Beloved Former Vikings QB Makes a Naughty List

Guess what? The Minnesota Vikings, a team that has existed since 1961, have never won a Super Bowl.
Beloved Former Vikings QB Makes a Naughty List
Accordingly, the team’s players, past and present, often make naughty lists, like the one published by CBS Sports this week, just days before Super Bowl LIX.

CBS Sports‘ Jeff Kerr published an article detailing the best quarterbacks in NFL history never to win a Super Bowl, and Vikings Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton made the cut at No. 2 just behind Dan Marino.
“Tarkenton held all the major quarterback passing records when he retired in 1978 (leading the NFL in passing yards for the first time in his career in his final season). He was first in passing yards (47,003) and touchdown passes (342), having a 124-109-6 record in his 18 seasons,” Kerr wrote. “Tarkenton had a 6-5 record in the postseason, but made it to three Super Bowls and lost every single one of them.”

Indeed, Tarkenton, along with the help of the Purple People Eaters defense, helped Minnesota reach four Super Bowls in the 1960s and 1970s (though Tarkenton played for the New York Giants during one such occasion). He’s absolutely beloved in Vikings history lore and was a trailblazer when it comes to the trait of mobile quarterbacking.
Kerr added, “He actually didn’t make a playoff start until he was 33 years old, carrying some poor Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants teams in the 1960s. The Hall of Fame quarterback is one of the best to ever play the position, with a Super Bowl title the lone omission on his resume.”
Here’s a look at Tarkenton’s NFL resume:
- Pro Bowls: 9
- All-Pro: 1
- Drafted: Round 3 (1961)
- Total Seasons a Starter in NFL: 18
Because of his 3rd-Round draft stock and impact on the franchise, most considered Tarkenton the best draft pick in Vikings history for three reasons:
- He played the NFL’s most important position.
- Tarkenton was a Round 3 find 62 years ago — not Round 1.
- His longevity is unrivaled among QBs in Vikings history.
Tarkenton played a career equivalent to Harrison Smith + Garrett Bradbury’s current tenures in the league. And he did so at quarterback. When he called it quits in 1978 — coincidentally around the time the Vikings stopped reaching Super Bowls — he led NFL history in most meaningful quarterback metrics.

Here’s the full “best quarterback to never win a Super Bowl list” from Kerr:
- Dan Marino
- Fran Tarkenton
- Jim Kelly
- Philip Rivers
- Warren Moon
- Donovan McNabb
- Steve McNair
- Dan Fouts
- Matt Ryan
- Boomer Esiason
It’s worth noting that Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson will begin nibbling at this naughty list before too long.

Tarkenton is currently 85.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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