History of the Minnesota Vikings

This article details the history of the Minnesota Vikings, an American football club of the National Football League (NFL).

Origins

Professional football history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s-30s. 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.

1960s: The Vikings' Humble Beginnings

Bill Boyer served as the team president from 1960 to 1964. Minnesota's first management team was led by general manager (GM) Bert Rose. 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. Eventually Met Stadium capacity was increased to 47,900. Early in 1961, the Vikings named Norm Van Brocklin as head coach, though Bud Grant had been a candidate for 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, SD. Legendary football coach Bob Burns promoted the game.

The Vikings won their first regular season game, defeating the Chicago Bears 37–13 on Opening Day 1961. Rookie Fran Tarkenton came off the bench 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 in June 1964. Jim Finks, then general manager of the Calgary Stampeders, was named his successor in September 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.

Max Winter became the team president in 1965. Norm Van Brocklin quit abruptly in February 1967. Bud Grant, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, became the new Vikings coach on March 10, 1967.

On March 7, 1967, quarterback Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants for a 1st and 2nd-round draft choice in 1967, a 1st-round choice in 1968 and a 2nd-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.

In 1969 the Vikings earned a 12–2 record, the best in the NFL. An opening game one-point loss the New York Giants, quarterbacked by former Viking Fran Tarkenton, was followed by twelve consecutive wins. 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.

1970s: The Purple People Eaters

The team continued to shine in 1970 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 third defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). (The Colts' Gino Marchetti was the AP MVP in 1958 and the Lions' Joe Schmidt was co MVP in 1960.)

In 1972 the Vikings traded Norm Snead, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and a 1st-round choice in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants to reacquire the popular Tarkenton. While the acquisitions of Fran 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 in 1972 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, got off to a 10-0 start and easily won another division title. 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.

The Vikings played in their 3rd Super Bowl (4th overall) in 4 years against the Oakland Raiders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 9, 1977. The Vikings, however, couldn't break their bad luck in the Super Bowl. Minnesota lost, 32–14. The Vikings earned a trip to Super Bowl XI by defeating the Rams, 24–13, at Metropolitan Stadium on December 26, 1976, in what was the last Vikings playoff game at the Met. Co-owner Ole Haugsrud died in March 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 Michael Lynn replaced Margaret Haugsrud on the board.

In 1977, the Vikings again won the Central Division with a 9–5 record. After years of beating the Los Angeles Rams in frozen Metropolitan Stadium, they finally had to go to Los Angeles for a playoff game. 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 made the playoffs with an 8–7–1 record. There was no more playoff magic as the Rams finally defeated the Vikings, 34–10 in Los Angeles.

1980s: The Down Years

On May 15, 1981, the Vikings moved into a new facility in suburban Eden Prairie 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 1965–87. The Vikings played their 1st game at the Metrodome in a preseason matchup against Seattle on Aug. 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 1968-85, 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. Later, the Vikings and Chicago Bears played a preseason game 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.

The Vikings would make what would be considered its biggest personnel blunder in team history. 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.

Main article: Herschel Walker Trade

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. 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 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 1989-91. 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.

1998: 15-1: The Year that Could Have Been

See also: 1998 Minnesota Vikings 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. 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 590 points. The Vikings finished the season 15-1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week nine. 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. 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. 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.

1999: Return to the Playoffs

Randall Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a lukewarm 2–4 start, Jeff George 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[1]. Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild card game 27–10, and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional matchup. The game was a shootout which Minnesota led 17–14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota 35 to 20 in the second half to win 49–37[2]. St. Louis would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIV.

2000: Back to the NFC Championship

Led by first-year starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper, the Vikings had a season in which Robert Smith ran for a team record 1,521 yards and 7 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. However, they would return to the playoffs again for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, they were humiliated 41–0 by the New York Giants in the Conference Championship[3], and to top that, Robert Smith retired at the end of the year, after only playing eight NFL seasons.[4]

2001: Death and Hope

Tragedy struck the Minnesota Vikings in the summer of 2001, when Offensive Lineman Korey Stringer died of heat stroke[5] in training camp in Mankato, Minnesota. Although Minnesota has a reputation for cold weather, in late July and early August it can be brutally hot.

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 10 receptions for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

2002-2003: Tice's Early Struggles

On January 10, 2002, Mike Tice was named the sixth head coach in Vikings history[9]. 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.

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 ended up going 3-7 the rest of the season, with hopes to make it to the playoffs, heading into the Week 17 game against the Arizona Cardinals. With 5 seconds left and a 4th-down and 25, the Cardinals did something very remarkable. Wide receiver Nate Poole caught a 28-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cardinals a 18–17 lead and the win. The shocking defeat shocked Vikings fans for the next year. [10]. Green Bay won the division at 10–6, while the Vikings were 9-7, and one win away from the playoffs. The following season the Cardinals hired Dennis Green as their head coach[11].

2004: Playoffs (Minnesota vs. Green Bay) and Culpepper's Historic Season

See also: 2004 Minnesota Vikings 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 Culpepper 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[12], becoming the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game. 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[13].

2005: New Owners

See also: 2005 Minnesota Vikings season

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 Fowler. 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.[14]

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[15]. With the first round pick (number 7) they selected WR Troy Williamson of South Carolina[16]. 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 5 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 1992-98 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 1 win away from the playoffs.

2006: New Coach, The Arrival of Brad Childress

See also: 2006 Minnesota Vikings season

Prior to the 2006 season, the Vikings hired Brad Childress as the 6th head coach in Vikings history. The Vikings started their season with two narrow victories.They edged the Washington Redskins 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 6, 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 4 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 3-9 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 10, the Vikings lost again as they were outscored 17-23 at home by their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

The following week, fans had anticipated a matchup 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 3-4 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.

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 Oklahoma, 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). However, in Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers at home, Adrian Peterson set the single-game record with 296 rushing yards, breaking Jamal Lewis' record set in 2003. Not only that, Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie returned Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell's 57-yard field goal attempt 109 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: Lucky 17, Division Champions

To replace departing free agent quaterbacks Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger, the Vikings signed veteran Gus Frerotte, a former Vikings backup from 2003-2004, 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 a half-second left before it was 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). However, the Vikings' playoff run ended in a 26-14 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who went on to the NFC championship but lost to the Arizona Cardinals.

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 travelled 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 season ender 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.

References

• Minnesota Vikings History
• Dave Mandelbaum, Vikings.com

External links

• National Football League
• Minnesota Vikings official web site
• Sports E-Cyclopedia.com