At that time, the playoffs were determined on a rotational basis. A division winning Viking team would have played the first round at Washington, just like the Packers did, regardless of their record.BD Sullivan wrote:I've mentioned before that the 1972 team could have easily finished 11-3. They lost on a last-second field goal to the Cardinals, lost on late touchdowns to the Dolphins and 49ers and had a late game-winning touchdown against the Bears reversed by penalty. Had those been wins, they presumably would have hosted the Niners and likely beat them. Do they get past the Skins in the NFC title game?
Best Vikings team of the 1970s?
Re: Best Vikings team of the 1970s?
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Some Guy From Mars
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Re: Best Vikings team of the 1970s?
This is not going to make me popular with the Vikings fans here, but the old football coach Bill Parcells used to have a saying that went, 'You are what you are'. So the 7-7 record is probably a fair indicator of the Vikings aptitude in 1972.I've mentioned before that the 1972 team could have easily finished 11-3. They lost on a last-second field goal to the Cardinals, lost on late touchdowns to the Dolphins and 49ers and had a late game-winning touchdown against the Bears reversed by penalty. Had those been wins, they presumably would have hosted the Niners and likely beat them. Do they get past the Skins in the NFC title game?
Looking back to 1971, the Vikings defense ranked first in points against in yielding just 139. By 1972, however, that total jumped to 252 (11th in the league). Trim 113 points from the Vikings points against total in 1972 and that more than likely will yield you another four wins (minimum).
The changes in terms of the 1973 team is that the defense regained its dominance (giving up 168 points, second in the league), while offensively Tarkenton came into his own (again, the 93.2 QB rating) and Chuck Foreman was drafted as an all-purpose running back.