1998 Minnesota Vikings season

1998 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	15-1
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	W NFC Divisional Playoff L NFC Championship

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 high powered offense scored 556 points and broke the record for most points scored in the regular season. This record was broken by the 2007 New England Patriots who finished the season with 589 points. 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.

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 of 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 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. 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.

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. That allowed the Falcons to tie the game. The Vikings had an 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).Minnesota won the toss and went 3 and out. Atlanta then drove the field and was 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.

Reasons for success

Several factors contributed to their success that year.

• Head Coach Dennis Green developed a high-powered West-Coast style offense and had been building the offense through free agency and the draft for almost 8 years.
• Offensive Coordinator Brian Billick was considered to be the mastermind behind the offense. One of the innovative techniques Billick used to develop such an effective offense was the use of a computer to generate play calling schemes and game plans. Billick was promptly hired to be the Baltimore Ravens head coach after the 1998 season and he won Super Bowl XXXV as the Ravens head coach just two years later.
• Randy Moss was drafted in 1998 and while most wide receivers usually take a year or two to develop, Moss made an impact right away. He scored 2 touchdowns in week one against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and posted 95 yards on 4 catches. Moss had another particularly memorable game on Thanksgiving in front of a national TV audience against the Dallas Cowboys. Moss had 3 catches for 163 yards, all for touchdowns. He went on to set the single season record for most touchdown receptions by a rookie with 17.
• The 6' 4" 197 lb. Moss teamed up with 6' 3" 217 lb. Jake Reed and 6' 3" 215 lb. Cris Carter to make a very dangerous trio of big Wide Receivers.
• Kicker Gary Anderson was perfect during the regular season hitting 35 of 35 field goals, he also set a record for most points scored in a season, no touchdowns. He scored 164 points.
• Randall Cunningham made an impressive comeback after being out of the league in 1996. He joined the Vikings in 1997 and played 6 games that year. In 1998, starting QB Brad Johnson was hurt early in the year and Cunningham took over. He threw for 3704 yards and 34 TDs.
• The Vikings defense, led by defensive tackle John Randle and linebacker Ed McDaniel, both Pro Bowlers, had a good year. They only allowed 296 points during the regular season.
• Injury prone Running Back Robert Smith was healthy most of the year and played in 14 games. He had 1187 rushing yards and scored 8 TDs (6 rushing and 2 receiving).
• The Vikings offensive line featured 3 Pro Bowlers that year: Jeff Christy, Todd Steussie, and Randall McDaniel.

1998 Draft Results

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

Game-by-game results

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Record
1	1998-09-06	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 31-7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	1-0
2	1998-09-13	St. Louis Rams	W 38-31	Trans World Dome	2-0
3	1998-09-20	Detroit Lions	W 29-6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	3-0
4	1998-09-27	Chicago Bears	W 31-28	Soldier Field	4-0
5	1998-10-05	Green Bay Packers	W 37-24	Lambeau Field	5-0
6	Bye
7	1998-10-18	Washington Redskins	W 41-7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	6-0
8	1998-10-25	Detroit Lions	W 34-13	Pontiac Silverdome	7-0
9	1998-11-01	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24-27	Raymond James Stadium	7-1
10	1998-11-08	New Orleans Saints	W 31-24	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	8-1
11	1998-11-15	Cincinnati Bengals	W 24-3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	9-1
12	1998-11-22	Green Bay Packers	W 28-14	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	10-1
13	1998-11-26	Dallas Cowboys	W 46-36	Texas Stadium	11-1
14	1998-12-06	Chicago Bears	W 48-22	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	12-1
15	1998-12-13	Baltimore Ravens	W 38-28	M&T Bank Stadium	13-1
16	1998-12-20	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 50-10	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	14-1
17	1998-12-26	Tennessee Oilers	W 26-16	Vanderbilt Stadium	15-1

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Record
Div	1999-01-09	Arizona Cardinals	W 41-21	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	16-1
NFC	1999-01-17	Atlanta Falcons	L 27-30	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	16-2

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 29 Charles Evens 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 85 Andrew Jordan 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 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‡ 94 Tony Williams 72 Jason Fisk 96 Jerry Ball 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 30 Antonio Banks 31 Duane Butler Cornerbacks 37 Jimmy Hitchcock 27 Corey Fuller 38 Antony 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 Evens 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 75 Matt Birk T 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

Records

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 stands as of 2007 for most points scored in a season with 556. They eclipsed the 1983 Washington Redskins, who scored 541.

Uniform combinations

File:MIN 3559.gif File:MIN 3560.gif

References

• Pro Football Reference
• Roster
• NFC Championship