The 1978 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 18th in the National Football League (NFL). 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 minus 12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years. In the divisional round, the Vikings lost 34–10 to the Los Angeles Rams. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.
| 1978 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mike Lynn |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–7–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 10–34 |
| Pro Bowlers | LB Matt Blair WR Ahmad Rashad |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Offseason
edit1978 draft
edit| 1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 21 | Randy Holloway | Defensive end | Pittsburgh | |
| 2 | 48 | John Turner | Defensive back | Miami (FL) | |
| 3 | 75 | Whip Walton | Linebacker | San Diego State | |
| 4 | 100 | Jim Hough | Center | Utah State | |
| 5 | 132 | Traded to the New York Giants[A] | |||
| 6 | 159 | Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[B] | |||
| 7 | 186 | Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[C] | |||
| 8 | 204 | Mike Wood | Placekicker | Southeast Missouri State | From Seahawks[D] |
| 213 | Traded to the New York Jets[E] | ||||
| 9 | 240 | Mike Deutsch | Punter | Colorado State | |
| 10 | 272 | Hughie Shaw | Running back | Texas A&I | |
| 11 | 299 | Ron Harris | Running back | Colorado State | |
| 12 | 326 | Jeff Morrow | Offensive tackle | Minnesota | |
Notes
- ^ The Vikings traded a fifth-round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for TE Bob Tucker.
- ^ The Vikings traded a sixth-round selection (159th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for DB Windlan Hall and CB Nate Allen.
- ^ The Vikings traded a seventh-round selection (186th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for S Bill Bradley.
- ^ The Vikings traded S Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an eighth-round selection (204th overall).
- ^ The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (213th overall) and a 1979 10th-round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.
Roster
editQuarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Reserve
Rookies in italics
, 5 practice squad |
Preseason
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
edit| 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 |
Game summaries
editWeek 8: vs Green Bay Packers
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Vikings | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Date: October 22
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C)
- TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The Vikings won a game they had to win in their bid to win a 10th NFC Central division title in 11 seasons, as Fran Tarkenton completed 26 of 43 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Ahmad Rashad. "That's pretty amazing for a guy who can't throw a football anymore, isn't it?" said the 38-year-old Tarkenton, who raised his 18-year yardage total to 45,143, the first man to surpass 45,000 yards. Tarkenton's third scoring strike to running back Chuck Foreman just before the half went for 16 yards. Terdell Middleton, who entered the game as the NFC's third leading rusher, scored Green Bay's only touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter, giving Green Bay a 7–7 tie. He finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries.
Standings
edit| 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
edit| Week | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 31 | 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".[2]
Awards and records
edit- QB Fran Tarkenton threw 32 interceptions on the season, surpassing his own franchise record of 25 (set in 1962)
- RB Rickey Young led the league with 88 receptions, setting a Vikings single-season record.
Statistical leaders
edit| 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 Rashad | 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 |
League rankings
edit| 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 |