:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71762822/1449896143.0.jpg "When was the last time the Vikings clinched the NFC North division title")
The Minnesota Vikings pulled off the biggest comeback in NFL history on Saturday, erasing a 33-0 deficit to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in a 39-36 overtime victory in Week 15. As a result, the team officially clinched the NFC North title.
Minnesota has now locked up a division title for the first time since 2017, where it finished the regular season with a 13-3 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoff. The team's NFC Divisional Round game against the New Orleans Saints is best remembered for the “Minneapolis Miracle”, where Case Keenum hit Stefon Diggs for a 61-yard touchdown as time expired to give them a 29-24 victory. In the NFC Championship Game the following week, the Vikings fell to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in a 38-7 rout, falling short of becoming the first team to play the Super Bowl on their home field.
This marks the 21st time that Minnesota has won its division. Roughly half of those came during the “Purple People Eaters” era of the 1970's, where the Vikings dominated the old NFC Central division and made three Super Bowl appearances. They'd rack up a handful of more Central division titles in the 1990's, including the 15-1 team in 1998 that was led by Randall Cunningham, Cris Carter, and a rookie Randy Moss. Since divisions were realigned in 2002 and they became part of the newly formed NFC North, the Vikings have mostly had to wait for years where the Green Bay Packers were not as dominant to get their division titles.