The Minnesota Vikings have been a playoff participant more often than not in my 40+ years as a fan. The 1970s were especially fun. From 1973-78 the Vikings were in the playoffs every year. And they weren't just token appearances. That would come a couple decades later. The Vikings in the 1970s were an active playoff participant. They made it to Super Bowls VIII, IX, and XI. That's three in four years. The Super Bowl that they missed in that four year stretch was one that should have made. In 1975 they were robbed of that Super Bowl X appearance by Roger Staubach's "Hail Mary" pass to Drew Pearson. Nate Wright was clearly shoved to the ground by Pearson. I'll always know that to be true. The NFL playoffs of the 1970s were a strikingly stable environment. It was nearly always some combination of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and Miami Dolphins in the AFC and the Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC. There was some comfort in that consistency. It was comforting to be a Vikings fan in late December and early January. It was never comforting during the Super Bowls but the playoffs were often a blast.
The Vikings were a playoff staple in the 1970s. Eight appearances. They missed the postseason dance in 1972 and 1979. The 1980s weren't quite as prosperous. Five playoff appearances. Three brief playoff appearances. Those were "one-and-done" appearances. In 1982 and 1987 (the strike-impacted seasons) the Vikings made it past the first round. Both times they lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins. In 1982 it was in the second round. In 1987 it was in the NFC Championship game.
Like the 1970s, the Vikings were a frequent playoff participant in the 1990s. The decade started slow with the last two years of the head coaching career of Jerry Burns. There was significant roster turnover when Dennis Green took over the coaching reins but the playoff appearances were immediate and frequent. From 1992-99, Green guided the Vikings to the playoffs every yet but 1995. Unlike the 1970s, the appearances were brief. Green didn't get his first playoff win until 1997. And that first win was more shocking that sound. They made a miraculous two-score comeback in just over a minute to stun the New York Giants. The 1998 season was a whole other story. It was very sound as the Vikings took opponents apart. 1998 was more like the 1970s than the 1990s. 15-1 in the regular season and the overwhelming favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XXXIII. It didn't work out that way as the Atlanta Falcons thrashed those Super Bowl dreams in overtime of the NFC Championship game. For the 1990s the Vikings made seven playoff appearances but only three wins.
The Vikings haven't seen much playoff prosperity this century. They have made it to two conference championship games but most Vikings fans remember only one. The 41-0 loss to the Giants in the 2000 NFC Championship game never happened in the minds of most Vikings fans. It's been wiped from their memory. The 2009 season was a dream like much of the 1970s and 1998. The Brett Favre-led Vikings were a serious Super Bowl threat but the season ended with another conference championship game disappointment. The Vikings outplayed the Saints for four quarters only to lose on an overtime field goal. That's been the highlight this side of 2000 despite ending the season a game short of the goal. The Vikings have made the playoffs five times in the fifteen years of this still new century. The 1980s provided some rough times but this current stretch has been the most ragged of my 40+ years.
One interesting pattern of the Vikings playoff history is this:
1976-Super Bowl XI loss
1987-a play away from overtime in NFC Championship
1998-overtime loss to the Falcons in NFC Championship
2009-overtime loss to the Saints in NFC Championship
Since the Vikings last appearance in the big game they have made a serious Super Bowl run every 11 years. I hope that they make another run before 2020. Although I do hope that they make a run in 2020 as well. I just hope that any run that they make goes further than any run that they have made before.
In my lifetime the Vikings have:
4 Super Bowl appearances. All losses.
1 NFL Championship appearance. One win.
8 NFC Championship appearances. Three wins.
1 Western Conference Championship appearance. One loss.
27 playoff appearances.
48 playoff games
19 playoff wins
The Vikings total of 48 playoff games is tied for 5th all-time.
The Vikings will miss the playoffs this year but they are set up nicely for another playoff run in the coming years. Finally finding a franchise quarterback, and Teddy Bridgewater looks like a franchise quarterback so far, will do that for an NFL team.
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