All rights to ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS, CTV, Global, NFL Films, the NFL and it’s broadcasters. They own the music and the footage used in this video. No Copyright infringement intended. For Entertainment purposes only.
Robert Smith ran out of bounds 3 times on Vikings final drive of regulation. Made a huge difference. Atlanta would have had less than a minute instead of more than 2 with the 2 minute warning. Changes the complexion of the game alot.
Crazy that over a 6 year span, the only NFC team other than those 3 that even made it to a title game were the 96 Panthers, in their 2nd season as a franchise.
This was 4 days before my 11th birthday; I have vivid memories of watching this game at my grandmother's house...then the 3 hour drive home after. I have no memories of that birthday 4 days later...
I just watched the whole game this morning and my wife knows a lil bit about the game and she's like why is our guy running out of bounds! ATL had 1 TO and 2 min warning. 😢😂
Also the strip at the end of the first half, that was the 3rd of 3 straight pass plays...just run the damn ball (with Hoard who wont go out of bounds) and go into halftime up 20-7.
Yeah that was truly a painful loss. I definitely wanted to see that Vikings Broncos Super Bowl matchup that year. The Vikes playing some good ball this year
Vikings lost because of BAD COACHING and DUMB PLAYS: 1. Moss running with mouthguard in his hand on plays where he wouldn't be targeted 2. Cunningham fumble on a PASS play, 1 min til half, when up 20 to 7 3. Smith running out of bounds on THREE straight late 4th quarter plays 4. Green chickening out and killing the clock with game tied, late 4th quarter 5. Griffith dropping interception late 4th quarter 6. Randle leaving his lane getting blocked halfway to China on game-tying TD
Yeah i was a big Bronco Fan back in the day, and i want Vikings in the SB, Because I knew that Atlanta was not a contender for the Broncos and we were going to have a boring Superbowl, the Vickings Broncos were power to power, it would have been an epic Superbowl where until then the 2 strongest in the league had never reached the final. but Denis Green was stupid, when he decided to send the game to overtime, I knew that the Vikings had already lost the game, maybe the biggest disappointment of my life even though I wasn't a fan of the Vikings, but I loved his offensive with Randall, and the following year with I fell in love with Jeff George, stupid, stupid Denisse Green.
What nonsense are you talking about Moss having his mouthpiece in his hand on plays, you can’t provide any credible source for that, sounds like something someone spun off Bob Hayes keeping his hands in the warmer on run plays in the Cowboys championship game.
I know the feeling I just watched for the first time the 07 Super Bowl when Brady was talking about it in man in the arena we all at some point have face painful truths and were better off for it God bless
How exciting it would have been to see randy moss in his very prime in a superbowl to see that Joe Robbie Stadium end zone painted in purple and gold for the first time in many years. Everyone knew Atlanta was going to get dismantled!!! Atleast Minnesota would have made it exciting
Also on the last play prior, probably shouldve ran it wouldve gone to the 2 minute warning or make Falcons burn a TO, maybe Smith breaks it, that one extra yard might have made the difference in the FG. Vikings still had 45 seconds left in regulation enough time with that offense to win it and give Gary Anderson another shot.
Robert Griffin dropped an easy interception that would have sealed the game for Minnesota. That was the play right before Atlanta scored the game tying touchdown.
It was the 'dream' Super Bowl matchup that never materialized. Even the Broncos would later admit that they were relieved when the Vikings lost. The Broncos weren't going to be denied a 2nd straight Super Bowl after that. But who knows what would've happened had they indeed had to play the Vikings. But we will never know.
That was the biggest " DREAM SUPER BOWL " there has ever been that I can ever recall. The only other one that maybe comes close is the 2007 Patriots and 2007 Cowboys. Never had their been two teams in a SB with a 14 - 2 and 15 - 1 record. Broncos would've won tho
2 great superbowls we never got. The 77 season where a great Raider team going for a repeat got beat by the orange crush in afc championship with a blown fumble call that gave denver 7 free points and an injury to the great Bilitnikof prevented a Raiders vs a monster Cowboys team which would have been one for the ages. This is the other one. A 16-1 Vikings team vs a fantastic 1 loss Broncos team who were going for the repeat. That would have been epic. The Falcons followed this up by being more interested in eugene robinson chasing hoowers on sb eve and the rest of the team not even showing that much energy in a flat lame blowout of a sb.
The Raiders were dirty cheap shot artists. That non fumble couldn’t have happened to a nicer team. Also anyone on that Raider team will tell you that’s not the reason they lost. Also the Broncos weren’t a 1 loss team in 1998
It wouldn't have been bad that year. Jets were tough with Curtis Martin, Keyshawn Johnson, Wayne Crebet, etc. The Jets probably wouldve won that matchup too.
As a loyal New York FOOTBALL Giants fan since 1990, as much as I hated Randall Cunningham for scorching the Giants as often as he did when he was a Philadelphia Eagle, my heart ached for that man after this game was over, I hated him yes but even more than that, I respected the heck out of him as a competitor
I'm a Cowboys fan. This was the year that we passed on getting Moss in the draft and he smoked us on Thanksgiving. There is no way the Vikings should've lost this game. This is when I knew the Dallas dynasty was over, but I didn't think we would still in our playoff drought.
Situational football Robert Smith kept going out of bounds saving time I have no idea why but he left time for Atlanta they wouldn't of had time for the last drive and that's never talked about 🤔
I don’t think the Vikings and their fans have ever recovered from that loss since then. The franchise came close a few times, but couldn’t get over the hump.
If Robert Smith does not go out of bounds three straight times, that likely would've chewed the clock down by a minute at the least. Vikings could've simply taken a knee without Andersen even attempting a kick, and even with a miss, it's doubtful Chandler would've had enough time to orchestrate a TD drive. Everyone remembers Andersen's miss, but it really was Smith's runs out of bounds that cost them a trip to Miami.
I had never noticed before how black-led the ‘98 Vikings were: the coach and the QB were *both* black men, as were the two superstar WR’s (Moss & Carter), and the RB Robert Smith was biracial. I guess that makes it all the more disappointing that those ‘98 Vikings didn’t make the Super Bowl. And that they had to lose the NFC title game in such heartbreaking fashion. 😢😢
Two crucial plays in the game happened at the end of the first half. Moss dropping the TD to make it 24-7 instead of 20-7 and Green calling a step drop on 3rd down inside his own 20 with little time left in the half. Brutal mistakes that let the Falcons hang around
I’ve watched this game 100x in the last 25 years and everytime I still feel like we will pull it off. Like every single mistake was so avoidable and every one was okay on its own. But golly gee willikers
As a broncos fan. Everybody was worried about Minnesota. But when Atlanta won. Denver was so relieved because they knew they would beat up on Atlanta. I still wish Minnesota vs Denver would have happened
I remember watching this game. I’m a huge Vikings fan, but when Gary Anderson lined up for the clinching FG, I turned the game off. I assume everything went well after that.
This 1998 season, followed by the next year with The Greatest Show on Turf made 7,8 year old me obsessed. I loved Barry, but this was the first time I remember starting to like opposing players. Got a Moss jersey at Mall of America and was enamored with the "dirty bird" dance and Jamal Andersen. He had a dope extending Td run to the pylon in the championship game in these playoffs.
1998 - 1999 indeed was a great two year stretch. We got two high explosive 500+ offenses back to back seasons (Rams, Vikings) and people forget the 1998 Broncos rolled up over 500 points too, then a disturbingly great Ravens defense in 2000
This team and the 2009 team could have won the super bowl, the falcons really didn't deserve to go on the way they lost to the broncos. Coming from a Saints fan, I was definitely rooting for Minnesota this game in 98 as a child .....
This game must have featured one of, if not the best combined record of opponents in NFL playoff history. But despite their 14-2 record, most people didn't give the Falcons much of a chance to win. Kudos to them for pulling off the "upset" (if you can call it that).
Classic case of a huge upset in a conference championship game that eventually lead to a dud of a Super Bowl. Everyone wanted (except Atlanta and Jets fans) a Broncos-Vikings SB. Another one is 1985 Patriots-Dolphins. Everyone expected a Bears-Dolphins SB, a 15-1 team against the only team that beat them. We know what we got there instead. Can't call Rams-Saints of 2018 an upset more than outright referee theft. Everyone there wanted a Brady vs Brees matchup and ended up getting one of the biggest snore-bores of all time.
Watching this game back a few times over through the years, you can start to notice more the 'subtle' moments - Moss missing a sure TD catch in the endzone, Cunningham fumbling the ball & giving the Falcons a chance to score right before the end of the 1st half, numerous other missed opportunities for the Vikings to pad their lead, various turnovers on routine plays, sometimes sloppy & 'lazy' moments where the Vikings could've extended their lead throughout this game - that should've been an omen for the Vikings in this game. Everyone watching thought for certain that the powerhouse Vikings, a monster 15-1 team during the season, would be destined to finally reach another Super Bowl & maybe even have a great opportunity to win their 1st SB & cap off one of the most dominant seasons by any single-season team in recent memory. Instead, as you watch this game back, you start to notice those moments where the Vikings misjudged certain moments in this game - and it would cost them. The Falcons shocked everyone - but themselves - in this game.
@@clickman443 l do. If the Vikings defense can barely get by Chris Chandler and Jamal Anderson, they will have a massive challenge trying to keep John Elway and Terrell Davis at bay.
@@joesakic91 c'mon man, that's a terrible argument. You've been watching the NFL long enough to know that every week is different and every matchup is different. And if you watched the highlight video, you'd know the broncos got really excited when Minnesota lost to Atlanta because Atlanta wouldn't present near the offensive challenge. You'd be better off just saying Minnesota has a history of choking in big games. Otherwise you can only assume. But nobody knows because the game never happened.
I'm born and raised in the 716 better Buffalo Bills fan since the day I was born but I don't think I was ever more disappointed then seeing Atlanta somehow win this game. Any true football fan New Atlanta was going to get dismembered against Denver. A forty-two-year-old starting quarterback there was never a star in the league a one-dimensional running game offense who just got absolutely Lucky by a kicker blowing a kick so disappointing when you look forward to the Superbowl. Even seeing the endzone painted in red and black just looked wrong. Man Minnesota would have made the Super Bowl so entertaining
Anytime I hear Pat, it brings me back to the Madden game with Barry on the cover (Madden 99?) and him saying "flags fly" after doing a late hit out of bounds
The most crucial play of the whole game is the one play that is only shown mid play.. the set up to Gary Anderson fg and the fact that he made over 100 kicks in a row and hasn’t missed ANY for 2 years. They aren’t too urgent about moving ball further knowing he’s automatic
It IS their greatest game lmao. Correct me if I'm wrong but they are 0 - 2 in Super Bowls. This ranks way higher than the 2016 Falcons NFC Title annihilation of Aaron Rodgers.
You could feel how tight they were playing and coaching. Then you get a scrappy team that just hangs around and bad things happen. They squeak by this game they may roll Denver as their attention and focus would be off the charts.
Even in overtime, Randy moss has his man on that 3rd down by like 2 steps and if Randal sees it earlier and leads him it’s a td. Even an okay throw is probably caught but he underthrew it
Thats a little sad that the owner of the Vikings doesnt attend games live of the team he bought. Not exactly a hands on owner or supportive one but I guess thats why. Sure hope the Wilfs are more supportive haha
