Vikings named the greatest dynasty in NFL history, in terms of heartbreak

Football Outsiders recently crowned the Minnesota Vikings as the greatest dynasty of heartbreak in the history of the NFL.

From 1968 to 1982, the Minnesota Vikings were one of the best teams in the NFL. During this time span, they won more than 66 percent of their regular-season games, and they earned a spot in the playoffs 12 times.

The Vikings even managed to make it all the way to the Super Bowl on four different occasions from 1968 to 1982, but they failed to leave the field with a victory in each of these matchups.

Minnesota’s consistent ability to fall just short of the top during this time period is why Football Outsiders recently crowned them as the greatest dynasty of heartbreak in NFL history.

Minnesota Vikings have never been able to climb to the top of the NFL mountain

During the 15 seasons between 1968 and 1982, the Vikings finished with a losing record just twice. In the other 13 years when Minnesota ended the regular season with a winning record, they finished atop their division 11 times.

It’s almost impressive how successful the Vikings were able to be during this 15-year stretch and not end at least one season with a Vince Lombardi trophy.

Football Outsiders believes this stretch of football in Minnesota’s history should be regarded as the greatest dynasty of heartbreak. They described this era of the Vikings as “the greatest team to never have been the greatest team.”

Even the most diehard Vikings fan can’t argue with that description about their favorite franchise. It really just couldn’t be a more perfect way to describe the way that Minnesota’s history has gone since their very first season in 1961.

With the recent hiring of Kevin O’Connell to be their new head coach, the Vikings are hoping that they can become a different kind of dynasty in the near future. One that might even finish a season as the actual greatest team in the entire NFL.