2000 Minnesota Vikings season
In 2000, the Vikings went 11–5. The Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper was hampered by injury. Nonetheless, the Vikings made the playoffs for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, they traveled to New York to face the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Though they were the road team, the Vikings were actually favored to win the game (since most considered their 11–2 record with Culpepper more indicative than their 0–3 record when he was out). But the Vikings were humiliated by the Giants 41–0, the worst playoff loss in franchise history. Robert Smith, who ran for a team record (and NFC best) 1521 yards that season, retired at the end of the year after only playing eight NFL seasons.
Minnesota Vikings 2001–05
In 2001, after a disappointing 5–11 season, the Vikings bought out the contract of Dennis Green, despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to the Ravens 19–3. Tice was named the permanent coach after the season, but he would not lead the Vikings back to the playoffs until 2004.
During the 2003 season, the Vikings came close to getting into the playoffs. However, the Arizona Cardinals completed a game winning touchdown on 4th and 28 with 0:00 left knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs. The moment of Arizona's touchdown was actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings hadn't led their division. The Vikings became the second team in football history to miss the playoffs after getting off to a 6–0 start. The first team was the 1978 Washington Redskins.
In 2004, Daunte Culpepper amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card game, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers in their first-ever playoff meeting, 31–17. In doing so, the Vikings became the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game (The St. Louis Rams did the same thing only a day earlier). In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
On March 2, 2005, Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was traded to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and the Raiders' first round draft pick. After struggling to a disappointing 2–5 start to the 2005 season, Vikings lost quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a season-ending knee injury. This injury was a very significant part to this Minnesota Vikings team due to the fact they also lost Moss. The dynamic duo from years earlier were now lost and a new leader would eventually emerge. The Vikings finished the 2005 season with a 9–7 record. However, this season would be more notable for off-the-field events. In October, 17 team members were part of a party of about 90 that went out on a pleasure cruise on local Lake Minnetonka. The incident erupted into scandal when media reported that a number of the players had performed sex acts and that prostitutes had been flown in. Four players were ultimately charged with misdemeanors related to the party.
Head Coach Mike Tice was let go after the 2005 season and was replaced by Brad Childress. This was one of many significant front office moves made by the new ownership team, led by Zygi Wilf.
Minnesota Vikings 2006–2009
Minnesota began the 2006 season 4–2 (Childress became the first coach in Vikings history to start 2–0 in his first year), but would finish the year at 6–10, receiving the 7th pick in the NFL Draft; with it, the Vikings selected Adrian Peterson out of the University of Oklahoma. He is known as a powerhorse back with extreme speed.
Peterson's first career touchdown was a 60-yard screen pass in his first career game against the Atlanta Falcons. When the Minnesota Vikings played the Chicago Bears in the first of their two games, Peterson broke the record for single game All-Purpose (rushing, receiving, kick returning) yards (361 total yards, 224 rushing). In Week 9 of the 2007 season, Peterson broke the NFL record set by Jamal Lewis in 2003 for most rushing yards in one game by rushing for 296 yards against the San Diego Chargers. Despite a strong push in the middle of the 2007 season, winning five straight games, the Vikings lost their final two games to finish the season at 8–8, missing the playoffs. In Week 13 of the 2008 season against the Bears, Gus Frerotte hooked up with Bernard Berrian for a 99-yard touchdown pass after a goal line stand by the Vikings defense. This was the longest play in Vikings history. That season, Adrian Peterson led the NFL with 1760 rushing yards, breaking the franchise record for most single season rush yards. The Vikings clinched the NFC North championship for the first time after defeating the New York Giants 20–19 in Week 17, when kicker Ryan Longwell made the game-winning field goal. Adrian Peterson had 19 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown in this game.
On January 4, 2009, the NFC North champion Vikings hosted the Philadelphia Eagles for the Wild Card round, their first home playoff game in eight years. The Vikings held the Eagles 14–16 at halftime, but the Eagles, coming off of a 44–6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, defeated the Vikings, 26–14. The Eagles would go on to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the Divisional round, only to lose to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game.
Since 2006, the Vikings have been known especially for their strong run defense(#1 in the NFL in 2006, 2007, and 2008; they are the first NFL team to accomplish this since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970), anchored by the Williams Wall consisting of defensive tackle Kevin Williams and nose tackle Pat Williams (no relation). With the addition of sack-leader Jared Allen in 2008 the dominant front four began being called by several nicknames, including "Thunder and Plunder" and "Shock and AWWE" (an acronym of their surname initials). As well known as the "Great Wall of Purple" & "The 4 Norsemen".
2009–2010 (Brett Favre Era)
On August 18, 2009, after months of speculation and negotiations, twice-retired veteran quarterback Brett Favre, who until 2007 played 16 years for division arch rival Green Bay Packers signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Vikings, starting what many Vikings fans refer to as "The Brett Favre Era". Favre is universally acknowledged to be a future Hall of Fame player, holding many NFL career passing records. Coincidentally, in 2007, he broke the record for career touchdown passes (previously held by Dan Marino with 421) in the Metrodome while playing for the Packers.
On October 5, 2009, the Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers as Favre played his former team for the first time. With a 30–23 victory on Monday Night Football, the Vikings moved to a 4–0 record. Favre became the only player in NFL history to defeat all 32 current teams as a starter. The Atlanta Falcons had defeated the Packers in a 1991 game which Favre did not participate. Over 21.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the game, beating the previous record for a cable television program set by a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 (18.6 million viewers).
The Vikings beat the New York Giants, 44–7, in Week 17 to help the Vikings clinch the 2nd seed in the conference and a 1st round-bye with an Eagles loss later that same day. The Vikings ended with a 12–4 record. The Vikings played the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round on January 17, 2010, and won the game by a score of 34–3, advancing the Vikings to the NFC Championship game, the ninth in franchise history and first since 2001. Minnesota would travel to New Orleans the following week to face the top-seeded Saints in the first conference championship game held at the Superdome. Despite out-gaining the Saints on offense by nearly a twofold margin, the Vikings were severely hindered by five turnovers, including a Favre interception in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter (in Saints territory). They were ousted in overtime, 31–28, on a 40-yard field goal after losing the coin toss.
In the first week of the 2010 NFL regular season, the Vikings played the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints. The Vikings lost 14–9. In week 2, the Vikings played the Miami Dolphins and lost 14–10. The Vikings defeated the Detroit Lions 24–10 in the third week of the season. After a week four bye-week, the Vikings received star wide receiver Randy Moss in a trade with the New England Patriots. Even with the addition of Moss, the Vikings lost to the New York Jets 29–20 in week five. The Vikings won a crucial victory against another struggling team in the form of the Dallas Cowboys 24–21, but in week seven the Vikings lost to arch-rival Green Bay Packers 28–24. In week nine, the Vikings played the Arizona Cardinals at home and won 27–24 in overtime. Favre threw for a career-high 446 passing yards. The Vikings then went on to face their other divisional rival the Chicago Bears but were beaten and then went on to be blown out 31–3 in a rematch with the Packers. The team then proceeded to fire Brad Childress not long after. With Leslie Frazier filling in for the fired Childress, the Vikings won two games in a row against the Washington Redskins on the road, and a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills at home.
After a winter storm dropped nearly 17 inches of snow in the Minneapolis/St Paul area the Saturday prior to the Vikings December 12 home game versus the New York Giants and 30 mph gusts drove snow removers off the dome's roof overnight, several panels were damaged as the weight of the snow caused the roof to collapse. After viewing the damage, Vikings management and the NFL decided to move the game to Monday and play it at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Because of on-going repairs to the roof of the Metrodome, the Vikings played their December 20 game versus the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium (the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers). The game was played 29 years to the day after the last outdoor game at old Met Stadium. On December 26, the NFL announced that the game versus the Philadelphia Eagles was being postponed to Tuesday, December 28, 2010 because of blizzard conditions. This marks the third consecutive venue or date change for a Vikings game and was the first NFL game played on a Tuesday since 1946. The Vikings proceeded to upset the dynamic Eagles offense, led by a resurgent Michael Vick, 24–14 with rookie Joe Webb at the helm. The Vikings finished the season with a 20–13 loss against the Detroit Lions.
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