Randy Moss is ...

[subsuelo]

... the only player to have been a member of each team on the losing side of the two greatest upsets in NFL history.

98 Vikes losing to Atlanta in NFC Championship game.

07 Patriots losing to the G-men in the Super Bowl.

[trumad]

1. The Vikes losing to Atlanta---oh yeah--I remember that...

NOT

[RL3AO]

6. I do.

They were the best team to not win the Super Bowl.

Well. They were.

[northzax]

19. I think that mantle has been handed over

tough to argue that this year's Pats aren't the best team to not win the super bowl anytime lately.

[Goblinmonger]

20. Surely you remember one of the biggest chokes of all time

Didn't you just rant about people that don't know football?

It was the same Vikings that previously held the single season scoring record and then took a knee to go into OT when they had over a minute left.

[DaveinMD]

2. he's a great player

and he showed more class than his coach.

[trumad]

3. The guy won me over this year...

He seems to have grown up a bit.

[fishwax]

4. the two games don't really compare

Minnesota was favored by a little more than a touchdown in that NFC Championship game. There was a lot of hype surrounding the Vikings air attack that year, and people forget that the Atlanta Falcons were 14-2 in the regular season and the #2 seed in the NFC. While not quite as explosive statistically as the Vikings that year, they had a top 4 offense and a stronger defense than the Vikings. Atlanta was a bit of a fluke that year--they had losing seasons the year before and the year after--but anybody expecting the Vikings to blow them away in that championship game hadn't really been paying attention.

[trotsky]

5. The Falcons over the Vikes in '98...

was a 14-2 team at a 15-1 team. That's one of the "greatest upsets in NFL history"??

Just how do you define "upset," by the way?

[RL3AO]

7. Yes it was.

[trotsky]

8. Well with that kind of thorough reasoning,

there's really nothing left to argue, huh?

[RL3AO]

9. It is more memorable for the way they lost then the magnitude of the upset

The then greatest offense of all time loses in overtime after Gary Anderson who was 100% on FGs that year missed a 37 yard FG with the Vikings up 7 with 1:30 left.

[Robeson]

10. The Vikings defense was sub-par....

...and was decimated that game. Atlanta, with a great running attack, matched up very well.

[RL3AO]

11. Their defense was...

6th in points allowed, 13th in total yards, 19th in passing yards allowed, and 11th in rushing yards allowed. Not very sub-par.

[Robeson]

12. As a 39 year fan of the Vikings, I'd be more than happy to debate...

...them with you. The defense was on decline, and injuries decimated them during that game. They were in no position to win it in overtime, hence the controversy, when Denny took, 'da knee.

[RL3AO]

13. As a 18 year old Vikings fan I say they were not sub-par.

But not great either.

[Robeson]

14. Denny inherited the best defense in the NFL. Dungy kept them going...

...with smoke-and-mirrors, while Denny continued to gut the talent on defense. After Dungy left, they started straight down hill. The defense playing Atlanta that game, was a residue of Dungy's smoke and mirrors, and an offense, that kept teams out of games. They were forced to play a conservative team, with a tough running game, and lost. No surprise, really.

[trotsky]

17. There were a surprising number of things that happened in that game...

any one of which would have changed the outcome.

IIRC, the Vikes were up 20-7 in the last ~2 minutes of the first half, deep in their own territory. Billick stays aggressive, calling for Cunningham to drop back and pass. Falcons get a good pass rush, sack Cunningham, cause a fumble. Atlanta scores, and now it's 20-14 at the half. Much more manageable deficit & gives the Falcons the momentum.

Another was of course the missed kick. But after that kick, the Vikes were still up by 7. All they had to do was get a stop - and they had so many chances on that last drive. Weren't there like 3 dropped potential picks on the drive? Including one in the endzone?

Oh and on the drive prior to the missed FG, Robert Smith ran out of bounds and stopped the clock. If he hadn't, we would have taken another :30 off the game clock and the Falcons would have run out of time to score.

And then there was "the knee." Highest scoring team in the history of the league, at home, :30 to go, game tied, and you take a knee for OT. Bullcrap. Denny and/or Billick chickened out, and I knew we would go on to lose right there.

It was a perfect storm of events, bad coaching, and bad plays.

[trotsky]

16. In that you are correct.

That loss was a crusher - I'm a huge Vikings fan. That should have been our year.

But I still will say it wasn't one of the top two biggest upsets in the NFL. Atlanta was a very strong team that year - 2nd seed, not a 5th seed wildcard like the Giants.

[northzax]

18. i believe the technical definition of "upset"

is "team from Atlanta winning a championship game at any level"

[DinahMoeHum]

15. He's also a member of the year 2000 Vikings that got shut out

by the NY Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Final score Giants 41, Vikings 0


:evilgrin: