{
  "id": 2157764,
  "title": "1998 Vikings ranked among best teams to miss out on a Super Bowl",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/1998-vikings-ranked-among-best-teams-to-miss-out-on-a-super-bowl",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-20T14:55:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/1998-vikings-ranked-among-best-145511432.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The 1998 Minnesota Vikings, widely regarded as one of the franchise's finest teams, failed to make it to the Super Bowl, according to ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz. Their offensive prowess, spearheaded by Randall Cunningham, and formidable defense, featuring John Randle and Ed McDaniel, propelled them to a 15-1 record, the best in franchise history. Despite their impressive season, the Vikings were outranked by the Broncos and 49ers in DVOA, a metric that evaluates a team's efficiency by comparing play success to league averages. The Vikings' offense, while record-setting, ranked third in DVOA behind the Broncos and 49ers, a ranking potentially influenced by playing indoors for ten out of sixteen games and facing easier defenses. The team's specialization in long, explosive touchdowns also failed to impress DVOA, which doesn't fully appreciate such plays' predictive value. Since 1998, the Vikings have yet to match this level of success, with their closest attempt in 2017 ending in a 38-7 loss to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles in the conference championship game.",
  "summary": "Are the 1998 Minnesota Vikings one of the best teams to miss out on the Super Bowl?",
  "key_points": [
    "1998 Minnesota Vikings had 15-1 record, best in franchise history",
    "Ranked third in DVOA behind Broncos and 49ers despite strong offense",
    "Vikings' specialization in long, explosive touchdowns undervalued by DVOA"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}