1998 Minnesota Vikings: The Best Team to Never Win a Championship

1998 Minnesota Vikings: The Best Team to Never Win a Championship

1998 Minnesota Vikings: The Best Team to Never Win a Championship

Entering the 1998 playoffs, the Minnesota Vikings fans had many reasons to feel optimistic. After four Super Bowl losses between 1969 and 1976, the fans in Minnesota hoped their offensive juggernaut who posted a 15-1 regular season record would finally deliver the franchise its first championship. Randall Cunningham, Chris Carter and rookie phenom, Randy Moss terrorized defenses. Their high-powered offense led the NFL in scoring with 556 points. The Vikings defense was led by Pro Bowlers John Randle and Ed McDaniel. Their kicker, Gary Anderson, didn’t miss a single field goal or extra point attempt all season. The stars were aligned – or so it seemed.

The Vikings’ offense started the season with a bang. Brad Johnson threw four touchdown passes as the Vikings beat up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-7. Chris Carter and Randy Moss each caught two touchdowns. In the second game of the season, Johnson was taken out of the game due to injury and 35-year-old backup, Randall Cunningham took over. Cunningham threw the game-winning touchdown and would start at quarterback for the rest of the year.

Cunningham would go on to have one the best seasons of his career. He completed 60% of his passes for 3704 yards and 34 touchdowns. It helped that he was throwing to two outstanding wide receivers. Chris Carter had 78 receptions for 1011 yards and 12 touchdowns. Lining up on the other side of the field of Carter was rookie Randy Moss. The 21st pick of the 1998 draft had 69 catches for 1313 yards and an astounding 17 touchdowns. Moss went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Vikings’ explosive offense was in full display during their Thanksgiving matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Troy Aikman threw for 455 yards and Emmitt Smith had three rushing touchdowns, but it wouldn’t be enough. Cunningham threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns. Randy Moss caught only three passes, but those three passes were for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Chris Carter added 135 yards and one touchdown as the Vikings won the shootout 46-36.

The Vikings’ only loss came at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. The Bucs’ running back tandem of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott ran all over the Vikings for 243 rushing yards and two touchdowns. After this loss, the Vikings won eight straight games to become the first team to post a 15-1 record since the Super Bowl-winning 1985 Chicago Bears. The Vikings easily defeated the Arizona Cardinals 41-21 in the divisional round to advance to the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Despite posting an excellent 14-2 regular season record, the Falcons would travel to the Metrodome for the championship game. The Falcons opened the scoring when their Pro Bowl quarterback, Chris Chandler, connected with their Pro Bowl running back, Jamaal Anderson, for a 5-yard touchdown. The Vikings then raced to score 20 consecutive points to take a 20-7 lead in the 2nd quarter. The Falcons scored a late touchdown to make the score 20-14 going into halftime. The Vikings pushed their lead to double digits thanks to a Randall Cunningham touchdown pass to Matthew Hatchette, but the Falcons answered with a Morten Andersen field goal to pull to within one touchdown.

In the final minutes of the game Gary Anderson, the Vikings kicker who hadn’t missed a field goal all season, had a chance to give the Vikings a 10 point lead. Anderson missed the 38-yard field goal giving the Falcons a chance to even the game. With less than a minute remaining, Chris Chandler found Terance Mathis for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game. The teams would go to overtime where Morten Andersen kicked a 38-yard field goal to win the game and send the Falcons to the Super Bowl. The season that had so much hope and promise for the Vikings ended in one of the most heartbreaking losses in NFL history.