1978 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Minnesota Vikings 1978 8–7–1 1st NFC Central Bud Grant Mike Lynn Metropolitan Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Rams) 10–34 LB Matt BlairWR Ahmad Rashad File:Vikings1975-86.png Vikings seasons The 1978 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 18th in the National Football League (NFL). The Vikings finished with an 8–7–1 record, and finished in first place in the NFC Central division, despite having a regular season point differential of minus 12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years. In the divisional round, the Vikings lost 34–10 to the Los Angeles Rams. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired. Offseason 1978 draft 1978 NFL draft 1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection121Randy HollowayDefensive endPittsburgh248John TurnerDefensive backMiami (FL)375Whip WaltonLinebackerSan Diego State4100Jim HoughCenterUtah State5132Traded to the New York GiantsThe Vikings traded a fifth-round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for TE Bob Tucker.6159Traded to the San Francisco 49ersThe Vikings traded a sixth-round selection (159th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for DB Windlan Hall and CB Nate Allen.7186Traded to the Philadelphia EaglesThe Vikings traded a seventh-round selection (186th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for S Bill Bradley.8204Mike WoodPlacekickerSoutheast Missouri StateFrom SeahawksThe Vikings traded S Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an eighth-round selection (204th overall).213Traded to the New York JetsThe Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (213th overall) and a 1979 10th-round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.9240Mike DeutschPunterColorado State10272Hughie ShawRunning backTexas A&I11299Ron HarrisRunning backColorado State12326Jeff MorrowOffensive tackleMinnesota Notes Undrafted free agents + 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKevin MillerWide receiverLouisvilleHarry WashingtonWide receiverColorado State Roster 1978 Minnesota Vikings 45 3  9 Tommy Kramer 19 Bob Lee quarterback 10 Fran Tarkenton 44 Chuck Foreman 48 Sammy Johnson American football 39 Mark Kellar 33 Brent McClanahan 35 Robert Miller running back 34 Rickey Young 87 Kevin Miller American football y 28 Ahmad Rashad 80 Harry Washington American football y 85 Sammy White American football 84 Steve Craig American football 38 Bob Tucker American football 83 Stu Voigt 68 Charlie Goodrum G 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough y G/C 76 Bob Lingenfelter T 74 Frank Myers American football y T 67 Dennis Swilley C/G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 73 Ron Yary T 81 Carl Eller DE 75 Randy Holloway y DE 70 Jim Marshall defensive end DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 79 Lyman Smith American football y DT 69 Doug Sutherland American football DT 72 James White defensive tackle DE 59 Matt Blair OLB 58 Wally Hilgenberg OLB 54 Fred McNeill OLB 50 Jeff Siemon MLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB 25 Nate Allen cornerback CB 20 Bobby Bryant CB 45 Tommy Hannon SS 22 Paul Krause FS 27 John Turner American football CB 29 Phil Wise American football SS 43 Nate Wright CB  8 Greg Coleman American football P  7 Rick Danmeier K 78 Steve Riley American football T IR -- Whip Walton y LB IR 23 Jeff Wright defensive back S IR Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendancehttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1978nflmin.html 1978 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives 1 August 5 Washington Redskins W 20–13 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 46,212 2 August 12 at Kansas City Chiefs L 13–17 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 41,092 3 August 18 at Miami Dolphins L 22–30 1–2 Miami Orange Bowl 46,316 4 August 26 Buffalo Bills W 30–27 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,062 Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 at New Orleans Saints L 24–31 0–1 Superdome 54,187 2 September 11 Denver Broncos W 12–9 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,508 3 September 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–16 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 46,152 4 September 25 at Chicago Bears W 24–20 2–2 Soldier Field 53,551 5 October 1 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–7 3–2 Tampa Stadium 65,972 6 October 8 at Seattle Seahawks L 28–29 3–3 Kingdome 62,031 7 October 15 Los Angeles Rams L 17–34 3–4 Metropolitan Stadium 46,551 8 October 22 Green Bay Packers W 21–7 4–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,411 9 October 26 at Dallas Cowboys W 21–10 5–4 Texas Stadium 61,848 10 November 5 Detroit Lions W 17–7 6–4 Metropolitan Stadium 46,008 11 November 12 Chicago Bears W 17–14 7–4 Metropolitan Stadium 43,286 12 November 19 San Diego Chargers L 7–13 7–5 Metropolitan Stadium 38,859 13 November 26 at Green Bay Packers T 10–10 (OT) 7–5–1 Lambeau Field 51,737 14 December 3 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–27 8–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 38,722 15 December 9 at Detroit Lions L 14–45 8–6–1 Silverdome 78,685 16 December 17 at Oakland Raiders L 20–27 8–7–1 Oakland Coliseum 44,643 Game summaries Week 8: vs Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings 1978 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 8: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary October 22 2:00 p.m. CDT Packers 0 7 0 0 Vikings 0 14 0 7 Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota 51 F C CBS Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Chuck Foreman 16-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 7–0. GB – Terdell Middleton 3-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Tied 7–7. MIN – Ahmad Rashad 4-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 14–7. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter MIN – Ahmad Rashad 15-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 21–7. Top passers GB – David Whitehurst – 18/30, 120 yards, INT MIN – Fran Tarkenton – 26/43, 262 yards, 3 TD Top rushers GB – Terdell Middleton – 15 rushes, 81 yards, TD MIN – Chuck Foreman – 24 rushes, 46 yards Top receivers GB – Barty Smith – 6 receptions, 54 yards MIN – Rickey Young – 7 receptions, 73 yards The Vikings won a game they had to win in their bid to win a 10th NFC Central division title in 11 seasons, as Fran Tarkenton completed 26 of 43 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Ahmad Rashad. "That's pretty amazing for a guy who can't throw a football anymore, isn't it?" said the 38-year-old Tarkenton, who raised his 18-year yardage total to 45,143, the first man to surpass 45,000 yards. Tarkenton's third scoring strike to running back Chuck Foreman just before the half went for 16 yards. Terdell Middleton, who entered the game as the NFC's third leading rusher, scored Green Bay's only touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter, giving Green Bay a 7–7 tie. He finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries. Standings Playoffs Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 31 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–34 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,631 In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1978 Vikings as one of the "worst playoff teams ever".Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever Awards and records QB Fran Tarkenton threw 32 interceptions on the season, surpassing his own franchise record of 25 (set in 1962) RB Rickey Young led the league with 88 receptions, setting a Vikings single-season record. Statistical leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Fran Tarkenton 3,468 Passing touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 25 Rushing yards Chuck Foreman 749 Rushing touchdowns Chuck Foreman 5 Receiving yards Ahmad Rashad 769 Receiving touchdowns Sammy White 9 Points Rick Danmeier 72 Kickoff return yards Kevin Miller 854 Punt return yards Kevin Miller 239 Interceptions Bobby Bryant 7 League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 28) Passing offense 3,243 202.7 2nd Rushing offense 1,536 96.0 28th Total offense 4,779 298.7 17th Passing defense 2,690 168.1 19th Rushing defense 2,116 132.3 10th Total defense 4,806 300.4 14th References Category:Minnesota Vikings seasons Minnesota Category:NFC Central championship seasons Minnesota Vikings