1970s Minnesota Vikings : Would A Better QB Helped Them Win A Super Bowl?

Here’s a question I often hear, especially from Minnesota Vikings fans: Would the 1970 and/or 1971 Vikings have won the Super Bowl if they had Joe Kapp or Fran Tarkenton at quarterback?

Here’s my answer: First, I should point out that the Vikings lost one Super Bowl with Joe Kapp and three with Fran Tarkenton. So, maybe a better question is, would they have reached the Super Bowl with a better quarterback?

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In my view, they wouldn’t have beaten the Cowboys in 1971 even if they had Kapp or Tarkenton. The 1971 Cowboys are somewhat underrated. They started off slowly with a 4–3 record, but after Coach Landry chose Staubach as the starting quarterback, they won ten straight games.

Looking at the stats from the 1971 NFC Divisional Playoff between Dallas and Minnesota, the Cowboys’ offense didn’t do much against the ‘Purple People Eaters’ defense, but they didn’t need to. The ‘Doomsday Defense’ was firing on all cylinders and forced five turnovers. Minnesota was never in the game, trailing 20–3 after three quarters before scoring a safety and a meaningless touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

One could argue that the Vikings wouldn’t have thrown four interceptions if they had Kapp or Tarkenton behind center. Maybe that’s true, and it probably would have made the game more competitive, but you’ve got to give the Doomsday Defense its due.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, the Vikings beat the Cowboys. They would then have to face the 49ers in the Championship game, the same team that beat the Vikings in the playoffs in 1970 and in the 1971 regular season. Could they have beaten the 49ers? They were 0–2 in two tries.

Two offensive players from the 1971 team made the Pro Bowl: receiver Bob Grim and tackle Ron Yary. Yary also earned All-Pro honors. Three defensive players made the Pro Bowl: safety Paul Krause, defensive end Carl Eller, and defensive tackle Alan Page. Eller and Page also gained All-Pro recognition, and Page was awarded the NFL MVP.

The 1970 team had two offensive players on the Pro Bowl team: running back Dave Osborn and receiver Gene Washington. Kicker Fred Cox also made the Pro Bowl. On defense, four players—Eller, Page, defensive tackle Gary Larsen, and safety Karl Kassulke—made the Pro Bowl. Eller and Page also received All-Pro honors.

I believe the 1970 Vikings would have had a better chance of reaching the Super Bowl with Joe Kapp as quarterback. They avenged their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in week one with a 27–10 victory and then crushed the Cowboys in week five, 54–13.

However, they were upset by the 49ers in the Divisional Playoff, 17–14. Quarterback Gary Cuozzo had a poor game, completing only 9 of 27 passes for 146 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Would Kapp have performed better? Probably!

Now, let’s say they beat the 49ers. They would then have to face the Cowboys in the Championship game, and this was a much stronger Cowboys team than the one they beat in week five. Could they have broken through the Doomsday Defense with Kapp as the quarterback?

And if they managed to get past Dallas, they would have to play the Colts in the Super Bowl, another team with an outstanding defense. The Vikings should have signed Joe Kapp for the 1970 season.

He wasn’t a great quarterback, but he knew how to win, and his leadership skills were unmatched. The team lost something without its inspirational leader, but there was also another aspect the Vikings were missing from 1969 to 1972 that is often overlooked: a powerful running game!

Dave Osborne was the Vikings’ top rusher in 1969, amassing 643 yards with a 3.5-yard average per carry. Osborne was followed by Bill Brown, who gained 430 yards. The Chiefs weren’t concerned about the Vikings’ running game in Super Bowl IV, so they focused on applying a strong pass rush on Joe Kapp. The Chiefs won 23–7, and the Vikings managed only 67 rushing yards.

Osborne led the team in rushing again in 1970 with 681 yards, but he averaged only 3.3 yards per carry. As a team, the Vikings averaged just 3.2 yards per carry for the season. In the playoff game against the 49ers, the Vikings gained 117 yards on the ground, which is average at best. The 49ers won 17–14.

Clint Jones was the Vikings’ leading rusher in 1971, with 675 yards, while the team averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. The Vikings gained just 101 yards rushing against the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff and lost 20–12.

In 1972, the Vikings had a new quarterback, Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had played for Minnesota from 1961 to 1966 before spending the next five seasons with the New York Giants. The Vikings’ passing game improved, but their running game did not. Oscar Reed was the team’s leading rusher with 639 yards, and the Vikings finished the season with a disappointing 7–7 record.

The Vikings finally addressed their lack of a running game by drafting Chuck Foreman in the first round of the 1973 draft. Foreman ran for 801 yards on 182 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and added another 362 yards receiving. The Vikings gained 141 rushing yards in their playoff game against the Redskins and 203 yards against the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. They defeated Dallas 27–10 to win the NFC title and advanced to their second Super Bowl.

My point is that the 1970 and 1971 Vikings depended too much on their defense. Would they have gone further if they had signed Kapp in 1970 or traded for Tarkenton in 1971 instead of waiting until 1972? Sure, it’s possible, maybe even likely, but I don’t see a Vince Lombardi trophy without a strong running game.

Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)