1995 Minnesota Vikings: A Playoff Streak Comes To An End

Dennis Green came to Minnesota in 1992 and reached the playoffs each of his first three years, including division titles in ’92 and 1994. The 1995 Minnesota Vikings were a respectable team that stayed in contention for the entire year. But in the end, this was the year Green’s playoff streak came to an end.

A potent offense fueled the Vikings. The Hall of Fame quarterback, Warren Moon, was 39-years-old, but he could still produce. Moon’s 62% completion rate was seventh among NFL starting QBs. His 7.0 yards-per-attempt was in the middle of the league, but he posted a TD-INT ratio of 33/14. Moon’s final interception percentage of 2.3% was in the top half of the league. When all was said and done, Moon made another Pro Bowl.

Moon’s favorite target was another Hall of Famer. Cris Carter’s 17 touchdown passes led the league, and he caught 122 passes for 1,371 yards. Jake Reed was a quality second target, averaging over 16 yards a pop on his 72 catches.

Minnesota’s running game was a little shakier. Even with All-Pro left guard Randall McDaniel—another great player with Canton in his future—the combined rushing efforts of Robert Smith and Scottie Graham only went for 1,038 yards.

The most productive running back was Amp Lee and that was in the passing game—he caught 71 passes out of the backfield. And behind that passing game, the Viking offense ranked fourth in the league for points scored.

A young defense held Minnesota back. The great John Randle—yet another future Hall of Famer—anchored the defensive line at tackle and got 10 ½ sacks. Rookie free safety Orlando Thomas intercepted nine passes. But Thomas was one of three rookies in the starting lineup and the youth was a little too much to overcome. The Viking defense ranked 27^th in what was then a 30-team league for points allowed.

The previous season had ended with a home playoff loss to the division rival Chicago Bears, and the ’95 campaign would open with a late Sunday afternoon visit to Soldier Field. The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, but Minnesota came undone in the second half of a 31-14 loss.

That heightened the importance of the home opener with the Detroit Lions, another division foe coming off a playoff season. The Vikings controlled the line of scrimmage, winning rush yardage 155-54, as they contained the great Lion running back Barry Sanders. Holding a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter, Moon hit speedy Quadry Ismail on an 85-yard touchdown pass to seal the 20-10 win.

The Dallas Cowboys came to the Twin Cities for Monday Night Football. The Cowboys, along with the San Francisco 49ers, had been head-and-shoulders above the rest of the NFL, and were again en route to the top two playoff seeds. Minnesota hung in there well. Moon played mistake-free, Smith ran for 73 yards and the game went to overtime. But Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith ran wild and capped it off with a touchdown run. The Vikings lost to the eventual Super Bowl champs 23-17.

Minnesota went on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team who would make up the other end of the Super Bowl in the coming January. For the first half, the game was tough and physical, and the Vikings led 13-6. In the second half, the defense delivered—defensive back Corey Fuller scooped up a fumble and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown. Minnesota intercepted six passes overall. One of them was a 45-yard Pick-6 by Thomas. The lead soared to 37-6 and the Vikes closed out a 44-24 win.

Minnesota went into their bye week at 2-2. Given the quality of the schedule they had played, no one could be too unhappy in the Twin Cities.

The Vikings hosted the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans), where Moon had starred through 1993. Houston was a mediocre team this year, but they gave Minnesota a tough battle. Neither team could run the ball, and the Vikes lost the turnover battle 4-2. But Carter caught 12 balls for 115 yards. Safety Chuck Cecil delivered a Pick-6. The Vikings again went to overtime tied 17-17 against a team from the state of Texas. This time, they got the 23-17 win.

A road trip to play mediocre Tampa Bay didn’t go as well. Minnesota trailed 17-6 in the third quarter. Moon rallied the troops, hitting Reed for a TD pass and again sending a game to overtime tied 17-all. But the pendulum swung back the other way, with a Buccaneer field goal sending the Vikings to a 20-17 loss.

That set up a trip to Green Bay. The Packers were an emerging team with Brett Favre behind center and the Green Bay quarterback would win his first MVP award this season. The Pack joined the Vikings, Bears, and Lions as playoff teams from the year before. And Minnesota could not control Favre, nor could they take care of the football, turning it over four times in a 38-21 loss.

With a record of 3-4, a Monday Night home date with Chicago loomed even bigger. Moon played efficiently, completing 28/42 passes and steering clear of mistakes. But there were no big plays, as those completions only produced 252 yards. There was no pass protection, with four sacks. There was no running game. That added up to there being no touchdowns in a 14-6 loss. Minnesota was at the halfway point of a season that was now in danger of slipping away.

The second game with the Packers in three weeks was up next. The Vikings trailed 16-10 and were facing a desperate situation. They turned up the heat, sacking Favre four times and eventually knocking him out of the game. Moon threw touchdown passes to Carter and Reed. Minnesota pulled even 24-24, and then won it on a 39-yard field goal. They still had life.

A road trip to lowly Arizona turned into another overtime saga. Carter had a huge day, catching 12 passes for 157 yards. Minnesota had leads of 17-7 and 24-16. The offensive line was not playing well though. Moon was sacked five times and the inability to run the ball allowed Arizona to tie it 24-24 and force OT. Moon saved his team by hitting Ismail on a 50-yard TD strike for the 30-24 win.

Back to .500, Minnesota hosted an average New Orleans Saints team, and the passing game kept humming. Moon threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Carter, a short scoring toss to tight end (and future head coach) Mike Tice, and a 77-yard strike to Ismail. Moon finished 25/32 for 338 yards with no picks. A 30-7 halftime lead made it an easy afternoon, ending with a 43-24 win.

That set up a big Thanksgiving Day showdown in Detroit. Moon was ready to put on a show. He went 30/47 for 384 yards. Reed caught six passes for 149 yards. But the Viking secondary was carved up by a Lion passing game that was also getting hot. The presence of Sanders gave Detroit the running game that Minnesota lacked. That was the difference in a back-and-forth shootout that ended as a 44-38 loss.

The Vikings were two games back of Green Bay in the NFC Central (prior to 2002, this was the four teams of today’s NFC North plus Tampa Bay). In the race for the final two wild-card spots, the Bears and Atlanta Falcons were both 7-5. Minnesota, along with Detroit, the St. Louis Rams, and Tampa, were all giving chase at 6-6.

And the Buccaneers were coming north for a huge game. Lee set the tone quickly by racing 66 yards for a touchdown. Moon went up top to Carter for touchdown passes from 27 and 60 yards. Graham had his best game running the football, gaining 98 yards. It was 28-7 by halftime and ended 31-17.

In the meantime, Chicago and Atlanta both lost. It was a five-way tie at 7-6 for two spots. The Vikings had a tiebreaker problem, on both division record and conference record, where their earlier loss to Tampa was the most obvious scapegoat. While any number of scenarios were plausible, Minnesota had to presume they would need to win outright. But they had a shot with three weeks to go.

They also had an extremely winnable game with the Cleveland Browns. A promising Browns season, with Bill Belichick as the head coach, had been derailed in late September by the stunning news that the franchise was preparing to move to Baltimore. The Browns had fallen apart, and it showed on this early Saturday afternoon in Minnesota.

The Vikings won rushing 111-29. Moon went 20/29 for 267 yards. Carter caught eight balls for 124 yards. Thomas intercepted two passes, part of a four-pick day. The final was 27-11. Chicago and St. Louis both lost. It was now Minnesota, Detroit, and Atlanta at 8-6, with the Vikes still the odd team out based on tiebreakers.

Atlanta lost the following Sunday opening up opportunity for Minnesota as they took the field on Monday Night in San Francisco. But the 49ers were hot and fighting for the 1-seed. The Viking secondary was completely shredded, allowing nearly 300 yards passing just on throws to the great Jerry Rice. They fell behind 21-0. The Vikings didn’t quit—they forced four turnovers and actually pulled even 27-27. But the Niners had the last word and pulled back away to win 37-30.

Detroit had clinched, so there was only one spot left. Chicago and St. Louis had both won on Sunday, so you had the Falcons, Bears, Vikings, and Rams in play for the final spot at 8-7. That was the order in which they controlled their destiny. The good news for Minnesota was this—while Atlanta and Chicago were at home, they were facing playoff opponents in San Francisco and the Philadelphia Eagles respectively, both of whom still had something to play for. Meanwhile, the Vikings were on the road against a bad Cincinnati Bengals team.

Minnesota came out blazing. Moon hit Reed on a 51-yard scoring play. Defensive back Alfred Jackson brought an interception to the house. Graham ran for 115 yards. The Vikings built a 24-3 lead. But the Falcons ended up rallying to win. The Bears survived. As to how much that impacted events in Cincinnati, who knows, but Minnesota completely blew the lead in the second half and lost 27-24.

The season ended at 8-8. It wasn’t what Viking fans had gotten used to under Green. The good news is that the following year, Minnesota picked up where they left off—making the playoffs each year from 1996 through 2000, including a pair of trips to the NFC Championship Game. The 1995 miss was just an anomaly in a Green era marked by steady consistency.