List of Minnesota Vikings seasons

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Stadium with a glass wall.
The Vikings have played at U.S. Bank Stadium since 2016.

The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team playing in the National Football League (NFL). The Vikings compete in the NFL as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The team was established in 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen – Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund and Max Winter – were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League (AFL).[1] In January 1960, the ownership group forfeited its AFL membership and, along with Bernie Ridder and Ole Haugsrud, was awarded the NFL's 14th franchise, with play to begin in 1961.[1]

Since the franchise's inception, the Vikings have completed 61 seasons of play in the NFL. The team won one NFL Championship in 1969, and was the last team crowned NFL champions before the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The franchise has been conference champions three times since the merger, but has never won the Super Bowl. The Vikings have been divisional champions 20 times, most among current members of their division. Minnesota has played 820 regular and post-season games and has appeared in the post-season 30 times.[2]

The team's worst season was 1962, when it won two games, lost eleven, and tied one (a .179 winning percentage).[3] Their worst seasons since the NFL changed to a 16-game schedule were in 1984 and 2011, when they could only manage a 3–13 record.[4] The best regular-season record was achieved in 1998, when the Vikings went 15–1, but kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35-for-35 in field goal attempts during the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt with less than three minutes remaining in the NFC Championship Game.[5] With an overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Vikings became the first 15–1 team in NFL history not to reach the Super Bowl.[6]

Key[]

BBA Bert Bell Award
COY NFL Coach of the Year Award
CPY NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
DPY NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
GH George Halas Trophy
MOY Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
MVP NFL Most Valuable Player Award
OPY NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award
OROY NFL Rookie of the Year Award
PBMVP Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player Award
ROY UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year
UPINFC UPI NFC Player of the Year

Seasons[]

See also: History of the Minnesota Vikings
NFL champions
(1920–1969)† 		Super Bowl champions
(1967–present)‡ 		Conference champions
(1967–present)° 		Division champions
(1967–present)* 		Wild card berth
(1970–present)§
Franchise records according to Pro-Football Reference.com[7]
Season League Conference Division Regular season Post-season results Awards Head coach(es)
Finish Won Lost Tied
1961 NFL Western 7th 3 11 0 Norm Van Brocklin
1962 NFL Western 6th 2 11 1
1963 NFL Western T-4th 5 8 1 Paul Flatley (ROY)[8]
1964 NFL Western T-2nd 8 5 1 Fran Tarkenton (PBMVP)[9][10]
1965 NFL Western 5th 7 7 0
1966 NFL Western T-6th 4 9 1
1967 NFL Western Central 4th 3 8 3 Bud Grant
1968 NFL Western Central* 1st* 8 6 0 Lost Conference Playoffs (at Colts) 14–24
1969 NFL† Western° Central* 1st* 12 2 0 Won Conference Playoffs (Rams) 23–20
Won NFL Championship (Browns) 27–7†
Lost Super Bowl IV (vs. Chiefs) 7–23 		Bud Grant (COY)[11]
1970 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 12 2 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 14–17
1971 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 11 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 12–20 Carl Eller (GH)[12]
Alan Page (MVP, DPY, UPINFC)[13][14]
1972 NFL NFC Central 3rd 7 7 0
1973 NFL NFC° Central* 1st* 12 2 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 27–20
Won Conference Championship (at Cowboys) 27–10
Lost Super Bowl VIII (vs. Dolphins) 7–24 		Chuck Foreman (OROY)[15]
Alan Page (GH)[16]
1974 NFL NFC° Central* 1st* 10 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Cardinals) 30–14
Won Conference Championship (Rams) 14–10
Lost Super Bowl IX (vs. Steelers) 6–16
1975 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 12 2 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs[a] (Cowboys) 14–17 Fran Tarkenton (MVP, BBA, UPINFC, OPY)[13]
1976 NFL NFC° Central* 1st* 11 2 1 Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 35–20
Won Conference Championship (Rams) 24–13
Lost Super Bowl XI (vs. Raiders) 14–32 		Chuck Foreman (UPINFC)[17]
Sammy White (ROY, OROY)[15]
1977 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 9 5 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 14–7
Lost Conference Championship (at Cowboys) 6–23
1978[b] NFL NFC Central* 1st* 8 7 1 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 10–34 Ahmad Rashād (PBMVP)[9]
1979 NFL NFC Central 3rd 7 9 0
1980 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 9 7 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Eagles) 16–31
1981 NFL NFC Central 4th 7 9 0
1982[c] NFL NFC 4th 5 4 0 Won First Round (Falcons) 30–24
Lost Second Round (at Redskins) 7–21
1983 NFL NFC Central 4th 8 8 0
1984 NFL NFC Central 5th 3 13 0 Les Steckel
1985 NFL NFC Central 3rd 7 9 0 Bud Grant
1986 NFL NFC Central 2nd 9 7 0 Tommy Kramer (CPY)[18] Jerry Burns
1987[d] NFL NFC Central 2nd§ 8 7 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 44–10
Won Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 36–24
Lost Conference Championship (at Redskins) 10–17
1988 NFL NFC Central 2nd§ 11 5 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 28–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 9–34
1989 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 10 6 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 13–41 Keith Millard (DPY, UPINFC)[13]
1990 NFL NFC Central 5th 6 10 0
1991 NFL NFC Central 3rd 8 8 0
1992 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 11 5 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Redskins) 7–24 Chris Doleman (UPINFC)[13]
Dennis Green (COY)[19] 		Dennis Green
1993 NFL NFC Central 2nd§ 9 7 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 10–17
1994 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Bears) 18–35
1995 NFL NFC Central 4th 8 8 0
1996 NFL NFC Central 2nd§ 9 7 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Cowboys) 15–40
1997 NFL NFC Central 4th§ 9 7 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 23–22
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 22–38
1998 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 15 1 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Cardinals) 41–21
Lost Conference Championship (Falcons) 27–30 (OT) 		Randall Cunningham (BBA)[20]
Dennis Green (COY)[19]
Randy Moss (OROY)[15]
1999 NFL NFC Central 2nd§ 10 6 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys) 27–10
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 37–49 		Cris Carter (MOY)[19]
Randy Moss (PBMVP)[9]
2000 NFL NFC Central* 1st* 11 5 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Saints) 34–16
Lost Conference Championship (at Giants) 0–41
2001 NFL NFC Central 4th 5 11 0 Dennis Green (5–10)
Mike Tice (0–1)
2002 NFL NFC North 2nd 6 10 0 Mike Tice
2003 NFL NFC North 2nd 9 7 0
2004 NFL NFC North 2nd§ 8 8 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Packers) 31–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Eagles) 14–27
2005 NFL NFC North 2nd 9 7 0
2006 NFL NFC North 3rd 6 10 0 Brad Childress
2007 NFL NFC North 2nd 8 8 0 Adrian Peterson (OROY,[15] PBMVP)[9]
2008 NFL NFC North* 1st* 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Eagles) 14–26 Adrian Peterson (BBA)
2009 NFL NFC North* 1st* 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 34–3
Lost Conference Championship (at Saints) 28–31 (OT) 		Percy Harvin (OROY)
2010 NFL NFC North 4th 6 10 0 Madieu Williams (MOY) Brad Childress (3–7)
Leslie Frazier (3–3)
2011 NFL NFC North 4th 3 13 0 Leslie Frazier
2012 NFL NFC North 2nd§ 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Packers) 10–24 Kyle Rudolph (PBMVP)
Adrian Peterson (BBA, MVP, OPY)
2013 NFL NFC North 4th 5 10 1
2014 NFL NFC North 3rd 7 9 0 Mike Zimmer
2015 NFL NFC North* 1st* 11 5 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Seahawks) 9–10
2016 NFL NFC North 3rd 8 8 0
2017 NFL NFC North* 1st* 13 3 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Saints) 29–24
Lost Conference Championship (at Eagles) 7–38
2018 NFL NFC North 2nd 8 7 1
2019 NFL NFC North 2nd§ 10 6 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 26–20 (OT)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 10–27
2020 NFL NFC North 3rd 7 9 0
2021 NFL NFC North 2nd 8 9 0
Total[f] 503 421 11 Regular season record through 2021
21 30 — Playoff record through 2021
524 451 11 Regular season and playoffs

Footnotes[]

  • a The Vikings were defeated on a desperation touchdown pass thrown by Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach with less than a minute left in the game. Staubach coined the phrase "Hail Mary pass", referring to his toss, and the game itself became known as "The Hail Mary".[21]
  • b The NFL expanded from a 14-game regular season schedule to 16 beginning in 1978.[22]
  • c The 1982 NFL season was shortened from 16 regular season games to 9 due to a players' strike.[23] For playoff seedings, division standings were ignored and the league used a 16-team tournament format for the season.[24]
  • d The 1987 NFL season was shortened from 16 regular season games to 15 due to a players' strike.[25]
  • f The "finish", "wins", "losses", and "ties" columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play. Regular and postseason records are combined only at the bottom of the list.

References[]

General
  • "Minnesota Vikings History". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  • "Minnesota Vikings". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
Inline citations
  1. ^ a b Josza, Frank P.; Guthrie, John J. (30 August 1999). Relocating teams and expanding leagues in professional sports. Quorum Books. p. 51. ISBN 1-56720-193-8.
  2. ^ "Minnesota Vikings Team Encyclopedia". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  3. ^ "1962 Minnesota Vikings".
  4. ^ "1964 Minnesota Vikings".
  5. ^ Freeman, Mike (18 January 1999). "N.F.L. Conference Championships; Belief Is the Margin of Victory As Falcons Dance Off to Miami". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  6. ^ Wilner, Barry (26 September 1999). "Final Four of 1998 Losing At a Rapid Pace in 1999". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Minnesota Vikings". Pro-Football Reference.
  8. ^ Shrake, Edwin (September 28, 1964). "Now The Nfl's Toddlers Run With The Big Men". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d 2009 ESPN Sports Almanac. Ballantine Books. 2008. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-345-51172-0.
  10. ^ "Fran Tarkenton Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  11. ^ "AP NFL Coach of the Year". ESPN. Associated Press. January 4, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  12. ^ "Carl Eller Biography". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  13. ^ a b c d 2009 ESPN Sports Almanac, p. 278.
  14. ^ "Alan Page Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  15. ^ a b c d "Vikings' Peterson voted AP Offensive Rookie of the Year". National Football League. Associated Press. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  16. ^ Olderman, Murray (January 11, 1974). "Page Takes Halas Trophy". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved August 8, 2009.[dead link]
  17. ^ 2009 ESPN Sports Almanac, pp. 278–279.
  18. ^ "Tommy Kramer Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  19. ^ a b c "History: All-Time Honors". Minnesota Vikings. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  20. ^ "Randall Cunningham Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  21. ^ "Chat transcript with Roger Staubach". Pro Football Hall of Fame. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  22. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (18 May 2009). "Schedule expansion gaining momentum". ESPN. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  23. ^ Forbes, Gordon (8 June 2001). "'82 strike changed salary dealings forever". USA Today. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  24. ^ Wong, Glenn M. (2008). The Comprehensive Guide to Careers in Sports. Jones & Bartlett. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7637-2884-7.
  25. ^ Staudohar, Paul D.; Mangan, J. A. (1991). The Business of Professional Sports. University of Illinois Press. p. 63. ISBN 0-252-06161-6. A major difference between this strike and the earlier one was that each team rostered a squad of strikebreakers so that only one regular season game had to be canceled.

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