1987 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Minnesota Vikings 1987 8–7 2nd NFC Central Jerry Burns Bob Schnelker Floyd Peters Mike Lynn Metrodome Won Wild Card Playoffs(at Saints) 44–10Won Divisional Playoffs(at 49ers) 36–24Lost NFC Championship(at Redskins) 10–17 S Joey BrownerWR Anthony CarterDE Chris DolemanTE Steve JordanLB Scott StudwellT Gary Zimmerman S Joey Browner (1st team)T Gary Zimmerman (1st team)DE Chris Doleman (2nd team)DT Keith Millard (2nd team) File:Vikings1987-88.png Vikings seasons The 1987 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 27th year in the National Football League. A players' strike caused the cancellation of the September 27 game at the Kansas City Chiefs, while the games played on October 4, 11 and 18 were played with replacement players. The Vikings finished with an 8–7 record. Despite finishing the season only one game over .500, and losing three of their final four games, Minnesota sneaked into the playoffs with the final Wild Card position. There, they won two huge upsets, beating the New Orleans Saints (12–3), and the San Francisco 49ers (13–2) on the road to advance to their first NFC Championship Game in 10 years. The Vikings were unable, however, to defeat the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game. The last remaining active member of the 1987 Minnesota Vikings was quarterback Rich Gannon, who played his final NFL game in the 2004 season, although he missed the 1989 and 1994 seasons. Offseason 1987 draft 1987 NFL draft Pro Bowler 1987 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 14 D. J. Dozier Running back Penn State From DolphinsDolphins The Vikings traded their first- and fifth-round selections (16th and 128th overall) to the Dolphins in exchange for a first-round selection (14th overall). 16Traded to the Miami DolphinsDolphins 2 44 Ray Berry Linebacker Baylor 3 72 Henry Thomas Defensive tackle LSU 4 100 Reggie Rutland Cornerback Georgia Tech 5 128 Traded to the Miami DolphinsDolphins 6 156 Greg Richardson Wide receiver Alabama 7 184 Traded to the Seattle SeahawksThe details of this trade are unknown. 8 211 Rick Fenney Running back Washington 9 239 Leonard Jones Defensive back Texas Tech 10 267 Bob Riley Offensive tackle Indiana State 11 295 Brent Pease Quarterback Montana 12 323 Keith Williams Defensive tackle Florida Notes: Undrafted free agents + 1987 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDon BramlettDefensive tackleCarson–NewmanDale DawsonKickerEastern KentuckyDana DimelGuardKansas State Staff 1987 Minnesota Vikings #3B0160 white #F0BF00 President – Wheelock Whitney, Jr. Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Lynn Director of football operations – Jerry Reichow Director of player personnel – Frank Gilliam Director of pro personnel – Bob Hollway Head coach – Jerry Burns Offensive coordinator – Bob Schnelker Running backs – Rollie Dotsch Interim running backs – John Brunner Receivers – Dick Rehbein Offensive line – John Michels Defensive coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Secondary – Pete Carroll Special teams/tight ends coach – Tom Batta 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide 265 http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html February 18, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20101224103239/http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html December 24, 2010 dead Roster 1987 Minnesota Vikings http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1987-min 16 Rich Gannon y  9 Tommy Kramer 11 Wade Wilson American football 46 Alfred Anderson American football 42 D. J. Dozier y 31 Rick Fenney y 20 Darrin Nelson 36 Allen Rice 81 Anthony Carter American football 80 Jim Gustafson 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis wide receiver 89 Greg Richardson American football y 82 Carl Hilton 83 Steve Jordan tight end 86 Mike Mularkey 62 Chris Foote American football C 72 Dave Huffman G 76 Tim Irwin T 68 Greg Koch G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 71 Mark MacDonald American football G 52 Randy Rasmussen American football, born 1960 C 65 Gary Zimmerman T 56 Chris Doleman DE 79 Doug Martin defensive end DE 73 Stafford Mays DT 75 Keith Millard DT 96 Tim Newton DT 95 Gerald Robinson American football DE 97 Henry Thomas American football DT y 53 Sam Anno y OLB 58 Walker Lee Ashley MLB 50 Ray Berry OLB y OLB 51 David Howard linebacker OLB 57 Chris Martin linebacker OLB 54 Jesse Solomon OLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB 47 Joey Browner SS 22 Steve Freeman American football SS 41 Neal Guggemos CB/S 44 John Harris safety FS 24 Wymon Henderson CB y 30 Issiac Holt CB 39 Carl Lee American football CB 48 Reggie Rutland CB 40 Wayne Smith defensive back CB  8 Greg Coleman American football P  1 Chuck Nelson K 13 Bucky Scribner P -- James Brim WR y IR 23 Terry Love American football CB y IR 77 Mark Mullaney DE IR 67 Dennis Swilley C IR 66 Terry Tausch G IR NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: 1987 Minnesota Vikings replacement rosterQuarterbacks  7 Tony Adams quarterback  5 Larry Miller American football Running backs 37 Phil Frye 36 Sam Harrell 32 Steve Harris American football 45 Leonard Moore running back 43 Jimmy Smith running back 35 Andre Thomas American football 49 Adam Walker American football, born 1963 33 Jeff Womack y Wide receivers 84 Jim Brim y 86 Larry Brown wide receiver 82 Ron Daugherty 85 Steve Finch American football 86 Willie Gillespie 80 Keith Kidd 80 Terry LeCount 81 Rickey Parks Tight ends 87 Clifton Eley 88 Marc May 89 Ed Schenk Offensive linemen 71 Derek Burton T 64 Mark Hanson American football y G 74 Mike McCurry American football G 64 Ted Million G 69 Frank Ori G 78 John Scardina T 60 Ron Selesky y C 61 Mike Turner American football G 68 Kevin Webster American football G Defensive linemen 95 Don Bramlett y DT 91 Dan Coleman American football DE 98 Phil Micech DE 90 Fred Molden y DT 97 Tony Norman gridiron football DE 63 Kurt Ploeger DE/DT 73 Joe Stepanek DT 62 Brad White defensive lineman DTLinebackers 53 Steve Ache 94 Tim Bryant 59 Fabray Collins 52 Jim Dick y 92 Kelly Quinn 50 Randy Scott American football Defensive backs 21 Rufus Bess PR/KR 29 Jamie Fitzgerald American football y 38 Fletcher Louallen 23 Terry Love American football 28 Ted Rosnagle 35 Mike Slaton 34 Timothy Starks 27 John Turner American football Special teams 13 Dave Bruno P  4 Dale Dawson y K 13 Bucky Scribner P Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendancehttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1987nflmin.html 1987 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives 1 August 15 at New Orleans Saints L 17–23 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 52,884 2 August 22 Indianapolis Colts W 37–13 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,304 3 August 29 New England Patriots L 27–38 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,339 4 September 3 at Denver Broncos W 27–17 2–2 Mile High Stadium 74,081 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 Detroit Lions W 34–19 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,061 2 September 20 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–16 2–0 Anaheim Stadium 63,367 3 September 27 at Kansas City Chiefs canceled 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 4 October 4 Green Bay Packers L 16–23 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 13,911 5 October 11 at Chicago Bears L 7–27 2–2 Soldier Field 32,113 6 October 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–20 2–3 Tampa Stadium 20,850 7 October 26 Denver Broncos W 34–27 3–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,011 8 November 1 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–28 3–4 Kingdome 61,134 9 November 8 Los Angeles Raiders W 31–20 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,150 10 November 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–17 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 48,605 11 November 22 Atlanta Falcons W 24–13 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,866 12 November 26 at Dallas Cowboys W 44–38 (OT) 7–4 Texas Stadium 54,229 13 December 6 Chicago Bears L 24–30 7–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,331 14 December 13 at Green Bay Packers L 10–16 7–6 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,059 15 December 20 at Detroit Lions W 17–14 8–6 Pontiac Silverdome 27,693 16 December 26 Washington Redskins L 24–27 (OT) 8–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,160 Notes: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. The October 18 game against Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to be played in Minneapolis. The game was switched with the November 15 game due to Game 2 of the World Series. The game against the Broncos, originally scheduled for October 25, was pushed back to Monday because the Metrodome was being used for Game 7 of the World Series. Game summaries Week 9 vs. Los Angeles Raiders 1987 Los Angeles Raiders season right 1987 Los Angeles Raiders at Minnesota Vikings – Game highlights Week 10: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Minnesota Vikings 1987 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 9: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary November 15 12:00 p.m. Buccaneers 0 7 3 7 Vikings 0 6 10 7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota 48,605 None (indoor stadium) Fred Wyant CBS James Brown and Dan Jiggetts Game Book First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter TB – Calvin Magee 20-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Donald Igwebuike kick), 11:02. Buccaneers 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards. MIN – Chuck Nelson 29-yard field goal, 6:58. Buccaneers 7–3. Drive: 12 plays, 53 yards. MIN – Chuck Nelson 27-yard field goal, 0:11. Buccaneers 7–6. Drive: 6 plays, 20 yards. Third quarter MIN – Rick Fenney 1-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick), 10:58. Vikings 13–7. Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards. TB – Donald Igwebuike 26-yard field goal, 6:54. Vikings 13–10. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards. MIN – Chuck Nelson 26-yard field goal, 0:03. Vikings 16–10. Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards. Fourth quarter MIN – Steve Jordan 2-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick), 10:56. Vikings 23–10. Drive: 2 plays, 8 yards. TB – Phil Freeman 64-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Donald Igwebuike kick), 7:55. Vikings 23–17. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards. Top passers TB – Steve DeBerg – 22/37, 284 yards, 2 TD, INT MIN – Wade Wilson – 8/19, 97 yards Top rushers TB – Jeff Smith – 8 rushes, 16 yards MIN – Darrin Nelson – 17 rushes, 103 yards Top receivers TB – Phil Freeman – 2 receptions, 76 yards, TD MIN – Anthony Carter – 3 receptions, 37 yards Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys Minnesota Vikings 1987 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary November 26 3:00 p.m. CST Vikings 14 7 7 10 6 Cowboys 0 14 10 14 0 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 48 F C Fred Silva CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter MIN – Anthony Carter 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 7–0. MIN – Tommy Kramer 1-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 14–0. Second quarter DAL – Danny White 1-yard run (Roger Ruzek kick). Vikings 14–7. DAL – Herschel Walker 3-yard pass from Danny White (Roger Ruzek kick). Tied 14–14. MIN – Anthony Carter 37-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 21–14. Third quarter MIN – Darrin Nelson 52-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 28–14. DAL – Roger Ruzek 38-yard field goal. Vikings 28–17. DAL – Mike Renfro 8-yard pass from Danny White (Roger Ruzek kick). Vikings 28–24. Fourth quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 33-yard field goal. Vikings 31–24. MIN – Rick Fenney 1-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 38–24. DAL – Mike Renfro 14-yard pass from Danny White (Roger Ruzek kick). Vikings 38–31. DAL – Mike Renfro 18-yard pass from Danny White (Roger Ruzek kick). Tie 38–38. Overtime MIN – Darrin Nelson 24-yard run. Vikings 44–38. Top passers MIN – Wade Wilson – 9/18, 189 yards, INT DAL – Danny White – 25/41, 341 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT Top rushers MIN – Darrin Nelson – 16 rushes, 118 yards, 2 TD DAL – Herschel Walker – 21 rushes, 76 yards Top receivers MIN – Anthony Carter – 8 receptions, 184 yards, 2 TD DAL – Mike Renfro – 7 receptions, 100 yards, 3 TD In the Vikings' first game on Thanksgiving in 18 years, starting quarterback Tommy Kramer helped the team to a 14–0 lead by the end of the first quarter, opening with an 11-yard strike to Anthony Carter, before taking the ball in himself from a yard out. However, a bruised throwing arm meant he had to leave the game. Wade Wilson then took over. The Cowboys tied it up with two touchdowns of their own in the second quarter, but another throw from Kramer to Carter, this time from 37 yards, meant the Vikings took a seven-point lead into halftime. Darrin Nelson extended the Vikings' lead with the opening score of the second half, running 52 yards for the Vikings' fourth touchdown of the game. A field goal and another touchdown for the Cowboys reduced the Vikings' lead to four points going into the final quarter, but they restored the two-score margin with a field goal from Chuck Nelson and a 1-yard run from Rick Fenney. The Cowboys managed to come back and tie the game with just over two minutes left to play, enough time for the Vikings to drive downfield and set up a potential game-winning, 46-yard field goal attempt for Chuck Nelson with nine seconds left. He missed the kick and the game went to overtime. Both teams failed with their first two possessions, with both throwing interceptions. Vikings linebacker Scott Studwell returned his interception to the Minnesota 40-yard line to begin their third drive of the extra period. They opened with four straight run plays, including a fourth-down conversion to get them to midfield, followed by a 24-yard pass from Wilson to Carter, before Darrin Nelson ran the remaining distance for the walk-off game-winning touchdown. The result brought the Vikings to a 7–4 record with four games left to play.Michael Wilbon Vikings top Cowboys in overtime https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1987/11/27/vikings-top-cowboys-in-overtime/1da4652f-f4fe-4de9-bdc3-fc6941cdb923/ The Washington Post November 27, 1987 December 30, 2018 Standings Postseason 1987–88 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Wild Card January 3, 1988 at New Orleans Saints (4) W 44–10 1–0 Louisiana Superdome Divisional January 9, 1988 at San Francisco 49ers (1) W 36–24 2–0 Candlestick Park NFC Championship January 17, 1988 at Washington Redskins (3) L 10–17 2–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Game summaries NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (#4) New Orleans Saints Minnesota Vikings 1987 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#4) New Orleans Saints – Game summary January 3, 1988 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST Vikings 10 21 3 10 Saints 7 3 0 0 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 68,546 Tom Dooley CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Pro-Football-Reference First quarter NO – Eric Martin 10-yard pass from Bobby Hebert (Morten Andersen kick). Saints 7–0. MIN – Chuck Nelson 42-yard field goal. Saints 7–3. MIN – Anthony Carter 84-yard punt return (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 10–7. Second quarter MIN – Steve Jordan 5-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 17–7. MIN – Anthony Carter 10-yard pass from Allen Rice (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 24–7. NO – Morten Andersen 40-yard field goal. Vikings 24–10. MIN – Hassan Jones 44-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 31–10. Third quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 42-yard field goal. Vikings 34–10. Fourth quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 19-yard field goal. Vikings 37–10. MIN – D. J. Dozier 18-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 44–10. Top passers MIN – Wade Wilson – 11/20, 189 yards, 2 TD NO – Bobby Hebert – 9/19, 84 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers MIN – Darrin Nelson – 17 rushes, 73 yards NO – Dalton Hilliard – 8 rushes, 39 yards Top receivers MIN – Anthony Carter – 6 receptions, 79 yards, TD NO – Hoby Brenner – 2 receptions, 33 yards In the Saints' first playoff game in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording two sacks, forcing four turnovers and allowing only 149 yards. The 34-point margin of victory stands as the most lopsided win by an NFC team in a Wild Card round game in NFL history. NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#1) San Francisco 49ers Minnesota Vikings 1987 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Divisional Playoffs: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary January 9, 1988 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST Vikings 3 17 10 6 49ers 3 0 14 7 Candlestick Park, San Francisco 63,008 Gene Barth CBS Tim Ryan and Joe Theismann Pro-Football-Reference First quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 21-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0. SF – Ray Wersching 43-yard field goal. Tied 3–3. Second quarter MIN – Carl Hilton 7-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 10–3. MIN – Chuck Nelson 23-yard field goal. Vikings 13–3. MIN – Najee Mustafaa 45-yard interception return (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 20–3. Third quarter SF – Jeff Fuller 48-yard interception return (Ray Wersching kick). Vikings 20–10. MIN – Hassan Jones 5-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick). Vikings 27–10. SF – Steve Young 5-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). Vikings 27–17. MIN – Chuck Nelson 40-yard field goal. Vikings 30–17. Fourth quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 40-yard field goal. Vikings 33–17. SF – John Frank 16-yard pass from Steve Young (Ray Wersching kick). Vikings 33–24. MIN – Chuck Nelson 23-yard field goal. Vikings 36–24. Top passers MIN – Wade Wilson – 20/34, 298 yards, 2 TD, INT SF – Steve Young – 12/17, 158 yards, TD, INT Top rushers MIN – Darrin Nelson – 11 rushes, 42 yards SF – Steve Young – 6 rushes, 72 yards, TD Top receivers MIN – Anthony Carter – 10 receptions, 227 yards SF – Roger Craig – 9 receptions, 78 yards The heavy underdog Vikings pulled off a shocker in San Francisco, controlling most of the game with Anthony Carter leading the way with 227 receiving yards. NFC Championship Game: at (#3) Washington Redskins Minnesota Vikings 1987 2;text-align:center; autocollapse NFC Championship Game: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#3) Washington Redskins – Game summary January 17, 1988 12:30 p.m. EST Vikings 0 7 0 3 Redskins 7 0 3 7 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 55,212 Ben Dreith CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden First quarter WAS – Kelvin Bryant 42-yard pass from Doug Williams (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick). Redskins 7–0. Second quarter MIN – Leo Lewis 23-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick). Tied 7–7. Third quarter WAS – Ali Haji-Sheikh 28-yard field goal. Redskins 10–7. Fourth quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 18-yard field goal. Tied 10–10. WAS – Gary Clark 7-yard pass from Doug Williams (Ali Haji-Sheikh kick). Redskins 17–10. Top passers MIN – Wade Wilson – 19/39, 243 yards, TD, INT WAS – Doug Williams – 9/26, 119 yards, 2 TD Top rushers MIN – Wade Wilson – 4 rushes, 28 yards WAS – Timmy Smith – 13 rushes, 72 yards Top receivers MIN – Anthony Carter – 7 receptions, 85 yards WAS – Gary Clark – 3 receptions, 57 yards, TD In a defensive battle, the Redskins played a little better by limiting the Vikings to only 76 rushing yards and forcing eight sacks. Washington scored first on a 98-yard drive that was capped by running back Kelvin Bryant's 42-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Doug Williams. However, Minnesota tied the game before halftime with quarterback Wade Wilson's 23-yard touchdown pass to Leo Lewis. In the third quarter, Redskins linebacker Mel Kaufman returned an interception 10 yards to the Minnesota 17-yard line to set up kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh's 28-yard field goal. In the final period, Vikings kicker Chuck Nelson made an 18-yard field goal to tie the game, 10–10. The Redskins then marched 70 yards to score on Williams' 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to take the lead, 17–10, with 5:06 remaining in the game. Minnesota then advanced to the Washington 6-yard line, but Wilson's fourth down pass, intended for running back Darrin Nelson in the end zone was defended by Darrell Green with 52 seconds remaining and the Redskins ran out the clock. Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Wade Wilson 2,106 Passing touchdowns Wade Wilson 14 Rushing yards Darrin Nelson 642 Rushing touchdowns D.J. Dozier Wade Wilson 5 Receiving yards Anthony Carter 922 Receiving touchdowns Anthony Carter 7 Points Chuck Nelson 75 Kickoff return yards Neal Guggemos 808 Punt return yards Leo Lewis 275 Tackles Jesse Solomon 126 Sacks Chris Doleman 11.0 Interceptions Joey Browner 6 Forced fumbles Chris Doleman 6 League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 28) Passing offense 2,826 176.6 20th Rushing offense 1,983 123.9 11th Total offense 4,809 300.6 15th Passing defense 3,100 193.8 16th Rushing defense 1,724 107.8 11th Total defense 4,824 301.8 10th References External links Vikings on Pro Football Reference Vikings on jt-sw.com 1987 Minnesota Minnesota Vikings