowl loss , the Raiders hired John Madden as their head coach . Under Madden , the Raiders posted the best overall record for any NFL team in his 8 seasons , 83 - 22 - 7 . But Super Bowl XI was the first time Madden led his team to a league championship game . They had been eliminated in all 6 of their previous playoff appearances , including 5 losses in the AFC Championship Game . The Raiders offense was led by quarterback Ken Stabler , who finished as the top rated passer in the AFC , passing for 2 , 737 yards and 27 touchdowns . His 66 . 7 completion percentage ( 194 completions out of 291 attempts ) was the second highest in the league . Stabler ' s main passing weapon was wide receiver Cliff Branch , who caught 46 passes for 1 , 111 yards ( 24 . 2 yards per catch average ) and 12 touchdowns . Fred Biletnikoff was also a reliable deep threat , with 43 receptions for 551 yards and 7 touchdowns . And tight end Dave Casper recorded 53 receptions for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns . In addition to their great passing attack the Raiders also had a powerful running game , led by fullback Mark van Eeghen ( 1 , 012 rushing yards , 17 receptions ) and halfback Clarence Davis ( 516 rushing yards , 27 receptions ) . Another reason for the Raiders ' success on offense was their offensive line , led by left tackle Art Shell and left guard Gene Upshaw , as well as perennial all pro center Dave Dalby . Injuries early in the season forced the Raiders to switch from a 4 - 3 to a 3 - 4 defense . The switch benefited the team , as they won their last 10 games and finished the regular season with the best record in the league , 13 - 1 . The Raiders defense was anchored by great linebackers , such as Phil Villapiano and Ted Hendricks , while defensive end Otis Sistrunk anchored the defensive line . Their defensive secondary was extremely hard hitting and talented , led by safeties Jack Tatum , George Atkinson , cornerback Skip Thomas and cornerback Willie Brown . Many accused the Raiders defense of being overly aggressive , especially Atkinson , who inflicted a severe concussion on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann in the previous season ' s AFC Championship Game . Atkinson added to that reputation as the Raiders advanced through the playoffs to Super Bowl XI . In the Raiders ' 24 – 21 playoff win over the New England Patriots , Atkinson broke the nose of Patriots tight end Russ Francis . Then Atkinson inflicted another concussion to Swann in the Raiders ' 24 – 7 AFC Championship victory over the Steelers . In reaction , Pittsburgh head coach Chuck Noll complained of a " criminal element " in Atkinson ' s play . Atkinson himself denied deliberately trying to injure anyone and pointed out that at 6 ' 0 and 185 pounds , he was one of the smallest players on the field . The Raiders and their fans were often known to counter these accusations against Atkinson and Jack Tatum by pointing out the physical way that Pittsburgh cornerback Mel Blount covered Oakland ' s speedy split end Cliff Branch . Minnesota Vikings . The Vikings , coached by Bud Grant , won the NFC Central for the eighth time in the last nine seasons with an 11 – 2 – 1 record , and advanced to their fourth Super Bowl in eight years . They were the only team who had lost three Super Bowls ( they had previously lost Super Bowls IV , VIII and IX ) , and did not want to be the first one to lose four . Once again , the Vikings had a powerful offense led by 37 - year old quarterback Fran Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman . Playing in his 16th NFL season , Tarkenton was already the league ' s all time leader in pass completions ( 3 , 186 ) , passing yards ( 41 , 802 ) , and touchdown completions ( 308 ) . He had another fine season in 1976 , completing 61 . 9 percent of his passes for 2 , 961 yards , 17 touchdowns , and only 8 interceptions . Foreman had the best season of his career , rushing for 1 , 155 yards and 13 touchdowns , while also catching 55 passes for 567 yards and another touchdown . Fullback Brent McClanahan also contributed 634 combined rushing and receiving yards . The Vikings also added 2 new weapons to their offense : veteran wide receiver Ahmad Rashad and rookie wide receiver Sammy White combined for 104 receptions , 1 , 577 receiving yards , and 13 touchdowns . And once again , tackle Ron Yary anchored the offensive line . The Vikings ' " Purple People Eaters " defense , anchored by Carl Eller and Alan Page , were also dominating teams again . During this regular season , they led the NFC in fewest points allowed ( 176 ) . Also , defensive back Nate Wright led the team with 7 interceptions for 47 yards , while safety Paul Krause had 2 interceptions for 21 yards . By starting this Super Bowl Tarkenton became the second quarterback to start three Super Bowls , following his Super Bowl VIII counterpart Bob Griese . Playoffs . The Vikings went on to dominate the Washington Redskins , 35 – 20 , and defeat the Los Angeles Rams , 24 – 13 , in the playoffs . 10 of the Vikings ' points in the NFC Championship Game came from blocked kicks . The Raiders defeated the New England Patriots , 24 – 21 , with the aid of a penalty call against the Patriots . New England ' s Ray Hamilton was tagged for " roughing the passer " in the fourth quarter ; a call which extended Oakland ' s drive . Oakland went on to defeat the previous season ' s Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers , which was missing starting running back tandem of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier , 24 – 7 . This was the first Super Bowl game to match both conference ' s # 1 seeds , and was the last Super Bowl ( and first one held in the Rose Bowl ) to finish under daylight . It was the last Super Bowl where both team ' s placekickers ( Minnesota ' s Fred Cox and Oakland ' s Errol Mann ) used the straight - on style . Scheduled on the 9th day of January , the game marks the earliest Super Bowl played during the calendar year . The regular season started one week earlier than usual in order to avoid having playoff games on Christmas Day , which fell on a Saturday in 1976 . By moving the season up , the divisional playoffs were held December 18 - 19 , and the conference championship games Sunday , December 26 . Television and entertainment . The game was televised in the United States by NBC with play - by - play announcer Curt Gowdy and color commentator Don Meredith . This was Meredith ' s last broadcast with NBC , as he returned to ABC to rejoin the " Monday Night Football " crew for the 1977 season , where he had been a commentator from 1970 – 73 . Bryant Gumbel and Lee Leonard with analyst John Brodie anchored NBC ' s pregame , halftime and postgame coverage . Pregame festivities . The pregame festivities featured the Los Angeles Unified School District ( LAUSD ) All - City Band and frisbee dog Ashley Whippet . Later , singer Vikki Carr sang " America the Beautiful " . There was no national anthem played before coin toss . This was the first time that " America the Beautiful " was played at a Super Bowl . Halftime show . The halftime show was produced by Disney and was based on " It ' s a Small World " , an attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom . The show featured the cast members of the New Mickey Mouse Club . It was the first Super Bowl halftime show to include crowd participation as people in the stadium waved colored placards on cue . The LAUSD All - City Band also played during the show . Game summary . The Raiders took the opening kickoff and advanced all the way to the Vikings 12 - yard line , but came up empty after kicker Errol Mann hit the left upright on his 29 - yard field goal attempt . Later in the period , the Vikings had a great opportunity to score when linebacker Fred McNeill blocked a punt from punter Ray Guy and recovered it on the Raiders 3 - yard line . The Vikings special teams unit was known for blocking kicks , but this was the first time it had happened to Ray Guy . ( Guy would have only three of his punts blocked in his 14 - year NFL career . ) However , Vikings running back Brent McClanahan fumbled the ball while being tackled by Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano and linebacker Willie Hall recovered the ball for Oakland . The Raiders then marched 90 yards to the Vikings 7 - yard line ( the key play being a 35 - yard run by Clarence Davis ) , but had to settle for a field goal from Mann , giving them a 3 – 0 lead 48 seconds into the second quarter . The next time the Raiders got the ball , they did even better , driving 64 yards in 10 plays and scoring on a 1 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ken Stabler to tight end Dave Casper , increasing their lead to 10 – 0 . Then , Oakland got the ball back in excellent field position after returner Neal Colzie returned Minnesota ' s punt 25 yards to the Vikings 35 - yard line . After 3 running plays , Stabler completed a 17 - yard pass to Fred Biletnikoff at the 1 - yard line , and running back Pete Banaszak scored a touchdown on the next play , increasing Oakland ' s lead to 16 – 0 after Mann missed the extra point attempt . The score at halftime marked the fourth time in as many Super Bowls that the Vikings failed to score in the first half . The second half began with 3 consecutive punts , but then Colzie returned the Viking ' s second punt of the period 12 yards to the Oakland 46 - yard line . From there , the Raiders advanced to the Vikings 23 - yard line , aided by an 18 - yard run by Davis and a 10 - yard reception by wide receiver Cliff Branch , to set up Mann ' s 40 - yard field goal to increase the their lead , 19 – 0 . Quarterback Fran Tarkenton then threw 3 consecutive incomplete passes on their ensuing drive , forcing the Vikings to punt again . However , Oakland linebacker Ted Hendricks was penalized for running into the punter on the play , giving Minnesota a first down . Taking advantage of their second chance , the Vikings ended up with a 12 - play , 68 - yard drive and scored on an 8 - yard pass from Tarkenton to receiver Sammy White to cut their deficit to 19 – 7 . The Raiders were forced to punt on their next drive after they were unable to recover from Alan Page ' s 11 - yard sack on first down . Then aided by Tarkenton ' s completions to White for gains of 14 and 18 yards , respectively , the Vikings advanced to the Oakland 37 - yard line . But on third down and 3 to go , Hall intercepted a pass from Tarkenton and returned it 16 yards to the 46 - yard line . Three plays later , Biletnikoff ' s 48 - yard reception moved the ball to the Vikings 2 - yard line , setting up Banaszak ' s second rushing touchdown to increase Oakland ' s lead to 26 – 7 . White returned the ensuing kickoff 19 yards to the Minnesota 32 - yard line , and four plays later , Tarkenton completed a 25 - yard pass to receiver Ahmad Rashad to reach the Oakland 28 - yard line . But on the next play , defensive back Willie Brown intercepted a pass intended for White and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown . Although Mann missed the extra point attempt , the Raiders put the game out of reach , 32 – 7 . After both teams turned the ball over on downs , Minnesota drove 86 yards in 9 plays to score on a 14 - yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Bob Lee to tight end Stu Voigt . The touchdown cut Minnesota ' s deficit to 32 – 14 , but by then there was only : 25 left in the game . Stabler finished the game with 12 out of 19 pass completions for 180 yards and a touchdown . Davis , who was the top rusher in the game , gained 137 yards on just 16 rush attempts , an average of 8 . 5 yards per carry . Casper finished the game with 4 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown . Colzie returned 4 punts for a Super Bowl record 43 yards . Running back Chuck Foreman had a solid performance for Minnesota , contributing 44 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards . Tarkenton had 17 out of 35 pass completions for 205 yards , a touchdown , and 2 interceptions . White recorded 163 total yards , catching 5 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown , rushing once for 7 yards , and returned 4 kickoffs for 79 yards . Officials . " Note : A seven - official system was not used until 1978 "