Vikings all-time tournament: 1973 (4) vs. 1987 (13)

First-round matchup in the all-time Minnesota Vikings tournament — No. 4 seed 1973 vs. No. 13 seed 1987.

Record: 12-2
Postseason result: Lost Super Bowl VIII

The Purple People Eaters cruised to a 9-0 start to the season and mauled Washington and Dallas in the postseason before, unfortunately, falling to Miami in Super Bowl VIII. Chuck Foreman, the 12th overall pick in the 1973 draft, rushed for 801 yards (4.4 average) as a rookie.

Record: 8-7
Postseason result: Lost NFC championship

Minnesota took on plenty of turbulence during the 1987 campaign. The Vikings started 2-0 but lost the next three games that were played by replacement players during an NFL strike. A four-game winning streak in November was just enough to get the Vikings into the playoffs. Minnesota, led by Joey Browner, Chris Doleman and Scott Studwell on defense, surprised everyone by crushing New Orleans in the wild-card round and shocked the world the following weekend by taking down San Francisco 36-24. The Vikings came up one score short of a fifth Super Bowl appearance, losing 17-10 to Washington in the NFC championship game. We wouldn’t mind seeing a few upsets in this tournament. This 1987 team can bring it.