Randy Mo s waited. And waited. And waited.Despite being the NCAA's best receiver during the 1997 season, Mo s, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting that season behind , and Ryan Leaf, was not one of the top five players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft. Manning was selected first overall by the , while Leaf Maury Wills Jersey was taken minutes later by the . Woodson was selected by the with the fifth overall pick.While his former Heisman-finalist buddies were shaking commi sioner Paul Tagliabue's hand, Mo s continued to wait. As he waited, Mo s, who watched the draft on TV, received a call from coach Dennis Green."Randy, I don't think you're going to get drafted before us," . "And I want you to know, if you're there on the 21st pick, we're going to take you."Green, despite already having talented receivers Cris Carter and on his roster, was true to his word. "Man, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," Mo s told Green upon being drafted. "I will not disappoint you. I will give you everything I've got."While he wanted to reward Green's faith in him, Mo s, whose fall in the draft was largely due to several off-field incidents, was also eager to show the teams that pa sed on drafting him that they had made a mistake. One of those teams was the , the Vikings' longtime division rival who selected defensive end Vonnie Holliday with the 19th pick. Green Bay Fernando Valenzuela Jersey , the defending two-time NFC champions, had just allowed Terrell Davis to shred them for 157 yards and three touchdowns in their upset lo s to Denver in Super Bowl XXXII. They were hoping that Holliday would help solidify their run defense while keeping Green Bay in the driver's seat in the NFC.The 1998 Vikings, led by Mo s, ripped through their first four opponents. Green Bay, led by three-time MVP Brett Favre, followed suit, as the two teams carried undefeated records into their Week 5 showdown in Minnesota. In a game between two mostly evenly matched teams, Mo s was the difference, catching 52- and 44-yard touchdown pa ses while helping the Vikings pull out a 27-24 win on "Monday Night Football." 5 catches190 yards2 touchdownsIn 1998 and his first career game, introduced himself to both the Packers and the world NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) Two months later, the Vikings brought their 9-1 record to Lambeau Field to the rematch against the Packers, who at 7-3 were still in striking distance of the Vikings in the NFC Central division race. With his team ahead by just six points late in the game, Mo s made the game's biggest play, a 49-yard touchdown catch that sealed the Vikings' 28-14 win, as Minnesota became the first team in five years to sweep the Packers. In two games against the Packers, Mo s, that year's NFL Offensive Rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey of the Year, caught 13 of 17 targets for 343 yards and three touchdowns.Adding to the Packers' lo s was an injury to Holliday, who was also in the midst of an impre sive rookie season. Holliday, whose eight sacks that season set a franchise rookie record, suffered an ankle injury after it was twisted by Vikings lineman Todd Steu sie in a pile. The manner of which Holliday suffered the injury did not sit well in Green Bay."I thought it was unnece sary, let me put it that way, Packers coach Mike Holmgren . "It was a physical game and both teams were trying real hard. Injuries are a part of this game, certainly, unfortunately. And then every once in a while something takes place that probably didn't have to happen." While Holliday would mi s four of the Packers' final fivegames, Green Bay would go 4-1 the rest of the season and finish with an 11-5 record. The Packers, despite their strong finish, finished four games behind the Vikings in the standings, as Minnesota joined the 1984 and the 1985 as the only teams in NFL history to win 15 regular season games. While the Vikings had several players turn in career years, the team's brightest star was Mo s, whose 17 touchdown receptions that season remains an NFL rookie record.Instead of receiving a bye, the Packers Corey Seager Jersey had to travel to San Francisco for the first round of the playoffs. And after defeating the 49ers in the previous three postseasons, Green Bay fell to the 49ers following . The lo s served as the end of an era in Green Bay. Holmgren, the Packers' coach since 1992, departed for Seattle that offseason. Reggie White, the team's Hall of Fame pa s rusher, retired. And while they still had Favre and a slew of other talented players, the Packers (who spent their first three picks in the 1999 draft on defensive backs in order to deal with Mo s) failed to make the playoffs in 1999 for the first time since Favre's first year in Green Bay.While Green Bay's playoff lo s was a heartbreaker, the Vikings suffered an equally devastating defeat in the NFC title game. Minnesota, who took a 10-point lead on the visiting at the start of the fourth quarter, lost in overtime after Gary Anderson, who did not mi s a kick during the team's first 17 games, mi sed a 37-yard attempt that would have iced the game in regulation. With two of the NFC's best teams watching the game on TV, the had no i sues laying waste to the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, as the Broncos, not the Packers or Vikings, etched their names in NFL history. Fittingly, Mo s' last win as a Viking (during his first go-around with the team) took place against the Packers in the 2004 playoffs. As he did throughout his Vikings career, Mo s tormented the Packers, . It's safe to Kenley Jansen Jersey say that no tears were shed in Green Bay when the Vikings traded Mo s to the Raiders that offseason, thus ending one of the greatest individual vs. team rivalries in NFL history.
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