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If there is one word to describe the 16-year career of wide receiver Cris Carter, it would be consistency.

In an era where passing and receiving records fall regularly, it is sometimes easy to fail to appreciate the careers of those who came before. Consider these facts when pondering the accumulated totals from Carter's career, where he ranked second all time in career receptions with 1,101 and touchdowns with 130 at the time of his retirement following the 2002 season.

• His 130 touchdowns came from the arm of 13 different passers.
• Of his 12 seasons in Minnesota, the Vikings qualified for the post season eight times with seven different starting quarterbacks - making it twice with Warren Moon in 1994 and 1996.
• He was the first player to have two seasons with more than 120 receptions (with only Wes Welker equaling that to date.) 
• Carter's 10 post season games with Minnesota saw him amass 60 catches for 837 yards and eight touchdowns.  
• The Vikings won-loss record was 76-29 when Carter scored at least one touchdown.
• Carter had 29 multiple-touchdown games, including three with 3 scores.
• He holds 19 Vikings individual receiving records.

Of course, none of this seemed possible when Carter was released by  Philadelphia just prior to the start of the 1990 regular season. His three years with the Eagles were tumultuous. Substance abuse issues and off field problems forced management to waive his contract as he had become an unreliable performer and distraction to the team. 

Carter played mostly a back up role in his first season with Minnesota and focused on cleaning up his personal life. After the 1991 season a regime change brought in a new head coach, and a newly focused Carter began to emerge a primary weapon for Minnesota's offense.

The Viking's quarterback situation was unsettled, neither Rich Gannon nor Sean Salisbury emerged as the full-time starter. Despite the uncertainty, and three games missed with a broken collar bone, Carter lead the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Missed starts were rare for Carter, who played a full 16-game schedule in 13 of his 16 seasons, totaling 234 games played. The Vikings began a run under coach Dennis Green where they would qualify for the post season in eight of nine seasons.

A change in quarterback in 1993 from Gannon to Jim McMahon brought Carter's first of eight consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, Pro Bowl invitations, and another playoff berth. But the greatest success was just around the corner.

Moon arrived via a trade with the Houston Oilers, settling Minnesota's revolving door at quarterback (for two-and-a-half seasons anyway.)  With stability in the offense, Carter was able to establish a rapport with the Vikings passer and strung together three great seasons and for the first time saw his name appear in the NFL record books.

Carter established the NFL record for receptions in a season with 122 in 1994. His 1,256 yards and seven touchdowns as Minnesota's primary receiving threat saw him named First Team All Pro as the Vikings won the NFC Central, but for the third straight year went one-and-done in the playoffs.

1995 was an even better year for Carter personally, even though Minnesota as a team slumped to 8-8, He matched the remarkable 122 catch effort from the year before, but augmented it with 1.371 yards and an NFL leading 17 touchdowns - including four 12-reception games. Amazingly, he was only named Second Team All Pro, as he tied for second in the league for catches that year. Jerry Rice also had 122 receptions while Herman Moore set the new mark at 123.

A mid-season collar bone injury to Moon brought another quarterback change for the Vikings, but Carter continued his reliable production. With Brad Johnson taking over Carter finished the season with 96 catches, 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns. His three year total for 1994-1996 still ranks among the most prolific of all time: 48 games played, 340 catches, 3,790 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Carter lead the NFL with touchdown catches again in 1997 with 13, despite Johnson being unable to complete the season with an injury. Randall Cunningham took over in December and the Vikings won their first playoff game under Green in the Wild Card round.

In 1998 a renewed Cunningham commanded the NFL's highest scoring offense in history, and Carter was a major part of their success. Minnesota's 556 points scored (averaging 34.8 points per game) broke the record of 541 held by the 1983 Washington Redskins. Although rookie receiver Randy Moss broke onto the scene and stole most of the headlines, Carter had another 1,000 yard season on 78 catches and 12 touchdowns. The 15-1 Vikings advanced to the NFC Championship Game, but lost in overtime to the Atlanta Falcons.

The following season may have been Carter's best season of all. His 90 catches for 1,241 yards and league leading 13 touchdowns (his fifth consecutive season with at least 10 scoring receptions) were punctuated by a 13.8 yard-per-catch average, his highest of any season where he caught more than 40 passes. He was rewarded with a spot on the First Team All Pro list. Most significantly, Carter was awarded the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is an honor give in recognition of a player's volunteer and charitable efforts, showing how far he had come since his early days in Philadelphia.

Following two more productive years in Minnesota, which included becoming just the second player to reach the 1,000 catch plateau in 2000, Carter temporarily retired. He was lured out midway through in the 2002 season by the injury depleted Miami Dolphins who were engaged in a three team race for first place in the AFC East. Carter retired for good after the season.

The six-time finalist joins 11 other Vikings in Canton, continuing a run of recognition for Minnesota as Carter is the fifth member of the franchise to receive enshrinement in the past six classes (Chris Doleman 2012, John Randle, 2010, Randall McDaniel 2009, Gary Zimmerman 2008.) Carter played in 188 games (with 177 starts) and had 40 of his 42 career 100-yard games with the Vikings, and is one of only six players to have their number retired by the club. He is also a member of the NFL's All Decade Team for the 1990's.

Cris Carter's Career Statistics at Pro-Football-Reference.com

Cris Carter's career uniforms:

The Minnesota Vikings joined the NFL's Western Division as an expansion team in 1961 and wasted no time making their mark with a surprising upset in their very first game, a 37-13 whipping of their new Western Division rival Chicago Bears in Metropolitan Stadium. Possibly even more unique than their rookie scrambling quarterback Fran Tarkenton was the fact that the Viking's uniforms featured purple as their primary color, the last team to do so was the 1933 Portsmouth Spartans. Tarkenton had a magnificent afternoon in his debut, throwing for 250 yards and four touchdowns against George Halas' normally stout defensive unit that featured future Hall of Fame members Bill George and Doug Atkins. 


Normalcy returned in their second match-up that year as the established team Chicago rolled to a 52-35 win at Wrigley Field. That win set off a period of domination where the Bears record against the Vikings would be 11-2-2, which included and NFL Championship for the Bears in 1963.

Butkus and the Bears captured the 1963 NFL Title, while Marshall and the Vikings got theirs in 1969, before losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

Payton carries against Minnesota in 1983

In 1984 the Bears emerged as the divisions dominant team and had one of the great season in NFL history in 1985 when the 15-1 Bears ran roughshod over the NFL on their way to a dominant victory in Super Bowl XX. By the time Chicago came to visit Minnesota in Week 7 of the 1986 season, the Bears had won 12 consecutive games, which included six-in-a-row against their divisional foes. The most recent came just two weeks earlier in Soldier Field where the Bears bullied Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer with seven sacks in a miserable 11-for-30 performance in a 23-0 rout. Things were quite the opposite in the Metrodome however. Kramer was six for six for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, giving Minnesota an early lead and allowing his defense to return the favor on Bears signal caller Steve Fuller with seven sacks of their own. The Vikings out-gained Chicago 263-56 in total yards in the first half as they built a 16-0 lead. The final tally ended 23-7 as the stout Minnesota defense limited Payton to 28 yards on nice carries. The Vikings finished in second place in the division with a 9-7 record but did not qualify for the playoffs. Chicago went on to a 14-2 record but were upset at home in the Divisional Round by the Washington Redskins.

Harbaugh and Ditka get into it in 1992

The division rivals met in Week 14 of the 1994 season with the NFC Central title on the line. The 8-4 Bears and 7-5 Vikings exchanged the lead four times through the first three quarters as the Bears lead 24-16. Warren Moon lead Minnesota on scoring drives for a field goal, then a touchdown capped with a two-point conversion to retake the lead for Minnesota 27-24 with 4:12 remaining. Steve Walsh then lead the Bears on a drive that tied the game with a 33-yard Kevin Butler field goal at 1:55 tying the score 27-27. Butler had a chance to win the game with a 40-yard attempt in overtime but the ball sailed wide left. From their own 35, Moon lofted a pass to Chris Carter at mid-field, who had made a double-move, and outraced the Bears secondary the final 50 yards for the deciding 65-yard touchdown for a stunning 33-27 win.  Minnesota went on to win the division at 10-6 and the Chicago finished second at 9-7. The two met again at the Metrodome in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Chicago took the rematch with an opportunistic defense, intercepting Moon twice and recovering two fumbles, while limiting the Vikings to only 49 yards on the ground in a 35-18 win. The Bears would lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers the following week. 

Although most Vikings-Bears meetings were fairly typical uniform-wise, in 2007 in the Metrodome, the Vikings went mono-purple, while the following year they went retro and the Bears went mono-white...

...and in the second game in 2008 in Chicago, the Bears broke out the Orange Alts...

...and two years later in November 2010, the Bears went retro themselves, while the Vikings donned purple pants

The Vikings won the next two meetings in Minnesota, while the Bears then won the following two meetings in Chicago.  The second meeting, in late 2010, after a winter storm collapsed the Metrodome roof, was played in frigid temperatures at University of Minnesota's TCF Bank stadium.  It would be memorable for being the final appearance of Brett Favre's career, and the Vikings would lose 40-14.
The arrival of head coach Bud Grant from the CFL and the Purple People Eaters front four featuring Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen turned the tide of the series. From 1969 through 1983 the Vikings record against Chicago was 22-6. This period included 10 Division Titles and many epic playoff contests with the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, all four Super Bowl appearances for the Vikings ended with disappointing losses.


In the midst of this Minnesota NFC Central domination, came a record setting performance from a remarkable player. In  Week 10 of the 1977 season the 6-3 Vikings visited the 4-5 bears. Halfback Walter Payton was ill with the flu, but coach Jack Pardee knew his star back was Chicago's only chance against Minnesota's strong defensive front.  Chicago's first play on the cold, damp, windy afternoon at Soldier Field was an end run where Payton charged ahead for 29 yards. The all rush drive ended in Minnesota territory on a failed fake field goal attempt, but Payton would fin the end zone in the second quarter on a one yard plunge, and a Bob Thomas field goal gave the Bears a 10-0 halftime lead. The weather conditions were so foul that Bears quarterback Bob Avellini attempted just one pass in the half, a six-yard completion to Payton, who had 26 carries for 144 yards - an impressive total for a full game! The first Bears possession of the third quarter resulted in a punt being blocked for a Viking touchdown, cutting the lead to 10-7. Both defenses clamped down and yards were at a premium. When the Bears received the ball at their own 20 yard line with 5:38 Payton had 201 yards on 36 carries. After picking up a first down, Payton gained 58 yards on his 38th carry, being tackled at the Vikings nine-yard line. Two rushes and a sack gave Chicago a fourth-and-goal and coach Pardee did not have confidence in a field goal attempt, even from short range. Payton rushed for six and was tackled at the two, giving him 275 yards, breaking O.J. Simpson's record of 273. The Bears defense held on for the victory, evening Chicago's record at 5-5. Both teams finished the season at 9-5. The Bears qualified for the post season for the first time since 1963 but lost to Dallas in the Wild Card Round. Minnesota won the Central Division, defeated the Rams in the Divisional round but lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game.



One of the series most unforgettable moments occurred in the fourth quarter of a game at the Metrodome in October 1992 with Chicago nursing what seemed like a comfortable 20-0 lead. Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh had played well, leading four scoring drives, throwing for a touchdown and running for another. On a first down he called an audible, but telegraphed a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Coach Mike Ditka was apoplectic, and met Harbaugh on the field, screaming, cursing and gesturing wildly. After the game, Ditka did not back down, and told the press, "I'll just say this...if it happens again, there will be changes made and they will be definite and they will be permanent. I'm not going to put 47 players' futures in the hands of one player who thinks he knows more than I do." The sudden change in momentum was palpable. The Chicago offense stagnated, gaining only two first down the rest of the way, while the Minnesota offense capitalized. Quarterback Rich Gannon was a perfect 7-7 in leading two touchdown drives to complete the improbable comeback. This was the beginning of the end for Coach Ditka in Chicago. The Bears struggled to a 5-11 record, their worst in a decade. The Vikings won the NFC Central title with an 11-5 mark but exited the playoffs in the Wild Card round with a loss at home to the Washington Redskins.