1982 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1982 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their first in the newly constructed Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The team was looking to improve on its 7–9 record from 1981. However, a players strike meant seven of the team's 16 games were canceled, and each NFL team was only allowed to play nine games. The Vikings won their opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before losing the next week to the Buffalo Bills, a game in which they had a 19–0 lead before the Bills pulled off a miraculous comeback to win 23–22. After the strike ended, the Vikings lost 26–7 to the Packers in Green Bay before beating the Bears 35–7 the following week to sit at 2–2. After a loss to the Dolphins, the Vikings won their next two games to sit at 4–3. In their final game of the season, they upset the Dallas Cowboys 31–27 to clinch the NFC's fourth place spot in the playoffs (as divisions were ignored in 1982 and the standings were determined by conference). In the playoffs, the Vikings defeated the Atlanta Falcons 30–24 to reach the divisional round. However, in that game, they lost 21–7 to the eventual champion Redskins.

1982 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record5–4
Division place4th NFC
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Falcons) 30–24
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Redskins) 7–21

Offseason

1982 Draft
Main article: 1982 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1982 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
17 Darrin NelsonRunning backStanford
239 Terry TauschGuardTexas
366 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[a]
492 Jim FahnhorstLinebackerMinnesota
5120 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[b]
6147 Greg StorrLinebackerBoston College
7179 Steve JordanTight endBrown
8206 Kirk HarmonLinebackerPacific
9233 Bryan HowardDefensive backTennessee State
10260 Gerald LucearWide receiverTemple
11286 Curtis RouseGuardChattanooga
12318 Hobson MilnerRunning backCincinnati
^[a] The Vikings traded their third-round selection (66th overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for RB Tony Galbreath.
^[b] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (120th overall) and 1981 sixth-round selection (154th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for OL Jim Langer.

Roster
1982 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 62 Brent Boyd G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 88 Mardye McDole WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Rookies in italics

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1] Notes
1 August 7 Baltimore Colts W 30–14 1–0 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) 23,379 Hall of Fame Game
2 August 14 at Atlanta Falcons L 17–20 1–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 49,831
3 August 21 Seattle Seahawks W 7–3 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,880 First Vikings game at the Metrodome
4 August 28 at Denver Broncos L 17–27 2–2 Mile High Stadium 73,371
5 September 3 New Orleans Saints W 24–21 3–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,810

Regular season

The Vikings opened their new stadium with a 17–10 win over Tampa Bay in the season opener. A close loss to Buffalo on the road followed.

The season was then interrupted by the players' 57-day strike that reduced the NFL regular season to nine games. Upon resumption of play in November, the Vikings went 4–3 to close out the abbreviated regular season and closed the campaign with a 5–4 record. Games against Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, New Orleans, San Francisco, Tampa Bay and Washington were canceled.

As three of Minnesota's losses were to AFC opponents, their 4–1 conference record put them at the top of a logjam of teams with similar records in the playoff seedings. In 1982, the NFL took the top eight teams from each conference regardless of division record for playoff consideration. The Vikings earned the #4 seed based on this tiebreaker and home field advantage in round one.

In their opening round playoff game, the Vikings took on the Atlanta Falcons. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw Minnesota take a 13–7 halftime lead, only to see the Falcons retake the lead late in the final period on a 41-yard field goal by Mick Luckhurst. With just under two minutes remaining, the Vikings began a game-winning drive that culminated in a Ted Brown 5-yard touchdown run to win the game and send the Vikings on to round two.

In the second round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins, 21–7, at RFK Stadium. The Vikings trailed 14–0 after one quarter. Ted Brown's touchdown run in the second period cut it to 14–7, but Joe Theismann hit Alvin Garrett late in the quarter with an 18-yard touchdown strike to make it 21–7. Neither team scored in the second half.

QB Tommy Kramer threw for 2,037 yards and 15 touchdowns in the short season. RB Ted Brown had 515 yards to lead all rushers, and WR Sammy White tallied 503 yards and five touchdowns to lead receivers.

LB Matt Blair anchored the Vikings defense and also made the 1982 Pro Bowl.

Schedule
Week Original
week		 Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 1 September 12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–10 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,440
2 2 September 16 at Buffalo Bills L 22–23 1–1 Rich Stadium 77,753
— 3 September 26 Dallas Cowboys Postponed 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 1982 NFL players strike
— 4 October 3 at Chicago Bears Canceled 1–1 Soldier Field
— 5 October 10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Canceled 1–1 Tampa Stadium
— 6 October 17 New Orleans Saints Canceled 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
— 7 October 24 Green Bay Packers Canceled 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
— 8 November 1 Detroit Lions Canceled 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
— 9 November 7 at San Francisco 49ers Canceled 1–1 Candlestick Park
— 10 November 14 at Washington Redskins Canceled 1–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
3 11 November 21 at Green Bay Packers L 7–26 1–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 44,681
4 12 November 28 Chicago Bears W 35–7 2–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,724
5 13 December 5 at Miami Dolphins L 14–22 2–3 Miami Orange Bowl 45,721
6 14 December 12 Baltimore Colts W 13–10 3–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,981
7 15 December 19 at Detroit Lions W 34–31 4–3 Pontiac Silverdome 73,058
8 16 December 26 New York Jets L 14–42 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,672
9 17 January 3, 1983 Dallas Cowboys W 31–27 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,007

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 0 0710
Vikings 0 7 7317

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: September 12
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 58,440
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 4: vs Chicago Bears
Week 4: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 7 007
Vikings 0 14 71435

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: November 28
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 54,724
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins
Week 5: Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0714
Dolphins 6 3 31022

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

  • Date: December 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Clear, 82 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,721
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: vs Baltimore Colts
Week 6: Baltimore Colts at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts 0 3 7010
Vikings 7 0 3313

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 8: vs New York Jets
Week 8: New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 7 14 71442
Vikings 0 7 0714

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: December 26
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 58,672
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 1–2 4–2 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 4–1 158 178 W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 2–1 3–3 158 178 W1
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 3–3 4–4 181 176 W1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 1–3 2–5 141 174 L1
National Football Conference
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(1) 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
Dallas Cowboys(2) 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
Atlanta Falcons(5) 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
St. Louis Cardinals(6) 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1

Postseason

Schedule
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card January 9, 1982 Atlanta Falcons (5) W 30–24 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,560
Division January 15, 1982 at Washington Redskins (1) L 7–21 1–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 54,593

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsTommy Kramer2,037
Passing touchdownsTommy Kramer15
Rushing yardsTed Brown515
Rushing touchdownsTommy Kramer3
Receiving yardsSammy White503
Receiving touchdownsSammy White5
PointsRick Danmeier47
Kickoff return yardsJarvis Redwine286
Punt return yardsEddie Payton179
SacksDoug Martin11.5
InterceptionsWillie Teal4

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense1,967122.95th
Rushing offense91257.022nd
Total offense2,879179.914th
Passing defense1,875117.220th
Rushing defense1,02063.814th
Total defense2,895180.919th

References
  1. "1982 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
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