The winner of the game earned a berth in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans against the champion of the American Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs.
[3][4] The Vikings defeated the Los Angeles Rams 23–20 in the Western Conference championship a week earlier at Met Stadium.
They were coached by Bud Grant and led on offense by quarterback Joe Kapp and wide receiver Gene Washington.
[5][6] The Browns were coached by Blanton Collier; Bill Nelsen was the starting quarterback and Gary Collins and Paul Warfield were star wide receivers for the team.
The key play of the drive was a pass from Joe Kapp to receiver Gene Washington that was nearly 5 yards short of the mark.
The next time Minnesota took possession of the ball, defensive back Erich Barnes slipped while in one-on-one coverage with Washington, enabling him to catch a pass from Kapp and run to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown completion.
[10] Near the end of the first quarter, Browns running back Leroy Kelly lost a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Wally Hilgenberg on the Cleveland 43.
Later in the second period, Hilgenberg snuffed out a Cleveland scoring threat by intercepting a pass from Bill Nelsen on the Vikings' 33-yard line.
Cleveland responded with a drive to the Vikings' 17, but turned the ball over on downs when Nelsen overthrew receiver Gary Collins in the end zone on 4th and 3.