1978 Minnesota Vikings season

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 −12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years; as in each of their previous playoff seasons, this one ended with a loss. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.

1978 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record8–7–1
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Rams) 10–34

Offseason

1978 Draft
Main article: 1978 NFL draft
1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
121 Randy HollowayDefensive endPittsburgh
248 John TurnerDefensive backMiami
375 Whip WaltonLinebackerSan Diego State
4100 Jim HoughCenterUtah State
5132 Traded to the New York Giants[a]
6159 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[b]
7186 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[c]
8204 Mike WoodKickerSoutheast Missouri Statefrom Seahawks[d]
213 Traded to the New York Jets[e]
9240 Mike DeutschPunterColorado State
10272 Hughie ShawRunning backTexas A&I
11299 Ron HarrisRunning backColorado State
12326 Jeff MorrowOffensive tackleMinnesota
^[a] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for TE Bob Tucker.
^[b] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (159th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for DBs Windlan Hill and Nate Allen.
^[c] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (186th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for S Bill Bradley.
^[d] The Vikings traded CB Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Seattle's eighth-round selection (204th overall).
^[e] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (213th overall) and 1979 10th-round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.

Roster
1978 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • -- Whip Walton LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Rookies in italics
 , 5 practice squad

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1]
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

Week 8: vs Green Bay Packers
Week 8: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 7 007
Vikings 0 14 0721

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

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
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 7–4–1 294 306 L2
Green Bay Packers 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 6–5–1 249 269 L2
Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 4–4 5–7 290 300 W2
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 3–5 7–5 253 274 W2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 2–6 3–11 241 259 L4

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".[2]

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 yardsFran Tarkenton3,468
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton25
Rushing yardsChuck Foreman749
Rushing touchdownsChuck Foreman5
Receiving yardsAhmad Rashad769
Receiving touchdownsSammy White9
PointsRick Danmeier72
Kickoff return yardsKevin Miller854
Punt return yardsKevin Miller239
InterceptionsBobby Bryant7

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense3,243202.72nd
Rushing offense1,53696.028th
Total offense4,779298.717th
Passing defense2,690168.119th
Rushing defense2,116132.310th
Total defense4,806300.414th

References
  1. "1978 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  2. Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever
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