Just in time for tonight’s Thursday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers we look back at a Monday night game between the teams on Oct. 4, 1976 at Metropolitan.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7:20 p.m. and can be seen on Fox with Joe Buck on play-by-play, the Hall of Famer Troy Aikman as analyst, with Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink on the sidelines.
The 1976 MNF game at Metropolitan Stadium was the teams' first meeting since Super Bowl IX on Jan. 12, 1975, when the Steelers beat Minnesota 16-6. The Vikings won the rematch 17-6.
It featured two of the league's best teams of the decade, a pair of eventual Hall of Fame coaches in the Vikings’ Bud Grant and Pittsburgh's Chuck Noll, and should have feature two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, but Fran Tarkenton was sidelined for the Vikings.
For the Steelers’ HOF signal-caller, Terry Bradshaw, it was a tough night in large part because of cornerback Nate Allen.
Allen had two of Minnesota’s four interceptions of Bradshaw, recovered a fumble and blocked the extra point after Pittsburgh's lone TD.
Bradshaw was 10-of-22 passing for 90 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating was 32.6.
Chuck Foreman rushed for 148 yards and touchdowns from 8 and 4 yards out. Fred Cox kicked a 43-yard field goal and made two extra points.
Bradshaw threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Cunningham for the Steelers.
Rocky Bleier rushed for 85 yards on 16 carries and Franco Harris had 34 yards on 17 tries.
Notable
With 182 yards receiving vs. the Lions, Justin Jefferson tied Isaac Bruce for the most games with more than 160 yards receiving yards in .a player’s first two seasons with four.
Jefferson moved into sole possession of second place for 100-yard receiving games within a player’s first two years in the NFL.
15 Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
12 Justin Jefferson, Minnesota
11 Randy Moss, Minnesota
11 Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh
RB Alexander Mattison rushed for his third touchdown of the season and fifth of his career.
DE D.J. Wonnum recorded his third sack of the season and sixth of his career. He has sacks in two straight games.
LB Nick Vigil’s 15 tackles at Detroit is the second-highest of his career. He had 17 in Week 15 of the 2016 season vs. Pittsburgh when he was with Cincinnati.
Stat of the Week
Justin Jefferson’s 577 receiving yards from Week 10 at the Los Angeles Chargers to Week 13 at Detroit are the most in a four-game stretch in Vikings history.
The list:
Justin Jefferson 577 (2021)
Sidney Rice 553 (2009)
Cris Carter 537 (1999)
Randy Moss 529 (2003)
The first time
The Vikings and Steelers played for the first time on Nov. 4, 1962 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 39-31.
That was the first game in NFL history to end with a 39-31 score. There have been two since then as Dallas beat San Francisco on Nov. 7, 1965 and Detroit downed the Cowboys on Dec. 31, 2006.
The No. 1 song in the U.S. was He’s a Rebel by The Crystals
The top movie was ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’
Scores
The Vikings and Steelers series is tied 9-9
11-04-1962: Pittsburgh Steelers 39, Minnesota Vikings 31
10-18-1964: Minnesota Vikings 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
11-26-1967: Minnesota Vikings 41, Pittsburgh Steelers 27
11-23-1969: Minnesota Vikings 52, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
11-26-1972: Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Minnesota Vikings 10
01-12-1975: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6 (Super Bowl IX)
10-04-1976: Minnesota Vikings 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 6
10-05-1980: Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Minnesota Vikings 17
11-20-1983: Minnesota Vikings 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
09-21-1986: Minnesota Vikings 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 7
09-24-1989: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Minnesota Vikings 14
12-20-1992: Minnesota Vikings 6, Pittsburgh Steelers 3
09-24-1995: Minnesota Vikings 44, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
12-02-2001: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Minnesota Vikings 16
12-18-2005: Pittsburgh Steelers 18, Minnesota Vikings 3
10-25-2009: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Minnesota Vikings 17
09-29-2013: Minnesota Vikings 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 27
09-17-2017: Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Minnesota Vikings 9
Points scored: Minnesota Vikings 395, Pittsburgh Steelers 352