Can the 2009 Minnesota Vikings Be the Best Team In NFL History?

Calm down, Mercury Morris, we are all aware that the best the Minnesota Vikings can finish in the regular season is 15-1. 

Nonetheless, if the Vikings win the Super Bowl this year, their fans may have the best argument among all fans to claim that their Vikings are the best NFL team of all time.

There is still a lot of football left to be played this season.  However, with a little help, the 2009 Vikings have the opportunity to be hailed as the best squad to ever take the football field in the NFL.

How could Vikings fans have the best argument among all fans when the Minnesota Vikings would have the same record as the 1984 Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears?

The argument has to do with the competition that the Vikings are likely to face in the playoffs.

The Minnesota Vikings can do something that the 1972 Miami Dolphins were not able to accomplish.  The Vikings can beat two teams in the same season that had an identical record to the Dolphins.

The Vikings can beat a 17-0 New Orleans Saints team and an 18-0 Indianapolis Colts team on their way to the NFL Championship. 

In measuring champions, we don’t just look at the numbers of wins and losses.  We also measure champions by the competition with which they do battle.

One of the reasons that we recognize Muhammad Ali as the greatest heavyweight boxing champion of all time is because of the amazing talent in the weight class at the time of his reign. 

Would anyone really consider Ali the greatest if his bouts with smokin’ Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Ken Norton, Sr., and George Foreman were replaced with multiple bouts with Zora Folley, Alvin Lewis, Henry Cooper, and Brian London?

The achievement of the Dolphins in winning 17 games is amazing, without a doubt.  Yet one of the reasons the Dolphins haven’t universally been labeled the greatest team of all time is the level of competition that they faced in the playoffs.

Miami played good teams, but none of the teams they played in the playoffs had superstars at the peak or near the peak of their abilities.

The Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns 20-14 and the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17. 

The Browns' leading rusher did not reach 900 yards and their starting quarterback Mike Phipps had 16 interceptions while throwing only 13 touchdowns.

The Steelers had not yet hit their stride as quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.  While running back Franco Harris did rush for more than 1,000 yards, he also had seven fumbles.

Even if the Saints and Colts lose a game before the playoffs begin, the Vikings, in beating a 16-1 Saints team and 17-1 Colts team, would be more impressive than the run of the 1972 Dolphins.

Of course, if we are talking about impressive playoff runs increasing the stock of a champion, the fans of the 49ers and Bears can claim that their respective teams are the best of all time, ahead of the 1972 Dolphins. 

The 1984 Super Bowl Champion 49ers had an impressive playoff run in beating the New York Giants 21-10 and shutting out the emerging Chicago Bears 23-0.  The 49ers then throttled a record-setting year by NFL MVP Dan Marino and his Miami Dolphins 38-16 in the Super Bowl.

Beating Marino was no small accomplishment in 1984, as he had a season for the ages: 64.2 percent completion rate, 5,084 yards, 48 TDs, and only 17 interceptions.  The Dolphins also had two receivers, Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, who both had more than 1,300 receiving yards.

The 1985 Super Bowl Champion Bears, however, had an even more impressive playoff run.  The Bears pitched two shutouts in the NFC playoffs, beating the New York Giants 21-0 and the Los Angeles Rams 24-0.

The Giants were led by Phil Simms, who threw for 4,004 yards and 22 touchdowns.  The Rams had the game’s best running back in Eric Dickerson, who rushed for the highest season total in NFL history at 2,105 yards.

The Bears then went on to demolish the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl.

Which bring us back to why the Vikings should be considered the best team of all time if they beat the undefeated or even one-loss New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts on their way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

If the Vikings beat the Saints and Colts, they will have beaten two of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league while both were at the top of their game and leading candidates for league MVP honors.

The numbers Brees and Manning are putting up this year are very similar to the numbers put up by Marino in 1984.

The Saints' Drew Brees has a completion rate of 68.1 percent and is on pace to throw for 4,394 yards, 35 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions.  The Colts' Peyton Manning has a completion rate of 69.8 percent and is also on a torrid pace, as he is projected to throw for 5,069 yards, 34 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions.

Last year, Brees threw for more than 5,000 yards.  Brees has thrown for more than 4,400 yards in the last three seasons. 

If Manning throws for more than 5,000 yards this season, his fans won’t have to apologize for placing him ahead of Brees, as Manning has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in nine of his last 10 seasons.

If the Vikings beat both the Saints and Colts, will any NFL team in reaching the pinnacle have faced two better quarterbacks in their prime?

Will style points matter?  Don’t style points always matter in these debates?

A close game won by the Vikings on a questionable call made by the replay officials will obviously taint any claim that the Vikings may have to the best team of all time. 

An injury by Brees or Manning that renders them unable to play the Vikings will also diminish the achievement of the Vikings.

But if the Vikings beat both the Saints and Colts, Vikings fans may finally have a season to make them forget about the four prior, failed attempts at claiming NFL immortality in the big game.

Yes, there is a lot of football left to be played.  All three teams have roadblocks in their way before the end of the season.

Who knows, the final six weeks of the season could be unkind to the remaining three elite teams in the NFL. 

As the reigning Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers are finding out this season, the fortunes of a team can dramatically change with an injury to one or two key players.

Hopefully, the three elite teams will avoid the injury bug and give NFL fans a special postseason treat.

If the Saints and Colts finish the regular season undefeated or with only one loss and the Vikings finish the regular season 15-1, the Vikings may not be simply playing for the Super Bowl, but may be playing for the title of the best team in NFL history.