1998 Minnesota Vikings season

1998 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	15–1
Division Place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won NFC Divisional Playoff Lost NFC Championship
Pro Bowlers	10
Timeline
Previous season      Next season < 1997      1999 >

1998 was the 38th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 79th regular season of the National Football League.

The 1998 Minnesota Vikings became only the third team in NFL history to win 15 games during the regular season. That year, the Vikings, known for a high-powered offense, scored a then-NFL record 556 points, the most points scored by any team in the 1990s.

The team cruised to the NFC Central title and held home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals in the Divisional round, but were defeated in overtime by the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game in one of the most disappointing losses in franchise history.

The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus , listed the 1998 as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons," in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal," as well as miss their window of opportunity. Said Pro Football Prospectus, [t]he pairing of the strong armed [quarterback] [Randall] Cunningham and [rookie wide receiver] [Randy] Moss was perfect -- they connected 69 times for 1,313 yards and an amazing 17 touchdowns. The defense held its own, ranking sixth in points allowed. ...

"All that stood between the Vikings and a Super Bowl appearance," Pro Football Prospectus continued, were the upstart Atlanta Falcons, an 11-point underdog. ... The Falcons stayed close while the Vikings offense sputtered. With two minutes left, Gary Anderson, who had missed no kicks all season, missed a 38-yarder that would have given the Vikings an insurmountable ten-point lead. The Falcons scored a game-tying touchdown and won in overtime. The next season, the magic was gone, as constant-double teams of Moss left Cunningham ineffective and eventually benched. The Minnesota defense collapsed [over the following seasons], giving up 49 points in a 1999 playoff loss and 41 in a 2000 playoff loss."

Season

Prior to the start of the 1998 season, the Vikings were sold to Red McCombs. 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. With a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham, who had the best year of his NFL career, 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. The Vikings finished the season 15-1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week nine. Twelve of their fifteen wins came by a margin of at least 10 points.

Ten Vikings (not all pictured) were named to the 1999 Pro Bowl.

According to Football Outsiders, "The Vikings led the league with 52 plays of 25+ yards. They had 22 offensive plays of 40+ yards; no other team had more than 16 plays of that length."

In the 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. Leading 20-7 just before halftime, some would argue that the Vikings got greedy with their playcalling, as they called a deep pass play on 3rd down, which led to a Cunningham fumble deep in Minnesota territory. Shortly thereafter, the Falcons scored to cut the lead to 20-14. The Vikings were again leading 27-20 with two minutes left in the 4th quarter and had a chance to potentially put the game out of reach with a field goal. However, kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35 for 35 in the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt. The Falcons subsequently marched downfield and scored the game-tying touchdown several plays later.

A curious footnote to the game is that Viking Head Coach Dennis Green has been criticized for opting to take a knee on a third-down deep in Viking territory with about 30 seconds remaining rather than risk having to punt back to Atlanta following their game-tying touchdown. Minnesota won the coin-toss in overtime but failed to score in two overtime possessions. Atlanta eventually won 30-27 in overtime on Morten Andersen's field goal, which was, coincidentally, also a 38-yarder. Because of the decision to take a knee on the final play of regulation, the game has become known as the "Take a Knee Game" among many Viking fans.

Sports Illustrated magazine, the NFL network, and other publications usually name the Minnesota Vikings as one of, if not the most unlucky football franchises, often citing the 1998 team. The Vikings became the first 15-1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl. In 2009 the team was the subject of a one-hour special on the NFL network called "Missing Rings" as one of the greatest teams in NFL history that didn't produce a Super Bowl Championship. Coincidentally, the 1969 Vikings were also named as a "Missing Ring" team, adding to the lore of the Vikings as a hard-luck team.

1998 Draft

Round	Pick	Name	Position	College
1	(21)	Randy Moss	Wide Receiver	Marshall
2	(51)	Kailee Wong	Linebacker	Stanford
3	(80)	Ramos McDonald	Cornerback	New Mexico
4	(110)	Kivuusama Mays	Linebacker	North Carolina
5	(144)	Kerry Cooks	Safety	Iowa
6	(173)	Matt Birk	Center	Harvard
7	(208)	Chester Burnett	Linebacker	Arizona
7	(225)	Tony Darden	Cornerback	Texas Tech

Personnel

Staff

1998 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office Owner – Red McCombs President – Gary Woods Executive Vice President/General Manager – Tim Connolly Head Coaches Head Coach – Dennis Green Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Brian Billick Quarterbacks – Chip Myers Running Backs – Carl Hargrave Wide Receivers – Hubbard Alexander Tight Ends – Dave Atkins Offensive Line – Mike Tice Coaching Assistant – Wade Harman			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio Defensive Line – Andre Patterson Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Gary Zauner Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Record	TV Time	Attendance
1	1998-09-06	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 31-7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	1-0	FOX 12:00pm	62,538
2	1998-09-13	at St. Louis Rams	W 38-31	Trans World Dome	2-0	FOX 12:00pm	56,234
3	1998-09-20	Detroit Lions	W 29-6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	3-0	FOX 12:00pm	63,107
4	1998-09-27	at Chicago Bears	W 31-28	Soldier Field	4-0	FOX 3:15pm	57,783
5	1998-10-05	at Green Bay Packers	W 37-24	Lambeau Field	5-0	ABC 8:00pm	59,849
6	Bye
7	1998-10-18	Washington Redskins	W 41-7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	6-0	FOX 12:00pm	64,004
8	1998-10-25	at Detroit Lions	W 34-13	Pontiac Silverdome	7-0	FOX 12:00pm	77,885
9	1998-11-01	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24-27	Raymond James Stadium	7-1	FOX 12:00pm	64,979
10	1998-11-08	New Orleans Saints	W 31-24	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	8-1	FOX 12:00pm	63,779
11	1998-11-15	Cincinnati Bengals	W 24-3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	9-1	CBS 12:00pm	64,232
12	1998-11-22	Green Bay Packers	W 28-14	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	10-1	FOX 12:00pm	64,471
13	1998-11-26	at Dallas Cowboys	W 46-36	Texas Stadium	11-1	FOX 3:15pm	64,366
14	1998-12-06	Chicago Bears	W 48-22	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	12-1	ESPN 8:15pm	64,247
15	1998-12-13	at Baltimore Ravens	W 38-28	Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards	13-1	FOX 3:15pm	69,074
16	1998-12-20	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 50-10	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	14-1	ESPN 7:15pm	64,363
17	1998-12-26	at Tennessee Oilers	W 26-16	Vanderbilt Stadium	15-1	FOX 11:30am	41,121

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	15	1	0	.938	556	296
Green Bay Packers	11	5	0	.688	408	319
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8	8	0	.500	314	295
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	306	378
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	276	368

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Record	Attendance
Div	1999-01-09	Arizona Cardinals	W 41-21	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	16-1	63,760
NFC	1999-01-17	Atlanta Falcons	L 27-30 (OT)	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	16-2	64,060

Best performances

• Randall Cunningham, 442 passing yards vs. Green Bay, (October 5)

• Randy Moss, 3 receptions 163 yards, 3 TD at Dallas, (November 28)

Rosters

Position roster

1998 Vikings Roster By Position
Quarterbacks 7 Randall Cunningham‡ 14 Brad Johnson 11 Jay Fiedler Running Backs 26 Robert Smith‡ 44 Leroy Hoard 22 David Palmer 21 Moe Williams Fullbacks 29 Charles Evans 33 Harold Morrow Wide Receivers 80 Cris Carter‡ 84 Randy Moss‡ 86 Jake Reed 89 Matthew Hatchette 81 Chris Walsh 83 Robert Tate 18 Tony Bland ‡Player was named to the Pro Bowl		Tight Ends 82 Andrew Glover 87 Hunter Goodwin Tackles 73 Todd Steussie‡ 77 Korey Stringer 76 Chris Liwienski 75 Matt Birk Guards 64 Randall McDaniel‡ 71 David Dixon 61 Everett Lindsay 74 Orlando Bobo Centers 62 Jeff Christy‡ 68 Mike Morris		Defensive Ends 90 Derrick Alexander 92 Duane Clemons 99 Stalin Colinet 98 Ben Williams Defensive Tackles 93 John Randle‡ 96 Jerry Ball 94 Tony Williams 72 Jason Fisk Linebackers 58 Ed McDaniel‡ 57 Dwayne Rudd 59 Dixon Edwards 56 Pete Bercich 55 Bobby Houston 43 Greg Briggs 53 Kivuusama Mays 52 Kailee Wong		Safeties 24 Robert Griffith 42 Orlando Thomas 31 Duane Butler 23 Torrian Gray Cornerbacks 37 Jimmy Hitchcock 27 Corey Fuller 38 Anthony Bass 34 Ramos McDonald Kicker 1 Gary Anderson ‡ Punter 17 Mitch Berger

Numeric roster

1998 Vikings Numeric Roster
1 Gary Anderson K 7 Randall Cunningham QB 8 Todd Bouman QB 11 Jay Fiedler QB 14 Brad Johnson QB 17 Mitch Berger P 18 Tony Bland WR 22 David Palmer RB 24 Robert Griffith S 26 Robert Smith RB 27 Corey Fuller CB		29 Charles Evans FB 30 Antonio Banks S 31 Duane Butler S 33 Harold Morrow FB 34 Ramos McDonald CB 37 Jimmy Hitchcock CB 38 Antony Bass CB 42 Orlando Thomas S 43 Greg Briggs LB 44 Leroy Hoard RB 53 Kivuusama Mays LB		55 Bobby Houston LB 56 Pete Bercich LB 57 Dwayne Rudd LB 58 Ed McDaniel LB 59 Dixon Edwards LB 61 Everett Lindsay G 62 Jeff Christy C 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris C 71 David Dixon G 72 Jason Fisk DT		73 Todd Steussie T 74 Orlando Bobo G 75 Matt Birk c 76 Chris Liwienski T 77 Korey Stringer T 80 Cris Carter WR 81 Chris Walsh WR 82 Andrew Glover TE 83 Robert Tate WR 84 Randy Moss WR 85 Greg DeLong TE		86 Jake Reed WR 87 Hunter Goodwin TE 89 Matthew Hatchette WR 90 Derrick Alexander DE 92 Duane Clemons DE 93 John Randle DT 94 Tony Williams DT 96 Jerry Ball DT 98 Ben Williams DE 99 Stalin Colinet DE

Awards and records

• Randall Cunningham, Bert Bell Award

• Randy Moss, Led Rookies in Receiving Yards, (1,313 yards) Moss also set the record for most receiving touchdowns for a rookie, 17, a record that still stands today.

• The Vikings became just the third team to post a 15-1 win-loss record since the implementation of the 16-game schedule in 1978. They joined the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears, but became the first of those teams to fail to win the Super Bowl.

• The Vikings' high-powered offense set a record, which stood until the 2007 season, for most points scored in a season with 556. They eclipsed the 1983 Washington Redskins, who scored 541. The 2007 New England Patriots beat the record by scoring 589 points.

References

• Pro Football Reference
• NFC Championship