. Prior to the start of the 1998 season, the Vikings were sold to
Red McCombs. The NFL had not been happy with the Vikings' ownership arrangement of 10 owners with none owning more than 30 per cent. The ownership decided to sell the club. At first it appeared that
Tom Clancy would become the new owner. However, his attempt to buy the team fell through. So in July 1998, the team was sold to McCombs, who was from San Antonio, Texas. 1998 was a year to remember for the
Minnesota Vikings. With a spectacular offense led by quarterback
Randall Cunningham, who had the best year of his NFL career, running back
Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver
Cris Carter, and explosive rookie
Randy Moss, the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. The Vikings finished the season 15–1, their only loss by three points to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week nine. 12 of their 15 wins came by a margin of at least 10 points. According to
Football Outsiders, "The Vikings led the league with 52 plays of 25+ yards. They had 22 offensive plays of 40+ yards; no other team had more than 16 plays of that length."
Schedule Note: Intra-division opponents are in
bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cris Carter and rookie
Randy Moss caught two touchdowns apiece as the Vikings routed the Bucs 31–7 despite being outgained in yards 319 to 298.
Week 2: at St. Louis Rams Brad Johnson was intercepted twice and eventually knocked out of the game; his replacement
Randall Cunningham threw a late touchdown to
Cris Carter.
Robert Smith rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams stayed within a touchdown despite four
Tony Banks interceptions. A last-minute goalline stand by the Vikings sealed a 38–31 win.
Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions Cunningham made his first start of the season and threw for 220 yards and a five-yard score to Randy Moss. The game was mostly a
Gary Anderson field goal exhibition as he booted five field goals plus two PATs, the second on
Leroy Hoard's 11-yard rushing touchdown in the Vikings 29–6 win.
Week 4: at Chicago Bears Cunningham and
Erik Kramer of the Bears squared off in a spirited duel. Cunningham's four touchdowns (to Smith,
Andrew Glover, Carter, and Moss) were answered by Kramer's four scores (to
Bobby Engram,
Chris Penn, and
Ryan Wetnight). The Vikings got the better of the duel as they intercepted Kramer once and won 31–28.
Week 5: at Green Bay Packers Randall Cunningham and
Randy Moss unleashed a passing clinic on
Monday Night at
Lambeau Field as Cunningham tossed for 442 yards and Moss caught five passes for 190 yards and two scores (Moss also had a 75-yard touchdown reception called back due to holding).
Cris Carter added eight for 119 yards as the Vikings also intercepted
Brett Favre three times; backup
Doug Pederson took over and threw two scores in the fourth quarter, but they did nothing to assuage a 37–24 Vikings win.
Week 7: vs. Washington Redskins Week 8: at Detroit Lions Week 9: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Vikings' quest for perfection ended as
Warrick Dunn and
Mike Alstott ran for 243 rushing yards and two scores. Two Cunningham touchdown throws put the Vikings up 24–17 until Alstott's score in the fourth quarter proved the key to Tampa's 27–24 upset of the Vikings. The win was the third in six tries for Bucs coach
Tony Dungy over his former boss
Dennis Green.
Week 10: vs. New Orleans Saints Cunningham threw only two passes against New Orleans and
Brad Johnson came off the bench to throw for 316 yards and a touchdown despite two picks;
Sammy Knight ran back one pick for a 91-yard touchdown in the fourth. Robert Smith rushed for 137 yards; he and Leroy Hoard accounted for three touchdowns in Minnesota's 31–24 win.
Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys Cunningham and Moss led a wild 46–36 win at Dallas as Moss caught just three passes – for 163 yards and three touchdowns.
Cris Carter snagged seven passes for 135 yards and a score and
Leroy Hoard ran in two more touchdowns.
Troy Aikman threw for a career-high 455 yards and a score to
Patrick Jeffers while
Emmitt Smith ran in three scores; despite 513 total yards the Cowboys could not keep pace with the Vikings. The game was also a penalty-laden affair with a combined 23 fouls eating 230 yards.
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears Four years after
Warren Moon's overtime win over the Bears on Sunday Night Football, the Vikings clinched the
NFC Central title by once again hosting the Bears on
Sunday Night Football.
Randall Cunningham unleashed four more touchdowns, three of them to
Randy Moss.
Leroy Hoard added a rushing score while the Bears fumbled at the Vikings six-yard line and
Dwayne Rudd scored with the turnover. The Vikings won 48–22.
Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens Vikings offensive coordinator
Brian Billick faced his employer for
the following season as the two teams combined for just 143 rushing yards. This unusual game featured three kick-off returns for TDs and four fumbles (all in their own half by the Ravens) in just the first 21 minutes of play. Overall, the Ravens coughed up five fumbles but the Vikings offense was largely held in check, with
Gary Anderson booting six field goals and
Randall Cunningham held to two touchdowns, one to
Randy Moss. Future
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh threw a 42-yard touchdown to
his former Colts teammate Floyd Turner while
Corey Haris,
David Palmer on kick returns and
Priest Holmes on a two-yard run gave the Ravens the rest of their points scored in a 38–28 Vikings win.
Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Despite giving up 108 penalty yards, the Vikings reached 50 points for only the sixth time in franchise history and the first time since
1974 in a 50–10 win over the
AFC Central champion
Jacksonville Jaguars.
Randall Cunningham threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns, then gave way to
Brad Johnson who added a touchdown of his own. Cunningham was one of three Vikings players who rushed for 161 yards and a
Chuck Evans touchdown while
Jimmy Hitchcock intercepted
Jonathan Quinn and scored from 30 yards out.
Week 17: at Tennessee Oilers The Vikings became the final club to play against Tennessee before they officially became the
Titans. The Oilers clawed to a 13–8 halftime lead despite an intentional grounding penalty against
Steve McNair that led to a safety. Two
Randall Cunningham touchdowns in the third quarter put the game away to a 26–16 Vikings win, the 15th of the season. With this loss the Oilers became the first team in NFL history to have three straight 8–8 seasons.
Standings ==Postseason==