Flashback: The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 to win Super Bowl IV on January 11th 1970…

The Kansas City Chiefs confused and conquered the favored Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, with Hank Stram’s sideline messages from a microphone offering a lasting burn.

Each week during the 2015 season, Viking Update examines a past game against the Vikings’ upcoming opponent. Some of the choices are obvious; others are not. However, all the games chosen stand the test of time.

The Vikings were kings of the NFL during the 1969 season. In the franchise’s ninth year of existence, Bud Grant’s crew dominated, boasting the league’s best defense and highest-scoring offense.

The “Purple People Eaters” – defensive linemen Jim Marshall, Alan Page, Gary Larsen and Carl Eller – anchored a unit that surrendered just 133 points, an NFL record. The offense, powered by rugged quarterback Joe Kapp and bruising running backs Bill Brown and Dave Osborn, scored 379 points.

The Vikings’ only defeats came on the opening Sunday and the final week of the regular season. In between, Minnesota reeled off 12 straight victories, the NFL’s longest winning streak in 35 years. In the playoffs, the Vikings rallied to upend the Los Angeles Rams, 23-20, and destroyed Cleveland, 27-7, to claim the final NFL Championship and advance to Super Bowl IV against the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Following an 11-3 regular season and second-place finish in their division, Hank Stram’s team surged in the playoffs, beating the defending Super Bowl champion Jets, 13-6, and Oakland, 17-7.

Most “experts” believed the Vikings’ ferocious pass rush and potent offense would overwhelm the Chiefs. Minnesota was installed as a 13-point favorite for the last game prior to the AFL-NFL merger.