1994 Minnesota Vikings season

1994 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Bears) 18–35
Uniform
← 1993 Vikings seasons 1995 →

The 1994 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 34th in the National Football League and their third under head coach Dennis Green. The team finished with a 10–6 record and reached the playoffs for a third straight season, but also failed to make it out of the Wild Card round for the third year in a row, losing 35–18 to their division rival Chicago Bears.

Offseason[]

Additions	Subtractions
T Chris Hinton (Falcons)	WR Anthony Carter (Lions)
RB Amp Lee (49ers)	DE Chris Doleman (Falcons)
QB Warren Moon (Oilers)	LB Fred Strickland (Packers)

1994 Draft[]

Pro Bowler

1994 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	18	18	Dewayne Washington	Cornerback	North Carolina State	from Broncos[a]
	19	19	Todd Steussie	Offensive tackle	California
2	11	40	David Palmer	Wide receiver	Alabama	from Browns via Eagles and Falcons[b]
	16	45	Traded to the Atlanta Falcons[b]			Compensatory pick
	23	52	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders[c]
	26	55	Fernando Smith	Defensive end	Jackson State	from Raiders[c]
3	23	88	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[d]
4	16	119	Traded to the Houston Oilers[e]
	22	125	Mike Wells	Defensive tackle	Iowa	from Raiders[c]
5	3	134	Shelly Hammonds	Defensive back	Penn State	from Redskins[e]
	20	151	Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs[f]
6	18	179	Andrew Jordan	Tight end	Western Carolina	from Broncos[a]
	19	180	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[d]
7	17	211	Pete Bercich	Linebacker	Notre Dame

^{^[a]} Denver traded their 1st round selection (18th overall), 6th round selection (179th overall), and 1995 2nd round selection to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.

^{^[b]} Atlanta traded a 2nd round selection (40th overall) and 1995 1st round selection to Minnesota in exchange for their 2nd round selection (45th overall) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.

^{^[c]} The Raiders traded their 2nd round selection (55th overall) and 4th round selection (125th overall) to Minnesota to move up 3 spot to the 52nd overall selection and draft LB James Folston.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (88th overall) and 6th round selection (180th overall) to Pittsburgh for TE Adrian Cooper.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (119th overall) and 1995 3rd round selection (89th overall) to Houston for QB Warren Moon.

^{^[e]} Washington traded a conditional 5th round selection (134th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for QB Rich Gannon on August 20, 1993.

^{^[f]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (151st overall) to Kansas City for RB Barry Word.

Undrafted free agents[]

1994 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Tony Carter	Fullback	Minnesota
Robert Griffith	Safety	San Diego State

Preseason[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance[1]	Notes
1	July 31	at Dallas Cowboys	L 9–17	0–1	Texas Stadium	59,062
2	August 7	Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–9	1–1	Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan)	49,555	American Bowl
3	August 13	New Orleans Saints	W 21–17	2–1	Metrodome	46,067
4	August 20	at Seattle Seahawks	L 19–30	2–2	Husky Stadium	45,797
5	August 26	Miami Dolphins	W 31–16	3–2	Metrodome	46,933

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4	at Green Bay Packers	L 16–10	0–1	Lambeau Field	59,487
2	September 11	Detroit Lions	W 10–3	1–1	Metrodome	57,349
3	September 18	at Chicago Bears	W 42–14	2–1	Soldier Field	61,073
4	September 25	Miami Dolphins	W 38–35	3–1	Metrodome	64,035
5	October 2	at Arizona Cardinals	L 17–7	3–2	Sun Devil Stadium	67,950
6	October 10	at New York Giants	W 27–10	4–2	Giants Stadium	77,294
7	Bye
8	October 20	Green Bay Packers	W 13–10 (OT)	5–2	Metrodome	63,041
9	October 30	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 36–13	6–2	Tampa Stadium	42,110
10	November 6	New Orleans Saints	W 21–20	7–2	Metrodome	57,564
11	November 13	at New England Patriots	L 26–20 (OT)	7–3	Foxboro Stadium	58,382
12	November 20	New York Jets	L 31–21	7–4	Metrodome	60,687
13	November 27	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–17 (OT)	7–5	Metrodome	47,259
14	December 1	Chicago Bears	W 33–27 (OT)	8–5	Metrodome	61,483
15	December 11	at Buffalo Bills	W 21–17	9–5	Rich Stadium	66,501
16	December 17	at Detroit Lions	L 41–19	9–6	Silverdome	73,881
17	December 26	San Francisco 49ers	W 21–14	10–6	Metrodome	63,326

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) Minnesota Vikings	10	6	0	.625	356	314	W1
(4) Green Bay Packers	9	7	0	.563	382	287	W3
(5) Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	357	342	L1
(6) Chicago Bears	9	7	0	.563	271	307	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	251	351	L1

Postseason[]

NFC Wildcard Game[]

The Bears picked off Warren Moon twice while Steve Walsh threw two touchdowns, backs Raymont Harris and Lewis Tillman added rushing scores, and Kevin Miniefield ran back a Vikings fumble for a touchdown.

Statistics[]

Team leaders[]

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Warren Moon	4,264
Passing touchdowns	Warren Moon	18
Rushing yards	Terry Allen	1,031
Rushing touchdowns	Terry Allen	8
Receptions	Cris Carter	122 *
Receiving yards	Cris Carter	1,256
Receiving touchdowns	Cris Carter	7
Points	Fuad Reveiz	132
Kickoff return yards	Qadry Ismail	807
Punt return yards	David Palmer	193
Tackles	Jack Del Rio	128
Sacks	John Randle	13.5
Interceptions	Vencie Glenn Anthony Parker	4
Forced fumbles	John Randle	3

• Vikings single season record (tie).

League rankings[]

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	4,324	270.2	3rd
Rushing offense	1,524	95.2	20th
Total offense	5,848	365.5	3rd
Passing defense	3,652	228.2	21st
Rushing defense	1,090	68.1	1st
Total defense	4,742	296.4	5th

Staff[]

1994 Minnesota Vikings staff

	Front office Chairman of the Board – President/Chief Executive Officer – Head coaches Head Coach – Dennis Green Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Brian Billick Running Backs – Tyrone Willingham Receivers – Jerry Rhome Offensive Line – Keith Rowen Assistant Offensive Line – Chris Foerster Offensive Assistant –			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tony Dungy Defensive Line – John Teerlinck Inside Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive Backs – Special teams coaches Special Teams – Gary Zauner Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Strength and Conditioning Assistant –

^[2]

Roster[]

1994 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Brad Johnson  1 Warren Moon 12 Sean Salisbury Running backs 21 Terry Allen 29 Chuck Evans FB 31 Scottie Graham 32 Amp Lee 26 Robert Smith Wide receivers 80 Cris Carter 84 Eric Guliford 82 Qadry Ismail KR 22 David Palmer PR 86 Jake Reed 81 Chris Walsh Tight ends 83 Andrew Jordan 83 Steve Jordan		Offensive linemen 62 Jeff Christy C 75 Bernard Dafney G 71 David Dixon G 46 John Gerak G 78 Chris Hinton T 64 Randall McDaniel G 60 Reggie McElroy G 68 Mike Morris C/LS 73 Todd Steussie T Defensive linemen 92 Roy Barker DE 99 James Harris DE 90 Robert Harris DE 91 Martin Harrison DE 79 Roosevelt Nix DE 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 97 Henry Thomas DT 98 Esera Tuaolo DT		Linebackers 50 Bobby Abrams 52 Richard Brown 55 Jack Del Rio MLB 54 Dave Garnett OLB 51 Carlos Jenkins OLB 58 Ed McDaniel OLB 59 Ashley Sheppard 57 Defensive backs 36 Malik Boyd CB 34 Brian Davis CB 25 Vencie Glenn FS 24 Robert Griffith SS 37 Lamar McGriggs CB 27 Anthony Parker CB 38 Todd Scott SS 20 Dewayne Washington CB Special teams  7 Fuad Reveiz K  4 Mike Saxon P		Reserve lists 87 Adrian Cooper TE (IR) 61 Everett Lindsay G (IR) 85 Brent Novoselsky TE (IR) Practice squad 56 Pete Bercich LB -- Robert Staten FB Rookies in italics 52 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad

Awards and honors[]

• Cris Carter, Led NFL in receptions
• Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
• Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection 1994
• Warren Moon, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (4,264)

Milestones[]

• Cris Carter, 100 reception season (Carter finished the season with 122 receptions) ^[3]
• Warren Moon, 3rd 4,000 Yard Passing Season
• Warren Moon, 5th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 6)
• Warren Moon, 6th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 20)

References[]

• Vikings on Football Reference