The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX, 16–6, on January 12, 1975, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For the Super Bowl, the championship round was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Aided by the Cardinals' turnovers, the Vikings scored 16 points in less than 7 minutes in the third quarter.
The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead with a 56-yard drive to the Vikings 6-yard line, but Jim Bakken missed a 23-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
[1] On the third play of the second half, Jeff Wright intercepted a pass from Hart and returned it 18 yards to set up Fred Cox's 37-yard field goal, giving his team a 10–7 lead.
Exactly 60 seconds later, on the Cardinals' ensuing drive, Terry Metcalf lost a fumble while being leveled by Vikings linemen Alan Page and Carl Eller.
Cornerback Nate Wright picked up the loose ball and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown that increased Minnesota's lead to 17–7.
The game began when rookie receiver Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a Miami touchdown.
Dick Anderson then intercepted a pass from Ken Stabler, but fellow safety Jake Scott was hurt on the play and would miss the rest of the game.
The Raiders scored on their opening drive of the third quarter with Stabler's 13-yard touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff, who hauled in the ball with one arm along the right sideline and barely tap his feet in bounds through tight coverage by cornerback Tim Foley, giving them a 14–10 lead.
Branch made a spectacular diving catch and then got back up and ran the rest of the way to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown reception, giving the Raiders a 21–19 lead with 4:37 left in the game.
But on their second play of the drive, Oakland linebacker Phil Villapiano intercepted Griese's pass at the Raiders 45-yard line, allowing his team to run out the rest of the clock.
"This has to be the toughest loss I've ever suffered", said Miami coach Don Shula, "The Raiders are a great credit to professional football", he added.
[2] at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Running back Franco Harris led the Steelers to the victory by scoring 3 touchdowns in the second quarter.
Pittsburgh scored on their first possession with Roy Gerela's 21-yard field goal, but later on, a poor punt from Bobby Walden gave the Bills a first down on their own 44, where they proceeded to drive 56 yards to a 7–3 lead on Joe Ferguson's 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Paul Seymour.
Then Buffalo running back Jim Braxton lost a fumble on a combined tackle by Mel Blount and Mike Wagner, which linebacker Jack Ham recovered for Pittsburgh on their 42.
With 16 seconds left before halftime, Harris scored his 3rd rushing touchdown to cap a 56-yard drive, upping his team's lead to 29–7.
[4] The two teams had met on the same field thirteen days earlier on Monday night, won by Washington 23–17, which was the sole home loss of the season for the Rams.
Billy Kilmer's 41-yard completion to Charley Taylor got the team moving on the way to a 35-yard Mike Bragg field goal, making the score 7–3.
[6] In the third quarter, Rams defensive tackle Merlin Olsen forced a fumble from running back Larry Brown that linebacker Jack Reynolds recovered on the LA 44-yard line, leading to David Ray's 37-yard field goal.
Then returner Doug Cunningham lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, resulting Ray's 26-yard field goal to give LA a 13–10 lead.
The extra point kick failed, but Olsen then recorded two more sacks, forcing a punt and enabling LA to hold the ball until 3:23 remained in the game.
Oakland got a big opportunity in the first quarter when they recovered a muffed punt return by Lynn Swann on the Steelers 41-yard line, but Mel Blount's deflection of a 3rd down pass by Ken Stabler forced them to settle for a 40-yard field goal from George Blanda.
[2] Curt Gowdy and Don Meredith of NBC Television calling the Sea of Hands at the 1974 AFC Divisional Playoffs.