The 1995 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 35th in the National Football League. Under head coach Dennis Green, they finished with an 8–8 record and still had a chance to make the playoffs entering Week 17 at Cincinnati; however, victories for the Bears and the Falcons in their final games rendered the Vikings' defeat to the Bengals inconsequential, and Minnesota missed the playoffs for the first time under Green. Despite the team's poor play, rookie safety Orlando Thomas recorded a league-leading 9 interceptions of the season.
Offseason
1995 Draft
- ^[a] Atlanta traded their 1994 2nd round selection (40th overall – David Palmer) and 1995 1st round selection (11th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1994 2nd round selection (45th overall – Bert Emanuel) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.
- ^[b] Denver traded their 1994 1st round selection (18th overall – Dewayne Washington), 1994 6th round selection (179th overall – Andrew Jordan, and 1995 2nd round selection (42nd overall) to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.
- ^[c] Houston traded their 3rd round selection (89th overall) and 1994 4th round selection (119th overall – Michael Davis) to Minnesota for QB Warren Moon.
- ^[d] Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (121st overall) and 6th round selection (196th overall) to Denver to move up 10 spots to the 111th overall selection and make this pick.
- ^[e] The Giants traded their 6th round selection (189th overall) and 1996 5th round selection (137th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1996 6th round selection (182nd overall) and Safety Vencie Glenn.
Regular season
Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Venue |
Attendance |
1 |
September 3 |
at Chicago Bears |
L 14–31 |
0–1 |
Soldier Field |
63,036 |
2 |
September 10 |
Detroit Lions |
W 20–10 |
1–1 |
Metrodome |
52,234 |
3 |
September 17 |
Dallas Cowboys |
L 17–23 (OT) |
1–2 |
Metrodome |
60,088 |
4 |
September 24 |
at Pittsburgh Steelers |
W 44–24 |
2–2 |
Three Rivers Stadium |
57,853 |
5 |
Bye |
6 |
October 8 |
Houston Oilers |
W 23–17 (OT) |
3–2 |
Metrodome |
56,430 |
7 |
October 15 |
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
L 17–20 (OT) |
3–3 |
Tampa Stadium |
55,703 |
8 |
October 22 |
at Green Bay Packers |
L 21–38 |
3–4 |
Lambeau Field |
60,332 |
9 |
October 30 |
Chicago Bears |
L 6–14 |
3–5 |
Metrodome |
61,238 |
10 |
November 5 |
Green Bay Packers |
W 27–24 |
4–5 |
Metrodome |
62,839 |
11 |
November 12 |
at Arizona Cardinals |
W 30–24 (OT) |
5–5 |
Sun Devil Stadium |
51,342 |
12 |
November 19 |
New Orleans Saints |
W 43–24 |
6–5 |
Metrodome |
58,108 |
13 |
November 23 |
at Detroit Lions |
L 38–44 |
6–6 |
Silverdome |
74,559 |
14 |
December 3 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
W 31–17 |
7–6 |
Metrodome |
52,879 |
15 |
December 9 |
Cleveland Browns |
W 27–11 |
8–6 |
Metrodome |
47,984 |
16 |
December 18 |
at San Francisco 49ers |
L 30–37 |
8–7 |
Candlestick Park |
64,975 |
17 |
December 24 |
at Cincinnati Bengals |
L 24–27 |
8–8 |
Riverfront Stadium |
34,568 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Statistics
League rankings
Category |
Total yards |
Yards per game |
NFL rank (out of 30) |
Passing offense | 4,205 | 262.8 | 5th |
Rushing offense | 1,733 | 108.3 | 16th |
Total offense | 5,938 | 371.1 | 4th |
Passing defense | 4,122 | 257.6 | 28th |
Rushing defense | 1,329 | 83.1 | 4th |
Total defense | 5,451 | 340.7 | 20th |
Personnel
Staff
- FFFFFF; text-align: center;1995 Minnesota Vikings staff
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Front Office
- Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
- President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
- Defensive Coordinator – Tony Dungy
- Defensive Line – John Levra
- Inside Linebackers – Foge Fazio
- Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters
- Defensive backs – Richard Solomon
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
- Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
- Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Mark Asanovich
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[1]
Final roster
1995 Minnesota Vikings final roster |
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
51 Active, 2 Inactive, 2 Practice squad
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Awards and records
- Cris Carter, led NFL in receiving touchdowns
- Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
- Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
- Orlando Thomas, NFL interceptions leader (9)
Milestones
- Cris Carter, 100 reception season [2]
- Warren Moon, 4th 4,000-yard passing season
External links
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Franchise | |
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Stadiums | |
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Culture | |
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Lore | |
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Rivalries | |
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Division championships (20) | |
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Conference championships (4) | |
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League championships (1) | 1969 |
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Retired numbers | |
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Current league affiliations | |
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Seasons (57) | |
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Championship seasons in bold |