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01/17/1999 • 6 views

Gary Anderson's First Missed Field Goal Comes in NFC Title Game

Metrodome interior during an NFL playoff game in January 1999, showing a turf field, goalposts, and crowd-filled stands under a domed roof; no identifiable player faces visible.

Kicker Gary Anderson, previously perfect on field-goal attempts all season, missed his first try during the January 17, 1999 NFC Championship Game, a turning point that contributed to the Minnesota Vikings' loss and ended their bid for a Super Bowl appearance.

On January 17, 1999, during the NFC Championship Game at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Vikings kicker Gary Anderson missed his first field-goal attempt of the 1998–1999 season. Anderson had entered the postseason having converted every field-goal and extra-point attempt in the regular season, a perfect mark that was widely noted as a rare and significant achievement for a placekicker in the NFL. His miss in the title game came late in the first half when he attempted a 38-yard field goal that would have extended the Minnesota Vikings' lead. The miss left the score unchanged and became a pivotal moment in a tightly contested game.

The Vikings, led by quarterback Randall Cunningham and a high-powered offense featuring Pro Bowl wide receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter, had been favored to reach Super Bowl XXXIII. Minnesota finished the regular season 15–1, powered by one of the league’s most productive offenses. Anderson’s consistency during the regular season — converting every field goal and extra point — had provided reliable scoring support for that offense.

In the NFC Championship Game, however, the Atlanta Falcons rallied in the fourth quarter. A late-game drive by Atlanta, capped by a touchdown pass from Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis and a successful two-point conversion, gave the Falcons the lead. The final sequence and result were influenced by several plays throughout the game, but Anderson’s missed 38-yard attempt is often cited in retrospectives as a notable turning point because it represented the only regular-season and postseason field-goal miss for Anderson that year.

Contemporary coverage and later analyses treat the miss as part of the game's narrative rather than the sole cause of the Vikings’ defeat. Football outcomes are rarely attributable to a single play; the Vikings also committed turnovers and were unable to convert other scoring opportunities. Nonetheless, for Anderson — who had been nearly automatic all year — the miss was especially striking and drew considerable attention in media coverage and among fans.

Anderson’s career continued after the 1998 season. He remained one of the NFL’s most reliable kickers over a long career that included Pro Bowl selections and placekicking milestones. The January 17, 1999 game remains a frequently cited example in discussions of the volatility of postseason football and the heightened scrutiny placed on specialists in critical moments.

This account avoids assigning disproportionate blame to any single player. The Vikings’ loss to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game resulted from a combination of plays, coaching decisions, and in-game developments. Anderson’s missed field goal is correctly remembered as his first miss of the season and a consequential moment in that specific game, but it was one factor among several that determined the outcome.

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