Can lightning strike twice? 32 years ago, the Vikings upset New Orleans and San Francisco in playoffs

We love when history repeats itself in sports.  Earlier this year, we remembered that almost 20 years to the day the Gophers had beaten the Nittany Lions in one of the program's biggest modern-era wins (1999), they played Penn State at TCF Bank Stadium to get to 9-0.  This year, the story was very similar, and  it happened again — the Gophers won, a pattern was formed, and history happened again. 

Now, the same thing is lining up for the Vikings as they get set for a Divisional Playoff game in San Francisco. You have probably blocked out most of the playoff games played against the 49ers between 1987-1997 because it's a lot of bad news.  Except for one year, 1988, where the Vikings caught lightning in a bottle. 

Let's flashback to January of 1988.  This was the year the NFL went on strike, if you remember.  Week four of the regular season was cancelled, there were replacement players (or "scabs" to the player's union) for weeks 4-6, and heading into the playoffs it was hard to know who was really good - and who wasn't.  

The Vikings were in the playoffs as the #5 seed (there was only one Wild Card game back then), finishing the year behind Chicago in the NFC North at 8-7. 

They were on their way to New Orleans to take on a Saints team that was 12-3, a game behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.  The Saints were heavily favored but in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. 

Revisiting that Viking-Niner game on January 9th, 1988 in Candlestick Park, it's shocking that the Vikings won the game.  This was the absolute height of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and the rest of Bill Walsh's decade-long dynasty.  The 49ers were coming off a 12-3 regular season.  They had dominated the NFC West, winning 4 of the last 5 division titles.  They won the Super Bowl following the 1981 and 1984 seasons.  They would end up winning again after the 1988 and 1989 seasons (and beat the Vikings in the playoffs each of those years).  

Since 1980, the Vikings are a scary 3-10 in San Francisco.  They won that 1988 playoff game plus regular season wins in 1986 and 2007.  That's not very good.  

Back to January of 1988.  After the player's strike wrapped up in week 6, the 49ers were destroying teams.  They lost only one game, at the New Orleans Saints in week 9.  Otherwise they outscored teams 209-53 in weeks 10-15 (remember, shortened because of the strike), including 41-0, 35-7 and 48-0 in the final three weeks.  Talk about going into the playoffs hot.  

Then there were the Vikings, who as the playoffs began, weren't exactly rolling.  The season ended with losses in 3 of 4 games. The Vikings definitely backed-in.  

While it was a shock to beat that very good Saints team, it was the first ever playoff game for that franchise.  There wasn't anywhere near the track record for the Saints that there was for the 49ers.  Nobody gave the Vikings much of a chance of winning that Sunday in San Francisco.  

Going into the game, Vegas had the 49ers an 11 point favorite.  It was a decent weather day, 52 degrees, humid with some fog, very typical for Candlestick.  The game began with the teams exchanging field goals, and went to the second quarter tied at 3.  

Then, Anthony Carter, the Vikings' diminutive but explosive wide receiver, had the game of his career in one of the most dominant performances in playoff history. 

The Vikings scored 17 straight points in the second quarter to go into half leading 20-3 over the shocked fans in Candlestick Park.  Carter kept catching passes to move the sticks.  First there was a TD pass from Wade Wilson to tight end Carl Hilton set up by a couple of Carter catches.  Then a 63-yard pass to Carter set up another field goal.  Joe Montana was intercepted on the next drive by safety Reggie Rutland who returned it 45 yards for another touchdown.  

In the third quarter, the 49ers tried to get back in the game quickly with a touchdown off a Wilson interception.  But the Vikes came right back with Carter taking a reverse 30 yards which lead to another TD pass, this time to wide receiver Hassan Jones.  

The shock of the day came when 49er head coach Bill Walsh decided to bench his future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana in favor of first-year NFL QB (and former USFL star) Steve Young.  The decision seemed to pay off as Young hit running back Roger Craig for a long pass, then Craig took it in for a rushing TD to cut the Viking lead to 27-17.  

In a Viking tradition, of course, the team would come up just short (a yard in fact) in a 14-7 loss in Washington the following Sunday.  Darrin Nelson dropped the potential tying touchdown catch after being hit by cornerback Darrell Green.  Washington, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl, obliterating Denver 42-10 after a 35-point second quarter.  

The Vikings never recovered that magic under Burns.  They did have very good 1988 and 1989 seasons.  They won the 1988 Wild Card game, beating the L.A. Rams 28-17.  Back to San Francisco for the Divisional Playoffs, this time the 49ers crushed Minnesota 34-9.  They'd lose the 1989 Divisional Playoffs in San Francisco again, 41-13, after winning the NFC Central.  There were disappointing first-round exits in 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996.  The Vikings wouldn't win a playoff game again until 1997 when they beat the New York Giants.  Then they lost again to the 49ers in the Divisional Round 38-22. 

The recent playoff history with the New Orleans Saints is certainly filled with drama (Favre and the NFC Championship, the Minneapolis Miracle and last weekend the OT "push-off"). 

But the 35 year playoff history with San Francisco is filled with a lot of loss and disappointment, outside of that magical Sunday afternoon in January of 1988.  We'll see if this Viking team of 2019-20 can recreate what happened that day, and perhaps get back to their first Super Bowl since 1976.