10 Highest-Scoring Vikings Games: Most Points Ever

The Minnesota Vikings have had some historic offensive presences play for them over the years, leading them to some of their highest-scoring games.

With that, let’s rank the top ten highest-scoring Vikings games:

1. Minnesota Vikings 54, Dallas Cowboys 13

Date: October 18, 1970

The highest-scoring game in the Minnesota Vikings franchise history came against one of the sport’s most iconic franchises, the Dallas Cowboys. The 39-point throttling saw special teams and the defense play significant roles, with Ed Sharockman recording a blocked punt for a score, in addition to a pick-six. 

2. Minnesota Vikings 52, Pittsburgh Steelers 14

Date: November 23, 1969

Even with the Vikings playing in a separate conference, they contributed to multiple beatdowns of AFC North teams, headlined by one over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969. The defense was again the story here, with Paul Krause kicking things off in the first quarter with a 77-yard interception return. 

3. Minnesota Vikings 52, Baltimore Colts 14

Date: September 28, 1969

The second massacring of an AFC North team occurred when the Vikings obliterated the Baltimore Colts that same season. Joe Kapp had a historically strong day at quarterbacking, throwing for 449 yards and seven touchdowns. 

4. Minnesota Vikings 51, Houston Oilers 10

Date: October 13, 1974

Things escalated early and often for the Vikings in their 41-point thumping of the Houston Oilers in the 1974 season. Fran Tarkenton and Bob Berry combined to throw five touchdown passes in the victory, while John Gilliam caught an 80-yard bomb to shake things up on offense for Minnesota. 

5. Minnesota Vikings 51, Cleveland Browns 3

Date: November 9, 1969

With their third consecutive beat down of an AFC North team in the 1969 season, the Minnesota Vikings crushed the Cleveland Browns by 48 points, which included picking off their quarterback Bill Nelsen three times in the monumental victory. 

6. Minnesota Vikings 50, Jacksonville Jaguars 10

Date: December 20, 1998

Randall Cunningham wasn’t at his best in the Vikings’ thumping of the Jacksonville Jaguars by 40 points, but he didn’t need to be with the support he got from the defense. The Vikings sacked Jonathan Quinn four times in the victory, in addition to picking him off twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown. 

7. Minnesota Vikings 49, New York Giants 17

Date: December 27, 2015

In their most recent significant victory on this list, the Vikings took it to the visiting New York Giants in 2015, defeating them by a whopping 32 points. The ground game stole the show in this contest, seeing Adrian Peterson and Jerick McKinnon rush for 193 yards and three scores. 

8. Minnesota Vikings 49, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20

Date: October 23, 1988

Wade Wilson had a strong day as the signal caller for the Vikings in 1988, throwing for three touchdown passes and 335 yards in their 29-point victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brad Edwards put things out of reach in the third quarter with a 37-yard interception return. 

9. Minnesota Vikings 48, Philadelphia Eagles 30

Date: December 15, 2013

The Vikings utilized good field position and a strong ground game in their 18-point win over the Philadelphia Eagles, which saw Matt Asiata score three times on the ground. At the same time, even quarterback Matt Cassel got in on the rushing fun with a touchdown of his own. 

10. Minnesota Vikings 48, Chicago Bears 22

Date: December 6, 1998

This list likely wouldn’t be complete without a significant effort against a divisional opponent, which transpired when the Vikings destroyed the Chicago Bears by 26 points in 1998. Randy Moss was a human highlight reel in this game, catching eight balls for 106 yards and three touchdowns.