![]() While the Vikings are having the time of their lives creating a nightclub in the sky after every home game, they don’t seem to have a dominant trait. We all know how it ended for each of these teams, but it doesn’t mean the journey wasn’t fun. Then there was the 2017 team, which used one of the most dominant defenses in franchise history to carry Keenum and an emerging offense to the doorstep of playing a Super Bowl in their own stadium. From a last-second laser to Greg Lewis up until he hobbled off the field in New Orleans, Favre’s desire to stick it to the Green Bay Packers fueled a 12-4 season. The 2009 season was Brett Favre’s (next to) last stand. With Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed catching bombs from Randall Cunningham and Robert Smith churning out a 1,100-yard season on the ground, the Vikings simply outscored everyone. ![]() To borrow Luke Braun’s phrase in The History of the Minnesota Vikings documentary, 1998 was a nuclear warhead powered by their offense. Once the work stoppage was over, the Vikings picked up where they left off and were a Darrin Nelson drop in the end zone away from the Super Bowl. The 1987 team was a great squad but had only played half the season due to the NFL players’ strike. ![]() This year’s team is inching closer to that list.īut again, what makes these teams special? It’s all about a defining characteristic. If we go back in modern Vikings history (aka, post-Purple People Eaters), only four other teams held the mantra of being “special.” The 1987, 1998, 2009, and 2017 teams all felt like bonafide Super Bowl contenders. 1) Who the hell is Duke Shelley? And 2) Why does this team feel special? In the aftermath, Vikings fans wondered two things. Then Allen almost ran all the way across the field until Patrick Peterson came up with the game-clinching interception. The Vikings got stopped on the goal line (thanks to 12 men on the field, which the officials missed) and had to settle for a field goal. Minnesota scored a touchdown on a botched snap, and Buffalo marched down the field again, thanks partly to a non-catch by Gabriel Davis. The Vikings marched down to the goal line, and Buffalo stopped them with 37 seconds left and no timeouts. that had set up one of the wildest endings to a game in nfl historyĬonclusion: Best catch I’ve ever seen /qLDiu6GT5W that had occurred in do-or-die 4th & 18 on road vs top-3 team that had been contested catch point thru ground After Dalvin Cook’s 81-yard touchdown run, the Bills marched right down the field before Josh Allen threw an interception in the red zone.įourth-and-18 should be able to stop the Vikings. Tyler Bass’ field goal early in the third quarter gave them a 17-point lead. No road team had overcome a 14-point halftime deficit in Buffalo since the 1960s. It felt like the game was over in roughly eight different moments. Either the Vikings would get run off the field, or they would mount an admirable effort that could be chalked up as a learning experience. This was supposed to have one of two outcomes. Their path to the top of the standings had been filled with backup quarterbacks and bizarre coaching decisions, while the Bills were crowned Super Bowl favorites dating back to last summer. The Vikings came in as a 7-1 team but didn’t feel like a true contender. Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills felt the same way. The Vikings had turned their pessimistic but loyal fan base into believers, and it felt like they could take on anyone in their way. Never mind what happened one week later in Philadelphia. There were wild plays on both sides of the ball. In the aftermath of Case Keenum’s walk-off touchdown to Stefon Diggs, Vikings fans spent an entire week trying to digest what had just happened. The Minnesota Vikings haven’t given us this feeling since the Minneapolis Miracle.
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