1985 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1985 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 25th in the National Football League. Under returning head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs for a third season in a row. At the end of the season, Grant retired for good after 18 years with the franchise.

1985 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachBud Grant
General managerMike Lynn
OwnerMax Winter
Home fieldMetrodome
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Pro BowlersSS Joey Browner[1]
AP All-ProsSS Joey Browner[2]

Offseason

1985 Draft
Pro Bowler
1985 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
12 Traded to the Atlanta Falcons[b]from Oilers[a]
3 Traded to the Houston Oilers[a]
4 Chris DolemanDefensive endPittsburghfrom Falcons[b]
230 Issiac HoltCornerbackAlcorn StateProvisional trade not exercised[a][c]
359 Kirk LowdermilkCenterOhio State
60 Tim MeamberLinebackerWashingtonfrom Falcons[b]
66 Tim LongOffensive tackleMemphis Statefrom Chargers[d]
485 George RhymesWide receiverOklahoma
106 Kyle MorrellDefensive backBYUfrom Rams[e]
5115 Mark MacDonaldGuardBoston College
6142 Steve BonoQuarterbackUCLA
164 Tim NewtonDefensive tackleFloridafrom Raiders[f]
7171 Traded to the Green Bay Packers[g]
8198 Nikita BlairLinebackerUTEP
9227 Jamie CovingtonRunning backSyracuse
10254 Juan JohnsonWide receiverLangston
11283 Tim WilliamsDefensive backNorth Carolina A&T
12310 Byron JonesDefensive tackleTulsa
^[a] In an attempt to draft QB Bernie Kosar, the Vikings traded their first-round selection (3rd overall) and a provisional second-round selection (30th overall)[c] to the Houston Oilers in exchange for Houston's first-round selection (2nd overall).
^[b] When Kosar did not declare for the draft and instead controversially waited for the supplemental draft, the traded the first-round selection they received from the Oilers to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Atlanta's first- and third-round selections (4th and 60th overall).
^[c] As part of the trade between the Vikings and Oilers[a], the Vikings agreed not to draft DE Ray Childress or trade the pick to a team that would draft Childress. Houston drafted Childress with the 3rd overall pick and this provisional selection was returned to Minnesota.
^[d] The Vikings traded CB John Turner to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for San Diego's third-round selection (66th overall).
^[e] The Vikings traded QB Steve Dils to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams' fourth-round selection (106th overall).
^[f] The Vikings traded LB Brad Van Pelt to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' sixth-round selection (164th overall) and 1986 second-round selection.
^[g] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (171st overall) to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for K Jan Stenerud.

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[3]
1August 10at Miami DolphinsW 16–131–0Miami Orange Bowl41,129
2August 17Pittsburgh SteelersW 41–342–0Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome56,887
3August 24Seattle SeahawksL 10–272–1Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome56,562
4August 30at Denver BroncosW 13–93–1Mile High Stadium69,373

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 San Francisco 49ers W 28–21 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,375
2 September 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–16 2–0 Tampa Stadium 46,188
3 September 19 Chicago Bears L 24–33 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,242
4 September 29 at Buffalo Bills W 27–20 3–1 Rich Stadium 45,667
5 October 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–13 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 61,139
6 October 13 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 3–3 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,674
7 October 20 San Diego Chargers W 21–17 4–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,670
8 October 27 at Chicago Bears L 9–27 4–4 Soldier Field 63,815
9 November 3 Detroit Lions W 16–13 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,012
10 November 10 Green Bay Packers L 17–27 5–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,970
11 November 17 at Detroit Lions L 21–41 5–6 Silverdome 54,647
12 November 24 New Orleans Saints L 23–30 5–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,117
13 December 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 28–23 6–7 Veterans Stadium 54,688
14 December 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–7 7–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,593
15 December 15 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–14 7–8 Atlanta Fulton County Stadium 14,167
16 December 22 Philadelphia Eagles L 35–37 7–9 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,722

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(1) 15 1 0 .938 8–0 12–0 456 198 W3
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 6–2 8–4 337 355 W2
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 3–5 5–9 346 359 L2
Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 2–6 5–7 307 366 L3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 14 0 .125 1–7 2–10 294 448 L4

Staff
1985 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Tom Batta

[4]

Roster
1985 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
 active, inactive, practice squad

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsTommy Kramer3,522
Passing touchdownsTommy Kramer19
Rushing yardsDarrin Nelson893
Rushing touchdownsTed Brown7
Receiving yardsAnthony Carter821
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Carter8
PointsJan Stenerud86
Kickoff return yardsBuster Rhymes1,345
Punt return yardsDarrin Nelson133
TacklesChris Doleman113
SacksKeith Millard11.0
InterceptionsJohn Turner5

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense3,635227.27th
Rushing offense1,51694.827th
Total offense5,151321.916th
Passing defense3,241202.615th
Rushing defense2,223138.922nd
Total defense5,464341.516th

25 year team

The team recognized an all-time team in 1985 as part of the celebration of the 25th season VIKINGS 25TH SEASON ALL-TIME TEAM 1961–85

  • Offense
    • WRs: Ahmad Rashad, Sammy White
    • T: Ron Yary, Grady Alderman
    • G: Ed White, Milt Sunde
    • C: Mick Tingelhoff
    • TE: Stu Voigt
    • QB: Fran Tarkenton
    • RB: Bill Brown, Chuck Foreman
    • K: Fred Cox
  • Defense
    • DE: Jim Marshall, Carl Eller
    • DT: Alan Page, Gary Larsen
    • OLB: Matt Blair, Roy Winston
    • ILB: Jeff Siemon, Scott Studwell
    • S: Paul Krause, Karl Kassulke
    • CB: Bobby Bryant, Ed Sharockman
    • P: Greg Coleman
  • Head coach: Bud Grant

References
  1. "1985 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. "1985 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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