Vikings all-time tournament: 1998 (1) vs. 2012 (16)
First-round matchup in the all-time Minnesota Vikings tournament — No. 1 seed 1998 vs. No. 16 seed 2012.
Vikings All-Time Tournament
Record: 15-1
Postseason result: Lost NFC championship
Outlook: The top seed in our tournament goes to arguably the most electric offense in NFL history. Cris Carter and rookie Randy Moss caught passes from Randall Cunningham, a 35-year-old quarterback who took over as the starter under center in Week 3 when Brad Johnson was sidelined with an injury. Moss went on to catch the most touchdown receptions as a rookie in NFL history (17), and the Vikings racked up a then-record 556 points in the regular season. This was undoubtedly the most dominant, fun and yes, heartbreaking, season in Vikings history.
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Record: 10-6
Postseason result: Lost in wild-card round
Blurb: Coming off an ACL tear, an injury that was thought of as the kiss of death for running backs, the expectations for Peterson in 2012 were low. But he likely exceeded even his own hopes, rushing for 2,097 yards — just eight yards short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record set back in 1983. Christian Ponder rode the coattails of Peterson to 10 wins and a wild-card berth, clinched with a 37-34 win over rival Green Bay in the regular-season finale. The following week, Minnesota — with Joe Webb starting at quarterback instead of an injured Ponder – lost to the Packers 24-10 and Peterson’s special season was abruptly ended.
