The Minnesota Vikings are no strangers to terrible seasons, but which one is the worst of the worst? The Vikings won just two games in 1962, which was their second season ever.
Since then, the worst seasons they've put together have been 3-13 campaigns in 1984 and 2011.
Every single one of these seasons has an argument for why it could be considered the worst Vikings season ever, but which one takes the cake? Ultimately, 2011 goes down as the worst ever.
Why 2011 was the worst season in Minnesota Vikings history
In 2009, the Vikings reached the NFC Championship and were so close to reaching the Super Bowl. The next year, the team fell back down to earth after it was clear that Brett Favre was no longer the same quarterback, and the Vikings had to find someone else to take the snaps for them on offense.
That offseason saw them trade for Donovan McNabb, hoping that he could recapture some of the magic he'd had in Philadelphia and get the Vikings back into contention. Unfortunately, that's not how things panned out.
McNabb was awful as a Viking, starting six games and only winning one of those. Eventually, the Vikings threw first-round rookie Christian Ponder into the deep end of the pool to see if he could help them salvage the season, and things weren't much better for the team.
Quarterback issues were definitely part of why Minnesota struggled in 2011, but they weren't the only issue holding that year's team back.
The 2011 Vikings couldn't hold a lead to save their lives, blowing a 17-0 lead against the Buccaneers and a 20-0 lead against the Lions, proving time and time again that they didn't know what to do late in games. The Vikings finished the year 2-9 in one-possession games that season.
While Leslie Frazier did eventually lead the Vikings to a playoff berth in the 2012 season, this was his first full year on the job, and there are always going to be ups and downs with a new coaching staff.
It also didn't help this team with their new coaching staff and new quarterbacks that the previous offseason had been shortened thanks to the league-wide lockout.
The Vikings were still trying to find themselves during this time, but it still feels like a team with Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen should win more than three games. But hey, neither guy played quarterback.
Fortunately, the 2011 season is way back in the rearview mirror, and the team has been in greener pastures since then, with their worst season being a five-win season in 2013. Otherwise, the team has been close to average, if not better.