to play the position in the NFL. During his rookie season, Foreman was inserted into the Vikings' offense as their premiere back, often catching passes out of the backfield in an offensive scheme that was a precursor to the West Coast offense. After rushing for 801 yards on 182 carries and catching 37 passes for 362 yards during the regular season, Foreman won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and was voted to the Pro Bowl, helping the Vikings improve from a 7–7 record in 1972 to a 12–2 record and a NFC Central division championship in 1973. In the playoffs, the Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins in the divisional round and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game en route to a Super Bowl appearance against the Miami Dolphins. The Vikings lost Super Bowl VIII 24–7; Foreman was held to only 18 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving in the game. He later said that the Dolphins were the best team that the Vikings faced in the Super Bowl that decade. In 1974, Foreman was again voted to the Pro Bowl and was selected as a second-team All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers Association, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the Associated Press. He ran for 777 yards on 199 attempts while adding 586 yards on 53 receptions and also led the league in combined rushing and receiving touchdowns with 15. Although the Vikings' record worsened to 10–4, they repeated as NFC Central champions and reached the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year, where they lost 16–6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Foreman only gained 18 yards on 12 carries and 50 yards on 5 receptions, yet he believes that the Vikings were the better team in the game, and the loss was a result of self-inflicted mistakes. Although he was a running back, Foreman led the NFL with 73 receptions in 1975, which was an NFL record for his position at the time. In the final game of the regular season on the road against the Buffalo Bills, Foreman was in contention to complete an NFC Triple Crown by leading the conference in touchdowns, receptions, and rushing yards for a season. Foreman and Bills star running back O. J. Simpson were also competing to break Gale Sayers's NFL record for combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in a season. After scoring his third touchdown of the game,