The Minnesota Vikings host the New York Jets this Sunday. It will only be the tenth meeting between the two teams. The Vikings haven't played any team that has been around as long as the Jets fewer times. The first meeting was the first year of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They have met on an irregular basis ever sense. With the current division alignment and scheduling formula, the Vikings and Jets won't meet often but the meetings will be much more regular. Every four years. For whatever reason, the Minnesota Vikings have had great difficulty with the wildly inconsistent New York Jets. The Vikings all-time record against the Jets is 1-8. No other team has had such a one-sided series success against the Vikings. In contrast, the Vikings hold a 13-10 series edge over Jets stadium-mate New York Giants. A team that has won four Super Bowls over the last thirty years. The Vikings can beat the Giants but not the Jets. Very surprising.
The Lopsided Series(home team):
1970-Jets, 20-10 (NY)
1975-Vikings, 29-10 (M)
1979-Jets, 14-7 (NY)
1982-Jets, 42-14 (M)
1994-Jets, 31-21 (M)
1997-Jets, 23-21 (NY)
2002-Jets, 20-7 (NY)
2006-Jets, 26-13 (M)
2010-Jets, 29-20 (NY)
2014-This Sunday
My goodness, the often sad-sack Jets have a seven-game win streak!
This is a truly surprising series record. Nothing can really explain it. The Vikings have been a successful team since the merger. They were even dominant through most of the 1970s and on occasion since. The Jets have had a few successful seasons but not enough to have such an edge in this series. Or, any series since they joined the NFL. The infrequent meetings could result in a lack of familiarity between the two teams but that shouldn't benefit one team over the other. Very strange.
Barring any league expansion or change in the league scheduling formula, it would take the Vikings about a quarter of a century to even this series. Simply stunning.
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