Led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain defense, the Steelers advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting a 10–3–1 regular-season record and playoff victories over the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders.
The Vikings were led by quarterback Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters defense; they advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl and third overall after finishing the regular season with a 10–4 record and defeating the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
The Steelers accomplished this despite losing starting linebackers Andy Russell and Jack Lambert, who were injured and replaced by Ed Bradley and Loren Toews for most of the second half.
However, construction delays at the Superdome (which pushed its opening to August 1975) forced the league to move the game to Tulane Stadium, where the city's previous two Super Bowls were held.
[8] New Orleans impressed owners with their Superdome plans, and won a unanimous vote to host the game, while Miami was given Super Bowl X.
And in 1974, the Steelers picked linebacker Jack Lambert, center Mike Webster and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, and signed safety Donnie Shell as a free agent.
Running backs Rocky Bleier, Preston Pearson, and Steve Davis also made important contributions, gaining a combined total of 936 yards and eight touchdowns.
Greene won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second time in the previous three seasons, and he and L. C. Greenwood were named to the Pro Bowl.
Both of the team's outside linebackers, Ham and Andy Russell, had been also selected to play in the Pro Bowl, while Lambert already had two interceptions for 19 yards in his rookie year.
[12] The Vikings' primary offensive weapon was running back Chuck Foreman, who led the team in receptions with 53 for 586 yards and six touchdowns.
And the Vikings' offensive line, led by future Hall of Famers right tackle Ron Yary and center Mick Tingelhoff, allowed only 17 sacks.
Aided by the "Purple People Eaters" defense, led by future Hall of Fame defensive linemen Carl Eller and Alan Page, and future Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause, the Vikings won the NFC Central for the sixth time in the previous seven seasons.
[15][16] Sports writers and fans predicted that Super Bowl IX would be a low scoring game because of the two teams' defenses.
As the NFC was the designated "home team" for the game, by NFL rules at the time the Vikings were required to wear their purple jerseys.
When the NFL awarded Super Bowl IX to New Orleans on April 3, 1973, the game was originally scheduled to be played at the Louisiana Superdome.
The rule was first invoked in 2018 when construction on SoFi Stadium for the Rams and Chargers in Ingelwood, California fell behind schedule by a year, forcing the NFL to move Super Bowl LV to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium and instead playing Super Bowl LVI at SoFi, which opened for the 2020 season.
The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy and color commentators Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith.
Coincidentally, Tulane Stadium hosted the first Bayou Classic football game between Southwestern Athletic Conference archrivals Grambling and Southern seven weeks before the Super Bowl.
On the next play, however, defensive tackle Alan Page sacked Bradshaw for a 7-yard loss, forcing Pittsburgh to punt the ball back to Minnesota.
The drive stalled at the Vikings' 21-yard line, so kicker Roy Gerela attempted to kick a 37-yard field goal, but he missed it wide left.
The Vikings failed to capitalize on the turnover, as they could only move the ball 2 yards in their next three plays, and kicker Fred Cox missed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide right.
The first score of the game occurred two plays later, when running back Dave Osborn fumbled a handoff from quarterback Fran Tarkenton at the 10, and the ball rolled backward into the end zone.
After being tackled by Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg for a 3-yard loss, Harris scored on a 9-yard touchdown run, giving Pittsburgh a 9–0 lead.
But two plays later, White deflected Tarkenton's next pass attempt, and defensive tackle Joe Greene intercepted the ball, ending the Vikings' best offensive scoring opportunity.
After an exchange of punts to start the fourth quarter, the Vikings got another scoring opportunity when safety Paul Krause recovered a fumble by Harris on the Steelers' 47-yard line.
Vikings linebacker Matt Blair burst through the line to block Walden's punt, and safety Terry Brown recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Cox's extra point attempt hit the left upright, but the Vikings had cut their deficit to 9–6 and were just a field goal away from a tie.
On the next play, Bradshaw threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown, giving the Steelers a 16–6 lead with 3:31 remaining and essentially putting the game away.
Vikings running back Brent McClanahan returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Minnesota 39-yard line, but on the first play of the drive, Tarkenton's pass to Gilliam was intercepted by Wagner.
The Steelers then executed 7 consecutive running plays (including a 15-yard run by Harris totaling up to 159 rushing yards for him, which broke Larry Csonka's rushing record of 145 yards in Super Bowl VIII), taking the game clock all the way down to 38 seconds remaining before turning the ball over on downs.