1997 Minnesota Vikings: Dennis Green’s 1st Playoff Win

The Minnesota Vikings entered the 1997 season as an established contender. They had made the playoffs four times in their five seasons under head coach Dennis Green. One thing they had not done, however, was actually win a postseason game. After a wild roller-coaster ride of a regular season, the Vikings again made the playoffs—and this time they advanced.

Brad Johnson played consistent football at quarterback all year long, until a neck injury cost him the final three games. With a 61 percent completion rate, Johnson was one of the NFL’s most accurate passers, ranking third among starting QBs. His 6.7 yards per attempt was above average, as was his 20-12 TD/INT ratio and 2.7 percent interception rate.

Johnson had one of the league’s most consistent receivers, future Hall of Famer Cris Carter, to throw too. Carter put another Pro Bowl notch on his belt, catching 89 passes for 1,069 yards. Jake Reed could stretch the field, catching 68 passes that averaged nearly 17 yards apiece. Andrew Glover was a reliable tight end, pulling in 32 catches.

Robert Smith had a big year at running back in spite of missing a few games with injuries. He still rushed for 1,266 yards, averaged a healthy 5.5 yards per carry, and caught 37 balls. Smith ran behind a good offensive line where the left side included Pro Bowlers in tackle Todd Steussie and Hall of Fame guard Randall McDaniel.

With the offense able to do a bit of everything, they ranked a steady 11^th in the NFL for points scored. Defensively, there were problems. While Hall of Fame tackle John Randle had an All-Pro year with 15 ½ sacks, he was a lonely warrior and this side of the ball finished 19^th in a 30-team league for points allowed.

The Vikings opened the season at Buffalo. The Bills had been one of the league’s elite teams in the first half of the 1990s and a playoff team the past couple of years. But they would fall hard in 1997 and Minnesota helped them along the way.

Leading 13-10 in the fourth quarter, Smith tore off a 78-yard touchdown run, the highlight of a 169-yard afternoon. Linebacker Jeff Brady returned a fumble for a score. Johnson went 35 yards to Carter for a touchdown, capping a day where the receiver caught eight passes for 121 yards. The Vikings won 34-13.

They traveled to face the lowly Chicago Bears. The offense sputtered for a while and Minnesota trailed 10-6 in the third quarter. Then the defense made a play, with corner Orlando Thomas returning a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown. The passing game heated up, with both Carter and Reed having 100-plus yards receiving. The Vikes pulled out a 27-24 win.

The home opener was against Tampa Bay, an emerging young team under head coach Tony Dungy, who would have a breakthrough playoff season this year. Minnesota fell behind early and couldn’t run the ball. They didn’t force turnovers and didn’t pressure the quarterback. Reed caught six passes for 131 yards, and Johnson went 29/44 for 334 yards, but the 28-14 loss really wasn’t that close.

A road trip to Green Bay, the defending Super Bowl champions was next. The Minnesota secondary spent much of the afternoon getting sliced up by Brett Favre and was trailing 31-7, with Johnson throwing a couple of interceptions. Johnson would heat up though. Reed had another 100-yard receiving game and Smith rushed for 132 yards. The Vikings rallied and closed the gap to 38-32, but that’s where it ended.

At 2-2, Minnesota hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football, a team coming off back-to-back playoff years, but on the downward path to mediocrity this year. The Vikings played well for the prime-time audience. Smith ran for 125 yards, and Reed’s six catches went for 134 yards. The defense got three turnovers, including two interceptions by corner DeWayne Washington. They got five sacks, with a pair from defensive end Derrick Alexander. And they won the football game, 28-19.

A visit to face a bad Arizona Cardinals team nearly turned into a disastrous letdown. With Johnson throwing a couple interceptions, Minnesota trailed 19-10 in the fourth quarter. But Johnson kept spreading the ball around, finished 25/39 for 292 yards and pulled out a 20-19 win.

The Vikings’ home date with Carolina was in the late afternoon window, with the Panthers coming off an NFC Championship Game appearance the year before. They weren’t as good this year. Smith ran for 120 yards, Randle got home for three sacks and Minnesota won 21-14. They were heading into their bye week at 5-2 and looking good.

A return visit to Tampa Bay (the old NFC Central where the Vikes resided included the Buccaneers, along with the four current teams of the NFC North) was on the far side of the bye. In a physical, defensive game, Smith injured his ankle. Johnson went 20/29 for 230 yards, and that was enough juice to pull out a big 10-6 win.

The Vikings hosted playoff-bound New England. With Smith still on the sidelines, they couldn’t run the ball. But Johnson steered clear of mistakes and repeatedly connected with Carter, who caught eight passes for 116 yards. Defensive end Duane Clemons had two sacks. Minnesota won a good 23-18 game.

A home game with Chicago proved tougher than expected, with Smith still out. The Vikings led 21-10, fell behind 22-21, before finally putting out a 29-22 win. It wasn’t pretty. But Minnesota was 8-2, running neck-and-neck with Green Bay and San Francisco, the two powerhouses in the NFC race. And Smith was coming back.

But now is when the roller-coaster started to descend. A visit to Detroit was a disaster. Smith’s touchdown in his return game was the only positive note in a 38-15 loss. Facing a fringe contender in the New York Jets, Minnesota fell behind 23-7 on the road, giving up a special teams touchdown. They fought back—Johnson went 24/35 for 212 yards, and three touchdowns, Reed caught eight passes for 150 yards, and Carter added six receptions for 105 yards. But it wasn’t enough to stop a 23-21 loss.

It was a disappointing two weeks to be sure, but at 8-4, Minnesota and Tampa Bay still led the way in the race for three wild-card spots, with a two-game cushion. The Vikings were still only a game behind the Packers in the race for the division title. And Green Bay was coming to Minnesota for a juicy Monday Night showdown.

The evening went awry. The pass protection was collapsed and Johnson was sacked six times, suffering the neck injury that would end his season. The Vikings lost 27-11 and veteran backup Randall Cunningham was now in at quarterback.

Nor was the schedule getting any easier. Minnesota went to San Francisco, where the 49ers were en route to the 1-seed in the NFC playoffs. Cunningham was sacked four times, and went a meager 16/31 for 178 yards. For the second straight week against a top team, Smith was a non-factor. The Vikings lost 28-17.

A once-secure playoff berth was now getting tenous. Tampa Bay would take one of the three wild-card spots. At 8-6, Minnesota was still next in line. But now you had Washington at 7-6-1, and 7-7 teams from Detroit and Carolina sneaking up.

Getting the Lions at home was the ideal way to put this tension to bed. But while Smith ran for 101 yards, Detroit’s MVP running back, Barry Sanders, had a big game of his own. Cunningham could only throw for 77 yards. Minnesota lost a tough 14-13 decision.

As we entered the final week, the stakes were simple—the Vikings and Lions currently held the final two playoff spots, with the Redskins a half-game back. If Minnesota won, they were in. If they lost, and Washington won, the Vikings were going home. With Minnesota trailing Detroit on tiebreakers, the Lions’ result on Sunday didn’t matter to the Vikings except for seeding.

The Vikings and Redskins both played in the early afternoon window. The good news was that Minnesota was hosting an Indianapolis Colts team that was bad enough to be in position to draft Peyton Manning the next spring. The game was tied 10-10 in the second quarter. Then Cunningham tossed a short TD pass to Carter. Running back Leory Hoard went in for a score. Cunningham flipped another short TD pass to Glover.

It was 29-10 by halftime and even though Washington would beat Philadelphia, it didn’t matter. The Viking defense got five turnovers, including two interceptions by defensive back Robert Griffith. Smith finished with 160 yards. The 39-28 final sent Minnesota back to postseason play.

Now, could they make anything happen there? As the 6-seed, the Vikings were going on the road to face the New York Giants team in an early Saturday afternoon game that would begin Wild-Card Weekend. The two teams were on opposite trajectories, with the Giants overcoming a slow start by surging down the stretch.

For the first half, those trajectories continued. New York drove for a couple of first quarter field goals, then added a touchdown and another field goal in the second quarter. Minnesota responded with a good drive, but had to settle for a 26-yard field goal. And the Giants got in a 51-yard field goal by halftime. Trailing 19-3, the Vikings looked to be toast.

But while Cunningham was erratic, going 15/36 for the game, he was also making those completions go for 203 yards. He led a drive that ended with a Hoard touchdown run. A short field goal cut the lead to 19-13 and it was still the third quarter.

New York drove in close, but the Minnesota defense made them settle for a 22-yard field goal. With the score 22-13, it didn’t look like it would matter, when Green made a controversial decision to punt the ball with 3:51 left. But that red zone stop would prove to be decisive when a crazy final few minutes unfolded.

The Viking defense was shutting down the Giant running game and they did it again here, getting the ball back with 2:13 to go. Cunningham threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Reed to make it 22-20. Everything rested on the onside kick. Minnesota got it. They drove down the field again. With 0:10 to play, Murray booted a 24-yard field goal. A franchise that has endured more than its share of postseason heartbreak, was finally on the right side of a wild ending. Green’s first playoff win was 23-22 thriller.

Minnesota went on to San Francisco the following Saturday for the Divisional Round. No one expected the Vikings to win, and the game went to form. Trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, Cunningham threw a Pick-6 and it got away from there. They didn’t run the ball, committed 12 penalties, and while Cunningham threw for 331 yards, he was only 18/40. The 38-22 loss was never in doubt.

Even so, the Vikings had finally advanced in the playoffs. And they kept doing it. Over the next three seasons, Minnesota reached the NFC Championship Game twice. Admittedly one of those, the 1998 run, had an exceptional bittersweet feel, when a spectacular regular season ended in a crushing defeat. But in 1997, the Green era made a pivot, from not simply getting to the playoffs, to at least winning a game when they got there.