6 most disappointing Minnesota Vikings seasons of all-time

2. 1999 Vikings

Speaking of a heartbreaking loss by the Vikings in an NFC Championship, no outcome might have been more difficult to swallow for the franchise than their loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 NFC title game.

Following that disappointing loss, Minnesota headed into the 1999 season with some pretty high expectations. The Vikings had a lot of players from their 1998 roster returning and many figured that they would just achieve a similar amount of success in 1999.

Minnesota got off to a horrible start, losing four of their first six games. This resulted in the Vikings benching starting quarterback Randall Cunningham and replacing him with Jeff George.

The decision actually proved to be the right one as George led Minnesota to an 8-2 record for the rest of the year and the team earned a spot in the playoffs. Despite their slow start, the Vikings still had the chance to live up to their Super Bowl expectations in 1999.

However, Minnesota’s hopes of a championship quickly vanished when they ran into an offensive juggernaut known as the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Rams easily won the matchup and the Vikings’ season came to an end.

There was a lot of hope for Minnesota heading into the 1999 season. Some felt like that year could have been a memorable one for the Vikings, but it ended up turning out to just be more of the same.