History of the Minnesota Vikings
Encyclopedia
This article details the history of the Minnesota Vikings
, an American football
club of the National Football League
(NFL).
history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen – Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund and Max Winter
– were awarded a franchise
in the new American Football League
. Five months later, on January 27, 1960, the ownership group, along with Bernie Ridder forfeited its AFL membership and then on January 28, 1960 was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise with play to begin in 1961. Ole Haugsrud
was added to the NFL team ownership because of an agreement he had with the NFL since the 1920s when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league. The agreement allowed him 10% of any future Minnesota team.
, who was appointed as GM on August 5, 1960. In an article on August 6, 1960 in the Minneapolis Tribune, it was reported that the team would use the name "Minnesota" instead of "Minneapolis-St. Paul". The article also stated that several nicknames were suggested for the team, including "Chippewas", "Miners", "Vikings" and "Voyageurs". The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American
culture. From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced a first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of the 40,800-seat capacity of Metropolitan (Met) Stadium
in Bloomington
. Eventually Met Stadium capacity was increased to 47,900. On January 18, 1961, the Vikings named Norm Van Brocklin
as head coach, though Bud Grant
had been a candidate for the job.
The Vikings played their first game, an exhibition game, against the Dallas Cowboys on August 5, 1961. The game was played at Howard Wood Field
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
. The Vikings won their first regular-season game, defeating the Chicago Bears
37–13 on Opening Day 1961
. Rookie Fran Tarkenton
replaced starting quarterback George Shaw
to throw four touchdown passes
and run for another to lead the upset. Reality set in as the expansion team lost its next seven games on their way to a 3–11 record.
Rose resigned from his position as GM on June 1, 1964. Jim Finks
, then general manager of the Calgary Stampeders
, was named his successor on September 11, 1964. The Vikings had their first winning season in 1964
, finishing with 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. The 1964 season is also remembered for a game played at San Francisco against the 49ers
in which Jim Marshall
picked up a fumble and ran it to the wrong end zone. He thought he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, but instead had scored a safety for the 49ers. The Vikings did go on to win the game 27–22. 1964 was also the only season that the Vikings wore white jerseys at home games. This led to confusion when the Detroit Lions
came to Bloomington with only their white jerseys. The game started with both teams wearing white jerseys. The Vikings retrieved their purple jerseys from Midway Stadium
in Saint Paul
. The Vikings changed from white jerseys to purple jerseys on the sidelines. That led to the Vikings wearing all-purple uniforms.
Max Winter
became the team president in 1965. In November of that year, the volatile Van Brocklin quit one day after the team had been eliminated from the postseason in a 41–21 defeat to the Baltimore Colts
, but came back 24 hours later. Two months after that brief departure, Van Brocklin signed a new contract that would keep him with the franchise through 1970, but then quit for good, abruptly announcing his departure on February 11, 1967, saying he had lost control of the team. Bud Grant
, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
, became the new Vikings coach on March 10, 1967.
On March 7, 1967, Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants
for a first and second-round draft
choice in 1967, a first-round choice in 1968 and a second-round choice in 1969. With these picks, Minnesota selected Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in 1967, Ron Yary
in 1968 and Ed White in 1969.
During the late 1960s, the Vikings were building a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters
, led by Alan Page
, Carl Eller
, Gary Larsen
, and Jim Marshall. In 1968
, that stingy defense earned the Vikings their first Central Division title and their first playoff berth. They lost to Baltimore
in the Western Conference championship game.
In 1969
the Vikings earned a 12–2 record, the best in the NFL. An opening game one-point to loss the New York Giants
, quarterbacked by former Viking Fran Tarkenton, was followed by twelve consecutive wins. The Vikings played their first regular season game in Minneapolis, when the October 5 game against the Packers was moved to Memorial Stadium. That game also saw a than record home crowd of 60,740. The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns
27–7 in the NFL Championship Game on January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game, which earned the team a berth in Super Bowl IV
. The heavily favored Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs
, 23–7 at Tulane Stadium
in New Orleans.
and 1971
as their "Purple People Eater" defense led them back to the playoffs. In 1971, the defense was so impressive that Alan Page became only the first defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award
(MVP). The first post-merger game was a rematch with Kansas City, which the Vikings won 27–10. However, Joe Kapp had been traded away during the 1970 off-season and his replacement Gary Cuozzo delivered some quite mediocre performances. Nonetheless, the defense carried the team to a 12–2 regular season and the top of the newly-created NFC Central division. They lost the divisional round of the playoffs to San Francisco 17–14. Continued strong defense made up for Cuozzo's shortcomings as the Vikings won their division again in 1971 with an 11–3 record. For the second year in a row, they lost the divisional round at home, this time to Dallas (the score being 20–12).
During this period, the issue of a new stadium began to surface. Metropolitan Stadium had originally been designed for minor-league baseball and was inadequate for an NFL team, seating 48,500 when the league now required a capacity of at least 50,000. Also, the stadium experienced harsh weather conditions late in the season. As the coldest venue in the NFL, it provided a considerable home-field advantage to the Vikings, but was miserable for players, staff, and fans after October. However, no replacement was available for the time being.
On January 27, 1972
the Vikings decided to get Fran Tarkenton back. In exchange for him, they traded Norm Snead
, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and a 1st-round choice in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants. While the acquisitions of Tarkenton and wide receiver John Gilliam
improved the passing attack, the running game was inconsistent and the Vikings finished with a disappointing 7–7 record. The Vikings addressed the problem by drafting running back Chuck Foreman
with their first pick in the 1973 draft. Co-owner Bill Boyer died on February 19, 1973 and was replaced on the team's board of directors by his son-in-law Jack Steele.
The Vikings won their first 9 games of 1973
and finished the season with a 12–2 record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Washington Redskins
27–20 and the Dallas Cowboys
27–10. On January 13, 1974, the Vikings played the 2nd Super Bowl in franchise history, Super Bowl VIII
, against the Miami Dolphins
at Rice Stadium
in Houston, Texas
. The Dolphins prevailed 24–7.
The Vikings won the Central Division again in 1974
with a 10–4 record. In the playoffs, they built on their cold weather reputation, defeating both the St. Louis Cardinals
30–14 and the Los Angeles Rams 14–10 in frozen Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings played in their 2nd straight Super Bowl, Super Bowl IX
(3rd overall), losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, 16–6, at Tulane Stadium
in New Orleans on January 12, 1975.
In 1975
, the Vikings, led by MVP Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman
, finished 12–2, losing only to Detroit and Washington while remaining undefeated until late in the season. However, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, 17–14, on a controversial touchdown pass from the Cowboys' quarterback Roger Staubach
to wide receiver Drew Pearson
that became known as the Hail Mary
. On the Vikings' next possession, Tarkenton was sacked just short of the end zone as he stepped back to pass, but the referees refused to penalize Dallas for pass interference. Afterwards, angry fans pelted the field with snowballs and one referee was struck in the head with a beer bottle, mimicking an incident two weeks earlier during the regular season ender in Buffalo where Chuck Foreman was hit in the eye with a snowball.
The Vikings finished 11–2–1 in 1976, winning their division once again and beating Washington at home 35–20 in the last playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium. They then won the NFC Championship in Los Angeles over the Rams 24–13 to advance to their third Super Bowl in four years. However, a championship continued to elude them when they lost to Oakland 32–14 at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, CA on January 9, 1977. Co-owner Ole Haugsrud died on March 13, 1976 and his widow Margaret took his place on the team's board of directors. In 1977, team attorney Sheldon Kaplan replaced Ridder on the board. In 1978, John Skoglund replaced his father on the team's board of director and general manager Mike Lynn replaced Margaret Haugsrud on the board.
In 1977
, Minnesota again won the Central with a 9–5 record, but the team was showing signs of age. Fran Tarkenton had torn his ACL in the previous season's playoff game with the Redskins and lost the ability to perform his trademark scrambling. After years of beating the Los Angeles Rams in frozen Metropolitan Stadium, they finally had to go to Los Angeles for the divisional round due to receiving the #3 playoff seed and being denied home advantage. Instead of bright sunshine there was heavy rains that turned the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
into a mud bath and the Vikings prevailed 14–7. On January 1, 1978, the Vikings played the Dallas Cowboys
in their 4th NFC Championship Game in 5 years at Texas Stadium
. Minnesota lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champs, 23–6.
By 1978
, age was taking its toll on the Vikings, but they still took advantage of a weak division to make the playoffs with an 8–7–1 record. The team had all-but run out of gas as the Rams finally defeated them 34–10 in Los Angeles. Fran Tarkenton retired at the end of the season just short of his 39th birthday. With Tommy Kramer
taking over as QB, the Vikings fell to a 7–9 record in 1979. After that season ended, DE Jim Marshall, the last of the inaugural 1961 team, retired.
The Minnesota legislature finally approved a new stadium in 1979, and construction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome began in December 1979. A dome facility was chosen because of the harsh Minnesota winters and because it could be used for a much wider variety of activities than an outdoor facility.
that houses the team's offices, locker room and practice fields. The complex was named "Winter Park" after Max Winter, one of the Vikings founders who served as the team's president from 1965 to 1987. The Vikings played their 1st game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
in a preseason matchup against Seattle on August 21, 1982; Minnesota prevailed 7–3. The 1st touchdown in the new facility was scored by Joe Senser on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer
. The 1st regular-season game in the Metrodome was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the Vikings defeated Tampa Bay, 17–10. Rickey Young scored the 1st regular-season touchdown in the facility on a 3-yard run in the 2nd quarter.
The Vikings and St. Louis Cardinals
played the first American football game in London
's Wembley Stadium in a preseason game on August 6, 1983. The game was the dubbed the "Global Cup". The Vikings won 28–10. This was three years before the NFL started the American Bowl
series. On January 27, 1984, Bud Grant retired as Head Coach of the Vikings. In 17 seasons, Grant led Minnesota to 12 playoff appearances, 11 division titles and 4 Super Bowls. His career regular-season record was 151–87–5 (.632). The person that would take his place would be Les Steckel.
Les Steckel
, who was an offensive assistant with the Vikings for 5 seasons, was named the 3rd head coach in franchise history on January 29, 1984. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach in the NFL in 1984 at age 38. The Vikings lost a franchise-worst 13 games in Steckel's only season as head coach. After the season, Steckel was fired and on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant was re-hired as the head coach of the Vikings.
On January 6, 1986, following the 1985 season, Bud Grant re-retired as head coach of the Vikings. At the time of his retirement he was the 6th winningest coach in NFL history with 168 career wins, including playoffs. In 18 seasons, he led the Vikings to a 158–96–5 regular season record. Longtime Vikings assistant coach Jerry Burns
was named the 4th head coach in team history on January 7, 1986. He served as the Vikings offensive coordinator from 1968 to 1985, when the team won 11 division titles and played in 4 Super Bowls. In his first season, the Vikings led by the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Kramer
, went 9–7, their first winning record in 4 years. In his second season, he led the Vikings to the NFC championship game.
Following the strike-shortened 1987 season, the 8–7 Vikings—who had finished 8–4 in regular games but 0–3 using strike-replacement players—pulled two upsets in the playoffs by beating the two teams with the best regular season records. They beat the 12–3 New Orleans Saints
44–10 at the Louisiana Superdome
in the Wild Card Playoff game. The following week, in the Divisional Playoff game, they beat the 13–2 San Francisco 49ers, 36–24, at Candlestick Park. During that game Anthony Carter set the all-time record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 227 yards. The Vikings played the Washington Redskins
in the NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK Stadium. Trailing 17–10, the Vikings drove to the Redskins' 6-yard line with a little over a minute left in the game but failed to get the ball into the end zone. Darrin Nelson
dropped a pass from Wade Wilson at the goal line to officially end the Vikings' hopes of a Super Bowl. Nelson would later be traded to the Dallas Cowboys in possibly the worst trade in NFL history, the Herschel Walker deal. The Vikings and Chicago Bears
played a preseason game at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden on August 14, 1988. The Vikings won 28–21.
The Vikings' board of directors added four new members in 1988. Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
, Jaye Dyer, Irwin L. Jacobs
and Carl Pohlad
. They joined Max Winter, John Skoglund, Jack Steele, Sheldon Kaplan and Mike Lynn. Whitney became the new team president, replacing Winter. Winter left the board in 1989 and was replaced by Gerald Schwalbach.
On October 12, 1989, the Vikings acquired
Herschel Walker
from Dallas. The final result of the trade gave the Vikings Walker, a 3rd round choice Mike Jones, a 5th round choice Reggie Thornton and 10th-round choice Pat Newman
in 1990 and a 3rd-round choice in 1991 Jake Reed
, while Dallas received Issiac Holt, David Howard, Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, Alex Stewart, a 1st, 2nd and 6th-round choice in 1990, a 1st and 2nd-round choice in 1991 and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd-round choice in 1992. Two of those selections turned into Emmitt Smith
and Darren Woodson
. Herschel's performance fell short of expectations in his 3 seasons with the Vikings, while the Cowboys rode their draft picks to 3 Super Bowl victories in the early to mid 1990s.
The ownership of the Vikings was restructured on December 16, 1991. Irwin Jacobs and Carl Pohlad sold their shares. The team was now owned by ten people: Roger Headrick (CEO and team president), John Skoglund (his family had owned part of the team since it was founded), Jaye Dyer, Philip Maas, Mike Lynn, Wheelock Whitney, James Binger, Bud Grossman, Elizabeth MacMillan and Carol Sperry. On January 10, 1992, Dennis Green
was named the 5th Head Coach in team history. He came to Minnesota after turning around a struggling Stanford University football program as head coach from 1989 to 1991. In his 10 seasons as the coach of the Vikings, Green won 4 NFC Central division titles, had 8 playoff appearances, 2 NFC Championship game appearances and an all-time record of 97–62. Max Winter,one of the founders of the team died on July 26, 1996.
The Vikings played two American Bowl
preseason games overseas in the 1990s. August 7, 1993 at Olympiastadion
in Berlin, Germany a victory over the Buffalo Bills
20–6. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs
17–9 at the Tokyo Dome
on August 6, 1994.
. The NFL had not been happy with the Vikings' ownership arrangement of ten owners with none owning 30%. The ownership decided to sell the club. At first it appeared that Tom Clancy
would become the new owner. However, his attempt to buy the team fell through. So in July 1998, the team was sold to McCombs, who was from San Antonio, Texas
.
1998 was a year to remember for the Minnesota Vikings. After losing starting quarterback Brad Johnson to a broken leg on a non-play (false start penalty) the Vikings went on to a spectacular offensive season led by quarterback Randall Cunningham
, who had his best NFL season ever, running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter
, and explosive rookie Randy Moss
, the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. This record was later broken by the 2007 Patriots, who scored 589 points. The Vikings finished the season 15–1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
in week nine. In the division playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals
41–21, and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons
, who had finished 14–2. However, kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35 for 35 in the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining and the Vikings leading by a touchdown. That allowed the Falcons to tie the game. The Vikings had one more opportunity to score at the end of regulation, but Head Coach Dennis Green opted to down the ball and go to overtime (even though the Vikings had arguably the most potent offense in NFL history). Atlanta won the toss and went on to win it 30–27 in overtime on Morten Andersen's field goal, which was, coincidentally, also a 38-yarder. The Vikings became the first 15–1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl
.
was given the starting job. He finished the season with an 8–2 record, and led the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team record of 10–6. Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild card game 27–10, and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner
and the St. Louis Rams
in the Divisional match up. The game was a shootout which Minnesota led 17–14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota 35–20 in the second half to win 49–37. St. Louis would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIV
.
, the Vikings had a season in which Robert Smith ran for a team record 1,521 yards with seven touchdowns. The Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while Culpepper was hampered by injury. They would return to the playoffs again for the fifth straight year and after easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, The Vikings were humiliated 41–0 by the New York Giants
in the Conference Championship, In addition, Robert Smith retired at the end of the year, after only playing eight NFL seasons.
died of heat stroke in training camp in Mankato, Minnesota
.
The 2001 season started off with a 24–13 loss to the Carolina Panthers
. This would be the only win for Carolina in 2001, who ended up 1–15. Over the next sixteen weeks, wins for Minnesota were few and far between. Some season highlights included a 35–13 win over the rival Green Bay Packers
in week six, and a week ten victory over the Giants
in which Randy Moss pulled in ten receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns leading to a 28–16 victory. But despite having a 12th ranked offense, their defense was in the bottom five, and the Vikings finished 5–11.
After the disappointing season, the Vikings bought out the contract of Dennis Green, who had become a polarizing force in the Viking fan base despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to the Ravens
.
was named the sixth head coach in Vikings history. Tice was the third of the six Vikings head coaches to be promoted from within the team's coaching ranks but was the first to have actually played for the Vikings.
Bernard H. Ridder Jr, one of the teams founders died on October 10, 2002. Ridder had sold his share of the team in the mid 1970s. In Tice's first season, the Vikings had a dismal 6–10 record, which he turned around in 2003 with a fast 6–0 start. However, the Vikings struggled in their last ten games, and needed a win heading into the Week 17 game against the 3–12 Arizona Cardinals to secure a playoff spot. On the last play of the game and facing a 4th-down and 25, Wide receiver Nate Poole
caught a 28-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cardinals a 18–17 win. The shocking defeat led to Green Bay winning the division at 10–6, while the Vikings were 9–7, joining the 1978 Washington Redskins
as the only teams to start the season 6–0 and miss the playoffs. The following season the Cardinals hired Dennis Green as their head coach.
amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card matchup, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers
in their first ever playoff meeting, 31–17, becoming the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game, a day after the first such team, the St. Louis Rams
over the Seattle Seahawks
. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles
, ending their season in a game noted for Viking penalties, turnovers, and other miscues.
. However Fowler was not able to purchase the team. Wilf then became the lead owner and Fowler is one of a group of ownership partners.
Minnesota traded WR Randy Moss
to the Oakland Raiders
for linebacker Napoleon Harris
and the Raiders' first and seventh round picks of the 2005 NFL Draft. With the first round pick (number 7) they selected WR Troy Williamson
of South Carolina. A common misconception is the Vikings freed a ton of salary cap
space by trading Moss. The reality is they were already more than $30 million under the cap, and dangerously close to the NFL's salary floor. They actually had to absorb about $7–10 million just to trade Moss. But they still had around $20 million in cap space and signed five new defensive starters to shore up their previously 28th ranked defense. The Vikings fan base wondered if this was the franchise's biggest blunder in team history or one of their greatest moves.
At first, the move looked like a blunder. The Vikings started off by losing their first two games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(24–13) and the Cincinnati Bengals
(37–8). They would win in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints
(33–16), but then they would go on to lose their next two road games to the Atlanta Falcons
(30–10) and their division rival Chicago Bears
(28–3). The Vikings would win at home against fellow division rival Green Bay Packers
23–20 by winning the same way the Packers did last season, which was a last second field goal. However, the Vikes had little to celebrate when in the next week, not only did they lose to the Carolina Panthers
38–13 on the road, but they also lost their star QB Daunte Culpepper
for the season with a knee injury. Culpepper had thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns up at that point. At this point the Vikings were 2–5.
Taking Culpepper's place would be Brad Johnson
(Viking from 1992 to 1998 and quarterback of the Super Bowl XXXVII
champion Buccaneers) and, upon taking over, led the Vikings to a six-game winning streak, including victories over the Detroit Lions
at home (27–14), the New York Giants
(24–21), the Green Bay Packers
at Lambeau Field (20–17, once again on a last second field goal), the Cleveland Browns
(24–12), the Detroit Lions at Ford Field
(21–16), and a 27–13 home victory over the St. Louis Rams
. Johnson ended up with the lowest interception to attempt ratio in Vikings history and the 3rd best passer rating in the NFC. The streak ended with an 18–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, the eventual Super Bowl champions. Christmas Day 2005 will go down as a day Viking fans would much rather forget. After having their chances of winning the NFC North extinguished when the Bears defeated the Packers earlier in the day, the Vikings were officially eliminated from NFC playoff contention with a 30–23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings won their last game of the 2005 season against the Bears, with a 34–10 victory. However, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Tice immediately following the game. They ended up with a 9–7 record and one win away from the playoffs.
in Washington by a field goal, 19–16, and beat the Carolina Panthers
at home, 16–13. They lost their next two games, one to the Chicago Bears
(16–19) and the other to the Buffalo Bills
in Buffalo (12–17).
In week five of the season, the Vikings relied on points scored late in the game to win against the Detroit Lions
. While down 17–3 going into the fourth quarter, the Vikings scored 23 unanswered points, including two defensive touchdowns, resulting in a final score of 26–17.
After a bye in week six, the Vikings won easily over the Seattle Seahawks
in Seattle, 31–13. Chester Taylor
scored the longest touchdown in Vikings history in the win, running 95 yards for the score. A four-week losing streak ensued. The first loss was to the New England Patriots
on Monday Night Football
. 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, 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 loss was especially crushing after a touchdown pass was called back because of a block in the back penalty against Travis Taylor. In week ten, the Vikings lost again as they were outscored 23–17 at home by their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers
.
The following week, fans had anticipated a match up between the Vikings and their former quarterback, Daunte Culpepper
, who was acquired by the Miami Dolphins
in the offseason for a second round draft pick, but Culpepper had been benched in favor of Joey Harrington
three weeks earlier. The Vikings lost their fourth straight game to Miami, 24–20. The game was out of reach after Jason Taylor
returned a 51 yard interception for a touchdown. The Vikings defense set a team record by limiting the Dolphins to −3 yards rushing on 14 carries in the loss. The losing streak finally ended with the Arizona Cardinals
and former Head Coach Dennis Green
in town. The Vikings pulled off a 31–26 win, capped by a Vikings interception in the end zone to end the game. The Cardinals took a 7–0 lead on the first play of the game with a kickoff return touchdown by J. J. Arrington. Following the win over Arizona, the Vikings played the Chicago Bears closely, until the Bears' special teams (a Devin Hester
punt return touchdown) as well as their defense (an interception return touchdown) put the game out of reach; the Vikings lost 23–13. Tarvaris Jackson
made his NFL debut, completing the first pass of his career and finishing the day having completed 3 of 4 passes for 35 yards, with one fumble.
In Week 14, the Vikings pulled off their second win in three weeks, beating the Detroit Lions, 30–20. The Vikings' top running back, Chester Taylor
, was out with bruised ribs, but backup Artose Pinner
had the game of his life against a team that cut him a mere three months ago. He gained 125 yards and had three touchdowns, leading the Vikings to victory. Once again, the Vikings run defense matched a team record set only three weeks earlier by holding the Lions to −3 yards on 10 carries. The Vikings forced six turnovers, and only had two themselves.
Two losses followed—one to the New York Jets
(26–13) and another to the Green Bay Packers (9–7). The game against Green Bay marked Tarvaris Jackson’s first NFL start, as well as the elimination of any playoff possibilities for the Vikings. The Vikings ended the season by getting blown out by the St. Louis Rams, 41–21. The game saw Tarvaris Jackson make his second career start. The Vikings' defense was attempting to set a new NFL record (since the NFL-AFL merger) of giving up the fewest rushing yards per game in one season. This attempt was thwarted by the Rams' rushing attack, led by Stephen Jackson's 142 yards, which accumulated 168 yards on the ground. The Vikings ended the season giving up an average of 61.6 rushing yards per game, which fell behind the record of 60.6 rushing yards per game held by the 2000 Baltimore Ravens
. Their 6–10 record served to solidify a third place finish in the NFC North, as well as the number 7 overall draft pick the in the 2007 NFL Draft
.
, who led the Sooners to the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Peterson made his Vikings regular season debut on September 9, catching a 60-yard screen pass from Tarvaris Jackson that went into the endzone for a touchdown against the troubled Atlanta Falcons at the Metrodome. The Vikings stumbled out of the gate after that huge win over Atlanta, losing to Detroit at Ford Field 20–17 in overtime, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium 13–10, and Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers 23–16 at home. That game between the Packers and Vikings is noteworthy in that quarterback Brett Favre threw touchdown pass #421 (to Greg Jennings
), breaking Dan Marino's mark of 420.
After a three game skid, the Vikings then stormed back by winning against fellow division rival Chicago Bears at Soldier Field 34–31, but then dropped their next two games against the powerful Dallas Cowboys (14–10) and Philadelphia Eagles (23–16). In Week 9, at home to the San Diego Chargers, Adrian Peterson set a new single-game rushing record with 296 yards, breaking Jamal Lewis
' record set on September 14, 2003 (against the Cleveland Browns). Not only that, Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie
returned Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell's 57-yard field goal attempt 109 and a half yards for a touchdown, setting an unbreakable record for the longest single play in NFL history. After losing the next week against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field 34–0 (the first time since 1991 that the Vikings failed to score a point in a regular-season game), the Vikings then made a midseason playoff push by winning the next five games: the Daunte Culpepper-led Oakland Raiders at home (29–22), the New York Giants in the Meadowlands (41–17), the Detroit Lions at home (42–10), the San Francisco 49ers at Monster Park (27–7), and the Chicago Bears at home on Monday Night Football (20–13). However, the Vikings bid for a Wild Card playoff berth ended when they lost to the Washington Redskins 32–21 on NBC's "Sunday Night Football." The Vikings then dropped their final regular season game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field 22–19. However, unlike in 2004, the Vikings had an 8–8 record but did not make the playoffs. Adrian Peterson also won the NFL's Rookie of the Year award.
and Brooks Bollinger
, the Vikings signed veteran Gus Frerotte
, a former Vikings backup from 2003 to 2004, and drafted USC
quarterback John David Booty
. To amp up the passing attack, the Vikings snatched veteran wide receiver Bernard Berrian
away from the Chicago Bears. To stiffen up the defense as well, the Vikings signed former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen
to a six-year, $72.4 million contract.
The Vikings stumbled out of the gate in the first two games of the season, losing to the Green Bay Packers (who were without Brett Favre, who had signed with the Jets, for the first time in 16 years) 24–19 at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football and to Peyton Manning
and the Indianapolis Colts 18–15 at the Vikings' home opener on September 14. However, in a move that drew a lot of praise from Vikings fans, coach Brad Childress benched starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and replaced him with Gus Frerotte. Frerotte would get the Vikings their first win, defeating the Carolina Panthers 20–10 at home. The game is notable in that cornerback Antoine Winfield sacked Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, forcing a fumble that he returned nineteen yards for a touchdown. Childress said after the game that Winfield had had a half-second left, at the time he picked up the football, before it would have been ruled a dead ball and hence an incomplete pass. However, the Vikings then lost to the undefeated Tennessee Titans at LP Field
30–17, and defeated the New Orleans Saints 30–27 on Frerotte's first start on MNF since 1997. The game is notable for Winfield's heroics yet again, returning a blocked field goal 59 yards for a touchdown. It was the first and longest in franchise history. The Vikings then defeated the Detroit Lions 12–10 thanks in part to Ryan Longwell's game-winning 26-yard field goal, but then lost to the Chicago Bears 48–41 at Soldier Field. That game is notable in that the 89 combined total points were the largest ever in the rivalry between the two teams since the Vikings joined the league in 1961.
Following their Week 8 bye, the Vikings easily defeated future Viking quarterback Sage Rosenfels
and the Houston Texans 28–21, and finally beat the Green Bay Packers 28–27 at home in Week 10. The game is notable for Brad Childress' first win against the Packers in his tenure with the Vikings. After losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium
(the host site of Super Bowl XLIII
later in the season) 19–13, a four-week winning streak ensued. The Vikings beat the floundering Jacksonville Jaguars 30–12, the Chicago Bears 34–14 on Sunday Night Football, and the Daunte Culpepper-led Detroit Lions at Ford Field 20–16. However, Gus Frerotte was injured in the Lions game and was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson, who had been sitting out since the Week 2 loss to the Colts. The Vikings proceeded to a solid victory in the desert, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 35–14. Jackson had a career day, throwing four touchdown passes (to Berrian, wide receiver Sidney Rice
, running back Chester Taylor and wide receiver Bobby Wade
respectively). However, in Week 16 the Vikings lost to the Atlanta Falcons 24–17 due in no small favors to the Vikings' many turnovers (six). The Bears tied proceeded to tie the Vikings for the division lead when they beat the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football the next night. So, it came down to the wire when the Vikings hosted the NFC East champion New York Giants at home for the final game of the season. The Vikings refused to display the Bears–Texans score on the Metrodome scoreboard so that the players would not get distracted, and as such the Vikings won the game 20–19 thanks in large part to Ryan Longwell's game-winning 51-yard field goal. The win made the Vikings the NFC North champions for the 17th time and for the first time since 2000 (when it was called the NFC Central). But the ensuing playoff match with Philadelphia turned into a disaster when Brad Childress decided to pull Gus Frerotte and replace him as starting QB with Tavaris Jackson despite frantic protests from the team. Jackson performed poorly and the Eagles won it 26–14.
Despite the mistakes and crushing hits to Favre (who suffered a painful ankle injury), the Vikings drove to the Saints' 33-yard-line with seconds remaining in regulation. However, after Minnesota called a time out, they were penalized for allowing 12 men in the huddle. On the next play, Favre threw across the middle and was intercepted by New Orleans cornerback Tracey Porter, ending the potential game-winning field goal attempt with seven seconds left in regulation. In overtime, New Orleans won the coin toss and drove down field and kicked a 38-yard field goal, bringing the final score to 31–28 and sending them to the Super Bowl.
Afterwards, Randy Moss strongly criticized the Vikings front office, describing it as being incompetent. He was then cut from the roster, ending a three-week return to his former team. Two days later, Tennessee signed Moss after 20 other teams turned him down. Meanwhile, the Vikings headed back home to host Arizona, prevailing in a 27–24 overtime win. Brett Favre surprised everyone by passing for 446 yards (a career high), 36 passes (also a career high) and two touchdowns. The win also was good luck for Brad Childress, who had been coming under increased criticism for his coaching ability. However, the next game against Chicago was a 27–13 loss as the Vikings' inability to win on the road continued, virtually excluding them from playoff contention. After his impressive Week 10 performance, Brett Favre's numbers shrank back to one touchdown, three interceptions, and only 170 yards. The next week the vikings travaled to Green Bay in Week 12 with their playoff hopes riding on the game. The Vikings got off to a quick start shutting down green bay's offense and leading 3–0 at the end of the first quarter. However the game turned in favor of the Packers when Farve threw an interception in the second guarter and went on to be crushed 31–3. This final disaster sealed Childress's fate, and he was fired the next day, November 22. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier
was named interim head coach. Things got off to a decent start under the new coach when the Vikings won 17–13 in Washington, breaking their road losing streak. Brett Favre made a surprise 10-yard run to pick up the game-winning first down. Afterwards, the team returned home to face Buffalo in Week 13. On the first play of the game, Favre was knocked out with a shoulder injury. Tavaris Jackson took over and led Minnesota to a 38–14 victory despite throwing three interceptions. Meanwhile, Favre was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder. He nonetheless expressed his willingness to play the Giants in Week 14 for his 298th consecutive start.
However, fate would take a bizarre turn when the Midwestern United States was blasted with a snowstorm on the weekend of December 11–12. The Giants could not reach Minnesota in time, forcing the game to be moved to Monday night. Then on Sunday, the Metrodome's inflatable roof collapsed under the weight of 10 feet of snow. After considering several alternate sites, the NFL settled on Detroit's Ford Field for the game.
Speculation as to whether Brett Favre would play came to a surprise end when he announced that, due to numbness in his throwing hand, he was going to sit out, ending his consecutive start record at 297 games. For the first time since September 1992, Favre stepped onto the field with a clipboard in hand and no uniform on as Tavaris Jackson took over. However, he was not able to accomplish much as the Giants routed Minnesota 21–3, completely removing them from playoff contention.
Meanwhile, it was announced that the Metrodome's roof could not be fixed in time for the upcoming Monday Night game with Chicago. Thus, the NFL made the controversial decision to hold the game at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, an outdoor facility that would subject players and fans to Minnesota's harsh winter weather, and making for the Vikings' first open-air home game since December 1981. Attempting to remedy their poor QB situation, the team signed veteran free agent Patrick Ramsey
. Meanwhile, Tavaris Jackson was placed on injured reserve due to a toe injury sustained in the Giants game. Favre remained on the bench as Joe Webb was chosen to start in the Bears game. But on the eve of the game, Favre announced his willingness to play and proceeded to take the field. After only a few minutes, he was taken away after being knocked into the frozen ground and concussed. The Bears easily won the game 40-17. Despite dire predictions, Joe Webb managed to lead Minnesota past the playoff-bound Eagles in Week 16, but they lost the final game in Detroit to close 2010 at 6-10 and 4th in the NFC North.
with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Aside from drafting Ponder, the Vikings also had to deal with a league lockout that lasted from March to July. As soon as it ended, they officially released Tavaris Jackson and Sidney Rice, both of whom immediately found new homes in Seattle. Most importantly, the team acquired veteran QB Donovan McNabb from Washington with the intention of him starting until either Ponder or Webb were deemed ready enough.
The Vikings had a disastrous start to 2011 when they lost in San Diego 24-17. McNabb threw for a meager 39 yards and only one pass greater than 10 yards. A 103 yard Percy Harvin kick return was the highlight of the game. In Week 2, the Buccaneers beat Minnesota 24-20 and their fortunes continued to slide in Week 3 as Detroit rallied from a 20-0 deficit to win in OT 23-20 and end a 9-game losing streak against the Vikings, who now got off to their first 0-3 start since 1967. Minnesota headed to Kansas City in Week 4 hoping for a victory over the winless Chiefs, but the game was another loss at 22-17, and the Vikings now began 0-4 for the first time since 1962 (the franchise's second year of existence).
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
club of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL).
Origins
Professional footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen – Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund and Max Winter
Max Winter
Max Winter was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive. Winter was born in Austria-Hungary and his family emigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Winter graduated from high school in 1922...
– were awarded a franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
in the new American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
. Five months later, on January 27, 1960, the ownership group, along with Bernie Ridder forfeited its AFL membership and then on January 28, 1960 was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise with play to begin in 1961. Ole Haugsrud
Ole Haugsrud
Ole Haugsrud was an American sports executive. Haugsrud was born in Superior, Wisconsin. There is also a field in Superior, Wisconsin called Ole Haugsrud Field. The Superior High School Spartans and University of Wisconsin–Superior Yellowjackets play there. Haugsrud was owner of the Duluth Eskimos...
was added to the NFL team ownership because of an agreement he had with the NFL since the 1920s when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league. The agreement allowed him 10% of any future Minnesota team.
1960s: The Vikings' humble beginnings
Bill Boyer served as the team president from 1960 to 1964. Joe Thomas was hired as head scout. Minnesota's first management team was led by general manager (GM) Bert RoseBert Rose
Bert E. Rose Jr was an football executive. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1941. He later worked as an assistant athletic director for sports publicity at Washington. He was the director of public relations with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL. He was named the first general...
, who was appointed as GM on August 5, 1960. In an article on August 6, 1960 in the Minneapolis Tribune, it was reported that the team would use the name "Minnesota" instead of "Minneapolis-St. Paul". The article also stated that several nicknames were suggested for the team, including "Chippewas", "Miners", "Vikings" and "Voyageurs". The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American
Scandinavian American
Scandinavian Americans are Americans with ancestral roots in Scandinavia...
culture. From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced a first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of the 40,800-seat capacity of Metropolitan (Met) Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
in Bloomington
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
. Eventually Met Stadium capacity was increased to 47,900. On January 18, 1961, the Vikings named Norm Van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin
Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...
as head coach, though Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
had been a candidate for the job.
The Vikings played their first game, an exhibition game, against the Dallas Cowboys on August 5, 1961. The game was played at Howard Wood Field
Howard Wood Field
Howard Wood Field is a stadium in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, constructed in 1957. Holding 10,000 people, it is one of the premier American football and track facilities in the region...
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
. The Vikings won their first regular-season game, defeating the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
37–13 on Opening Day 1961
1961 NFL season
The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...
. Rookie Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....
replaced starting quarterback George Shaw
George Shaw (American football)
George Howard Shaw was an American football quarterback who played seven seasons in the National Football League.-Early life:...
to throw four touchdown passes
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
and run for another to lead the upset. Reality set in as the expansion team lost its next seven games on their way to a 3–11 record.
Rose resigned from his position as GM on June 1, 1964. Jim Finks
Jim Finks
James Edward Finks was an American sports executive, primarily for American Professional Football.-Biography:...
, then general manager of the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
, was named his successor on September 11, 1964. The Vikings had their first winning season in 1964
1964 NFL season
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
, finishing with 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. The 1964 season is also remembered for a game played at San Francisco against the 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in which Jim Marshall
Jim Marshall (American football)
James "Jim" Lawrence Marshall played college football at the Ohio State University. He left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns...
picked up a fumble and ran it to the wrong end zone. He thought he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, but instead had scored a safety for the 49ers. The Vikings did go on to win the game 27–22. 1964 was also the only season that the Vikings wore white jerseys at home games. This led to confusion when the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
came to Bloomington with only their white jerseys. The game started with both teams wearing white jerseys. The Vikings retrieved their purple jerseys from Midway Stadium
Midway Stadium
Midway Stadium is the name of two different minor league baseball parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one now demolished and the other still in active use. The name derives from the location of the stadium in St. Paul's Midway area, so named because it's roughly halfway between the downtowns of...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. The Vikings changed from white jerseys to purple jerseys on the sidelines. That led to the Vikings wearing all-purple uniforms.
Max Winter
Max Winter
Max Winter was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive. Winter was born in Austria-Hungary and his family emigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Winter graduated from high school in 1922...
became the team president in 1965. In November of that year, the volatile Van Brocklin quit one day after the team had been eliminated from the postseason in a 41–21 defeat to the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, but came back 24 hours later. Two months after that brief departure, Van Brocklin signed a new contract that would keep him with the franchise through 1970, but then quit for good, abruptly announcing his departure on February 11, 1967, saying he had lost control of the team. Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
, became the new Vikings coach on March 10, 1967.
On March 7, 1967, Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for a first and second-round draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
choice in 1967, a first-round choice in 1968 and a second-round choice in 1969. With these picks, Minnesota selected Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in 1967, Ron Yary
Ron Yary
Anthony Ronald "Ron" Yary is a former professional American football offensive tackle, playing primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001...
in 1968 and Ed White in 1969.
During the late 1960s, the Vikings were building a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters is a term for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to a popular song from 1958, the superb efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms...
, led by Alan Page
Alan Page
Alan Cedric Page is a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1963, received his B.A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, and received his J.D. from the University of...
, Carl Eller
Carl Eller
Carl Eller is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended the University of Minnesota...
, Gary Larsen
Gary Larsen
Gary Larsen was a defensive tackle in the NFL and played college football at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. He started his NFL career in 1964 with the Los Angeles Rams and then became a part of the famous Purple People Eaters for the Minnesota Vikings from 1965 through 1974...
, and Jim Marshall. In 1968
1968 Minnesota Vikings season
1968 was the eighth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 49th regular season of the National Football League. Under head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings won the NFL Central Division title with a record of eight wins and six losses, as they qualified for post-season play for the...
, that stingy defense earned the Vikings their first Central Division title and their first playoff berth. They lost to Baltimore
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the Western Conference championship game.
In 1969
1969 NFL season
The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...
the Vikings earned a 12–2 record, the best in the NFL. An opening game one-point to loss the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, quarterbacked by former Viking Fran Tarkenton, was followed by twelve consecutive wins. The Vikings played their first regular season game in Minneapolis, when the October 5 game against the Packers was moved to Memorial Stadium. That game also saw a than record home crowd of 60,740. The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
27–7 in the NFL Championship Game on January 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game, which earned the team a berth in Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
. The heavily favored Vikings lost that game to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, 23–7 at Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium" where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located...
in New Orleans.
1970s: The Purple People Eaters
The team continued to shine in 19701970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
and 1971
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...
as their "Purple People Eater" defense led them back to the playoffs. In 1971, the defense was so impressive that Alan Page became only the first defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award
NFL Most Valuable Player Award
The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...
(MVP). The first post-merger game was a rematch with Kansas City, which the Vikings won 27–10. However, Joe Kapp had been traded away during the 1970 off-season and his replacement Gary Cuozzo delivered some quite mediocre performances. Nonetheless, the defense carried the team to a 12–2 regular season and the top of the newly-created NFC Central division. They lost the divisional round of the playoffs to San Francisco 17–14. Continued strong defense made up for Cuozzo's shortcomings as the Vikings won their division again in 1971 with an 11–3 record. For the second year in a row, they lost the divisional round at home, this time to Dallas (the score being 20–12).
During this period, the issue of a new stadium began to surface. Metropolitan Stadium had originally been designed for minor-league baseball and was inadequate for an NFL team, seating 48,500 when the league now required a capacity of at least 50,000. Also, the stadium experienced harsh weather conditions late in the season. As the coldest venue in the NFL, it provided a considerable home-field advantage to the Vikings, but was miserable for players, staff, and fans after October. However, no replacement was available for the time being.
On January 27, 1972
1972 NFL season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:...
the Vikings decided to get Fran Tarkenton back. In exchange for him, they traded Norm Snead
Norm Snead
Norman Bailey Snead is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for Wake Forest University and was drafted in the first round of...
, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and a 1st-round choice in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants. While the acquisitions of Tarkenton and wide receiver John Gilliam
John Gilliam
John Rally Gilliam was an American football wide receiver.Gilliam was a receiver out of South Carolina State University, and was drafted in the second round by the expansion New Orleans Saints. He played his first two seasons in New Orleans, and then had stints with the St...
improved the passing attack, the running game was inconsistent and the Vikings finished with a disappointing 7–7 record. The Vikings addressed the problem by drafting running back Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman is a retired NFL football player.He was a running back during his NFL career, although he often caught passes out of the backfield.-Early career:...
with their first pick in the 1973 draft. Co-owner Bill Boyer died on February 19, 1973 and was replaced on the team's board of directors by his son-in-law Jack Steele.
The Vikings won their first 9 games of 1973
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
and finished the season with a 12–2 record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
27–20 and the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
27–10. On January 13, 1974, the Vikings played the 2nd Super Bowl in franchise history, Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII was a professional American football game played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium. in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 1973 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins defeated the National Football...
, against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
at Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. The Dolphins prevailed 24–7.
The Vikings won the Central Division again in 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
with a 10–4 record. In the playoffs, they built on their cold weather reputation, defeating both the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
30–14 and the Los Angeles Rams 14–10 in frozen Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings played in their 2nd straight Super Bowl, Super Bowl IX
Super Bowl IX
Super Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
(3rd overall), losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, 16–6, at Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium" where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located...
in New Orleans on January 12, 1975.
In 1975
1975 NFL season
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...
, the Vikings, led by MVP Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman is a retired NFL football player.He was a running back during his NFL career, although he often caught passes out of the backfield.-Early career:...
, finished 12–2, losing only to Detroit and Washington while remaining undefeated until late in the season. However, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, 17–14, on a controversial touchdown pass from the Cowboys' quarterback Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach
Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...
to wide receiver Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson (American football)
Drew Pearson is a sportscaster and former American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.-Early years:...
that became known as the Hail Mary
Hail Mary pass
A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....
. On the Vikings' next possession, Tarkenton was sacked just short of the end zone as he stepped back to pass, but the referees refused to penalize Dallas for pass interference. Afterwards, angry fans pelted the field with snowballs and one referee was struck in the head with a beer bottle, mimicking an incident two weeks earlier during the regular season ender in Buffalo where Chuck Foreman was hit in the eye with a snowball.
The Vikings finished 11–2–1 in 1976, winning their division once again and beating Washington at home 35–20 in the last playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium. They then won the NFC Championship in Los Angeles over the Rams 24–13 to advance to their third Super Bowl in four years. However, a championship continued to elude them when they lost to Oakland 32–14 at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
in Pasadena, CA on January 9, 1977. Co-owner Ole Haugsrud died on March 13, 1976 and his widow Margaret took his place on the team's board of directors. In 1977, team attorney Sheldon Kaplan replaced Ridder on the board. In 1978, John Skoglund replaced his father on the team's board of director and general manager Mike Lynn replaced Margaret Haugsrud on the board.
In 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
, Minnesota again won the Central with a 9–5 record, but the team was showing signs of age. Fran Tarkenton had torn his ACL in the previous season's playoff game with the Redskins and lost the ability to perform his trademark scrambling. After years of beating the Los Angeles Rams in frozen Metropolitan Stadium, they finally had to go to Los Angeles for the divisional round due to receiving the #3 playoff seed and being denied home advantage. Instead of bright sunshine there was heavy rains that turned the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
into a mud bath and the Vikings prevailed 14–7. On January 1, 1978, the Vikings played the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in their 4th NFC Championship Game in 5 years at Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
. Minnesota lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champs, 23–6.
By 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
, age was taking its toll on the Vikings, but they still took advantage of a weak division to make the playoffs with an 8–7–1 record. The team had all-but run out of gas as the Rams finally defeated them 34–10 in Los Angeles. Fran Tarkenton retired at the end of the season just short of his 39th birthday. With Tommy Kramer
Tommy Kramer
Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...
taking over as QB, the Vikings fell to a 7–9 record in 1979. After that season ended, DE Jim Marshall, the last of the inaugural 1961 team, retired.
The Minnesota legislature finally approved a new stadium in 1979, and construction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome began in December 1979. A dome facility was chosen because of the harsh Minnesota winters and because it could be used for a much wider variety of activities than an outdoor facility.
1980s: Ups and downs
In 1980, the Vikings won the division again with a 9–7 record, but lost the divisional round in Philadelphia 31–16. On May 15, 1981, the Vikings moved into a new facility in suburban Eden PrairieEden Prairie, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...
that houses the team's offices, locker room and practice fields. The complex was named "Winter Park" after Max Winter, one of the Vikings founders who served as the team's president from 1965 to 1987. The Vikings played their 1st game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in a preseason matchup against Seattle on August 21, 1982; Minnesota prevailed 7–3. The 1st touchdown in the new facility was scored by Joe Senser on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer
Tommy Kramer
Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...
. The 1st regular-season game in the Metrodome was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the Vikings defeated Tampa Bay, 17–10. Rickey Young scored the 1st regular-season touchdown in the facility on a 3-yard run in the 2nd quarter.
The Vikings and St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
played the first American football game in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Wembley Stadium in a preseason game on August 6, 1983. The game was the dubbed the "Global Cup". The Vikings won 28–10. This was three years before the NFL started the American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
series. On January 27, 1984, Bud Grant retired as Head Coach of the Vikings. In 17 seasons, Grant led Minnesota to 12 playoff appearances, 11 division titles and 4 Super Bowls. His career regular-season record was 151–87–5 (.632). The person that would take his place would be Les Steckel.
Les Steckel
Les Steckel
Les Steckel was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1984. He has also worked as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.-Biography:...
, who was an offensive assistant with the Vikings for 5 seasons, was named the 3rd head coach in franchise history on January 29, 1984. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach in the NFL in 1984 at age 38. The Vikings lost a franchise-worst 13 games in Steckel's only season as head coach. After the season, Steckel was fired and on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant was re-hired as the head coach of the Vikings.
On January 6, 1986, following the 1985 season, Bud Grant re-retired as head coach of the Vikings. At the time of his retirement he was the 6th winningest coach in NFL history with 168 career wins, including playoffs. In 18 seasons, he led the Vikings to a 158–96–5 regular season record. Longtime Vikings assistant coach Jerry Burns
Jerry Burns
Jerome Monahan "Jerry" Burns is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa, from 1961 to 1965, compiling record of 16–27–2, and for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL from 1986 to 1991, tallying a mark of...
was named the 4th head coach in team history on January 7, 1986. He served as the Vikings offensive coordinator from 1968 to 1985, when the team won 11 division titles and played in 4 Super Bowls. In his first season, the Vikings led by the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Kramer
Tommy Kramer
Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...
, went 9–7, their first winning record in 4 years. In his second season, he led the Vikings to the NFC championship game.
Following the strike-shortened 1987 season, the 8–7 Vikings—who had finished 8–4 in regular games but 0–3 using strike-replacement players—pulled two upsets in the playoffs by beating the two teams with the best regular season records. They beat the 12–3 New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
44–10 at the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
in the Wild Card Playoff game. The following week, in the Divisional Playoff game, they beat the 13–2 San Francisco 49ers, 36–24, at Candlestick Park. During that game Anthony Carter set the all-time record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 227 yards. The Vikings played the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in the NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK Stadium. Trailing 17–10, the Vikings drove to the Redskins' 6-yard line with a little over a minute left in the game but failed to get the ball into the end zone. Darrin Nelson
Darrin Nelson
Darren Milo Nelson is a former professional American football player in the National Football League....
dropped a pass from Wade Wilson at the goal line to officially end the Vikings' hopes of a Super Bowl. Nelson would later be traded to the Dallas Cowboys in possibly the worst trade in NFL history, the Herschel Walker deal. The Vikings and Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
played a preseason game at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden on August 14, 1988. The Vikings won 28–21.
The Vikings' board of directors added four new members in 1988. Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
Wheelock "Whee" Whitney, Jr. is a Minneapolis businessman, educator, sports team executive and owner, philanthropist and politician who attended Phillips Andover and Yale University with George H.W. Bush. He and Bush were both members of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale...
, Jaye Dyer, Irwin L. Jacobs
Irwin L. Jacobs
Irwin L Jacobs is an entrepreneur and the CEO of several large corporations, including Genmar Holdings, Inc. the worlds largest boat building company. He earned the nickname "Irv the Liquidator" for his aggressive business practices in the 1970s and early 1980s...
and Carl Pohlad
Carl Pohlad
Carl R. Pohlad was a successful financier and the owner of the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise from 1984 until his death in 2009.-Early life:...
. They joined Max Winter, John Skoglund, Jack Steele, Sheldon Kaplan and Mike Lynn. Whitney became the new team president, replacing Winter. Winter left the board in 1989 and was replaced by Gerald Schwalbach.
On October 12, 1989, the Vikings acquired
Herschel Walker trade
The Herschel Walker trade, also known as "The Great Train Robbery", was the largest player trade in the history of the National Football League. It involved 18 players and draft picks...
Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker
Herschel Junior Walker is an American mixed martial artist and a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and earned the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He began his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League...
from Dallas. The final result of the trade gave the Vikings Walker, a 3rd round choice Mike Jones, a 5th round choice Reggie Thornton and 10th-round choice Pat Newman
Pat Newman
Pat Newman was the first head women’s tennis coach at Louisiana State University. Newman recorded an overall record of 71-24 in four seasons as head coach of the Lady Tigers, including the Louisiana AIAW Championships in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Her team was the Louisiana AIAW Runner-Up in 1979. She...
in 1990 and a 3rd-round choice in 1991 Jake Reed
Jake Reed
Willis "Jake" Reed is a former professional American football player who played for 12 seasons in the National Football League as a wide receiver from 1991 to 2002 for the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints.Reed played football collegiately at Grambling State University and was selected...
, while Dallas received Issiac Holt, David Howard, Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, Alex Stewart, a 1st, 2nd and 6th-round choice in 1990, a 1st and 2nd-round choice in 1991 and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd-round choice in 1992. Two of those selections turned into Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
and Darren Woodson
Darren Woodson
Darren Ray Woodson is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He played his entire career for the Dallas Cowboys from 1992 to 2004...
. Herschel's performance fell short of expectations in his 3 seasons with the Vikings, while the Cowboys rode their draft picks to 3 Super Bowl victories in the early to mid 1990s.
1990–1997: Final Jerry Burns years and early Dennis Green years
Roger Headrick became team president on January 1, 1991. He along with Philip Maas joined the board of directors replacing Jack Steele and Sheldon Kaplan. On December 3, 1991, Jerry Burns announced his retirement effective at the end of the 1991 season. In 6 seasons as Head Coach of the Vikings, Burns compiled a career record of 52–43 (.547). He also led Minnesota to 3 playoff appearances, including a division title and an NFC Championship Game.The ownership of the Vikings was restructured on December 16, 1991. Irwin Jacobs and Carl Pohlad sold their shares. The team was now owned by ten people: Roger Headrick (CEO and team president), John Skoglund (his family had owned part of the team since it was founded), Jaye Dyer, Philip Maas, Mike Lynn, Wheelock Whitney, James Binger, Bud Grossman, Elizabeth MacMillan and Carol Sperry. On January 10, 1992, Dennis Green
Dennis Green
Dennis "Denny" Green is an American football head coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League...
was named the 5th Head Coach in team history. He came to Minnesota after turning around a struggling Stanford University football program as head coach from 1989 to 1991. In his 10 seasons as the coach of the Vikings, Green won 4 NFC Central division titles, had 8 playoff appearances, 2 NFC Championship game appearances and an all-time record of 97–62. Max Winter,one of the founders of the team died on July 26, 1996.
The Vikings played two American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
preseason games overseas in the 1990s. August 7, 1993 at Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Berlin)
The Olympiastadion is a sports stadium in Berlin, Germany. There have been two stadiums on the site: the present facility, and one that is called the Deutsches Stadion which was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March...
in Berlin, Germany a victory over the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
20–6. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
17–9 at the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
on August 6, 1994.
1998: 15–1: The year that could have been
Prior to the start of the 1998 season, the Vikings were sold to Red McCombsRed McCombs
Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
. The NFL had not been happy with the Vikings' ownership arrangement of ten owners with none owning 30%. The ownership decided to sell the club. At first it appeared that Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
would become the new owner. However, his attempt to buy the team fell through. So in July 1998, the team was sold to McCombs, who was from San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
1998 was a year to remember for the Minnesota Vikings. After losing starting quarterback Brad Johnson to a broken leg on a non-play (false start penalty) the Vikings went on to a spectacular offensive season led by quarterback Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham
Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...
, who had his best NFL season ever, running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter
Cris Carter
Cristopher D. Carter is a former American football player in the National Football League. He played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles , the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins ....
, and explosive rookie Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
, the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. This record was later broken by the 2007 Patriots, who scored 589 points. The Vikings finished the season 15–1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
in week nine. In the division playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
41–21, and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who had finished 14–2. However, kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35 for 35 in the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining and the Vikings leading by a touchdown. That allowed the Falcons to tie the game. The Vikings had one more opportunity to score at the end of regulation, but Head Coach Dennis Green opted to down the ball and go to overtime (even though the Vikings had arguably the most potent offense in NFL history). Atlanta won the toss and went on to win it 30–27 in overtime on Morten Andersen's field goal, which was, coincidentally, also a 38-yarder. The Vikings became the first 15–1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion, following the 1998 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football...
.
1999: Back to the playoffs
Randall Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a 2–4 start, Jeff GeorgeJeff George
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" George is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft...
was given the starting job. He finished the season with an 8–2 record, and led the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team record of 10–6. Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild card game 27–10, and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner is a retired American football player. He played quarterback for three National Football League teams: the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994 after playing...
and the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
in the Divisional match up. The game was a shootout which Minnesota led 17–14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota 35–20 in the second half to win 49–37. St. Louis would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
.
2000: Back to the NFC Championship
Led by first-year starting quarterback Daunte CulpepperDaunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
, the Vikings had a season in which Robert Smith ran for a team record 1,521 yards with seven touchdowns. The Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while Culpepper was hampered by injury. They would return to the playoffs again for the fifth straight year and after easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, The Vikings were humiliated 41–0 by the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the Conference Championship, In addition, Robert Smith retired at the end of the year, after only playing eight NFL seasons.
2001: Tragedy and hope
Tragedy struck the Minnesota Vikings in the summer of 2001, when Offensive Lineman Korey StringerKorey Stringer
Korey Damont Stringer was an American football player who died from complications brought on by heat stroke, during training camp in Mankato, Minnesota while in training camp with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.-College career:Stringer was born in Warren, Ohio and attended...
died of heat stroke in training camp in Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
.
The 2001 season started off with a 24–13 loss to the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. This would be the only win for Carolina in 2001, who ended up 1–15. Over the next sixteen weeks, wins for Minnesota were few and far between. Some season highlights included a 35–13 win over the rival Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in week six, and a week ten victory over the Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in which Randy Moss pulled in ten receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns leading to a 28–16 victory. But despite having a 12th ranked offense, their defense was in the bottom five, and the Vikings finished 5–11.
After the disappointing season, the Vikings bought out the contract of Dennis Green, who had become a polarizing force in the Viking fan base despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to the Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
.
2002–2003: Tice's early struggles
On January 10, 2002, Mike TiceMike Tice
Michael Peter Tice is an American football National Football League coach, best known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.-Playing career:...
was named the sixth head coach in Vikings history. Tice was the third of the six Vikings head coaches to be promoted from within the team's coaching ranks but was the first to have actually played for the Vikings.
Bernard H. Ridder Jr, one of the teams founders died on October 10, 2002. Ridder had sold his share of the team in the mid 1970s. In Tice's first season, the Vikings had a dismal 6–10 record, which he turned around in 2003 with a fast 6–0 start. However, the Vikings struggled in their last ten games, and needed a win heading into the Week 17 game against the 3–12 Arizona Cardinals to secure a playoff spot. On the last play of the game and facing a 4th-down and 25, Wide receiver Nate Poole
Nate Poole
Nathan "Nate" Poole is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
caught a 28-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cardinals a 18–17 win. The shocking defeat led to Green Bay winning the division at 10–6, while the Vikings were 9–7, joining the 1978 Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
as the only teams to start the season 6–0 and miss the playoffs. The following season the Cardinals hired Dennis Green as their head coach.
2004: Playoffs and Culpepper's historic season
As in the 2003 season, the Vikings finished the season going 3–7 over the final 10 weeks. Unlike 2003, however, they made the playoffs with an 8–8 record. Daunte CulpepperDaunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card matchup, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in their first ever playoff meeting, 31–17, becoming the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game, a day after the first such team, the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
over the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, ending their season in a game noted for Viking penalties, turnovers, and other miscues.
2005: New owners
McCombs sold the team to a group led by Zygi Wilf in May 2005. Wilf was originally going to be a limited partner to Reggie FowlerReggie Fowler
Reggie Fowler was born Reginald Dennis Fowler in February, 1959, to Al and Eloise Fowler – one of five children. Reggie is an African-American businessman who currently resides in Chandler, Arizona. He is the owner of Chandler-based and Kyrene OEM, LLC in nearby Tempe.When his father, Al,...
. However Fowler was not able to purchase the team. Wilf then became the lead owner and Fowler is one of a group of ownership partners.
Minnesota traded WR Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
to the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for linebacker Napoleon Harris
Napoleon Harris
Napoleon Bill Harris is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Northwestern and was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 NFL Draft....
and the Raiders' first and seventh round picks of the 2005 NFL Draft. With the first round pick (number 7) they selected WR Troy Williamson
Troy Williamson
-Minnesota Vikings:The Vikings needed a receiver with deep speed after trading Randy Moss to Oakland, drafting Williamson with the 7th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft...
of South Carolina. A common misconception is the Vikings freed a ton of salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
space by trading Moss. The reality is they were already more than $30 million under the cap, and dangerously close to the NFL's salary floor. They actually had to absorb about $7–10 million just to trade Moss. But they still had around $20 million in cap space and signed five new defensive starters to shore up their previously 28th ranked defense. The Vikings fan base wondered if this was the franchise's biggest blunder in team history or one of their greatest moves.
At first, the move looked like a blunder. The Vikings started off by losing their first two games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
(24–13) and the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
(37–8). They would win in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
(33–16), but then they would go on to lose their next two road games to the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(30–10) and their division rival Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(28–3). The Vikings would win at home against fellow division rival Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
23–20 by winning the same way the Packers did last season, which was a last second field goal. However, the Vikes had little to celebrate when in the next week, not only did they lose to the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
38–13 on the road, but they also lost their star QB Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
for the season with a knee injury. Culpepper had thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns up at that point. At this point the Vikings were 2–5.
Taking Culpepper's place would be Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson (American football)
James Bradley Johnson is a former National Football League Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.-Early years:Brad went to Charles D...
(Viking from 1992 to 1998 and quarterback of the Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
champion Buccaneers) and, upon taking over, led the Vikings to a six-game winning streak, including victories over the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
at home (27–14), the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(24–21), the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at Lambeau Field (20–17, once again on a last second field goal), the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(24–12), the Detroit Lions at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
(21–16), and a 27–13 home victory over the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. Johnson ended up with the lowest interception to attempt ratio in Vikings history and the 3rd best passer rating in the NFC. The streak ended with an 18–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, the eventual Super Bowl champions. Christmas Day 2005 will go down as a day Viking fans would much rather forget. After having their chances of winning the NFC North extinguished when the Bears defeated the Packers earlier in the day, the Vikings were officially eliminated from NFC playoff contention with a 30–23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings won their last game of the 2005 season against the Bears, with a 34–10 victory. However, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Tice immediately following the game. They ended up with a 9–7 record and one win away from the playoffs.
2006: Brad Childress is hired
Prior to the 2006 season, the Vikings hired Brad Childress as the 7th head coach in Vikings history. The Vikings started their season with two narrow victories.They edged the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in Washington by a field goal, 19–16, and beat the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
at home, 16–13. They lost their next two games, one to the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(16–19) and the other to the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Buffalo (12–17).
In week five of the season, the Vikings relied on points scored late in the game to win against the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. While down 17–3 going into the fourth quarter, the Vikings scored 23 unanswered points, including two defensive touchdowns, resulting in a final score of 26–17.
After a bye in week six, the Vikings won easily over the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
in Seattle, 31–13. Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor
Chester Lamar Taylor also known as "Che Tay" is an American football running back of the National Football League who is currently on the Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
scored the longest touchdown in Vikings history in the win, running 95 yards for the score. A four-week losing streak ensued. The first loss was to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. 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, 31–7. Minnesota's only score came off Mewelde Moore
Mewelde Moore
Mewelde Jaem Cadere Moore is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
's 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. The following week saw a 9–3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. The loss was especially crushing after a touchdown pass was called back because of a block in the back penalty against Travis Taylor. In week ten, the Vikings lost again as they were outscored 23–17 at home by their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
The following week, fans had anticipated a match up between the Vikings and their former quarterback, Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
, who was acquired by the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the offseason for a second round draft pick, but Culpepper had been benched in favor of Joey Harrington
Joey Harrington
John Joseph "Joey" Harrington, Jr. is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions third overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, where he played for most of his professional career. He ranks third all-time in Detroit history in pass completions, with 986...
three weeks earlier. The Vikings lost their fourth straight game to Miami, 24–20. The game was out of reach after Jason Taylor
Jason Taylor (American football)
Jason Paul Taylor is an American football linebacker who currently plays for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft...
returned a 51 yard interception for a touchdown. The Vikings defense set a team record by limiting the Dolphins to −3 yards rushing on 14 carries in the loss. The losing streak finally ended with the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and former Head Coach Dennis Green
Dennis Green
Dennis "Denny" Green is an American football head coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League...
in town. The Vikings pulled off a 31–26 win, capped by a Vikings interception in the end zone to end the game. The Cardinals took a 7–0 lead on the first play of the game with a kickoff return touchdown by J. J. Arrington. Following the win over Arizona, the Vikings played the Chicago Bears closely, until the Bears' special teams (a Devin Hester
Devin Hester
Devin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...
punt return touchdown) as well as their defense (an interception return touchdown) put the game out of reach; the Vikings lost 23–13. Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris DeAndre Jackson is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
made his NFL debut, completing the first pass of his career and finishing the day having completed 3 of 4 passes for 35 yards, with one fumble.
In Week 14, the Vikings pulled off their second win in three weeks, beating the Detroit Lions, 30–20. The Vikings' top running back, Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor
Chester Lamar Taylor also known as "Che Tay" is an American football running back of the National Football League who is currently on the Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
, was out with bruised ribs, but backup Artose Pinner
Artose Pinner
Artose Deonce Pinner is an American football running back who is currently a free-agent. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
had the game of his life against a team that cut him a mere three months ago. He gained 125 yards and had three touchdowns, leading the Vikings to victory. Once again, the Vikings run defense matched a team record set only three weeks earlier by holding the Lions to −3 yards on 10 carries. The Vikings forced six turnovers, and only had two themselves.
Two losses followed—one to the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(26–13) and another to the Green Bay Packers (9–7). The game against Green Bay marked Tarvaris Jackson’s first NFL start, as well as the elimination of any playoff possibilities for the Vikings. The Vikings ended the season by getting blown out by the St. Louis Rams, 41–21. The game saw Tarvaris Jackson make his second career start. The Vikings' defense was attempting to set a new NFL record (since the NFL-AFL merger) of giving up the fewest rushing yards per game in one season. This attempt was thwarted by the Rams' rushing attack, led by Stephen Jackson's 142 yards, which accumulated 168 yards on the ground. The Vikings ended the season giving up an average of 61.6 rushing yards per game, which fell behind the record of 60.6 rushing yards per game held by the 2000 Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
. Their 6–10 record served to solidify a third place finish in the NFC North, as well as the number 7 overall draft pick the in the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
.
2007: Adrian Peterson comes to town
With the seventh worst record in the 2006 NFL season, the Vikings selected prized running back Adrian Peterson out of the University of OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, who led the Sooners to the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Peterson made his Vikings regular season debut on September 9, catching a 60-yard screen pass from Tarvaris Jackson that went into the endzone for a touchdown against the troubled Atlanta Falcons at the Metrodome. The Vikings stumbled out of the gate after that huge win over Atlanta, losing to Detroit at Ford Field 20–17 in overtime, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium 13–10, and Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers 23–16 at home. That game between the Packers and Vikings is noteworthy in that quarterback Brett Favre threw touchdown pass #421 (to Greg Jennings
Greg Jennings
Gregory Jennings, Jr. is a professional American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...
), breaking Dan Marino's mark of 420.
After a three game skid, the Vikings then stormed back by winning against fellow division rival Chicago Bears at Soldier Field 34–31, but then dropped their next two games against the powerful Dallas Cowboys (14–10) and Philadelphia Eagles (23–16). In Week 9, at home to the San Diego Chargers, Adrian Peterson set a new single-game rushing record with 296 yards, breaking Jamal Lewis
Jamal Lewis
Jamal Lafitte Lewis is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens fifth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
' record set on September 14, 2003 (against the Cleveland Browns). Not only that, Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie
Antonio Cromartie is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers 19th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft...
returned Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell's 57-yard field goal attempt 109 and a half yards for a touchdown, setting an unbreakable record for the longest single play in NFL history. After losing the next week against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field 34–0 (the first time since 1991 that the Vikings failed to score a point in a regular-season game), the Vikings then made a midseason playoff push by winning the next five games: the Daunte Culpepper-led Oakland Raiders at home (29–22), the New York Giants in the Meadowlands (41–17), the Detroit Lions at home (42–10), the San Francisco 49ers at Monster Park (27–7), and the Chicago Bears at home on Monday Night Football (20–13). However, the Vikings bid for a Wild Card playoff berth ended when they lost to the Washington Redskins 32–21 on NBC's "Sunday Night Football." The Vikings then dropped their final regular season game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field 22–19. However, unlike in 2004, the Vikings had an 8–8 record but did not make the playoffs. Adrian Peterson also won the NFL's Rookie of the Year award.
2008: Return to playoff form
To replace departing free agent quarterbacks Kelly HolcombKelly Holcomb
Bryan Kelly Holcomb is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995...
and Brooks Bollinger
Brooks Bollinger
Brooks Bollinger is a retired American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
, the Vikings signed veteran Gus Frerotte
Gus Frerotte
Gustave Joseph "Gus" Frerotte is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tulsa....
, a former Vikings backup from 2003 to 2004, and drafted USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
quarterback John David Booty
John David Booty
John David Booty is an American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He last played for the Houston Texans until being cut on September 4, 2010. He played college football at USC.Booty has also been a member of the Tennessee Titans...
. To amp up the passing attack, the Vikings snatched veteran wide receiver Bernard Berrian
Bernard Berrian
Bernard Berrian is a free agent American football wide receiver who last played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
away from the Chicago Bears. To stiffen up the defense as well, the Vikings signed former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen
Jared Allen
-Kansas City Chiefs:Allen was drafted by the Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and signed for a one-year, $100,000 contract. On May 21, 2007, Allen, as a restricted free agent, signed the Chiefs' one-year tender offer of $2.35 million for the 2007 season. Allen credited his early...
to a six-year, $72.4 million contract.
The Vikings stumbled out of the gate in the first two games of the season, losing to the Green Bay Packers (who were without Brett Favre, who had signed with the Jets, for the first time in 16 years) 24–19 at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football and to Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
and the Indianapolis Colts 18–15 at the Vikings' home opener on September 14. However, in a move that drew a lot of praise from Vikings fans, coach Brad Childress benched starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and replaced him with Gus Frerotte. Frerotte would get the Vikings their first win, defeating the Carolina Panthers 20–10 at home. The game is notable in that cornerback Antoine Winfield sacked Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, forcing a fumble that he returned nineteen yards for a touchdown. Childress said after the game that Winfield had had a half-second left, at the time he picked up the football, before it would have been ruled a dead ball and hence an incomplete pass. However, the Vikings then lost to the undefeated Tennessee Titans at LP Field
LP Field
LP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
30–17, and defeated the New Orleans Saints 30–27 on Frerotte's first start on MNF since 1997. The game is notable for Winfield's heroics yet again, returning a blocked field goal 59 yards for a touchdown. It was the first and longest in franchise history. The Vikings then defeated the Detroit Lions 12–10 thanks in part to Ryan Longwell's game-winning 26-yard field goal, but then lost to the Chicago Bears 48–41 at Soldier Field. That game is notable in that the 89 combined total points were the largest ever in the rivalry between the two teams since the Vikings joined the league in 1961.
Following their Week 8 bye, the Vikings easily defeated future Viking quarterback Sage Rosenfels
Sage Rosenfels
Sage Rosenfels is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Iowa State before he was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played with the Miami Dolphins from 2002–2005, the Houston Texans from...
and the Houston Texans 28–21, and finally beat the Green Bay Packers 28–27 at home in Week 10. The game is notable for Brad Childress' first win against the Packers in his tenure with the Vikings. After losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium
Raymond James Stadium, also known as the "Ray Jay", is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the NCAA's South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,857 , and it is expandable to 75,000 for special events...
(the host site of Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
later in the season) 19–13, a four-week winning streak ensued. The Vikings beat the floundering Jacksonville Jaguars 30–12, the Chicago Bears 34–14 on Sunday Night Football, and the Daunte Culpepper-led Detroit Lions at Ford Field 20–16. However, Gus Frerotte was injured in the Lions game and was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson, who had been sitting out since the Week 2 loss to the Colts. The Vikings proceeded to a solid victory in the desert, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 35–14. Jackson had a career day, throwing four touchdown passes (to Berrian, wide receiver Sidney Rice
Sidney Rice
-Minnesota Vikings :Rice was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He signed a four year contract with the Vikings in 2007....
, running back Chester Taylor and wide receiver Bobby Wade
Bobby Wade
Robert Louis Wade, Jr. is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
respectively). However, in Week 16 the Vikings lost to the Atlanta Falcons 24–17 due in no small favors to the Vikings' many turnovers (six). The Bears tied proceeded to tie the Vikings for the division lead when they beat the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football the next night. So, it came down to the wire when the Vikings hosted the NFC East champion New York Giants at home for the final game of the season. The Vikings refused to display the Bears–Texans score on the Metrodome scoreboard so that the players would not get distracted, and as such the Vikings won the game 20–19 thanks in large part to Ryan Longwell's game-winning 51-yard field goal. The win made the Vikings the NFC North champions for the 17th time and for the first time since 2000 (when it was called the NFC Central). But the ensuing playoff match with Philadelphia turned into a disaster when Brad Childress decided to pull Gus Frerotte and replace him as starting QB with Tavaris Jackson despite frantic protests from the team. Jackson performed poorly and the Eagles won it 26–14.
2009: Brett Favre arrives
After his March 2008 retirement from Green Bay, Brett Favre decided to return to action that summer and was traded to the New York Jets by his former team. The trade included a clause that would have forced the Jets to forfeit all of their 2009 draft picks to the Packers if they tried to trade him to Minnesota. Following a 2008 season in which the Jets did not reach the playoffs with a 9–7 record, Favre retired a second time. During the spring of 2009, rumors began swirling of Favre signing with the Vikings, something Green Bay had not permitted him to do the previous year and which prompted the trade to the Jets. However, he was already engaged in secret negotiations with the Vikings, which were made public in the summer. On August 17th, he signed a two-year deal with the team and instantly provoked the outrage of Packers fans, former players (including former Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton) and other critics. The season nonetheless began well. Favre's first game as a Viking was a 34–20 victory over Cleveland. On Monday, October 5, he faced his former Green Bay teammates in the Metrodome and beat them 30–23. The Vikings then defeated the Rams and Ravens before losing their first game of the season in Pittsburgh. After that, they traveled to Lambeau Field where Favre had to endure continuous boos and heckling throughout the game. The Packers fell a second time, the score being 38–26. After the bye week came three wins at home over weak opponents, after which the Vikings faced the Cardinals in Arizona and lost 30–17 in a contest where linebacker E.J. Henderson broke his leg and was taken out of commission for the rest of the season. The Vikings dropped two of the next three games, including an overtime loss to Chicago in freezing weather. The last game of the regular season saw them sweep a Giants team that had recently been eliminated from playoff contention. As a result, Minnesota won the NFC North for the second year in a row, the first time in 31 years the franchise had logged back-to-back division titles, and secured the #2 playoff seed with the Cowboys' win over Philadelphia later in the day. In the divisional round, they routed the Cowboys 34–3 with little difficulty, but in the Conference Championship had to face a 13–3 Saints team. In a long, difficult game in which Favre was hit multiple times (though never sacked) by a New Orleans defense that forced six fumbles, recovering three, the Vikings fought to a standstill.Despite the mistakes and crushing hits to Favre (who suffered a painful ankle injury), the Vikings drove to the Saints' 33-yard-line with seconds remaining in regulation. However, after Minnesota called a time out, they were penalized for allowing 12 men in the huddle. On the next play, Favre threw across the middle and was intercepted by New Orleans cornerback Tracey Porter, ending the potential game-winning field goal attempt with seven seconds left in regulation. In overtime, New Orleans won the coin toss and drove down field and kicked a 38-yard field goal, bringing the final score to 31–28 and sending them to the Super Bowl.
2010: 50th season
The Vikings had an unremarkable draft in 2010, and Brett Favre remained uncertain as to whether he would come back for the second year of his contract. He finally announced his return on August 17 in time for the second preseason game in San Francisco. However, the Vikings found themselves with a badly thinned receiving corps due to Sidney Rice suffering from an injury sustained in the game with New Orleans and Percy Harvin having severe migraine headaches. The team also traded Sage Rosenfels to the Giants. The regular season got off to an unpromising start when Minnesota lost its first game in New Orleans, but this much-hyped rematch of the NFC Championship resulted in a score of only 14–9. In Week 2, the Vikings fell at home to Miami for the first time since 1979 (with the score being 14–10). Favre threw four interceptions in the two games, although that was in part because of the team's inadequate receiver corps. They did manage to win in Week 3 against the Lions, but mostly due to the efforts of Adrian Peterson, who ran for an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter. With the Vikings' passing game still in disarray, Favre threw one TD pass and two interceptions. During the bye week, the team tried to fix their offensive woes by getting WR Randy Moss back from New England in exchange for a third-round draft pick. They next headed for a MNF match with the Jets. After being shut out in the first half, Minnesota rallied as Favre threw three TD passes. However, with two minutes remaining, he threw an interception that was returned for a TD. Another scoring drive failed when the Vikings ran out of time and they lost 28–20. Minnesota was able to eke out a 24–21 win over the penalty-ridden Cowboys in Week 6. Next, the team returned to Green Bay where Favre was again booed. However, there would be no miraculous victory this time as he threw three INTs (one returned for a touchdown), and three Vikings TDs were overturned by the referees, giving Green Bay a 28–23 win. Brad Childress was fined $35,000 by the NFL for criticizing the officiating afterwards. Then the Vikings traveled to New England where both Favre and Moss were booed by Patriots fans. During the third quarter, Favre was hit in the chin and taken off the field bleeding, where it was determined that he suffered a skin laceration. Tavaris Jackson now took over and threw a 3-yard TD pass and two-point conversion, putting Minnesota up to 22–18. However, a second Patriots touchdown ended the game at 24–18.Afterwards, Randy Moss strongly criticized the Vikings front office, describing it as being incompetent. He was then cut from the roster, ending a three-week return to his former team. Two days later, Tennessee signed Moss after 20 other teams turned him down. Meanwhile, the Vikings headed back home to host Arizona, prevailing in a 27–24 overtime win. Brett Favre surprised everyone by passing for 446 yards (a career high), 36 passes (also a career high) and two touchdowns. The win also was good luck for Brad Childress, who had been coming under increased criticism for his coaching ability. However, the next game against Chicago was a 27–13 loss as the Vikings' inability to win on the road continued, virtually excluding them from playoff contention. After his impressive Week 10 performance, Brett Favre's numbers shrank back to one touchdown, three interceptions, and only 170 yards. The next week the vikings travaled to Green Bay in Week 12 with their playoff hopes riding on the game. The Vikings got off to a quick start shutting down green bay's offense and leading 3–0 at the end of the first quarter. However the game turned in favor of the Packers when Farve threw an interception in the second guarter and went on to be crushed 31–3. This final disaster sealed Childress's fate, and he was fired the next day, November 22. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier
Leslie Frazier
Leslie Antonio Frazier is a former cornerback/safety in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and is currently the head coach for the Minnesota Vikings.-College career:...
was named interim head coach. Things got off to a decent start under the new coach when the Vikings won 17–13 in Washington, breaking their road losing streak. Brett Favre made a surprise 10-yard run to pick up the game-winning first down. Afterwards, the team returned home to face Buffalo in Week 13. On the first play of the game, Favre was knocked out with a shoulder injury. Tavaris Jackson took over and led Minnesota to a 38–14 victory despite throwing three interceptions. Meanwhile, Favre was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder. He nonetheless expressed his willingness to play the Giants in Week 14 for his 298th consecutive start.
However, fate would take a bizarre turn when the Midwestern United States was blasted with a snowstorm on the weekend of December 11–12. The Giants could not reach Minnesota in time, forcing the game to be moved to Monday night. Then on Sunday, the Metrodome's inflatable roof collapsed under the weight of 10 feet of snow. After considering several alternate sites, the NFL settled on Detroit's Ford Field for the game.
Speculation as to whether Brett Favre would play came to a surprise end when he announced that, due to numbness in his throwing hand, he was going to sit out, ending his consecutive start record at 297 games. For the first time since September 1992, Favre stepped onto the field with a clipboard in hand and no uniform on as Tavaris Jackson took over. However, he was not able to accomplish much as the Giants routed Minnesota 21–3, completely removing them from playoff contention.
Meanwhile, it was announced that the Metrodome's roof could not be fixed in time for the upcoming Monday Night game with Chicago. Thus, the NFL made the controversial decision to hold the game at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, an outdoor facility that would subject players and fans to Minnesota's harsh winter weather, and making for the Vikings' first open-air home game since December 1981. Attempting to remedy their poor QB situation, the team signed veteran free agent Patrick Ramsey
Patrick Ramsey
Patrick Allen Ramsey is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins 32nd overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
. Meanwhile, Tavaris Jackson was placed on injured reserve due to a toe injury sustained in the Giants game. Favre remained on the bench as Joe Webb was chosen to start in the Bears game. But on the eve of the game, Favre announced his willingness to play and proceeded to take the field. After only a few minutes, he was taken away after being knocked into the frozen ground and concussed. The Bears easily won the game 40-17. Despite dire predictions, Joe Webb managed to lead Minnesota past the playoff-bound Eagles in Week 16, but they lost the final game in Detroit to close 2010 at 6-10 and 4th in the NFC North.
2011: Donovan McNabb era
With Favre's and Tavaris Jackson's departures at the end of the season, Joe Webb was widely expected to take over as the starting QB. However, the Vikings front office reportedly did not believe he was suitable for the position and the team instead drafted Florida State QB Christian PonderChristian Ponder
Christian Ponder is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Vikings with the twelfth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and signed with them on July 31, 2011, shortly after the 2011 NFL lockout ended...
with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Aside from drafting Ponder, the Vikings also had to deal with a league lockout that lasted from March to July. As soon as it ended, they officially released Tavaris Jackson and Sidney Rice, both of whom immediately found new homes in Seattle. Most importantly, the team acquired veteran QB Donovan McNabb from Washington with the intention of him starting until either Ponder or Webb were deemed ready enough.
The Vikings had a disastrous start to 2011 when they lost in San Diego 24-17. McNabb threw for a meager 39 yards and only one pass greater than 10 yards. A 103 yard Percy Harvin kick return was the highlight of the game. In Week 2, the Buccaneers beat Minnesota 24-20 and their fortunes continued to slide in Week 3 as Detroit rallied from a 20-0 deficit to win in OT 23-20 and end a 9-game losing streak against the Vikings, who now got off to their first 0-3 start since 1967. Minnesota headed to Kansas City in Week 4 hoping for a victory over the winless Chiefs, but the game was another loss at 22-17, and the Vikings now began 0-4 for the first time since 1962 (the franchise's second year of existence).