1966 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1966 season was the Minnesota Vikings' sixth in the National Football League. Sixth-year head coach Norm Van Brocklin resigned at the end of the season, after the team finished with a 4–9–1 record.

1966 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
General managerJim Finks
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Local radioWCCO
Results
Record4–9–1
Division placeT-6th NFL Western
Playoff finishdid not qualify

Offseason

1966 Draft
1966 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
16 Jerry Shay Tackle Purdue
227 Jim Lindsey Running back Arkansas
342 Don Hansen Linebacker Illinois
457 Ron Acks Defensive back Illinois
572 Doug Davis Tackle Kentucky
76 Bob Hall Defensive back Brown from Bears[a]
683 Wilbur Aylor Tackle Southwest Texas State from Steelers via Giants[b]
87 Traded to the Detroit Lions[c]
7106 Bob Meers End Massachusetts
8120 Traded to the Baltimore Colts[d]
9134 Ron Green Wide receiver North Dakota
10148 Traded to the Detroit Lions[e]
11162 Stan Quintana Defensive back New Mexico
12181 Bob Petrella Defensive back Tennessee
13195 Larry Martin Tackle San Diego State
14209 Howard Twilley Wide receiver Tulsa
15223 Hugh Wright Running back Adams State
16237 Jim Williams Defensive end Arkansas
17256 Monroe Beard Running back Virginia Union
18270 Dale Greco Defensive tackle Illinois
19284 Jesse Stokes Running back Corpus Christi State
20298 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[f]
^[a] The Vikings traded OG Palmer Pyle to the Chicago Bears in exchange for Chicago's fifth-round selection (76th overall).
^[b] The Vikings trade LB Bill Swain to the New York Giants in exchange for the sixth-round selection the Giants acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers (83rd overall).
^[c] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (87th overall) and 1965 seventh-round selection (92nd overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for DT Mike Bundra and E Larry Vargo.
^[d] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (120th overall) and LB John Campbell to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for OT Larry Kramer.
^[e] The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (148th overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for DB Gary Lowe.
^[f] The Vikings traded their 20th-round selection (298th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for HB Billy Ray Barnes.

Roster
1966 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
Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 6 Detroit Lions T 6–6 0–0–1 Tulane Stadium (New Orleans, LA) 38,229
2 August 13 Pittsburgh Steelers W 3–6 1–0–1 Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR) 21,228
3 August 20 Los Angeles Rams W 24–10 2–0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 40,270
4 August 26 Washington Redskins W 30–27 3–0–1 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland, OH) 83,418
5 September 2 at Dallas Cowboys L 24–28 3–1–1 Cotton Bowl 58,316

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 11 at San Francisco 49ers T 20–20 0–0–1 Kezar Stadium 29,312
2 September 18 Baltimore Colts L 23–38 0–1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
3 September 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–28 0–2–1 Cotton Bowl 64,116
4 October 2 Chicago Bears L 10–13 0–3–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
5 October 9 Bye
6 October 16 Los Angeles Rams W 35–7 1–3–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
7 October 23 at Baltimore Colts L 17–20 1–4–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
8 October 30 San Francisco 49ers W 28–3 2–4–1 Metropolitan Stadium 45,077
9 November 6 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 3–4–1 Lambeau Field 50,861
10 November 13 Detroit Lions L 31–32 3–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 43,939
11 November 20 at Los Angeles Rams L 6–21 3–6–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 38,775
12 November 27 Green Bay Packers L 16–28 3–7–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
13 December 4 Atlanta Falcons L 13–20 3–8–1 Metropolitan Stadium 37,117
14 December 11 at Detroit Lions W 28–16 4–8–1 Tiger Stadium 43,022
15 December 18 at Chicago Bears L 28–41 4–9–1 Wrigley Field 45,191
  • A bye week was necessary as the league had expanded to an odd number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Standings
NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 12 2 0 .857 10–2 335 163 W5
Baltimore Colts 9 5 0 .643 7–5 314 226 W1
Los Angeles Rams 8 6 0 .571 6–6 289 212 L1
San Francisco 49ers 6 6 2 .500 5–5–2 320 325 L1
Chicago Bears 5 7 2 .417 4–6–2 234 272 W1
Detroit Lions 4 9 1 .308 3–8–1 206 317 L3
Minnesota Vikings 4 9 1 .308 4–7–1 206 304 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsFran Tarkenton2,561
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton17
Rushing yardsBill Brown829
Rushing touchdownsBill Brown6
Receiving yardsPaul Flatley777
Receiving touchdownsPreston Carpenter4
PointsFred Cox88
Kickoff return yardsMike Fitzgerald301
Punt return yardsEd Sharockman95
InterceptionsDale Hackbart5

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 15)
Passing offense2,548182.07th
Rushing offense2,091149.43rd
Total offense4,639331.44th
Passing defense2,236159.72nd
Rushing defense1,686120.47th
Total defense3,922280.15th
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