1981 09 14 MNF Raiders at Vikings

[@aaronanthonybenner6005]

I was at this game and the Raiders' Raymond Chester gave me his wrist bands after the game. I still have them. I was 12 years old. Great memories.

[@dr.pendyke4887]

Awesome!

[@kyledamron]

Hes a tremendous player! I'm really jealous! Just so cool!

[@scottbuono2507]

Holy s**t! 👍🏼 Only thing that sucked for me being a Raiders fan my whole life living in NY and CT..not only does the schedule nthe

[@F.W.ENDER.75]

FAR OUT

[@phineoustrout2899]

I was at this game. I remember there was a big crane with a camera affixed to the top behind the bleachers. This was the "reverse angle replay" camera.

[@eulissbeniot9024]

Those Vikings Jerseys was much much better than today Jerseys

[@shanetrimble9265]

Boy you are right about that

[@gutted3638]

such a contrast, you have a beautiful warm late summer/early fall night. Green grass at the old Met. A month later that place could look like a skating rink.

[@bensantiago4557]

Back then when MNF was on you stayed up and watched it didn't matter who was playing.The NFL was a spectacle to behold.Today, forget it.Unless it's my favorite team i don't even bother

[@vincewillenbring9985]

I remember this game. I was 11 at the time and was so excited to see the Vikings on Monday Night Football--and then they laid an egg, other than the Eddie Payton touchdown return.

[@jimdahlin7333]

Well, when the Super Bowl champs play a flawed team like the Vikes (Steve Dils at QB, etc.), a pounding is generally in order; and that's what they got. Still, a good game on a nice night.

[@SingleTax]

1981 was disastrous for the Raiders, and many Oakland fans undoubtedly blamed Plunkett's poor performance for this. But what few if any of them knew was that Plunkett's right thumb was injured in the opening game against Denver, and that this injury hampered Plunkett's ability to throw the ball effectively for the rest of the season. By the start of the 1982 season, Plunkett was healthy again -- and began playing at the same level he played in 1980.

[@davidlafleche1142]

I'm surprised Plunkett lived that long! He got absolutely crushed when he played in New England. Chuck Fairbanks traded him (great deal) because Plunkett wasn't the option QB type to fit the Patriots wide-open offense.

[@nealbfinn]

Disastrous is putting it mild. The team was getting old and it caught up with them. Van Eegan goes down in week #3, doesn't return until week#16. Mike Davis and Reggie Kinlaw gone for the season. Lester Hayes shows up 20 pounds overweight for training camp and has two interceptions for the season. Ira Matthews starts fumbling kickoffs and punts, replaced by Ted Watts mid-season. Raiders get SHUT OUT three weeks in a row and Plunkett is benched. Mark Wilson is a decent prospect but clearly not ready to lead the team. King and Whittington in and out of the line up with injuries. They go 7-9. And as a last slap in the face....on appeal Al Davis' lawsuit is upheld and the Raiders abandon their fans to move to Los Angeles.

[@dwgwnr1969]

I was so pissed about them moving i bought a Rams coat from jc penny's as a f u to thr the team..I later forgave my beloved silver and black

[@danieltilson4912]

@@nealbfinn and win the super bowl again soon so not so bad at all

[@PRHILL9696]

I miss football like this when it was still fun and still football!

[@vincethevoice237]

Had Wade Wilson become a starter right away, the Vikings would have one a Super Bowl in the 80's. Very underrated QB.

[@shanetrimble9265]

He was good but Tommy Kramer had his moments

[@robertpreston2220]

Grateful for these old games as I just cannot watch the NO fun No football league of today

[@davidlafleche1142]

Yeah, but a lot of these guys are now dead or demented! No concussion protocols: just give him smelling-salts, and send him back in. Great players like Tim Fox suffered terribly.

[@suffix345]

I am not really excited about it either. The only big reason I still watch the NFL these days is because there’s nothing else to do on Sundays

[@bernieudo4399]

@@davidlafleche1142 Yup. You just shook it off. Your bell was wrung. Unless you were a bloody mess, you got back out there. Sometimes no one cared if you were knocked silly. You just got back up for the next play.

[@eulissbenoit816]

I feel you.the NFL absolutely stinks today no Redskins no Oilers/disgusting new uniforms on Patriots and broncos/vikings new Jerseys stink compared to the traditional old Vikings jerseys

[@robertpreston2220]

@@eulissbenoit816 Exactly!

[@jackjax532]

Another dominant performance by the Raiders!

[@johnmanier7968]

Final MNF game in Bloomington. This was only the 6th MNF game at the Met, a surprisingly low number for a team like the VIkings, which won 11 division titles from 1968-1980. The Vikings were 4-2 in those games.

[@andrewsheehy9938]

John Manier The 1981 Vikings have the 2nd Most Pass Attempts of any team in a single NFL Season. Only the 2012 Detroit Lions have more Pass Attempts of any team in a single NFL Season.

[@Bruce12867]

John Manier It's not that surprising, when you consider that all of those games were scheduled early in the season, when the weather was milder, if not warmer. Back in the day, late season MNF games were either scheduled in warm weather climates, such as Miami or Los Angeles; or in domes, such as Houston or Detroit (or, beginning in 1982, Minnesota).

[@jamespinto872]

Bruce12867 good point Bruce. Most people always assume if the game is played in warm weather or in a dome that it will be an entertaining game. To me I would have loved to have seen the Vikings playing a Monday night game back in the good old days at home in December. 20 degrees light snow coming down. Finally the NFL has realized this as they have scheduled night games in outdoor stadiums late in the year. Best sport in the world!

[@gertrudevanshandy]

@@andrewsheehy9938 Now they're 5th. Three teams leapt ahead of them in 2021 and 2022 (17-game season now).

[@gertrudevanshandy]

And yet the Raiders still hold the record for most rushing attempts in a season (681), which was set during a 14-game season, the last one (1977) before we went to the 16-game schedule.

[@JayDogTitan-he6wo]

Defending SB XV Champion Raiders slipped to 7-9 in 81 and had a 3 game stretch where they were shut out each time, But they won this game big 36-10.

[@danieltilson4912]

and 2 yrs later win it all again left that out

[@gertrudevanshandy]

This was their only losing season in 22 years. Incredible.

[@dwgwnr1969]

That hit by McKenney was epic

[@johngibbons7494]

Raider Nation

[@richrocken4uj151]

Funny to hear Howie Longs name called Howard Long , LoL

[@jimdahlin7333]

@ 06:30, Les Steckel with Bud Grant. Little did we know..........

[@rmartin7558]

Too cool. My earliest sports memories start around '82 with the Twins and Vikings playing inside at The Metrodome, so this is fun to see. Always dug the Vikings white face masks.

[@shanetrimble9265]

Yes! The White Facemask and Black shoes

[@Bruce12867]

This is actually Week 2 (the opener was Chargers @ Browns).

[@classicnfl8200]

Noted - thanks!

[@paulsonj72]

@@classicnfl8200 Vikings had opened up in Tampa the previous SATURDAY night and that game was only televised back to Minneapolis on a local station. I think the game was sold out in Tampa before the blackout deadline meaning the game could be televised there as well. I remember watching that game on KSTP channel 5 in Minneapolis

[@Seanpatf66]

At 54:10, Frank does not know the proper way to say a rookie Defensive Tackle’s name who is now a well known nfl pregame show personality.

[@brianbachmeier34]

Howard Long. It made me laugh too!

[@jbratt]

It is a difficult name to pronounce...

[@donlong7168]

Howard Long is probably what the Raiders had him listed as on the roster. He was an unknown rookie at the time.

[@bleeding4721]

His proper name is Howard. You're whining he didn't use a nickname

[@jacktanner2835]

Burgess Owens with the pick six @ 59:48

[@ronbowlingjr6122]

I wonder about Minnesota Twins games at the met from the 70s

[@frasierthebichon7422]

Love these old games but watching the first quarter of this game is like watching paint dry!

[@rmartin7558]

Vikings wide receivers take a three point stance, but is up with The Raiders wideouts and the hands on the hips? 9:30

[@ll-SNARL-ll]

Thats old school ... we used 2 do that in high school .. no doubt a carry over of that

[@nealbfinn]

Branch and Bilitnikoff always did that

[@shanetrimble9265]

@@ll-SNARL-ll Yeah I remember so many players doing that in the 70s and 80s. Looks cool and I love it but.....it seems like it creates a bit of wasted motion.

[@eulissbeniot9024]

The Jerseys the Vikings wait now don't compare to these

[@shanetrimble9265]

Totally agree

[@jacobraulston2205]

It's funny fran tarkenton doesn't have anything good to say about the raiders especially after the 76 season lol

[@ryanstrnad8442]

Did they ever move the seats in from those outfield grandstands for football games at the met?

[@phineoustrout2899]

No. The Met was built for baseball. They shoehorned a football field into it. You might notice that the back corner of the North end zone runs out of room and hits the stands. I loved the place.

[@ryanstrnad8442]

County Stadium in Milwaukee hardly put in any "closer" seats for the 3 Packers games they would host every year. I remember Anahiem stadium or the stick in SF that would attach seats from the upper deck in what would be Right Field for better football viewing.

[@alienwierd]

@23:35 here come the pain train 🚂

[@michaelbanaszak7775]

Steve Dils got rocked!

[@doclew28]

They talking about Marc Wilson like he was the 2nd coming and the next HOF'er... I wish they were taking bets... He was HAWT GARBAGE!!! Hahahahahaha

[@brianbachmeier34]

Matt Blair with 2 blocked extra points and a sack. A bright spot in a very forgettable game for the Vikings.

[@randyblythe6163]

Mr. Blair should have been elected to the HOF a LONG time ago.

[@gertrudevanshandy]

Raiders missed 2 XP against the Vikes in this game, and also in their dominant win against the Vikes in SB XI.