1983 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1983 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL), and their 17th under head coach Bud Grant. After starting 6–2, the Vikings lost six of their next seven – including a home loss to the 0–9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and were eliminated from playoff contention with one week to play.

1983 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Uniform

Even with the loss to Tampa Bay, Minnesota would have won the NFC Central Division championship if not for a 13–2 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in week 14.

The team finished 8–8 record and failed to reach the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. At the end of the season, Grant retired as head coach, although he returned for a final season in 1985.

Offseason

1983 draft

Main article: 1983 NFL draft

Pro Bowler

1983 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	19	Joey Browner	Cornerback	USC
2	46	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles
3	73	Walker Lee Ashley	Linebacker	Penn State
4	100	Mark Rush	Running back	Miami (FL)
5	127	Mark Stewart	Linebacker	Washington
6	159	Mike Jones	Wide receiver	Tennessee State
7	186	Carl Lee	Cornerback	Marshall
8	213	Norris Brown	Tight end	Georgia
9	239	Rod Achter	Wide receiver	Toledo
10	255	Melvin Brown	Defensive back	Ole Miss	From Rams
	266	Walter Tate	Center	Tennessee State
11	298	Brian Butcher	Guard	Clemson
12	325	Maurice Turner	Running back	Utah State

Notes

Roster

1983 Minnesota Vikings roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Steve Dils  4 Archie Manning 11 Wade Wilson Running backs (RB) 33 Rick Bell 23 Ted Brown FB 32 Tony Galbreath FB 20 Darrin Nelson KR 22 Jarvis Redwine KR 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers (WR) 80 Terry LeCount 89 Mike Jones 87 Leo Lewis 84 Sam McCullum 88 Mardye McDole 85 Sammy White Tight ends (TE) 86 Norris Brown 82 Bob Bruer 44 Dave Casper 83 Steve Jordan 86 Mike Mularkey 81 Joe Senser

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Brent Boyd G 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough G 56 Dave Huffman C 76 Tim Irwin T 78 Steve Riley T 68 Curtis Rouse T 67 Dennis Swilley C 66 Terry Tausch T Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Neil Elshire DE 75 Randy Holloway DE 65 Charlie Johnson NT 79 Doug Martin DE 72 James White NT 91 Ray Yakavonis NT

Linebackers (LB) 58 Walker Lee Ashley 59 Matt Blair OLB 50 Dennis Fowlkes 52 Dennis Johnson ILB 53 Henry Johnson 54 Fred McNeill OLB 57 Robin Sendlein 55 Scott Studwell ILB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Rufus Bess 47 Joey Browner S 45 Tommy Hannon SS 39 Carl Lee CB 29 John Swain CB 37 Willie Teal CB 27 John Turner CB Special teams  8 Greg Coleman P  1 Benny Ricardo K

Reserve  7 Rick Danmeier K (IR)  9 Tommy Kramer QB (IR) 77 Mark Mullaney DE (IR) 49 Keith Nord FS (IR) 95 Mark Stewart LB (IR) Rookies in italics Source

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Notes
1	August 6	vs St. Louis Cardinals	W 28–10	1–0	Wembley Stadium (London, England)	32,847	Global Cup
2	August 13	Baltimore Colts	L 7–10	1–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,061
3	August 19	at Seattle Seahawks	W 19–17	2–1	Kingdome	54,402
4	August 26	Denver Broncos	W 34–3	3–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	59,435

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–21	1–0	Cleveland Stadium	70,087
2	September 8	San Francisco 49ers	L 17–48	1–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,167
3	September 18	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 19–16 (OT)	2–1	Tampa Stadium	57,567
4	September 25	Detroit Lions	W 20–17	3–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,254
5	October 2	Dallas Cowboys	L 24–37	3–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,774
6	October 9	at Chicago Bears	W 23–14	4–2	Soldier Field	59,632
7	October 16	Houston Oilers	W 34–14	5–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,910
8	October 23	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–17 (OT)	6–2	Lambeau Field	55,236
9	October 30	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 31–41	6–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	42,575
10	November 6	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 12–17	6–4	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	59,239
11	November 13	Green Bay Packers	L 21–29	6–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,113
12	November 20	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–14	7–5	Three Rivers Stadium	58,417
13	November 27	at New Orleans Saints	L 16–17	7–6	Louisiana Superdome	59,502
14	December 5	at Detroit Lions	L 2–13	7–7	Silverdome	79,169
15	December 11	Chicago Bears	L 13–19	7–8	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,880
16	December 17	Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	8–8	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,565

Against the Detroit Lions in week 14, the Vikings became the 35th team in NFL history and only the fifth since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger, to score just a safety in a game. This has happened only three times since: by the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2011 Atlanta Falcons, and the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions(3)	9	7	0	.563	7–1	8–4	347	286	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	429	439	L1
Chicago Bears	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–7	311	301	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	4–4	4–8	316	348	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–11	241	380	L3

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Steve Dils	2,840
Passing touchdowns	Steve Dils	911
Rushing yards	Darrin Nelson	642
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown	10
Receiving yards	Darrin Nelson	618
Receiving touchdowns	Sammy White	4
Points	Benny Ricardo	108
Kickoff return yards	Jarvis Redwine	838
Punt return yards	Rufus Bess	158
Sacks	Doug Martin	13
Interceptions	John Swain John Turner	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,211	200.7	13th
Rushing offense	1,808	113.0	20th
Total offense	5,019	313.7	20th
Passing defense	2,903	181.4	6th
Rushing defense	2,584	161.5	25th
Total defense	5,487	342.9	19th