1998 Minnesota Vikings Season

1998 Minnesota Vikings Season

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 Vikings thus became the first team to win at least 15 games in the regular season and not win the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers became the second in 2004, the New England Patriots became the 3rd in 2007 (they were a perfect 16-0 in the regular season but lost the Super Bowl to the Giants from New York), and in 2011 the Green Bay Packers became the 4th.

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, he pairing of the strong armed Randall Cunningham and 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, though they would return to the playoffs, the magic was gone as constant-double teams of Moss left Cunningham ineffective and eventually benched.

The 1998 Vikings team was chosen to be one of five teams profiled in the second series of NFL Network's America's Game, focusing on teams that failed to live up to their Super Bowl promise and titled America's Game: The Missing Rings. The Vikings joined the Buffalo Bills' first Super Bowl team, one of Don Coryell's San Diego Chargers teams, the Cincinnati Bengals' second Super Bowl team, and the Vikings' first Super Bowl team.