1989 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1989 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 29th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with a 10–6 record to win the NFC Central Division. This title was secured during one of what is considered by many to be among the most exciting Monday Night Football contests ever: a Christmas Day victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was the de facto first playoff game of the year. This season was also notable by how many sacks the defense produced, with 39 coming from only two players (Chris Doleman and Keith Millard) and 71 overall. Millard would later receive Defensive Player of the Year honors after putting up record numbers by a defensive tackle. The Vikings were once again embarrassed by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, losing 41–13.

1989 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachJerry Burns
Home fieldMetrodome
Results
Record10–6
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at 49ers) 13–41

Offseason

1989 Draft
Main article: 1989 NFL draft
1989 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
124 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[a]
252 David BraxtonLinebackerWake Forest
380 John HunterOffensive tackleBrigham Young
4108 Darryl IngramTight endCalifornia
5136 Pick forfeited during 1988 Supplemental Draft[b]
6163 Jeff MickelOffensive tackleEastern Washington
7191 Benji RolandDefensive endAuburn
8219 Alex StewartDefensive endCal State Fullerton
9247 Traded to the New England Patriots[c]
10275 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[d]
11303 Brad BaxterRunning backAlabama State
12331 Shawn WoodsonLinebackerJames Madison
335 Everett RossWide receiverOhio Statefrom 49ers via Raiders[c]
^[a] The Vikings traded their first-round selection (24th overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for LB Mike Merriweather.
^[b] The Vikings forfeited their fifth-round selection (136th overall) after selecting defensive back Ryan Bethea in the fifth round of the 1988 NFL Supplemental Draft.
^[c] The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (247th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for New England's 1988 11th-round selection (296th overall).
^[d] The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (275th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for OL Greg Koch.
^[e] The Vikings traded their 1990 11th-round selection to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the 12th-round selection the Raiders received from the San Francisco 49ers.

Staff
1989 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Bob Schnelker
  • Assistant offensive coordinator/passing game – Dick Rehbein
  • Running backs – John Brunner
  • Wide receivers – Jerry Brown
  • Offensive line – John Michels
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams/tight ends – Tom Batta


[1]

Roster
1989 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • -- Curtis Greer DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 82 Carl Hilton TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 52 Randy Rasmussen C\G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 36 Allen Rice RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 47 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2]
1 August 12 vs Kansas City Chiefs W 23–13 1–0 Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) 63,528
2 August 21 Washington Redskins W 24–13 2–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 50,213
3 August 26 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–24 2–1 Anaheim Stadium 45,087
4 September 1 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–10 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,867

Regular season

The defensive line of Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, Al Noga and Henry Thomas were key contributors in helping the Vikings rank number one in the NFL in total defense. In addition, the Vikings set a franchise record with 71 sacks in one season. Chris Doleman had 21 sacks and was one shy of tying the NFL record.

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 10 Houston Oilers W 38–7 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,015
2 September 17 at Chicago Bears L 7–38 1–1 Soldier Field 66,475
3 September 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–27 1–2 Three Rivers Stadium 50,744
4 October 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–3 2–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,817
5 October 8 Detroit Lions W 24–17 3–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,380
6 October 15 Green Bay Packers W 26–14 4–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,075
7 October 22 at Detroit Lions W 20–7 5–2 Silverdome 51,579
8 October 30 at New York Giants L 14–24 5–3 Giants Stadium 76,041
9 November 5 Los Angeles Rams W 23–21 (OT) 6–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,600
10 November 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–10 7–3 Tampa Stadium 56,271
11 November 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 9–10 7–4 Veterans Stadium 65,944
12 November 26 at Green Bay Packers L 19–20 7–5 Milwaukee County Stadium 55,592
13 December 3 Chicago Bears W 27–16 8–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,664
14 December 10 Atlanta Falcons W 43–17 9–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,116
15 December 17 at Cleveland Browns L 17–23 (OT) 9–6 Cleveland Stadium 70,777
16 December 25 Cincinnati Bengals W 29–21 10–6 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,829

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 362 356 W1
Green Bay Packers 10 6 0 .625 5–3 10–4 362 275 W2
Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 312 364 W5
Chicago Bears 6 10 0 .375 2–6 4–8 358 377 L6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 3–5 5–7 320 419 L4

Postseason
See also: 1989–90 NFL playoffs

Schedule
Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card Bye
Divisional January 6 at San Francisco 49ers (1) L 13–41 0–1 Candlestick Park 64,585

Herschel Walker
Main article: Herschel Walker trade

In 1989, at the height of his NFL career, the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (LB Jesse Solomon, DB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, DE Alex Stewart) and six draft picks (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson). This was judged to be one of the turning points in the rise of the Cowboys to the top echelon of the NFL. Walker's trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him, and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of the team's history. The Vikings coaches reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never totally used the tool they had been given. Scout.com says, "Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust (a total oxymoron in this case)".[3]

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsWade Wilson2,543
Passing touchdownsWade Wilson9
Rushing yardsHerschel Walker669
Rushing touchdownsHerschel Walker5
Receiving yardsAnthony Carter1,066
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Carter4
PointsRich Karlis120
Kickoff return yardsHerschel Walker374
Punt return yardsLeo Lewis446
TacklesChris Doleman
Henry Thomas		94
SacksChris Doleman21.0
InterceptionsJoey Browner5
Forced fumblesChris Doleman5

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense3,189199.317th
Rushing offense2,066129.17th
Total offense5,255328.414th
Passing defense2,501156.31st
Rushing defense1,683105.211th
Total defense4,184261.51st

Awards and records

Milestones
  • Chris Doleman, third player in NFL history to reach 20 sacks in a season
  • Chris Doleman, franchise record, 21 sacks

References
  1. 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  2. "1989 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  3. "History: Walker Trade". Scout.com. June 20, 2001. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
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