We\u2019ve officially entered the (relatively) quiet portion of the offseason. Minicamps and OTAs will soon be here, but not yet. Same with the NFL schedule release. Chris, Mark, Warren, et al. have done the usual excellent job of covering where we stand. So, in the meantime, let\u2019s have some fun with this one \u2013 and by \u201cfun\u201d I mean laugh at our collective anguish. <\/p>\n
The term \u201ca trip down memory lane\u201d usually evokes enjoyable or pleasant experiences. Not for Minnesota Vikings<\/a> fans. More often than not, memory lane entails a carrot of hope, followed by crushing heartbreak. Rinse. Repeat. It\u2019s the hope that distinguishes us from other tortured fan bases (Browns<\/a>, Lions, etc.) and makes the psychological damage cut deeper. Historically, we rarely bottom-out. We have the 4th highest winning percentage<\/a> in the Super Bowl<\/a> era. Of course, every other team in the Top 10 has at least 2 Super Bowl victories. That\u2019s the problem. It\u2019s about being just good enough to believe, to rationalize a path to a Super Bowl without setting up camp outside the boundaries of reality. Not including the move up last year to grab J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings have only drafted in the Top 10…drumroll\u20269 times since 1980. <\/p>\n With that in mind, it takes a certain amount of time and currency as a fan for a loss to truly gash your will and break your spirit. So, for the purposes of this personal list, I\u2019ll start it in the mid-1990s. Thirty years of pain is enough. So, without further ado \u2013 for debate, agreement, disagreement, rage, tears (none of joy) \u2013 here is my Top 10 ranking of the most devastating Vikings losses. <\/p>\n Some context: These rankings are based off what I remember feeling at the time, not what subsequent years may have done to intensify or dilute a particular heartbreak. <\/p>\n #10 \u2013 Hey it Happened Once, Why Not Again? 1997 Divisional Round (January 3, 1998) (San Francisco 38, Minnesota Vikings 22): It\u2019s utterly ridiculous in hindsight, but I actually thought the playoff magic in San Francisco 10 years prior was poised for a repeat. Denial ain\u2019t just a river in Egypt. The thrilling come from behind road victory over the Giants in the Wild Card round, where we scored 10 points in the final 1 \u00bd minutes, did nothing to alter my delusional state. Neither did the fact that it was our first playoff win since the 1988 season. This was gonna be great! A magical run! Yeah\u2026no. In the end, it wasn\u2019t even as close as the score. It felt lousy. I was deflated. Oh, if I only knew what was coming in 12 months.<\/p>\n #9 – Cousins Era Begins, No Playoffs, Everything Sucks: 2018 Week 17 (December 30, 2018) (Chicago Bears<\/a> 24, Minnesota Vikings 10): I was so pumped for the 2018 season. In other news, I\u2019m an idiot. Kirk Cousins was supposed to be the missing piece, the guy who finally got us over the hump. If Case Keenan got us to the NFC Championship<\/a> Game, Cousins lifts the Lombardi. LOL. It started out fine: 4-2-1 with a nice revenge win at Philadelphia in Week 5. Then we were 6-6-1. Then we needed to beat the Bears at home in Week 17 just to make the damn playoffs. It was OK. Just a minor obstacle. Once we get into the dance that\u2019s when we do our damage. We got Cousins for those moments, not the regular season. The Bears had one of their patented fluky good seasons and had already locked up the NFC North. Sure, some seeding was at play, but it was Mitchell Trubisky. We were at home. It was all right there. We win and ride the momentum to Super Bowl glory. The term is \u201cone step up, two steps back.\u201d Well, the Vikings can\u2019t even bother with the first part. Oh, Kirk Cousins? 20\/33 for 132 yards, 1 TD and a 23.5 QBR. His only highlight was the famous argument with Adam Thielen on the sidelines. <\/p>\n #8 – The Beginning of the End: 2000 NFC Championship Game (January 14, 2001) (NY Giants 41, Minnesota Vikings 0): Of the NFC Championship Game losses, this one stung the least. Maybe it\u2019s my warped mind, but I\u2019d rather get blown out than get Gary Anderson\u2019d or Blair Walsh\u2019d. Plus, I had very little confidence we would have beaten the 2000 Ravens with that historic defense (165 pts allowed in 16 regular season games\/16 pts in 3 playoff games). Not that it didn\u2019t suck, but afterwards I remember thinking that we may have gone as far as we could under Dennis Green. It was the realization that an era was ending that drove this pain, not so much the loss itself. Indeed, the 2001 season was a 5-11 disaster with Red McCombs meddling and Green not even making it to the final game. <\/p>\n #7 – Yeah, About That Potential Mini-Dynasty: 1999 Divisional Round (January 16, 2000) (St. Louis Rams 49, Minnesota Vikings 37): Sure, 1998 happened. Heading into the 1999 season \u2013 in delusional Vikings fans\u2019 minds anyway \u2013 the table was still set for a nice, little mini-dynasty. The bad news? The 2-4 start and Randall Cunningham benching were ugly. The good news? Jeff George was put on this planet to throw ropes to Cris Carter and Randy Moss. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Given the aforementioned circumstances, finishing 8-2 for a 10-6 season was more than enough to keep the dream alive. Handling an (aging) Cowboys team in the Wild Card round did nothing to damper the enthusiasm. Hey, we\u2019re still talking about Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Deion Sanders here (Michael Irvin was hurt). Oh yeah, the St. Louis Rams. It sounds so mind-numbingly stupid now that I\u2019m embarrassed to even say it but\u2026I really thought they were a fluke. Even at the time that mindset was ridiculous. People immediately think of the offense, but their defense was also a Top 5 unit. It wasn\u2019t like they were like, well, the 2022 Vikings. I kept thinking that teams don\u2019t just go from 4-12 to 13-3 and the Super Bowl; QBs don\u2019t go from the freakin\u2019 Amsterdam Admirals to 3rd string disaster QB to NFL MVP in consecutive seasons. It just doesn\u2019t happen, dammit! Their collective carriage was going to turn into a pumpkin, thanks to the glorious arm of Jeff George. Oh, and we were up 17-14 at half. Then, like all things Vikings, it crumbled like a Jenga Board. Twenty-one unanswered points in the 3rd quarter and 35 total 2nd half points made it official: Like Batman stole the Joker\u2019s balloons, the Rams stole the Vikings\u2019 mini-dynasty. <\/p>\n #6 \u2013 Case Closed, No Super Bowl: 2017 NFC Championship Game (January 21, 2018) (Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> 38, Vikings 7): Very similar dynamic to #8 \u2013 i.e. I\u2019d rather lose big than in heartbreaking fashion late. Something just never felt \u201cright\u201d to me as this surprising season unfolded. It was probably the idea that Case Keenum\u2019s luck was going to run out. As we\u2019re the Vikings, that means at the worst possible time. Of course, that shockingly didn\u2019t happen until the NFC Championship Game, and only after Keenum created arguably most magical moment in Vikings history with the \u201cMinneapolis Miracle.\u201d However, when a victory is literally dubbed a miracle that means it otherwise shouldn\u2019t have happened in the first place. We blew a 17-0 halftime lead against the Saints and were thoroughly outplayed in the 2nd half. As the joy and thrill eventually wore off, my psychological scar tissue as a Vikings fan rushed to fill the void: \u201cWhat about an emotional letdown?\u201d Bingo. The Oscar for \u201cBest Backup QB in a Lead Role for the 2017 Season\u201d would go to Nick Foles. When it hit 24-7 at half, it was all over. <\/p>\n #5 \u2013 Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss: 1994 Wild Card Round (January 1, 1995) (Chicago Bears 38, Minnesota Vikings 18): The only New Year\u2019s Day game on the list. New year, same Vikings. The Dennis Green era had gotten off to an impressive if unsatisfying start. Two years, two Wild Card playoff appearances, two losses. Rich Gannon and Jim McMahon were perfectly fine \u2013 but you don\u2019t win the Super Bowl with perfectly fine. You needed the guy who was the conductor of a real-life video game offense: the Run N\u2019 Shoot baby! Warren Moon plus our strong defense? C\u2019mon now. We won the (then) NFC Central and had beaten the Bears twice during the season: one handily (42-14 at Soldier Field), the other an OT thriller (33-27 at the Metrodome). Yes, it\u2019s difficult to beat a team 3 times in a season. Yes, it was a division rival. No, none of this mattered a lick to me. We were winning this game. It was all about taking the next step. That was the whole point of bringing Moon in. I\u2019m having horrific flashbacks of Steve Young Walsh hitting wide open guys on shallow crossers and curl routes, all while it looked like the Vikings were playing with 8 guys on defense. Thirty years later I\u2019m still at a loss trying to figure out WTF happened in this game. This was a worse version of the Cousins game above because: A) It was actually a playoff game, and B) Moon is a Hall of Famer, which makes this loss harder to take. Either way, same outcome: Heartbreak at the hands of a freakin\u2019 Chicago Bears\u2019 team with a ridiculously inferior quarterback.<\/p>\n #4 \u2013 Wide Left, The Sequel: 2015 Wild Card Round (January 10, 2016) (Seattle Seahawks<\/a> 10, Minnesota Vikings 9): The Zimmer Era was progressing nicely: from 5 wins to 7 in Year 1, to 11 wins and the NFC North crown in Year 2. The defense had been turned around, the QBOTF was coming into his own. Teddy Bridgewater had orchestrated a potential game-winning drive against the Legion of Boom, highlighted by a huge completion to Kyle Rudolph that got us down to Seattle\u2019s 17-yard line. Blair Walsh already nailed 3 field goals of 22, 43, and 47. This was only 27 yards. Bud Grant was there in freakin\u2019 short sleeves in -20 windchill; it was that 70s show. It all felt perfect. Nice little run ya had Seattle, but it\u2019s over. The NFC was about to be put on notice. Smells like teen spirit\u2026.and a new sheriff in town. Something in the way this team rips your heart out. Despair is always in bloom. All apologies for the references. As Vikings fans, the last thing we\u2019re familiar with is nirvana. A small part of me expected the miss, it really did. That\u2019s how much 1998 broke me. Even so, it did nothing to numb the pain or alleviate the shock. <\/p>\n #3 \u2013 Devastation in the Desert: Week 17 (December 28, 2003) (Arizona Cardinals<\/a> 18, Minnesota Vikings 17): He could be the greatest quarterbacks coach of all-time, but I still cringe every time I see or hear the name Josh McCown. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had a dinner date that I was dreading that night, but, hey, at least I would have a Minnesota Vikings playoff berth to get me through it, right? Right??? I mean, the Arizona Cardinals were 3-12 and in the driver\u2019s seat for the #1 overall pick. Sure, we started 6-0 and risked becoming only the 2nd team in NFL history to start that hot and miss the playoffs. I did some research to find a bar with the NFL Sunday Ticket closest to my required location later in the evening. Upon leaving my place the Vikings were losing 6-0 at half, but I wasn\u2019t that worried. In what must be the greatest incident of misplaced confidence ever, I thought we\u2019d be fine. We choke in the playoffs, after all. That\u2019s our time to implode. Heartbreak will come in a week or two but not\u2026here. Not…now. Indeed, as I settled in near the small corner TV we were up 7-6 heading into the 4th. Ahhh, Duante Culpepper to Randy Moss. 14-6. Field goal, Vikings! 17-6. Now we\u2019re cookin\u2019 with gas. 17-12. Not ideal, but we\u2019ll hold. 4th and 27. McCown escapes the pocket, rolls right. Hey, is that Nate Poole? Take it Paul Allen<\/a>. I was in such a state of shock and disbelief that, staring at the TV, I tried to place my drink on the nearby table except\u2026there was no table. I just dropped the damn thing on the floor. All bearings had been lost. The bartender, witnessing this whole sordid ordeal, looked over and gave me a look that said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it, pal.\u201d Pity. Vikings fans are magnets for it. But wait, there\u2019s more! The suffering wasn\u2019t over. We didn\u2019t just choke away the playoffs in historic fashion\u2026but\u2026we handed the division to the Green Bay Packers<\/a>. Worst dinner date ever.<\/p>\n #2 \u2013 Murphy\u2019s Law, Meet the Minnesota Vikings: 2009 NFC Championship Game (January 24, 2010) (New Orleans Saints<\/a> 31, Minnesota Vikings 28): I was fairly jaded by this point, but if someone told me we\u2019d outgain the New Orleans Saints 475 to 257 and hold Drew Brees to under 200 yards passing (at the Superdome), I would\u2019ve tempted fate and booked that Super Bowl trip. Only the perfect combination of unlucky bounces, bad decisions, and Bobby \u201cthe Brain\u201d Heenan-level heel tactics could cost us this one. Five turnovers (-4 differential), capped off by the ill-fated, across the body Brett Favre interception (take it Paul Allen<\/a>). Twelve men in the huddle. Bountygate. Only we could check all the boxes. It took about half the season for me to actually embrace the idea of Brett Favre quarterbacking this team, but when I did, I was all-in. I was ready to be hurt again. Like they\u2019ve always done, the Vikings took those hopes, put them in an industrial-sized shredder, laid them out across a field, and then dropped an atomic bomb for good measure. I believe the 2009 team may have had a better chance to win the Super Bowl than even the 1998 squad. Of course, the Colts had Peyton Manning \u2013 but also a glaring weakness in their run defense. Adrian Peterson and a smart, ball-control game-plan could have kept Manning on the sidelines. Indeed, the team we thoroughly outplayed beat them (31-17). Those Mike Shanahan late-90s Broncos teams were absolutely loaded, and far more than simply John Elway, Terrell Davis, and a passable supporting cast. Yeah, back-to-back Super Bowl victories. It would have been a challenge. Absolutely possible, but a challenge. Oh, speaking of the 1998 Vikings\u2026<\/p>\n #1 \u2013 Wide Left, The GOAT: 1998 NFC Championship Game (January 17, 1999) (Atlanta Falcons<\/a> 30, Minnesota Vikings 27): Duh. A recap is meaningless as anyone who experienced this game has it seared into their memory in a section of their brain cordoned off by caution tape. I did not experience the 4 Super Bowl losses, or the Drew Pearson push off, so this was my true initiation to The Pain. Up until 1998, with the exception of #5 above, playoff losses were to established\/better teams \u2013 Washington and New York (\u201987, \u201992 and \u201993), mid-90s Dallas (\u201996), San Francisco (\u201989, \u201997). This was of a different order. Like not in the same galaxy (even though we laughably thought the stars were aligned). We. Were. 11. Point. Favorites. I can\u2019t write anymore. I\u2019m getting nauseous. <\/p>\n OK I\u2019m back\u2026<\/p>\n