Cook’s Top 5: Minnesota Vikings Quarterbacks

There are two NFL franchises that have gone 0-4 in Super Bowl appearances. We all know about the Buffalo Bills losing four straight. The Minnesota Vikings losing four in the early years tends to fly under the radar, mostly because they can’t seem to get back even though they’ve had some of the most tremendous players wearing their uniform. Randy Moss & Adrian Peterson both come to mind. Both among the best players at their position during my lifetime, both playing many seasons with the Vikings.

They’ve had some pretty decent quarterbacks too. Here’s five of them!

5. Warren Moon

Minnesota has been a popular destination for experienced quarterbacks that still have a little left in the tank, but their longtime teams still want to move on from. Our most recent example is Brett Favre, and he narrowly missed this list because of two veterans that did it better. Moon had an incredible career in the CFL, leading Edmonton to five straight Grey Cups before deciding to head to the NFL. The Houston Oilers signed him, and we’ll talk about that phase of his career more when we get to the Tennessee Titans Top 5. All we’ll say here is that he was dynamite.

Moon continued doing what he did with Minnesota, throwing for over 4,200 yards his first two seasons with the Vikings. He got two Pro Bowl berths. Moon got injured halfway through his third season with the Vikings, then was expected to take a big paycut afterwards. Moon rightfully said “f that” and went to Seattle to be their QB1 while he was over the age of 40. Got one Pro Bowl season out of them. Just an amazing career.

4. Randall Cunningham

Cunningham had a successful run with the Philadelphia Eagles, during which most of my fellow offtheteam.com posters became random Eagles fans even though they didn’t live in Philadelphia. He retired after the 1995 season, but came back in 1997 after signing with Minnesota. 1998 became Randall’s finest moment, and the closest the Vikings came to immortality since the 1970s. They scored a then-record 556 points during the regular season, went 15-1 and were the favorites to win it all heading into the playoffs. That didn’t happen, thanks to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game & thanks to Gary Anderson missing a field goal after not missing any all season.

Very Vikings. Cunningham’s best chance to get a ring went by the wayside.

3. Tommy Kramer

Kramer was drafted in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft as the eventual replacement when Fran Tarkenton retired. Nobody was really going to replace Tarkenton in the hearts & minds of Vikings fans, but Tommy had a pretty fun thirteen-season run in Minnesota. People always love comeback victories, and Kramer led the Vikings to fifteen of those in the fourth quarter, nineteen overall. The most memorable took place in 1980, when he was part of the Miracle at the Met. Kramer led the Vikings on a sixteen point comeback in the fourth quarter, clinching the NFC Central with a Hail Mary pass to Ahmad Rashad on the final play of the game. Another soul-crushing Browns defeat.

Kramer threw for 456 yards & 4 touchdowns in the game. He’s the only Vikings QB in history to throw for over 450 yards in a game, which he did twice in his career. Kramer had some ups & downs during his time with the Vikings, including a Comeback Player of the Year Award win for his 1986 season, where he led the NFL in passer rating & made his only Pro Bowl appearance.

2. Daunte Culpepper

Sometimes a poor finish to a career makes us forget how effective one was in their prime. Daunte Culpepper, in his prime, was a very good NFL quarterback with some great wide receivers to throw to. Cris Carter was in the mix for the first couple of seasons, and some guy named Randy Moss was at the peak of his powers. Culpepper’s first season as QB1 saw him lead the NFL with 33 touchdowns & take the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game.

The next two seasons were a bit of a struggle, but Culpepper turned things around in 2003, and his 2004 was one of the best seasons for a quarterback in NFL history. Daunte’s 5,123 total yards set a new league record, and his 4,717 passing yards & 39 passing touchdowns set Vikings single season records. The next season, Culpepper struggled before tearing his knee up, and his career was basically over. Miami chose to sign him during the 2006 off-season instead of Drew Brees, and Culpepper ended up playing four non-memorable games for them. A season in Oakland and ten losses as Lions starting QB ended Culpepper’s career.

He had one of the best seasons of all time, and went to the Pro Bowl three times. Good enough for second-best.

1. Fran Tarkenton

The Vikings took Tarkenton in the third round of their very first Draft, and he was a hit from the start. Tarkenton & the Vikings’ first game saw him come off the bench to lead them to a comeback victory over the Bears, as he became the first quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his debut. He would be Minnesota’s starting QB their first six seasons, attaining Pro Bowl berths in 1964 & 65. The Vikings only had one winning season though, and one way to improve their team was by trading Tarkenton to the New York Giants. Tarkenton got four more Pro Bowl berths with the Giants, but it was the Vikings that would find more success on the scoreboard, making their first Super Bowl in the 1969 season.

Tarkenton was sent back to Minnesota after the 1971 season, and the success would continue for both sides. The Vikings would win three NFC Championships during Tarkenton’s second stint with the team, while he earned three more Pro Bowl berths and won the MVP Award in 1975. When he retired after the 1978 season he had the most overall passing yards, touchdowns, passing attempts, completions & wins of any quarterback. He was known for his ability to scramble and had rushing touchdowns in fifteen different seasons, still the most of any quarterback. He still ranks sixth all time among quarterbacks in rushing yards.

Tarkenton has a comfortable lead in most Vikings passing categories, and it’s tough to see any of them getting broken anytime soon.

Thanks for reading! Join us next time when we look at the New England Patriots!