NFL Countdown Doing Feature on Randy Moss Cooking Cowboys for Thanksgiving ’98

The 2023 Minnesota Vikings are on a magical run that includes 5-straight wins and a backup quarterback story that has taken the league by storm. But outside of riding this wave all the way to the Super Bowl, nothing will match the magic of rookie Randy Moss and the 1998 season.

For most of us, that football season literally changed everything about the way we follow, cheer for and consume the teams we love, especially the Vikings. And in the morning, during ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, the crew is doing a big 25-year anniversary feature on one of the more iconic moments of that season.

That time Randy Moss Torched the Cowboys on Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving 22 years ago today, Randy Moss put up one of the most iconic stat lines of all time 🐐 @brgridiron

The 21-year-old rookie had vowed to get revenge on the Cowboys after Dallas passed on him in the draft

(via @nflthrowback)pic.twitter.com/Hdr3vjronK

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 26, 2020

Halfway through that iconic Minnesota Vikings season, Denny Green & Co rolled into Dallas for a Thanksgiving bout against the Cowboys, and Moss was still upset they didn’t draft him back in April. 3 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 163 yards later, Moss went from a cool 1st half storyline to a Thanksgiving Day legend.

Related: Anthony Barr Elevated to Vikings Active Roster; Justin Jefferson Out

ESPN social media accounts floated out a 30-second teaser that has me setting my DVR and alarm for 9:00 a.m. central time Sunday morning.

3 receptions. 3 touchdowns. 163 yards.

That was @RandyMoss's stat line on Thanksgiving day 25 years ago.

Hear what members of that @Vikings team — & the ball boy that day, @LarryFitzgerald — remember from the game.

🏈 Sunday NFL Countdown | 10a ET | ESPN pic.twitter.com/53UMWzJYCi

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) November 19, 2023

Minnesota Vikings magic peaked in 1998

“Kids these days” are probably sick of hearing about that season, but there is a reason why their parents and grandparents have never recovered from what that year in Vikings history really did to us, both positively and negatively.

Yeah, those who fell hard for the Brett Favre-led Vikings of 2009 got a pretty good glimpse of what 1998 was like. But damn, even that season is nearly 15 years ago. I’m going to get my new balances and fleece zip up ready for McDonalds coffee with all my homies tomorrow morning.

Feature Photo: Photo: Brian Peterson – Star Tribune (@VintageMinn – Twitter)