1975 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1975 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 15th in the National Football League.

1975 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachBud Grant
General managerMike Lynn
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record12–2
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost NFC Divisional Playoff (Cowboys) 14–17

The Vikings began with a 10-game win streak before losing by one point to the Washington Redskins, though there was generally very little expectation they would equal the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season.[1] The 1975 Vikings had an even easier schedule than the often-criticized one of the unbeaten Dolphin team, with their 14 opponents having a weighted average winning percentage of .332 and nine being 4–10 or worse.[2] Football journalists noted during their streak how the Vikings had been playing very weak schedules for several years and flattered thereby.[3] Their 10–0 start was not subsequently equalled until the 1984 Miami Dolphins began 11–0.[4] According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, only the Super Bowl-winning 1999 Rams have since had a weaker schedule than the 1975 Vikings, playing only one opponent with a winning record during the regular season.[5]

They sealed their third straight NFC Central title on Thanksgiving Day in this same week when the Detroit Lions lost to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 17–14 in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at home due to a play known as the "Hail Mary". Earlier in the season, the New York Jets made their first appearance in Minnesota in a much-anticipated match between Super Bowl quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Joe Namath, in what was the first regular season game sold out during the summer.[6]

Offseason

1975 Draft
1975 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
125 Mark MullaneyDefensive endColorado State
252 Robert BarberDefensive tackleUSCoriginally Steelers' pick[a]
363 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[c]from Lions[b]
77 Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals[d]
489 Champ HensonRunning backOhio Statefrom Bengals[d]
103 Bruce AdamsWide receiverKansas
5129 Robert MillerRunning backKansas
6155 Bubba BroussardLinebackerHouston
7181 Henry GreenRunning backSouthern
8207 Joe HollimonDefensive backArkansas State
9233 John PassanantiGuardWestern Illinois
10258 Neil ClaboPunterTennesseeoriginally Raiders' pick[e]
11285 Ike SpencerRunning backUtah
12311 Autry BeamonDefensive backEast Texas State
13336 Mike HurdWide receiverMichigan Stateoriginally Redskins' pick[f]
14363 Mike StricklandRunning backEastern Michigan
15388 Ollie BakkenLinebackerMinnesotaoriginally Raiders' pick[g]
16414 Tom GoedjenKickerIowa Stateoriginally Colts' pick[h]
17441 Adolph BellizeareRunning backPenn
^[a] The Vikings originally held the 51st overall selection but passed, allowing Pittsburgh to move up before making their pick 52nd overall.
^[b] The Vikings traded CB Charlie West to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Detroit's third-round selection (63rd overall).
^[c] The Vikings traded the third-round selection they acquired from Detroit (63rd overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for OL Andy Maurer.
^[d] The details of this trade are unknown.
^[e] The Vikings originally held the 259th overall selection but moved up to 258th overall when the Oakland Raiders passed.
^[f] The Vikings originally held the 337th overall selection but moved up to 336th overall when the Washington Redskins passed on the 334th overall selection and allowed Miami, San Diego, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Miami, Baltimore, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, and New Orleans to move up.
^[g] The Vikings originally held the 389th overall selection but moved up to 388th overall when the Oakland Raiders passed.
^[h] The Vikings originally held the 415th overall selection but moved up to 414th overall when the Baltimore Colts passed and allowed Minnesota and Pittsburgh to move up.

Roster
1975 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • None


Practice squad

  • None


Rookies in italics
 48 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad
Source

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[7]
1August 9New York JetsL 15–200–1Sun Devil Stadium, (Tempe, AZ)51,323
2August 17at New England PatriotsL 10–360–2Schaefer Stadium40,218
3August 23at Dallas Cowboys W 16–131–2Texas Stadium45,395
4September 1Miami DolphinsW 20–72–2Metropolitan Stadium47,653
5September 6St. Louis CardinalsL 6–132–3Metropolitan Stadium46,975
6September 13at San Diego ChargersT 14–14 (OT)2–3–1San Diego Stadium31,642

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 21 San Francisco 49ers W 27–17 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 46,479
2 September 28 at Cleveland Browns W 42–10 2–0 Cleveland Stadium 68,064
3 October 5 Chicago Bears W 28–3 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,578
4 October 12 New York Jets W 29–21 4–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,739
5 October 19 Detroit Lions W 25–19 5–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,872
6 October 27 at Chicago Bears W 13–9 6–0 Soldier Field 51,259
7 November 2 at Green Bay Packers W 28–17 7–0 Lambeau Field 57,267
8 November 9 Atlanta Falcons W 38–0 8–0 Metropolitan Stadium 43,751
9 November 16 at New Orleans Saints W 20–7 9–0 Louisiana Superdome 52,765
10 November 23 San Diego Chargers W 28–13 10–0 Metropolitan Stadium 43,737
11 November 30 at Washington Redskins L 30–31 10–1 RFK Stadium 54,498
12 December 7 Green Bay Packers W 24–3 11–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,147
13 December 14 at Detroit Lions L 10–17 11–2 Silverdome 73,130
14 December 20 at Buffalo Bills W 35–13 12–2 Rich Stadium 54,993

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 1: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
49ers 0 10 0717
Vikings 3 10 01427

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(1) 12 2 0 .857 5–1 8–2 377 180 W1
Detroit Lions 7 7 0 .500 4–2 6–5 245 262 L1
Chicago Bears 4 10 0 .286 2–4 4–7 191 379 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 10 0 .286 1–5 4–7 226 285 W1

Postseason

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional December 28 Dallas Cowboys (4) L 14–17 Metropolitan Stadium 46,425

Game summaries

NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (#4) Dallas Cowboys
NFC Divisional Playoff: (#4) Dallas Cowboys at (#1) Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 0 71017
Vikings 0 7 0714

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Awards and records

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsFran Tarkenton2,994
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton25
Rushing yardsChuck Foreman1,070
Rushing touchdownsChuck Foreman13
Receiving yardsJohn Gilliam777
Receiving touchdownsChuck Foreman9
PointsChuck Foreman132
Kickoff return yardsBrent McClanahan360
Punt return yardsBobby Bryant125
InterceptionsPaul Krause10 *

* Vikings single season record.

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 26)
Passing offense2,861204.43rd
Rushing offense2,094149.610th
Total offense4,955353.95th
Passing defense1,621115.81st
Rushing defense1,532109.41st
Total defense3,153262.21st

References
  1. Lowitt, Bruce; "Streaking Vikings Meet Old Nemesis in Falcons"; in Star-Banner (Ocala, Florida); November 7, 1975; p. 7B
  2. 1975 Minnesota Vikings at ProFootball
  3. Donovan, Mark; "National Central"; in Sports Illustrated; September 22, 1975
  4. "Last Undefeated NFL Team in Each Season". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  5. 1999 Rams Against Opponents with Winning Record
  6. Kallestad, Brent; "Fran, Joe Square Off First Time"; in The Evening News; October 10, 1975; p. 7B
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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