It was the day after Christmas, in 1976, the last time one of these went well for the Vikings.
Winter sunshine and 19-degree temperatures greeted the home team for its third NFC Championship Game — and second at home — in four years. The Vikings were back after Roger Staubach's Hail Mary to Drew Pearson knocked them out of the playoffs a year earlier, and in a rematch of the 1974 NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams, the issue was rarely in doubt.
Bobby Bryant's 90-yard touchdown return off a blocked field goal helped the Vikings build a 17-0 lead, Sammy Johnson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown after the Rams pulled within four, and the Vikings strode jubilantly off the Met Stadium playing field, winners of their third NFC title since 1973.