1978 Minnesota Vikings season
1978 Minnesota Vikings season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Bud Grant |
General manager | Mike Lynn |
Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 8–7–1 |
Division place | 1st NFC Central |
Playoff finish | Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (at Rams) 10–34 |
The 1978 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 18th in the National Football League. The Vikings finished with an 8–7–1 record, and finished in first place in the NFC Central division, despite having a regular season point differential of −12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years; as in each of their previous playoff seasons, this one ended with a loss. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.
Offseason
1978 Draft
1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
Round | Choice | Overall | ||||
1 | 21 | 21 | Randy Holloway | Defensive End | Pittsburgh | |
2 | 20 | 48 | John Turner | Defensive Back | Miami | |
3 | 19 | 75 | Whip Walton | Linebacker | San Diego State | |
4 | 16 | 100 | Jim Hough | Center | Utah State | |
5 | 22 | 132 | Traded to the New York Giants[a] | |||
6 | 21 | 159 | Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[b] | |||
7 | 20 | 186 | Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[c] | |||
8 | 10 | 204 | Mike Wood | Kicker | Southeast Missouri State | from Seahawks[d] |
19 | 213 | Traded to the New York Jets[e] | ||||
9 | 18 | 240 | Mike Deutsch | Punter | Colorado State | |
10 | 22 | 272 | Hughie Shaw | Running Back | Texas A&I | |
11 | 21 | 299 | Ron Harris | Running Back | Colorado State | |
12 | 20 | 326 | Jeff Morrow | Offensive Tackle | Minnesota | |
- ^[a] Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants for TE Bob Tucker.
- ^[b] Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (159th overall) to San Francisco for DBs Windlan Hill and Nate Allen.
- ^[c] Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (186th overall) to Philadelphia for Safety Bill Bradley.
- ^[d] Seattle traded their 8th round selection (204th overall) to Minnesota for CB Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin.
- ^[e] Minnesota traded their 8th round selection (213th overall) and 1979 10th round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets for Safety Phil Wise.
Roster
1978 Minnesota Vikings final roster | |||||||||
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
|
Preseason
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 5 | Washington Redskins | W 20–13 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,212 |
2 | August 12 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–17 | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 41,092 |
3 | August 18 | at Miami Dolphins | L 22–30 | 1–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 46,316 |
4 | August 26 | Buffalo Bills | W 30–27 | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,062 |
Regular season schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 3 | at New Orleans Saints | L 24–31 | 0–1 | Superdome | 54,187 |
2 | September 11 | Denver Broncos | W 12–9 | 1–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,508 |
3 | September 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–16 | 1–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,152 |
4 | September 25 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–20 | 2–2 | Soldier Field | 53,551 |
5 | October 1 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–7 | 3–2 | Tampa Stadium | 65,972 |
6 | October 8 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 28–29 | 3–3 | Kingdome | 62,031 |
7 | October 15 | Los Angeles Rams | L 17–34 | 3–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,551 |
8 | October 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 21–7 | 4–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,411 |
9 | October 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 21–10 | 5–4 | Texas Stadium | 61,848 |
10 | November 5 | Detroit Lions | W 17–7 | 6–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,008 |
11 | November 12 | Chicago Bears | W 17–14 | 7–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,286 |
12 | November 19 | San Diego Chargers | L 7–13 | 7–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 38,859 |
13 | November 26 | at Green Bay Packers | T 10–10 (OT) | 7–5–1 | Lambeau Field | 51,737 |
14 | December 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–27 | 8–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 38,722 |
15 | December 9 | at Detroit Lions | L 14–45 | 8–6–1 | Silverdome | 78,685 |
16 | December 17 | at Oakland Raiders | L 20–27 | 8–7–1 | Oakland Coliseum | 44,643 |
Standings
NFC Central | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Minnesota Vikings(3) | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 5–2–1 | 7–4–1 | 294 | 306 | L2 |
Green Bay Packers | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 5–2–1 | 6–5–1 | 249 | 269 | L2 |
Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 290 | 300 | W2 |
Chicago Bears | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 7–5 | 253 | 274 | W2 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 3–11 | 241 | 259 | L4 |
Playoffs
Week | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divisional | December 31, 1978 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–34 | 0–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 69,631 |
In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1978 Vikings as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":[1]
Awards and records
- QB Fran Tarkenton set a new Vikings record throwing 32 interceptions, surpassing his own record of 25 (set in 1962, which surpassed his 1961 record of 17). The club record still stands.
- RB Rickey Young caught 88 passes, setting a Vikings single-season record as he led the NFL. The record will be surpassed by both Cris Carter and Randy Moss in many subsequent seasons.
League rankings
Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
---|---|---|---|
Passing offense | 3,243 | 202.7 | 2nd |
Rushing offense | 1,536 | 96.0 | 28th |
Total offense | 4,779 | 298.7 | 17th |
Passing defense | 2,690 | 168.1 | 19th |
Rushing defense | 2,116 | 132.3 | 10th |
Total defense | 4,806 | 300.4 | 14th |
Statistical leaders
Category | Player(s) | Value |
---|---|---|
Passing yards | Fran Tarkenton | 3,468 |
Passing touchdowns | Fran Tarkenton | 25 |
Rushing yards | Chuck Foreman | 749 |
Rushing touchdowns | Chuck Foreman | 5 |
Receiving yards | Ahmad Rashād | 769 |
Receiving touchdowns | Sammy White | 9 |
Points | Rick Danmeier | 72 |
Kickoff return yards | Kevin Miller | 854 |
Punt return yards | Kevin Miller | 239 |
Interceptions | Bobby Bryant | 7 |
References
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