1973 Minnesota Vikings season

1973 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Bud Grant
General manager Jim Finks
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 12–2
Division place 1st NFC Central
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 27–20
Won NFC Championship (at Cowboys) 27–10
Lost Super Bowl VIII (vs. Dolphins) 7–24

The 1973 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 13th in the National Football League. With a 12–2 record, the Vikings regained the NFC Central title after having gone 7–7 the previous year. They started the season 9–0 and looked a threat to the previous year's Dolphins' record of a perfect season before losing to the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals in their next three games. Their narrow 10–9 win over the Los Angeles Rams constituted the last time until 1997 that the last two unbeaten NFL teams played each other.[1]

The Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins 27–20 in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at home and went on to upset the Dallas Cowboys 27–10 in Irving, Texas to win the NFC Championship, before losing 24–7 to the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in Houston.

Offseason

1973 Draft

Pro Bowler
1973 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Overall
112Chuck ForemanRunning backMiami
234Jackie WallaceDefensive backArizonafrom Cardinals[a]
40Traded to the New York Giants[b]
365Jim LashWide receiverNorthwestern
480Mike WellsQuarterbackIllinoisfrom Eagles[c]
89Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs[e]from Vikings[d] via Cardinals[a]
5118Brent McClanahanRunning backArizona State
6139Doug KingsriterTight endMinnesotafrom Saints[f]
143Fred AbbottLinebackerFlorida
7168Josh BrownRunning backTexas State
8196Craig DarlingTackleIowa
9221Larry DibblesDefensive endNew Mexico
10236Randy LeeDefensive backTulanefrom Eagles[g]
246Dave MasonDefensive backNebraska
11274Geary MurdockGuardIowa State
12299Alan SpencerWide receiverPittsburg State
13324Ron JustGuardMinot State
14352Eddie BishopDefensive backSouthern
15377Tony ChandlerRunning backMissouri Valley
16402Larry SmileyDefensive endTexas Southern
17429Dave WinfieldTight endMinnesotan/a[h]
^[a] The Vikings traded quarterback Gary Cuozzo to St. Louis in exchange for St. Louis' second- and fourth-round selections (34th and 89th overall) and wide receiver John Gilliam.
^[b] The Vikings traded their second-round selection (40th overall), 1972 first-round selection (24th overall), quarterback Norm Snead, wide receiver Bob Grim and running back Vince Clements to the New York Giants for quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
^[c] The Vikings traded quarterback Bill Cappleman to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's fourth-round selection (80th overall).
^[d] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (89th overall), linebacker Mike McGill and defensive back Dale Hackbart to St. Louis for tight end Bob Brown and cornerback Nate Wright.
^[e] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (89th overall) to Kansas City in exchange for punter Mike Eischeid.
^[f] The Vikings traded tight end Bob Brown to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' sixth-round selection (139th overall) and 1974 fourth-round selection (86th overall).
^[g] The Vikings traded linebacker Bill Cody to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's tenth-round selection (236th overall).
^[h] Following college, Dave Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports. The San Diego Padres selected him as an outfielder with the fourth overall pick in the 1973 Major League Baseball draft. In basketball, both the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Utah Stars (ABA) drafted him. Although he never played college football, the Minnesota Vikings selected Winfield in the 17th round of the NFL draft. He is currently one of three players ever to be drafted by three professional sports (the others being Dave Logan and Mickey McCarty).[2]

Roster

1973 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 54 Active, 4 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 11Pittsburgh SteelersW 10–61–0Metropolitan Stadium46,619
2August 18at Kansas City ChiefsW 13–102–0Arrowhead Stadium72,676
3August 25at Oakland RaidersW 34–103–0Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, CA)57,515
4August 31Miami DolphinsW 20–174–0Metropolitan Stadium46,619
5September 8at San Diego ChargersW 24–165–0San Diego Stadium42,007

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1 September 16 Oakland Raiders W 24–16 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 44,818
2 September 23 at Chicago Bears W 22–13 2–0 Soldier Field 52,035
3 September 30 Green Bay Packers W 11–3 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 48,176
4 October 7 at Detroit Lions W 23–9 4–0 Tiger Stadium 49,549
5 October 14 at San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 5–0 Candlestick Park 56,438
6 October 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–21 6–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,478
7 October 28 Los Angeles Rams W 10–9 7–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,787
8 November 4 Cleveland Browns W 26–3 8–0 Metropolitan Stadium 46,722
9 November 11 Detroit Lions W 28–7 9–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,911
10 November 19 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–20 9–1 Atlanta Stadium 56,519
11 November 25 Chicago Bears W 31–13 10–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,430
12 December 2 at Cincinnati Bengals L 0–27 10–2 Riverfront Stadium 57,859
13 December 8 at Green Bay Packers W 31–7 11–2 Lambeau Field 53,830
14 December 16 at New York Giants W 31–7 12–2 Yale Bowl 70,041

Notes

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 1: Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 13 3016
Vikings 10 0 7724

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 2: at Chicago Bears

Week 2: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 13 0922
Bears 7 3 0313

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 3: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Packers 0 3 003
Vikings 0 5 3311

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 4: at Detroit Lions

Week 4: Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 14 6 0323
Lions 3 3 309

at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

  • Date: October 7
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), Wind 8 mph
  • Game attendance: 49,549
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 5: Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 7 7 0317
49ers 3 3 7013

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 6: Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 7721
Vikings 7 7 7728

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 7: Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Rams 0 3 339
Vikings 3 7 0010

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 8: Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Browns 3 0 003
Vikings 3 6 71026

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 9: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Lions 7 0 007
Vikings 7 7 14028

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 10: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 10: Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0714
Falcons 0 17 3020

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 11: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 11: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bears 3 0 3713
Vikings 3 7 14731

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

The day of this game was declared "Karl Kassulke Day" in honor of former Viking safety Karl Kassulke, who was left paralyzed in a motorcycle accident just before the beginning of training camp.[5]

Week 12: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12: Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 0 000
Bengals 0 10 10727

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 13: at Green Bay Packers

Week 13: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 14 14 3031
Packers 0 0 077

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

Week 14: at New York Giants

Week 14: Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 7 10 01431
Giants 0 0 077

at Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut

  • Date: December 16
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C)
  • Game attendance: 70,041
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 12 2 0 .857 6–0 10–1 296 168 W2
Detroit Lions 6 7 1 .464 3–2–1 6–4–1 271 247 L1
Green Bay Packers 5 7 2 .429 1–4–1 4–6–1 202 259 W1
Chicago Bears 3 11 0 .214 1–5 1–9 195 334 L6

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
NFC Divisional Playoff December 22, 1973 Washington Redskins W 27–20 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 45,475
Conference Championship December 30, 1973 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–10 2–0 Texas Stadium 60,272
Super Bowl VIII January 13, 1974 Miami Dolphins L 7–24 2–1 Rice Stadium 71,882

NFC Divisional Playoff

Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings
1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 7 31020
Vikings 0 3 71727

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

NFC Championship Game

Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys
1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 7 71027
Cowboys 0 0 10010

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

Super Bowl VIII

Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins
1 2 34Total
Vikings (NFC) 0 0 077
Dolphins (AFC) 14 3 7024

at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsFran Tarkenton2,113
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton15
Rushing yardsChuck Foreman801
Rushing touchdownsChuck Foreman4
Receiving yardsJohn Gilliam907
Receiving touchdownsJohn Gilliam8
PointsFred Cox96
Kickoff return yardsBrent McClanahan410
Punt return yardsBobby Bryant140
InterceptionsBobby Bryant7

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 26)
Passing offense1,956139.714th
Rushing offense2,275162.56th
Total offense4,231302.27th
Passing defense1,894135.312th
Rushing defense1,974141.011th
Total defense3,868276.312th

References

  1. ↑ Last Undefeated NFL teams by Year
  2. ↑ The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks Baseball Club – "Home of Midnight Sun Baseball"
  3. ↑ 1973 Minnesota Vikings highlight film
  4. ↑ 1973 Minnesota Vikings highlight film
  5. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FLNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-AUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2833%2C5824531
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