The Vikings have an amazing amount of heart-breaking losses in their history, and today was just another addition to the list. So where does this one rank?
#1 will forever be the '98 loss to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game. A 15-1 team losing at home in the playoffs in OT is hard to top. #2 might be the Hail Mary game from 1975 when the Vikings lost to the Cowboys. I wasn't around for it, but a lot of people swear that was Minnesota's best team and best bet to win a Super Bowl, and they lost on what was probably offensive pass interference.
I'm gonna say Super Bowl IV is #3, as the Vikings were big favorites over the Chiefs and got blown out. The AFL wasn't respected at the time, so for the Vikings to be humiliated like that must have been doubly difficult. I'll put today's game at #4, as the Vikings lose another NFC Championship Game in OT. What separates this from the Falcons game is that this one was on the road, and everyone knew going in that the Saints could win; nobody thought the Falcons would win.
#5 is the 1987 NFC Championship Game, in which the Vikings lost to the Redskins 17-10 after driving down to about the 5 yard line at the end of the game, only to have a pass at the goalline bounce of RB Darrin Nelson's hands. That Viking team wasn't as goo as the '98 or '09 version, so it gets placed lower. And finally, the #6 most heart-breaking loss in team history was the 2003 season finale in Arizona, in which Minnesota only had to beat the lowly Cardinals to win the division. They led by 11 late, but allowed a TD, then an onside kick, and then a miracle TD by Arizona in which Nate Poole got one foot inbounds but was ruled a TD by the now-defunct force out rule. That Viking team wasn't particularly good, but to have the season ended like that was devastating.
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