Former Vikings OL Steve Hutchinson on Bountygate, the Hall of Fame and life after football
By Dean Jones
Former Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson opened up about Bountygate, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and life after football in a special interview.
There are few offensive linemen throughout history that dominated like Steve Hutchinson. The imposing guard enjoyed a standout career with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks before eventually calling it a day after one season on the Tennessee Titans in 2012, which eventually concluded with a thoroughly deserved induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Hutchinson more than lived up to his first-round billing coming out of Michigan. He was a five-time All-Pro, was named to seven Pro Bowls, and was also part of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Although there was one missed chance of a ring with the Seahawks, there is one particular game that sticks in the player’s mind more than most.
In a special interview with The Viking Age detailing his involvement in the latest Lowe’s community project in Seattle, Hutchinson reflected on the infamous Bountygate game between Minnesota and the New Orleans Saints that decided the NFC Championship in 2009.
Hutchinson is clearly still frustrated with how things went down during the heartbreaking overtime loss, but this wasn’t just down to the treatment Brett Favre received during the contest that eventually saw sanctions and fines imposed on the Saints and their then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
"“Of course, the way everything transpired was disappointing and I’m not saying we couldn’t have done things better to win the game, but the most annoying thing was not having a chance to reply in extra time when the NFL changed the ruling the following year. To go through all that after such a long season only to not get the opportunity to seal your own destiny was frustrating, but something that was in the rules at the time. Had we gotten through that game, there’s no doubt in my mind we’d have won it all.”"
This was as close as Hutchinson got to a ring with the Vikings. Favre’s second season with the franchise didn’t go as well as age finally caught up with one of the best gunslingers in history.