For the 1969 season, a provision was made for a four team playoff to determine the AFL Champion, the league's representative in the Super Bowl, with the #1 team in the division to play against the #2 team in the opposite division. In the Eastern Division, the Jets (10-4-0) would win easily over the second place Houston Oilers (6-6-2). However,in the Western Division, it was a battle between the two powerhouses of the AFL, the Oakland Raiders (12-1-1) and the Kansas City Chiefs (11-3-0). In the playoffs, Oakland would crush the Oilers 56-7, while the Chiefs would win a tight battle with the defending champions New York Jets, 13-6.  This would lead to the AFL Championship Game between the Raiders and Chiefs on January 4, 1970 at the Oakland Coliseum. After a slow start, the Chiefs would overcome a 7-0 deficit by shutting out the Raiders in the final three quarters, and posting a hard fought 17-7 victory, and earn a trip to Super Bowl IV against the NFL Champion Minnesota Vikings. Super Bowl IV, the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in pro football, was played on January 11, 1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL champion Minnesota Vikings by the score of 23–7. This victory by the AFL squared the Super Bowl series with the NFL at two games apiece. This was also the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game before the two leagues merged into one after the season. Chiefs head coach Hank Stram, who was also the team's offensive coordinator, devised an effective game plan against the Vikings. He knew Minnesota's secondary was able to play very far off receivers because Viking defensive ends Carl Eller and Jim Marshall knocked down short passes or put pressure on the quarterback. Stram decided to double-team Marshall and Eller; most of quarterback Len Dawson's
completions would be short passes, and neither Marshall nor Eller knocked down any passes. Stram also concluded that the Vikings' aggressiveness on defense also made them susceptible to trap plays; Mike Garrett's rushing touchdown would come on a trap play. The Vikings' inside running game depended on center Mick Tingelhoff blocking linebackers. Stram put 285-pound Buck Buchanan or 295-pound Curley Culp in front of Tingelhoff, who weighed only 235 pounds. To Minnesota's credit, the NFL used the so-called light "greyhound" centers while the AFL used big centers. It was a mismatch that disrupted the Vikings' running game. Wrote Dawson, "It was obvious that their offense had never seen a defense like ours." Minnesota would rush for only two first downs.