6 most disappointing Minnesota Vikings seasons of all-time

1. 1975 Vikings

After ending each of their previous two seasons with a loss in the Super Bowl, the Vikings seemed like a team on a mission in 1975.

Minnesota began the year with 10 straight wins and they entered the playoffs with a 12-2 record. Standing in the way of the Vikings’ chance for another Super Bowl appearance were the Dallas Cowboys.

The Vikings had come out victorious in their two previous matchups with the Cowboys, so defeating them at home in the postseason shouldn’t have been a problem. But it ended up actually being a problem for Minnesota.

Dallas was even leading the Vikings early in the fourth quarter by a score of 10-7. But Minnesota was able to get a touchdown on the board and they took a 14-10 lead over the Cowboys with the end of the game approaching.

A win appeared to be in the bag for the Vikings and they would be able to advance to the NFC Championship. But the Dallas unleashed the Hail Mary pass.

With time running out, Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach tossed up a prayer towards the end zone in hopes that one of his teammates would come down with the football. Well, Dallas receiver Drew Pearson ended up catching the pass and taking it across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown.

Did Pearson push off or did he not push off? That has been a huge debate ever since the infamous play went down in 1975.

Obviously, anyone who roots for the Vikings is going to say the Cowboys receiver pushed off and he should have been called for offensive pass interference.

But no flag was ever thrown on Pearson and instead, Minnesota’s dream of ending the 1975 season on top of the league came to a sudden close.