Vikings all-time tournament second round: 1969 (2) vs. 1976 (7)

A second-round matchup in the all-time Minnesota Vikings tournament — No. 2 seed 1969 vs. No. 7 seed 1976.

How they got here: Defeated 15th-seeded 1988 by a score of 15-10.

The identity of the Vikings franchise wouldn’t be the same without this trailblazing team. Minnesota ranked first in both scoring defense and offense in 1969 as the Purple People Eaters — the defensive line of Allen Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen – established the Vikings as one of the most feared defenses in football.

How they got here: Defeated 10th-seeded 2000 by a score of 20-17.

We dip back into the best decade of Vikings football for the 1976 team. The defense was still elite, giving up the second-fewest points per game (12.6) in the league. But that didn’t stop Ken Stabler, Cliff Branch and Dave Casper (and head coach John Madden) from scoring a boatload of points in the Oakland Raiders’ 32-14 win in Super Bowl XI.