History of Minnesota Vikings in the Pro Bowl

When the Pro Bowl matchup between the NFC and AFC began in 1971, it featured a premier football game of the world's best talent squaring off head-to-head.

That was the idea, anyway.

The Pro Bowl has gone through many changes, especially in the past few years, to try and make it more appealing to fans. The NFL ditched the classic NFC vs. AFC matchup from 2014-16, instilling a fantasy football-esque format where former NFL players served as team captains and picked their teams.

In 2017, the NFL will go back to the classic AFC vs. NFC format, and it brought back the Skills Challenge to catch the eye of a broader audience. Who doesn't like watching grown men pelt dodgeballs at one another like it's fifth grade recess?

Regardless of the bells and whistles to go along with the weekend, there's still always a football game played. And if you're a Minnesota Vikings fan, you've had pretty good reasons to watch the Pro Bowl the past few decades.

In fact, Minnesota is the only team to boast three Pro Bowl MVPs since 2000. Two future Hall of Famers, Randy Moss and Adrian Peterson, won the MVP award very early in their careers.

Peterson ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns -- virtually unheard of in the Pro Bowl -- after his rookie season. Randy Moss finished his second season in the NFL with nine catches for 212 yards and a score in the Pro Bowl.

Kyle Rudolph, who replaced an injured and aged Tony Gonzalez in the 2013 Pro Bowl, caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown -- enough for the MVP recognition.

Besides Carter, Moss and Rudolph, the only Minnesota players with a touchdown reception in a Pro Bowl since the AFL-NFL merger are Bob Grim and Chuck Foreman.

VIKINGS RECEIVERS

Peterson has played in six Pro Bowls in his career, and he holds the top four Vikings Pro Bowl rushing games since 1990 and three of the top four since 1971. He is the only Vikings player to score a rushing TD in a Pro Bowl since the AFC and NFC started meeting.

VIKINGS RUSHERS

Interestingly, the first Vikings quarterback to play in the Pro Bowl since the format change in 1971 was Tommy Kramer in 1987. Fran Tarkenton was named to Pro Bowls while with Minnesota, but didn't play.

VIKINGS PASSERS

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