6 most surprising Minnesota Vikings seasons of all-time

1. 1998 Vikings

Before 1998, the Vikings had never won more than 12 games in a single season. Even after the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule in 1978, no Minnesota team ever finished a year with more than 11 wins.

Well, that certainly changed in 1998. That year, the Vikings put together one of the most memorable and magical performances their fans have ever witnessed.

During the 1998 season, Minnesota finished with a 15-1 record, they made it to the NFC Championship, and they scored an astounding 556 points. Surprisingly, the Vikings were able to do all of this with a 35-year-old backup quarterback leading the way.

After Minnesota starting signal-caller Brad Johnson went down with an injury in Week 2, the team had to turn to Randall Cunningham to take over. Cunningham not only took over for Johnson in that game, but he remained the Vikings’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

In 14 starts for Minnesota in 1998, Cunningham threw for 3,704 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Of course, he did have a plethora of offensive weapons to utilize that season.

Cunningham had the luxury of throwing to either Randy Moss, Cris Carter, or Jake Reed, or he could just hand the ball off to Robert Smith. These guys made the veteran quarterback’s job much easier in 1998.

What Cunningham and the rest of the Vikings were able to do that year is something no one will ever forget. Minnesota not winning the Super Bowl in 1998 was definitely surprising, but they still ended up giving their fans plenty of enjoyable moments.