1970 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Minnesota Vikings 1970 12–2 1st NFC Central Bud Grant Jim Finks Metropolitan Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(vs. 49ers) 14–17 K Fred CoxDE Carl EllerSS Karl KassulkeDT Gary LarsenRB Dave OsbornDT Alan PageWR Gene Washington DE Carl Eller (1st team)DT Alan Page (1st team) File:Vikings1970-74.png Vikings seasons The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger. In their fourth year under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p. 294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, 978-1-58979-360-6 Offseason 1970 draft 1970 NFL draft 1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection125John WardOffensive tackleOklahoma State251Bill CapplemanQuarterbackFlorida State377Chuck BurgoonLinebackerNorth Park4103Traded to the New Orleans SaintsThe Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (103rd overall) to the Saints in exchange for TE Kent Kramer.5129Greg JonesRunning backUCLA6155Traded to the Pittsburgh SteelersThe Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (155th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for TE Tony Jeter.7181Hap FarberLinebackerOle Miss8207Mike CarrollGuardMissouri9233George MorrowDefensive endOle Miss10259Stu VoigtTight endWisconsin11285Godfrey ZaunbrecherCenterLSU12311James HollandDefensive backJackson State13337Robert PearceDefensive backStephen F. Austin14363Tommy SpinksWide receiverLouisiana Tech15389Bennie FrancisDefensive endChadron State16415Bruce CeroneWide receiverEmporia State17441Brian HealyDefensive backMichigan Notes Roster 1970 Minnesota Vikings 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Bob Lee quarterback 30 Bill Brown American football 26 Clinton Jones American football 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed 27 Bob Grim American football 80 John Henderson wide receiver 84 Gene Washington American football, born 1944 87 John Beasley American football 89 Kent Kramer 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis American football T 74 Steve Smith offensive lineman T 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 63 Jim Vellone G 62 Ed White American football G 73 Ron Yary T 76 Paul Dickson American football DT 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall defensive end DE 88 Alan Page DT 72 John Ward American football, born 1948 y DE 50 Jim Hargrove American football MLB 58 Wally Hilgenberg OLB 55 Mike McGill American football OLB 59 Lonnie Warwick MLB 60 Roy Winston OLB 20 Bobby Bryant CB 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 28 Ted Provost y SS 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West CB American football 14 Fred Cox K 12 Tom McNeill P 35 Billy Harris American football RB IR 17 Bill Cappleman y QB 25 John Charles American football S 66 Wayne Meylan LB 78 Jerry Patton y DT 83 Stu Voigt y TE 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher y C Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendancehttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1970nflmin.html 1970 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives December 24, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221224012407/https://www.profootballarchives.com/1970nflmin.html live 1 August 8 New Orleans Saints L 13–14 0–1 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH) 17,932 2 August 15 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–20 0–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,591 3 August 22 at Houston Oilers W 14–7 1–2 Astrodome 44,563 4 August 30 New York Jets W 52–21 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 5 September 5 at Cleveland Browns W 24–21 3–2 Cleveland Stadium 83,043 6 September 11 at Chicago Bears W 31–30 4–2 Soldier Field 46,630 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 20 Kansas City Chiefs W 27–10 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 2 September 27 New Orleans Saints W 26–0 2–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 3 October 4 at Green Bay Packers L 10–13 2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,967 4 October 11 at Chicago Bears W 24–0 3–1 Wrigley Field 45,485 5 October 18 Dallas Cowboys W 54–13 4–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 6 October 26 Los Angeles Rams W 13–3 5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 7 November 1 at Detroit Lions W 30–17 6–1 Tiger Stadium 58,210 8 November 8 at Washington Redskins W 19–10 7–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 50,415 9 November 15 Detroit Lions W 24–20 8–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 10 November 22 Green Bay Packers W 10–3 9–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 11 November 29 at New York Jets L 10–20 9–2 Shea Stadium 62,333 12 December 5 Chicago Bears W 16–13 10–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 13 December 13 at Boston Patriots W 35–14 11–2 Harvard Stadium 37,819 14 December 20 at Atlanta Falcons W 37–7 12–2 Atlanta Stadium 57,992 Game summaries Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs Minnesota Vikings 1970 2;text-align:center collapsed Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary September 20 4:00 p.m. EDT Chiefs 0 7 3 0 Vikings 0 17 0 10 Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota 47,900 70 F C Tommy Bell Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Fred Cox 20-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0. MIN – Roy Winston 36-yard fumble recovery (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 10–0. KC – Otis Taylor 59-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick). Vikings 10–7. MIN – Dave Osborn 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–7. Third quarter KC – Jan Stenerud 26-yard field goal. Vikings 17–10. Fourth quarter MIN – Oscar Reed 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–10. MIN – Fred Cox 40-yard field goal. Vikings 27–10. Top passers KC – Len Dawson – 18/27, 164 yards, TD, 2 INT MIN – Gary Cuozzo – 12/20, 100 yards, 2 INT Top rushers KC – Wendell Hayes – 7 rushes, 22 yards MIN – Bill Brown – 17 rushes, 55 yards Top receivers KC – Otis Taylor – 5 receptions, 100 yards, TD MIN – John Beasley – 3 receptions, 41 yards The Vikings opened up the season in a rematch of Super Bowl IV against the Chiefs. This time, the Vikings exacted revenge in a 27-10 win. Standings Postseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 27 San Francisco 49ers L 14–17 0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,050 Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Gary Cuozzo 1,720 Passing touchdowns Gary Cuozzo 7 Rushing yards Dave Osborn 681 Rushing touchdowns Clint Jones 9 Receiving yards Gene Washington 702 Receiving touchdowns Gene Washington 4 Points Fred Cox 125 Kickoff return yards Clint Jones 452 Punt return yards Charlie West 169 Interceptions Ed Sharockman 7 League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 26) Passing offense 2,181 155.8 14th Rushing offense 1,634 116.7 14th Total offense 3,815 272.5 19th Passing defense 1,438 102.7 1st Rushing defense 1,365 97.5 5th Total defense 2,803 200.2 1st References Category:Minnesota Vikings seasons Minnesota Category:NFC Central championship seasons Minnesota Vikings