1969: 12-1
The Vikings ended their 1969 season with their first Super Bowl appearance. They didn’t win. They didn’t win any of their four Super Bowl appearances from 1969-76. Despite going 12-2, the 1969 regular season always felt a little weird. The Vikings were stunned in the opener when former friend Fran Tarkenton brought the New York Giants back in a 24-23 upset. The Vikings responded to the disappointing loss with 12 consecutive wins. They closed the regular season with a surprising loss to a mediocre Atlanta Falcons team coached by former friend Norm Van Brocklin. Two losses. The first to their first quarterback. The second to their first head coach.
1970: 9-1
The Vikings responded to their first Super Bowl loss with another 12-2 season. They started the season 9-1. Unfortunately, the season ended well short of their goal with a shocking 17-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Playoffs.
1971: 6-1
The Vikings started 6-1, finished 11-3, and lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs.
1973: 9-0
Fran Tarkenton returned to Minnesota in 1972 but nothing went right as the Vikings followed three great regular seasons with a 7-7 season and no playoffs. They rebounded in 1973. A 9-0 start and 12-2 record. They rolled to their second Super Bowl only to be rolled by the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII.
1974: 5-0
Again, the Vikings rolled to the Super Bowl. This time, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated them in Super IX.
1975: 10-0
1975 was supposed to end with the Vikings finally winning it all in Super Bowl X. Instead, Drew Pearson pushed off of Nate Wright and the Cowboys were handed the invitation to the big game that was intended for the Vikings. This damn game sticks with me as if it happened yesterday.
1976: 6-0-1
Only a 10-10 tie with the Los Angeles Rams blemished the Vikings start to the 1976 season. They finished the regular season 11-2-1, strolled through the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs and into their fourth Super Bowl. The Oakland Raiders won Super Bowl XI to keep the Vikings winless in the big game.
1998: 7-0
It took a while for the Vikings to have their next sparkling start to a season. 1998. This season was amazing and heartbreaking. Like several of the seasons between 1969 and 1976, 1998 was supposed to be the year it finally happened. A Vikings Super Bowl. Like the 1975 playoff loss to the Cowboys, the loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 NFC Championship is painful, so painful, still so painful.
2000: 7-0
Maybe it’s because the Vikings lost the 2000 NFC Championship game to the New York Giants by the ridiculous score of 41-0. This strong start and solid season doesn’t really feel strong or solid.
2003: 6-0
This is one of those seasons that might force Vikings fans to pump the brakes on getting too excited about a great start. 6-0 was followed by 3-7 and no playoffs. Current Vikings QB coach Josh McCown was a big reason for the Vikings not entering the playoffs. A 3-7 finish to the season was a bigger reason than McCown’s late-game heroics.
2009: 6-0
The Brett Favre season. This was an exhilarating season. So much fun. Unfortunately, its ending ranks with 1975 and 1998 as one of the most painful.
2016: 5-0
Like 2003, this fine start ended with no playoffs.
2022: 8-1
In Kevin O’Connell’s first season as head coach, the Vikings raced to 8-1 and finished 13-4. Due to a very suspect defense, nearly every win was by an excruciatingly close one-score margin. All season, they were walking a fine line between success and failure. They failed in the first round of the playoffs against the New York Giants.
2024: 5-0
Who knows what’s to come? This team doesn’t feel anything like the teams that had those fraudulent starts in 2003 and 2016. The Vikings have defeated top contenders San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, and Green Bay Packers (at Lambeau). One could even go so far as to say that the Vikings dominated those teams. No matter how well they finish the regular season, none of it really matters if they don’t win that final game.
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