Van Brocklin, the quarterback who led the Eagles to the title, was signed by the Vikings last Wednesday.

* 991 – Battle of Maldon: the English, led by Byrhtnoth, Ealdorman of Essex, are defeated by a band of inland-raiding Vikings near Maldon, Essex.

Gailey led the team to two playoff appearances with a 10 – 6 record in 1998 and an NFC East championship, but the Cowboys were defeated in the playoffs by the Arizona Cardinals 20-7 ; after an 8 – 8 season in 1999 ( during which Irvin suffered a career-ending spinal injury in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles ) ending in another playoff loss ( this time to the Minnesota Vikings 27-10 ), he was fired and became the first Cowboys coach who did not take the team to a Super Bowl.

Grant came to the Vikings from the Canadian Football League as head coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, whom he led to four Grey Cup Championships in ten years.

During the late 1960s, the Vikings built a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall.

In 18 seasons, he led the Vikings to a 158 – 96 – 5 regular season record.

In his first season, the Vikings led by the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Kramer, went 9 – 7, their first winning record in four years.

With a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham ( who replaced an injured Brad Johnson ), running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter, and explosive rookie Randy Moss, the Vikings set a then-NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game.

He finished the season with an 8 – 2 record, and led the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team record of 10 – 6.

The moment of Arizona's touchdown was actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings hadn't led their division.

The Vikings proceeded to upset the dynamic Eagles offense, led by a resurgent Michael Vick, 24 – 14 with rookie Joe Webb at the helm.

Although its opponents would include winners of 9 of the last 15 NFL MVP awards, the team advanced to the 2010 NFC Championship game where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, led by Brett Favre, 31 – 28 in overtime ( at 9: 19 CST ), and then went on to win their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

The Minnesota Vikings, led by head coach Bud Grant, entered the game with an NFL best 12-2 regular season record, leading the older league in total points scored ( 379 ) and fewest points allowed ( 133 ).

Like the Vikings, the Chiefs also had an outstanding defensive line, which was led by defensive tackles Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp, and defensive ends Jerry Mays and Aaron Brown.

The Vikings offensive line was also very talented, led by Ron Yary and six-time Pro Bowl player Mick Tingelhoff.

The Vikings were led by quarterback Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters defense ; they advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl and third overall after finishing the regular season with a 10-4 record and defeating the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.

The Vikings ' primary offensive weapon was running back Chuck Foreman, who led the team in receptions with 53 for 586 yards and six touchdowns.

And the Vikings offensive line, led by future Hall of Fame left tackle Ron Yary, allowed only 17 sacks.

Aided by the " Purple People Eaters " defense, led by future hall of fame defensive linemen Carl Eller and Alan Page, and future hall of fame safety Paul Krause, the Vikings won the NFC Central for the sixth time in the previous seven seasons.

The Steelers ' " Steel Curtain " had led the AFC in fewest points allowed ( 189 ) and the Vikings ' " Purple People Eaters " had only given up 195.

The Vikings later threatened to score when Tarkenton led them on a 55-yard drive to the Steelers 20-yard line.

Once again, the Vikings had a powerful offense led by 37-year old quarterback Fran Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman.

While there are few records, the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in Scotland on the holy island of Iona in 794, the year following the raid on the other holy island of Lindisfarne, Northumbria.

* c. 1001: Vikings, led by Leif Eriksson, establish small settlements in and around Vinland in North America

A formula to supply players for the new Minneapolis Vikings and the problem of increasing the 1961 schedule to fourteen games will be discussed by National Football League owners at a meeting at the Hotel Warwick today.

The hereditary chieftains of Umhall were the O ' Malleys, recorded in the area in 814 AD when they successfully repelled an onslaught by the Vikings in Clew Bay.

* Adrian of May ( died 875 ), Scottish saint from the Isle of May, martyred by Vikings

Although not mentioned by Asser or by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Alfred probably also paid the Vikings cash to leave, much as the Mercians were to do in the following year.

The means by which they marshaled the forces to defend against marauders also left the Anglo-Saxons vulnerable to the Vikings.

In such cases, the Vikings were extremely vulnerable to pursuit by the king's joint military forces.

When the Vikings returned in force in 892 they found a kingdom defended by a standing, mobile field army and a network of garrisoned fortresses that commanded its navigable rivers and Roman roads.

The portrayal of the West-Saxon resistance to the Vikings by Asser and the chronicler as a Christian holy war was more than mere rhetoric or ' propaganda '.

In 844, Abd ar-Rahman repulsed an assault by Vikings who had disembarked in Cadiz, conquered Seville ( with the exception of its citadel ) and attacked Córdoba itself.

The idea of this name was proposed by Jim Kardach who developed a system that would allow cell phones to communicate with computers ( at the time he was reading Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's historical novel The Long Ships about Vikings and king Harald Bluetooth ).

In 2001, the Panthers won their season opener 24 – 13 over the Vikings, but set a ( then ) NFL record by losing 15 consecutive games to finish the season 1 – 15.

It is likely that Causantín's ( Constantine I ) reign witnessed increased activity by Vikings, based in Ireland, in Northumbria and in northern Britain.

The earliest event recorded in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba in Constantine's reign is an attack by Vikings and the plundering of Dunkeld " and all Albania " in his third year.

The Annals of Ulster record the defeat of an Irish fleet from the kingdom of Ulaid by Vikings " on the coast of England " at about this time.

Many words derived from Norse, such as " gate " ( gade ) for street, still survive in Yorkshire and the East Midlands ( parts of eastern England ) colonized by Danish Vikings.

In 851 and 879 the city was however attacked and plundered twice by the Vikings.

Raids by the Vikings were frequent after about AD 800, and the Norsemen took control of large parts of what is now England.

However, by then the Vikings were almost certainly well established in Orkney and Shetland, and it is probable that many other non-recorded raids occurred before this.

Led by Rollo, some Vikings had settled in Normandy and were granted the land, first as counts and then as dukes, by King Charles the Simple, in order to protect the land from other raiders.