The Missing Rings - The 1998 Vikings (Part 4 of 5)

[devi2691]

ok, this is probably a silly question. but when gary anderson misses the field goal he gets clobbered by the falcons a second or so later. flat out tackled. isn't running into the kicker a penalty? wasn't it then in 1998?

[betito1288]

"No one can stop us" Carter's own words came back to bite him in the Rear.

[VirgoGal74]

I guess you could say the Falcons got revenge for the Braves losing the 1991 WS to the Twins.... I still remember how devastating and shocking this loss was for everyone in Minnesota

[Maroonlink5]

ya know being a vikings fan, i really dont blame anderson as much as our defence at the end.

[StopmeatGoveg]

@Maroonlink5 100% agree. idk how griffith dropped that pic in the endzone.

[travis264]

Oh Gary Anderson

[jksonny]

No reason for Randle to be in that Cardinals game at the end.

[smokin4dubs]

@quincee33 foge fazio

[quincee33]

Cardinals in the playoffs? okay i'll bite ....lol.

[JoeMontana49ers8190]

"If Only" Randy Moss had caught that pass in the end zone?

"If Only" Gary Anderson had made that damn Field Goal?

"If Only" John Randle was playing in this game?

But oh well. Coulda shoulda woulda but didn't.

Another example in the long sad history of Vikings blowing it in the end. Plus

The 14-2 Atlanta Falcons just played better that game. Too bad they lost the Super Bowl to the Broncos though.

[mroctober12889]

I still think Denver would have beat the Vikings in the SB had they got there

[JoeMontana49ers8190]

@mroctober12889 You're right, No doubt. The Vikings wouldn't have been able to stop Terrell Davis.

They didn't have a great Rushing Defense. Which is why they lost to the Buccaneers in Week 9

[APviKINGsz28]

@mroctober12889 I agree. That's why I think '09 was our year against the saints in the NFC championship. We had a very balanced team that year, and we fumbled away a superbowl ring in my opinion.

[chrisuncleahmad]

Everyone talks about the Falcons and that NFC Title game, but I always wonder:

what if it had been San Francisco, not Atlanta, going into that NFC Championship Game instead?

[BarackSays]

@chrisuncleahmad Even better: Green Bay vs. Minnesota NFC Championship Game.

[quincee33]

@chrisuncleahmad Mariucci was a shitty coach imo.

[inerfyr]

This was one of the most gut wrenching moments in my life, watching this still brings sadness to my heart... Same thing when they lost to the Saints in the Championship...

[thndrct218]

They hung 50 points on the Jags - a playoff team... wow

[deleetmeeh]

Too bad defense wins championships not offense they were great but no defense its really hard to win good film though vikings had a damn good team

[quincee33]

@deleetmeeh ya didn't the Vikings lose to the Giants 49-0 in the NFC championship game the next year? they never had enough defense....and once tony dungy left, they didn't have the schemes to win.... do you or anyone else know who was the defensive coordinator of the Vikes after Dungy left?

[quincee33]

Respond to this video...i remember John Randle saying he loves rock music and U2 and how the brothers on the team used to tease him about his choices in music..lol....too funny.

[eckesg2]

The fact that the Falcons won meant that the AFC was winning the SB that year. The Broncos were a great team and the Jets were one of the two teams to beat the Falcons that year.

[Steve00077]

You can see what a big deal making the Super Bowl was to John Randle and Cris Carter here. I'm surprised they never mentioned the 41-0 loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game two years later. Minnesota was a slight favorite going into that game, and I thought the Vikings could have redeemed themselves a little bit by winning that game. I think losing 41-0 to the Giants was more shocking than the loss to Atlanta. I still can't believe Minnesota was shut out in such a huge game.

[Steve00077]

The Giants winning that game wasn't a big surprise, but the way they won it was shocking. Minnesota also choked in the regular season that year. They started 11-2 before losing the last 3 games and giving the homefield advantage to the NY Giants. I also remember a loss against Green Bay on Monday night that Minnesota gave away that year. This missing rings episode focuses so much on 98 that they could have done another episode that continued after this one, and that focused more on 2000.

[smokeweed11]

No disrespect to the Falcons but the Vikings gave it away. Moss dropped a touchdown, Cunningham underthrew Moss on 2 deep balls(1 in overtime). That's at least 14 points and the one in overtime would have won the game. The key play of the game was the fumble before halftime. I just wished they showed up for the superbowl.

[GrassValleyGreg]

This all assumes Minnesota would've beaten Denver of course. And I am very skeptical of that. That Denver team was one of the all-time greats- very underrated.

[blackshot]

@GrassValleyGreg I don't know if Minnesota would win or not against Denver, but it is a shame that they didn't have a chance to show us if they can or not

[GrassValleyGreg]

@blackshot '

Yea it was. That Denver/Minnesota would've been a much better contest.

[markvikesfan]

No one on that Viking squad deserved that loss Peroid

[mesmursur]

This still hurts...

[mesmursur]

Funny the three highest-scoring NFL teams -- '83 Skins, '98 Vikings, '07 Patriots -- didn't win the Super Bowl...

[TheyCallMeHess]

The Falcons totally sucked in that SB too. Man, I was pissed. Why couldn't the Vikings just be clutch like all the other great teams!

[XxLuckyShotz95]

Damn i expected the falcons to be like 10-6 or something, they were good

[AHawkins25]

@XxLuckyShotz95 Exactly, the Falcons were 14 - 2 in 1998. To say this was an upset is crazy talk. That year the Falcons had an outstanding pass rush which is a kryptonite to a high-powered offense. The Falcons don't get their due for the reason they won and the Vikings lost in that game. Also, the Falcons offense had zero penalties in the game which is another thing to consider because how loud it gets in that dome and the accusations that the vikes were using the speakers for more added noise.

[PolarBearPunch]

@AHawkins25 No one remembered the falcons that year. It was the vikings everyone remembered.

[panthersXyankees89]

Give ATL credit, but they robbed us of the best SB matchup in history. 

[necrovmxisassy3]

LOL @ "classy" Cris Carter whining about injuries. Maybe the Vikings just needed some tougher players.

[dmoor21]

I'm a Falcons fan, and was in pure ecstasy when we knocked off the Vikings! It was one of the greatest upsets in NFL history! However, I will acknowledge that if we played this Vikings team 5 times, we would lose 4 out of 5. On that day, was the 1 time we were able to pull it off. This was an incredible team!! The 1968 Colts, 1998 Vikings, and the 2007 Patriots are the greatest teams to never win a Super Bowl.

[AHawkins25]

@dmoor21 That was not an upset in that 1998 NFC Championship game. The Falcons were 14-2, not to many time a team goes 14-2 and not end up with the #1 seed in the conference overall.

[PolarBearPunch]

@AHawkins25 Too the majority it was an upset. I'm not even from minnesota but i just remember the crys off pain from the people and going home all i could hear about was how they lost as in sympathy. Trust me vikings were top pick.

[EricAKATheBelgianGuy]

I wonder what would have happened if Garrison Hearst hadn't gotten hurt. Viking fans should blame him just as much IMO. He could have sent the Niners to the NFC Championship game, who didn't much up as well as the Falcons did.

[invincibleironman3]

those damn dirty birds....just love em.

[TheJoec2005]

as a dolphin fan this does get to me i wish marino had carter moss and john randle all played for miami maybe they would have won

[MrChitown98]

Randy was having fun the team was rolling. You got to love that. 

[uk6strings]

I was at that Jacksonville game. Boy.... that was fun!

[ZyAir15]

if Aeneas would've kept his mouth shut...

[nativeman271]

lol vikings lost that game i watched it not many mistakes but enough to make them lose moss dropped a touchdown witch back then he never did i left when anderson missed the field goal i knew they were done

[TheEntertainmentonly]

If the 1998 Vikings' would've played in 2000 or 2001, they've had a Super Bowl!!!

[Pr1ceisright]

the tears start at 5:22

[dolphinsneu]

Cris Carter could be featured in another Missing Rings:  The 2002 Miami Dolphins.

[forevercuz]

@dolphinsneu 2002 dolphins? they were nothing special.

[dolphinsneu]

@forevercuz they looked they were headed to the SB after dominating the eventual AFC champion Raiders. They blew their final two games to miss the playoffs. Cris Carter was on that team, too.

[forevercuz]

@dolphinsneu and your saying they should be in a missing rings people because they had an upset win over the Raiders. you can't be missing rings if you don't make the playoffs. might as well cal the 2005 49ers the missing rings. things were looking good when they started 1-0. then things turned into a devasting downfall and they ended up being 4-12.

[dolphinsneu]

@forevercuz it would work perfectly because it would feature cris carter and they could talk about how all they had to do was win their last two games to get a bye and they'd mention Cris Carter's drop in the Minnesota game. It seriously looked like Miami was an SB contender in 2002.

[forevercuz]

@dolphinsneu oh so they should be in the missing rings because they had cris carter?

[dolphinsneu]

@forevercuz No what I'm saying is, it would make a great story. Intro: talk about Miami's 5 playoff failures beforehand. Then, talk about the 5-1 start and Fiedler getting injured and Carter joining the team. Then, talk about ricky leading the team in rushing and the victory over the Raiders. Then, talk about the collapse against the Vikings and how Carter's drop cost the Dolphins. Then, talk about the collapse against the Patriots and how Carter's final chance to get a ring passed him by.

[forevercuz]

@dolphinsneu even then, they would have to be called one of the greatest teams to not win the superbowl and i think, and im sure along with many others, the 02 dolphins would not be called that. maybe one of the greatest teams not to appear in the playoffs

[italstallion06]

@dolphinsneu i remember that year, we definitely could have made a super bowl run, all the talent was there, esp with ricky in his prime, too bad our coaching wasn't all there

[invincibleironman3]

@italstallion06 ...dont you think that 2009 team with Brett Favre was the best team you ever had? Then the Saints beat you on that ridiculous Favre INT. awful.

[italstallion06]

@invincibleironman3 i think you misread my previous comment my friend, i was talking about the 2002 miami dolphins and how they could have been included in this missing rings series, i am not a vikings or favre fan by any stretch of the imagination, watching favre throw that game away was hilarious to me

[invincibleironman3]

@italstallion06 ..not even in the conversation. The Vikings scored 550 plus points. Randy Moss was dominant. John Randle was dominant. Yes, the Dolphins had Patrick Surtain, and the super athletic (then) Jason Taylor, but they only went 9-7, 2 games down from their 11-5 finish the previous year. Gannon got the MVP that year - and you only "dominated" us by 6 points. i think you misfired on the QB when Parcells half rebuilt you guys - Henne was a miss, but coming back from where you were..wow!

[mesmursur]

True story: Falcons-Vikings game, before the Anderson kick, a friend starts screaming, "It's the Vikings! He's going to miss it, it's the Vikings!"

He missed it.

[BigUnit41587]

Missing Rings 1999 Titans,2000-2002 Raiders,2002-2004 Eagles

[psufan001]

i guess the cowboy game from the week before got to aeneas williams head.

[gotobed79]

they should have one that game

[ggqbc]

its almost a carbon copy of this year, robert griffith's sure int was lost in the chaos of this game and season just like tyrell johnson's sure int in ot was lost in the chaos last season, we have the best team we ever seen as vikings fans right in front of us this season, we need this, because we are tired of waiting for next season. we need this. we deserve this

[zombiemaster3]

vikings would have beaten the bronchos

[mesmursur]

Whole game wasn't the Anderson miss, but the Cunningham fumble. Denny and Billick just froze up from that point...

[AHawkins25]

@mesmursur How about the Falcons hung tough. I recall a play where Chuck Smith strip-sacked Cunningham. The Falcons were no slouches now. You don't go 14-2 by accident. So the Falcons had something to do with the vikings losing & the Falcons winning.

[deepcosmiclove]

They didn't mention it during or after the game either because it shows just how gutless and yellow Dennis Green is. The Vikes hat the ball with 49 seconds to go at their own 40. Two completed passes and they could have won it in regulation. Instead of trying to win the game right there, they take a knee and lose in overtime. Pathetic.

[AHawkins25]

The Falcons were pretty damn good Football team in 1998. You don't go 14-2 in the regular season by accident. You gotta give the Falcons their due because they hung tough with the highest scoring team that year.

[SuperTugz]

@AHawkins25

Yeah I wasn't a very big football fan in 1998 so when people talked about how big of an upset this was I was expecting to check the records and see the Falcons as like a 10-6 or 11-5 team or something along those lines. But they were 14-2. I understand how good this Vikings team was it couldn't have been THAT big of an upset given that circumstance.

[dkthg]

@AHawkins25 fuck you Mr. Hawkins!! FREAKNIK ALL DAY!!

[AHawkins25]

@dkthg Man, what did I really say that caused such a response like that from you?

[dkthg]

@AHawkins25 nuthin, i'm just being a silly goose.

[AHawkins25]

The Falcons were pretty damn good Football team in 1998. You don't go 14-2 in the regular season by accident. You gotta give the Falcons their due because they hung tough with the highest scoring team that year.

[ratesforless]

Oh, this is like a Christmas gift that just keeps on giving. Favorited.....

[GCube45]

Hmm... have Gary Anderson and Chris Carter been inducted into the Hall of Fame? ..I think that missed field goal has sadly kept Anderson out of it... :-(

[gogettajay69]

the only thing the Falcons did this game was prevent a great Sb between the Vikings and the Broncos, the Falcons had no chance against the Broncos, the Vikes would of game them a game if not a win

[McCall72]

People tend to forget that the Falcons were 14-2 and a damn good football team that year. It was no fluke that they went up there and beat the vikings at all. All this crying from the Vikings players 10 years after the fact hints that they were looking past the Falcons and rightfully got punched in the mouth.

[ZhangtheGreat]

@McCall72, I don't see any crying, and I HIGHLY doubt they looked past the Falcons. It's the NFC Championship Game with a ticket to the Super Bowl at stake; nobody looks past an opponent then.

The Falcons may not have been the better team that year, but they were on that day, and in the end, that's all that matters.

[hardcorefakes12]

@ZhangtheGreat hmm you would be amaved at how many sports righters do overlook teams

[ZhangtheGreat]

Sports WRITERS are not coaches and players. There's no way that Vikings team believed they'd just have to show up and they'd win.

[hardcorefakes12]

@ZhangtheGreat nooo sports writers are hypocrites who don't know two fucks about football. the automaticlly assume "this team" will beat "that team" because of "this" and "that".they'd belive anything and will cry everytime the team they favorded loses.

[ZhangtheGreat]

@hardcorefakes12, once again, I never said ANYTHING about sports writers. I was talking about the actual team itself, which has NOTHING to do with the writers. Did the coaches overlook the Falcons? No. Did the players? No. Who cares about the writers?

[TheStanisback]

@McCall72 vikings where 11 point favorites, falcons weren't on r level looked what happen to them in the superbowl got fuckin smoked.

[BarackSays]

@McCall72 If you think the Vikings players are giving them shit, you should see what the Broncos players were saying about them.

[excel621]

The Vikings radio dude is a boss.

"Fires deep downfield MOSSSSSS!"

"FINGER-TIP GRABBBB!"

[vfgjhj]

Randall Cunningham was slingin that ball like a bitchass muthafucka.

[ZhangtheGreat]

@vfgjhj, he always did that. Only difference was in 1998, he had two monster receivers to throw to and proper coaching. He never had either of those with the Eagles.

[xMrGQx]

BiQUeens are a bunch of faggots. LOL Hilarious they lost.

[MrRavens4ever]

watch makes this even worse

is that such great players like : cris carter ,randy moss ,randall,john randle randall mcdaniel and goes on .....

and shitheads like elway,romo, and others won SB

sucks

[ZhangtheGreat]

@MrRavens4ever, Romo won a Super Bowl? When did that happen? =P

(I'm sure that was just a typo =D)

[MrRavens4ever]

@ZhangtheGreat

i mean romanwoski

[ZhangtheGreat]

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, you gotta specify him by name now, just like when you're referring to Lawrence Taylor by "LT" or people will think you're talking about Tomlinson.

[aikmanbest]

I wanted Randall Cunningham to win SOOOO bad!!

[GreatnesslsHere]

OT game my ass, denver would have got there ass kicked Vikes 48 Denver 21

[a7b7c78]

I still feel that both Minnesota and Denver should have been in the SB that year. It should have been the battle of the undefeated teams. That game would have been an OT classic.

[gogettajay69]

u cant blame Anderson for this loss, yea he deff should of made that field goal, but Moss dropped an easy TD and all the D had to do was stop the falcons from scoring, a championship team would have done those things, not rely on a kicker to win a game for them

[snag66]

I'm watchin the oilers game with my best friend and after Gary Anderson breaks the record he looks at me and says "He should just shank his next kick on purpose to get it over with because watch his first miss be to go to or win the Super Bowl. Uggggh!

[jimbotwin91]

at the time i didn't want gary to be perfect i knew he could miss 1 in the playoffs.  I wanted him to miss vs the oilers. I knew nobody was perfect!

[excel621]

Poor randy...98 and 07...that sucks

[Craigipedia]

@excel621

doesn't feel like he earned.. ney... deserved it

[agreen182]

LOL!! suck it vikings

[RLBacklund]

poor vikings :(

[forevercuz]

today is another nfc championship game for the vikings. the superbowl will be in Miami just like in 1998. hopefully a different outcome will happen today for the vikings.

[halodystroyer44]

it should't have come down to a kick at the end, if the defense did their job then they would have won the championship easy

[mgfish23]

f u gary andersen

[AdVikesAd]

Go to hell Gary.

[Thracozaag]

Shades of Nick Kaeding....

[jdog9445]

its actually Nate Kaeding but i see ur point

[Thracozaag]

Yikes, sorry about that--also shades of Lin Elliot (as a Chiefs fan)

[dgendvil]

By the way, how did the Vikings defense do in the '98 season? How does it compare to today's?

[MikeJustbringit]

Vikings defense was weak back then only reason we went 15-1 was because we outscored overybody in 1998.

[balla2384]

i think they were like 13th in the league... like this year's saints, they scored a lot on the defensive side with Rudd, Hitchcock, and Griffith

[halodystroyer44]

saints are 25th in defense

[balla2384]

yeah, '98 vikes were a better D than this year's saints, but they both had the same "offense from defense" mentality... I'm a Vikes fan by the way, 23 hours til kickoff

[Rucks90]

if they didn't have brett favre, i would cheer for Minnesota. :-)

[halodystroyer44]

i wonder if the vike win the superbowl, will favre stay?

[halodystroyer44]

and 26th againts the pass

[bmarek10]

This was the absolute worst day I have ever experienced in my life

[excel621]

Look at all the Randy Moss jerseys in that crowd

[MikeJustbringit]

yea the vikings won that game 55 10

[acb43211]

Damn Falcons!

[jayNicks10]

The Vikings offense would have have dominated the Broncos defense. as for the Broncos defense, Davis would run well but I think the Vikes would have shut down Elway.

[mynbaprofile]

r u fucking retarded u obviously dont know football the vikings offense would hav put up points but the odds of the vikings shitty defense shutting elway or davis down is soo dumb.god ur dumbas fuck...

[jayNicks10]

you're a dick shit. the Vikings had a good passing defense with a good pass rush. They didn't have a great run defense though. Elway would've done fine but Cunningham would've done better with Moss and Carter. But Davis would have run the ball better than Leroy Hoard. That's the only thing I would have been worried about.

[mynbaprofile]

ya im just saing that it wouldve been a good game and the vikings runningback was robert smith

[jayNicks10]

well, actually, Smith got injured in the NFC Championship. But maybe he could of played. But yes. it sure as hell would have been a better game than when the Broncos and Falcons. I n my opinion.

[cubbs357]

The Vikings should have went for it on 4th down.

[NUMBERONETHEGREAT]

yes denver destroyed atlanta... denver would have destoyed minnesota... this is possibly the greatest moment in football history for me anyway... i was living in mn during this season... the radio stations had remixed will smith's "going to miami" and giving away superbowl tickets BEFORE THE ATLANTA GAME. i made so much money after that loss.... it was great... i losted so many friends....

[yugiohtrader909]

how did u lose friends

[staindwt20]

same ol chokers ,go qweens lololol

[funkmasterflex28]

funny how they fail to mention the fact that Dennis Green took a knee to take it to overtime after the Falcons touchdown. Completely stupid decision.

[deepcosmiclove]

They didn't mention it during or after the game either because it shows just how gutless and yellow Dennis Green is. The Vikes hat the ball with 49 seconds to go at their own 40. Two completed passes and they could have won it in regulation. Instead of trying to win the game right there, they take a knee and lose in overtime. Pathetic.

[MinnesotaTwinsFan94]

@funkmasterflex28 very true. the players didn't lose that game, dennis green lost that game.

[dolphinsneu]

@MinnesotaTwinsFan94 how do you know they would have scored on that drive?

[cubbs357]

@funkmasterflex28 The Vikings should have went for it on 4th Down they had enough time to win the game.All the Vikings had to do was throw it Chris Carter and then Robert smith could have it in or whatever.

[saveus2132]

Wow I wonder how great a game super bowl 33 would've been if it was broncos-vikings though I think Denver still would've won

[yugiohtrader909]

Gary Anderson gets all the blame for this loss. But it wasn't all his faults the offense settled for field goals and score TD's obviously is a bad thing. But im pretty sure that the Vikings would of lost to Denver.

[SFFOOL76]

98 Vikings, 91 UNLV BASKETBALL TEAM, 82' BRAZIL WORLD CUP TEAM great high scoring teams.

[MrStoopidfilms]

how much do you think Anderson got paid to miss that kick?

[JCeiver612]

"War on your ass too than." lol John Randle

[L0stH0riz0n21]

poor gary

[BenMoss81]

damn i didn't know Atlanta was 14-2 that season, they were good too obviouisly...

[man215]

Jamal Anderson had a ridiculous season, I think he rushed for over 1,900 yards. It was close to that number ... but Minny still should've taken them out. Awfully coached game by Green.

[BenMoss81]

i agree... u think they could have beaten denver?

[man215]

I am a Packer fan, that would have been an entertaining game. I think Denver still would have beaten them. The Vikings were weak against ball-control teams that could pound their undersized defense.

Terrell Davis would have worn them down and kept the offense off the field. Denver was pretty damn stacked. They pretty much destroyed Atlanta.

[MrFIendMonster]

o hell ya denver wasnt shit compaired to us