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The Purple People Eaters in January 1970 at Metropolitan Stadium.From left to right: Marshall, Larsen, Eller, and Page. The Purple People Eaters was the nickname given to the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from 1967 to 1977, consisting mainly of Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen.
The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger.Under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game.
The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns 27–7 in the last pre-merger NFL Championship Game on January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game, [1] and earned a berth in Super Bowl IV; however, the heavily favored Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs ...
[2] [6] [17] As the left defensive end in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the "Purple People Eaters" (the other members being Alan Page, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen). [10] [18] [19] [20] Starting in 1968, Eller's fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. [20]
The Vikings had won their last four home games on Monday Night Football, but the Patriots ended the streak when they blew out the Vikings at home, 31–7. Minnesota's only score came off Mewelde Moore's 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. The following week saw a 9–3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The 10–3–1 49ers, making their first playoff game since 1957, [6] [7] [8] stunned the heavily favored Vikings, the defending NFL champions who had finished the regular season with an NFL best record at 12–2. The 49ers defeated the Vikings in Minnesota, despite losing three of five fumbles; Minnesota had four turnovers.
The 1969 NFL Championship Game was the 37th and final championship game prior to the AFL–NFL merger, played January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb south of Minneapolis.
The Vikings got on the board with a 10-play, 57-yard drive, with Tarkenton completing 5 passes for 43 yards, including a 15-yarder to Voigt on 3rd-and-8, and finished the drive himself with a 4-yard touchdown run, cutting Minnesota's deficit to 24–7. This was the first rushing touchdown by a quarterback in Super Bowl history.