1996 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Minnesota Vikings 1996 9–7 2nd NFC Central Dennis Green Brian Billick Foge Fazio Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Lost Wild Card Playoffs(at Cowboys) 15–40 WR Cris CarterG Randall McDanielDT John Randle G Randall McDaniel (1st team)DT John Randle (1st team) File:Viking1996-98.png Vikings seasons The 1996 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 36th in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Dennis Green, they finished with a 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs after a one-year absence, starting a run of five consecutive playoff appearances. They started the season with five wins in their first six games, before losing their next four. Starting quarterback Warren Moon suffered a broken collarbone during the season and missed the final six games, allowing fifth-year backup Brad Johnson to take his place. With Johnson under center, the Vikings won four of their remaining five games, including divisional victories on the road against the Detroit Lions and at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those wins proved pivotal in the Vikings qualification for the playoffs, as their superior intra-conference record (8–4) over the Washington Redskins rendered Minnesota's week 17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers irrelevant, despite the Redskins defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings entered the playoffs as the number 6 seed in the NFC, pitting them against the Cowboys in the wildcard round. The Cowboys put up 30 unanswered points in the first half and ultimately won the game 40–15, making it the fourth time in five seasons that the Vikings' season ended in the wildcard round. For the season, the Vikings sported new uniforms, adding the team's logo to both sleeves of the jersey as well as adding yellow number and yellow name outlines. These uniforms would remain in use with the Minnesota Vikings until 2005. Offseason Additions Subtractions T Scott Dill (Buccaneers) DE Roy Barker (49ers) DE Robert Goff (Saints) T Rick Cunningham (Raiders) LB Dixon Edwards (Cowboys) TE Adrian Cooper (49ers) TE David Frisch (Patriots) LB Jack Del Rio (Dolphins) DB Anthony Prior (Jets) S Charles Mincy (Buccaneers) T Ariel Solomon (Steelers) LB Darryl Talley (Falcons) 1996 draft 1996 NFL draft 1996 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 16 Duane ClemonsLinebackerCalifornia 2 45 James Manley Defensive tackle Vanderbilt 3 75 Moe Williams Running back Kentucky 4 97 Hunter Goodwin Tight end Texas A&M From CardinalsCardinals The Vikings traded their fourth- and fifth-round selections (112th and 137th overall) to the Cardinals in exchange for a fourth-round selection (97th overall). 112 Traded to the Arizona CardinalsCardinals 5 137 Traded to the Arizona CardinalsCardinals From GiantsGiants The Vikings traded S Vencie Glenn and a sixth-round selection (182nd overall) to the Giants in exchange for a fifth-round selection (137th overall) and a 1995 sixth-round selection (189th overall). 148 Sean Boyd Defensive back North Carolina 6 182 Traded to the New York GiantsGiants 7 223 Jon Merrill Offensive tackle Duke Notes: Staff 1996 Minnesota Vikings Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick Head coach – Dennis Green Offensive coordinator – Brian Billick Quarterbacks – Ray Sherman Running backs – Carl Hargrave Receivers – Chip Myers Tight ends – Mike Tice Offensive line – Keith Rowen Defensive coordinator – Foge Fazio Defensive line – John Levra Inside linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Outside linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive backs – Richard Solomon Special teams – Gary Zauner Strength and conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant strength and conditioning – Jeff Friday 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide 251 http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html February 26, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101224103239/http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html 2010-12-24 dead Roster 1996 Minnesota Vikings 53 7 4 14 Brad Johnson American football  1 Warren Moon  6 Jay Walker politician 29 Chuck Evans fullback FB 31 Scottie Graham 44 Leroy Hoard 32 Amp Lee PR 33 Harold Morrow FB y 21 Moe Williams RB y 84 Tony Bland American football y 80 Cris Carter 82 Qadry Ismail KR 22 David Palmer American football KR/PR 86 Jake Reed American football 81 Chris Walsh American football 85 Greg DeLong 83 David Frisch American football 87 Hunter Goodwin y 89 Andrew Jordan American football 62 Jeff Christy C 76 Scott Dill T 71 David Dixon American football G 66 John Gerak G 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris long snapper C/LS 69 Ariel Solomon T/C 73 Todd Steussie T 77 Korey Stringer T 90 Derrick Alexander defensive end DE 92 Duane Clemons DE y 72 Jason Fisk DT 94 Robert Goff American football DT 91 Martin Harrison American football DE 75 James Manley American football DT y 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 98 Esera Tuaolo DT 56 Pete Bercich OLB 50 Jeff Brady MLB 52 Richard Brown linebacker MLB 59 Dixon Edwards OLB 54 Dave Garnett OLB 55 Darryl Talley OLB 42 Harlon Barnett SS 27 Corey Fuller CB 24 Robert Griffith SS 25 Alfred Jackson gridiron football CB 35 Chris Johnson safety, born 1971 FS 40 Anthony Prior CB 43 Orlando Thomas FS 20 Dewayne Washington CB 17 Mitch Berger P  9 Scott Sisson K 51 Ben Hanks LB y IR 61 Everett Lindsay G IR 48 Markco Maddox CB defensive back y IR 58 Ed McDaniel LB IR 26 Robert Smith running back RB IR 28 James Stewart Minnesota Vikings RB IR 37 Sean Vanhorse CB IR 74 Orlando Bobo y G 23 Kwame Ellis y CB 19 Lee Gissendaner y WR 60 Kenneth McDaniel G y Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendancehttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1996nflmin.html 1996 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives 1 August 3 San Diego Chargers W 23–20 (OT) 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 34,367 2 August 8 Buffalo Bills L 12–35 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 36,297 3 August 19 at Miami Dolphins L 17–24 1–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 55,598 4 August 23 at New Orleans Saints L 13–16 1–3 Louisiana Superdome 35,728 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 1 Detroit Lions W 17–13 1–0 Metrodome 52,972 2 September 8 at Atlanta Falcons W 23–17 2–0 Georgia Dome 42,688 3 September 15 at Chicago Bears W 20–14 3–0 Soldier Field 61,301 4 September 22 Green Bay Packers W 30–21 4–0 Metrodome 64,168 5 September 29 at New York Giants L 15–10 4–1 Giants Stadium 70,970 6 October 6 Carolina Panthers W 14–12 5–1 Metrodome 60,894 7 October 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–13 5–2 Houlihan's Stadium 32,175 8 Bye 9 October 28 Chicago Bears L 15–13 5–3 Metrodome 58,143 10 November 3 Kansas City Chiefs L 21–6 5–4 Metrodome 59,552 11 November 10 at Seattle Seahawks L 42–23 5–5 Kingdome 50,794 12 November 17 at Oakland Raiders W 16–13 (OT) 6–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 41,183 13 November 24 Denver Broncos L 21–17 6–6 Metrodome 59,142 14 December 1 Arizona Cardinals W 41–17 7–6 Metrodome 45,767 15 December 8 at Detroit Lions W 24–22 8–6 Silverdome 46,043 16 December 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–10 9–6 Metrodome 49,202 17 December 22 at Green Bay Packers L 38–10 9–7 Lambeau Field 59,306 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Postseason Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Wild Card December 28 at Dallas Cowboys L 40–15 Texas Stadium 64,682 Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Brad Johnson 2,258 Passing touchdowns Brad Johnson 17 Rushing yards Robert Smith 692 Rushing touchdowns Leroy Hoard Robert Smith 3 Receiving yards Jake Reed 1,320 Receiving touchdowns Cris Carter 10 Points Scott Sisson 96 Kickoff return yards Qadry Ismail 527 Punt return yards David Palmer 216 Tackles Jeff Brady 101 Sacks John Randle 11.5 Interceptions Orlando Thomas 5 Forced fumbles John Randle 4 League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 30) Passing offense 3,658 228.6 8th Rushing offense 1,546 96.6 24th Total offense 5,204 325.2 12th Passing defense 3,121 195.1 9th Rushing defense 1,966 122.9 24th Total defense 5,087 317.9 16th References Category:Minnesota Vikings seasons Minnesota Minnesota