at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Three weeks prior to this game, the teams met in Los Angeles in a battle between the undefeated (11–0) Rams and the 10–1 Vikings.
Despite committing more turnovers (3 to 1) and only gaining 20 more total yards (275–255), the Vikings managed to edge out the Rams for their first postseason win in franchise history.
Rams safety Richie Petitbon recovered a fumble from fullback Bill Brown that gave his team a first down on the Minnesota 45-yard line.
On the next play, it appeared that the Vikings took a quick lead as Carl Eller intercepted a Roman Gabriel pass and returned for a touchdown but the score was nullified on an offside penalty on Alan Page.
Taking advantage of their second chance, running back Larry Smith gained 19 yards on three carries, and Gabriel eventually finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bob Klein.
After forcing the Rams to punt for the first time in the game on the opening possession of the second half, Kapp completed a 41-yard pass to Washington on the LA 12-yard line.
The next time the Vikings got the ball, they drove deep into Rams territory, only to have Kapp throw an interception to safety Ed Meador on the LA 4-yard line.
Once again, the Viking defense bent but didn't break, stopping the Rams inside the 10 yard line and making them settle for a 27-yard Gossett field goal.
After their special teams unit tackled returner Ron Smith on the 12-yard line during the ensuing kickoff, Carl Eller sacked Gabriel in the end zone for a safety, giving the Vikings a 23–20 lead and the ball.
They had to punt after taking the opening kickoff, but Don Cockroft's high short kick ended up bouncing off the leg of Dallas lineman Rayfield Wright and linebacker Bob Matheson recovered for the Browns on the Cowboys' 34-yard line.
The Browns later increased their lead to 14–0 by driving 55 yards to score on Bill Nelsen's 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Milt Morin.
Early in the third quarter, Browns linebacker Jim Houston intercepted Craig Morton's pass and returned it 35 yards to the Dallas 19, leading to Scott's second 2-yard touchdown run to make the score 24–0.
This time Dallas was able to respond, driving 72 yards in 12 plays, including a 26-yard catch by tight end Pettis Norman, to score on Morton's 2-yard touchdown run.
Dallas had a chance to score after a punt play when Cockroft bobbled a low snap from rookie center Chuck Reynolds and was tackled on the Browns' 22-yard line.
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Cleveland had lost the previous season's NFL title game 34–0, and this time fared little better.
The next time Minnesota got the ball, Erich Barnes slipped while in one-on-one coverage with Washington, enabling him to catch a pass from Kapp and take off for a 75-yard touchdown completion.
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.