The Vikings were making their second Super Bowl appearance after also finishing the regular season with a 12–2 record, and posting postseason victories over the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.
Super Bowl VIII was largely dominated by the Dolphins, who scored 24 unanswered points during the first three quarters, including two touchdowns on their first two drives.
Csonka broke the previous record for yards rushing (121) and carries (30) set by Matt Snell (who was also a fullback) in Super Bowl III.
Five cities, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Dallas, and New Orleans, prepared serious bids, while San Francisco (Stanford Stadium) withdrew from the running a week prior to the vote.
Miami finished with a 12–2 regular season, including their opening game victory over the defending 1972 NFC West champions, the San Francisco 49ers that tied an NFL record with eighteen consecutive wins.
Wide receiver Paul Warfield remained the main deep threat on the team, catching 29 passes for 514 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Safety Dick Anderson led the team with eight interceptions, which he returned for 163 yards and two touchdowns on route to winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Vikings also finished the regular season with a 12–2 record, winning their first nine games before a 20–14 loss on Monday Night Football to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Vikings had four other significant running backs – Dave Osborn, Bill Brown, Oscar Reed and future actor Ed Marinaro – who combined for 1,469 rushing/receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Vikings' offensive line was also very talented, led by right tackle Ron Yary and six-time Pro Bowl center Mick Tingelhoff.
The Vikings earned their second appearance in the Super Bowl after defeating the wild card Washington Redskins, 27–20, and the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys, 27–10, in the playoffs.
Just as in the regular season, Miami relied primarily on their run game in the playoffs, racking up 241 rushing yards against Cincinnati and 266 vs the Raiders.
There were reports of dissension among the Dolphins arising from owner Joe Robbie's decision to allow married players to bring their wives at the club's expense.
Vikings defensive tackle Alan Page and Dolphins left guard Bob Kuechenberg were former teammates at the University of Notre Dame, including participating in the Game of the Century seven years earlier.
Famed "Gonzo" writer Hunter S. Thompson covered the game for Rolling Stone magazine, and his exploits in Houston are legendary.
The game was televised in the United States by CBS with play-by-play announcer Ray Scott and color commentators Pat Summerall and Bart Starr.
Midway through the following season Summerall would take Scott's place as the network's lead play-by-play announcer, holding that position through 1993, when CBS lost rights to the NFC television package to Fox.
The Dolphins' game plan on offense was to use misdirection, negative-influence traps, and cross-blocking to exploit the Minnesota defense's excellent pursuit.
"[22] On defense, the Dolphins' goal was to neutralize Chuck Foreman by using cat-quick Manny Fernandez at nose tackle and to make passing difficult for Tarkenton by knocking down his receivers and double-teaming John Gilliam.
[24] First, Dolphins safety Jake Scott gave his team good field position by returning the opening kickoff 31 yards to the Miami 38-yard line.
Then running back Mercury Morris ran right for four yards, fullback Larry Csonka crashed through the middle for two, and quarterback Bob Griese completed a 13-yard pass to tight end Jim Mandich to advance the ball to the Vikings 43-yard line.
But the Dolphins were already leading, with Tarkenton behind before running any play, and now Miami's No-Name Defense responded when Foreman ran again and was stopped for no gain.
Scott fumbled the return, but quickly recovered the ball at the Miami 44, giving the Dolphins better field position than the opening drive.
On the first play of the drive, Minnesota linebacker Wally Hilgenberg was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty, putting the ball at the Vikings' 49-yard line.
The drive stalled at the Minnesota 20, forcing Miami to settle for kicker Garo Yepremian's 28-yard field goal to increase their lead to 17–0 midway through the quarter.
"[22] Gilliam returned the second half kickoff 65 yards, but this was nullified by a clipping penalty on Voigt, moving the ball back to the Minnesota 11-yard line.
Two plays later, Tarkenton was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Miami defensive tackle Manny Fernandez, forcing Minnesota to punt from their own 7-yard line.
On 3rd-and-4 from the Minnesota 5, cornerback Bobby Bryant sacked Morris for an 8-yard loss, but a defensive holding penalty on Hilgenberg gave Miami a new set of downs at the 8.
[24] With less than four minutes left in the game, a frustrated Page delivered a late hit on Griese, and was assessed a personal foul penalty.
Page finished venting out his frustration by committing an offside penalty, while Miami advanced to the Minnesota 29 to run out the clock and claim their second consecutive Super Bowl title.