An extremely prevalent talking point surrounding the Minnesota Vikings is that the team “always finds a way to blow it.” To be sure, this is irrefutably true when referring to the 1970s squads that failed to win Super Bowls in four appearances. It’s even true for NFC Championship lore – the Vikings have lost six consecutive versions of those. This analysis does not seek to forgive the Vikings for sins of the father as a Super Bowl-less franchise. The Vikings are a damn successful franchise – without a Lombardi trophy. And the latter is a big deal.
Here’s the rub: With the Vikings and crucial situations as the topic, the recurring events that arise in memory banks are the 1998 NFC Championship folly, the egregious ineptitude of the 2000 NFC Championship, the 2009 NFC Championship meltdown, or the 2015 Wildcard Playoff foolishness.