an aging Vikings team in the regular season 35–3 in October on the nationally televised Monday Night Football, and after years of frustrating playoff losses in the cold of Minnesota, the Rams finally had a home playoff game against the Vikings. In addition, Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton was injured in that Monday night game. However, as luck would have it, Los Angeles was engulfed in a torrential rainstorm, and the game became known as “The Mud Bowl”. Running back Chuck Foreman led the Vikings to a victory by recording 101 rushing yards on the heavy field. Minnesota head coach Bud Grant’s strategy was to have quarterback Bob Lee throw early before the field lost traction. By the end of the game, the Rams lost three turnovers, while the Vikings didn't lose any. The Rams took the opening kickoff and moved the ball to the Minnesota 31. However, Alan Page ended the drive by dropping RB Lawrence McCutcheon for a 1-yard loss on 4th down and 2. The Vikings took over and drove 70 yards, with Lee completing 5/5 passes, to a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard scoring run by Foreman. Lee threw only five more passes the remainder of the game (completing zero) as the field conditions worsened and the Vikings went strictly into "control the clock" mode. From that point on until the fourth quarter, both teams remained scoreless while the field turned into a quagmire. The Rams had two chances to score, but quarterback Pat Haden threw an interception to Nate Allen in the end zone and kicker Rafael Septién missed a field goal. Early in the final period, Vikings running back Manfred Moore returned a punt 21 yards to set up Sammy Johnson's 1-yard rushing touchdown. With less than a minute left in the game, Haden threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Harold Jackson to cut the score 14–7. The Rams then recovered the ensuing onside kick, but safety Jeff Wright intercepted Haden's desperate pass in the end zone on the game's final play. This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Vikings and Rams. Minnesota won all three previous meetings. Conference Championships Sunday, January 1, 1978 AFC: Denver Broncos 20, Oakland Raiders 17 Despite a poor day from veteran kicker Jim Turner, who missed three field goals and had an extra point blocked, Denver converted two second half turnovers into touchdowns to edge out the defending