Johnson’s pass to himself still one of the NFL’s strangest touchdowns

Not many could have predicted that former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson would throw a touchdown pass to himself back in 1997.

Given the amount of touchdowns the Minnesota Vikings have scored since their inaugural season in 1961, the team was bound to have a few of their trips to the end zone be a little out of the norm.

This was definitely the case when the Vikings took on the Carolina Panthers during a Week 7 matchup in 1997.

Overall, it was a pretty normal football game as Minnesota came out with a 21-14 win over the Panthers. But there was one play that went on during this matchup that still remains as one of the strangest in Vikings history.

During the early part of the fourth quarter with the game tied at seven, Minnesota was in the middle of a 16-play drive that eventually ended with Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson throwing a touchdown pass to himself.

Yes, himself.

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Minnesota Vikings

The play was certainly not a typical way in which a team would normally score a touchdown. Which is probably why it was included in a recent article published by NFL Media’s Ralph Warner that detailed the 10 strangest touchdowns in the history of the league.

Johnson’s touchdown pass ended up at number seven on Warner’s list. The play by the former Minnesota quarterback actually ranked right behind a similar sequence from current Tennessee Titans signal caller Marcus Mariota during last season’s playoffs.

The Vikings also made another appearance on Warner’s list, but it was not for a play that Minnesota fans really like to talk about.

Ranking at number three on this list was the unbelievable catch made by former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman in the 2000 season that resulted in him scoring the game-winning touchdown during a matchup with Minnesota.

Next: 5 best Vikings quarterbacks since 2000

If any Vikings fans have forgot about Freeman’s catch, that’s perfectly fine. Most of Minnesota fans have likely tried to erase it from their memories.