1997 Minnesota Vikings season

1997 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 23–22 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 22–38

The 1997 Minnesota Vikings season was the 37th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses. Their record was good enough to qualify for a wild card berth. In the wild card round against the New York Giants, the Vikings came back from a 22–13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to defeat the Giants 23–22. It was their first playoff victory since 1988 and their first under head coach Dennis Green. In the Divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers, 38–22.

The season is notable for John Randle leading the league in sacks (15.5).

Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after being out of football last season. This move reunited Cunningham with former Philadelphia teammate Cris Carter.

Offseason

1997 Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

1997 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	20	20	Dwayne Rudd	Linebacker	Alabama
2	19	49	Torrian Gray	Safety	Virginia Tech
3	18	78	Stalin Colinet	Defensive End	Boston College
4	17	113	Antonio Banks	Defensive Back	Virginia Tech
5	21	151	Tony Williams	Defensive Tackle	Memphis
6	20	183	Robert Tate	Wide Receiver	Cincinnati
7	19	220	Artie Ulmer	Linebacker	Valdosta State
7	34	235	Matthew Hatchette	Wide Receiver	Langston	Compensatory pick

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at Buffalo Bills	W 34–13	Rich Stadium	79,139
2	September 7, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 27–24	Soldier Field	59,263
3	September 14, 1997	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 28–14	Metrodome	63,697
4	September 21, 1997	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–32	Lambeau Field	60,115
5	September 28, 1997	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–19	Metrodome	55,149
6	October 5, 1997	at Arizona Cardinals	W 20–19	Sun Devil Stadium	45,550
7	October 12, 1997	Carolina Panthers	W 21–14	Metrodome	62,625
8	Bye
9	October 26, 1997	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 10–6	Houlihan's Stadium	66,815
10	November 2, 1997	New England Patriots	W 23–18	Metrodome	62,917
11	November 9, 1997	Chicago Bears	W 29–22	Metrodome	63,443
12	November 16, 1997	at Detroit Lions	L 38–15	Silverdome	68,910
13	November 23, 1997	at New York Jets	L 23–21	Giants Stadium	70,131
14	December 1, 1997	Green Bay Packers	L 27–11	Metrodome	64,001
15	December 7, 1997	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–17	3com Park	55,761
16	December 14, 1997	Detroit Lions	L 14–13	Metrodome	60,982
17	December 21, 1997	Indianapolis Colts	W 39–28	Metrodome	54,107

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	422	282	W5
⁽⁴⁾ Tampa Bay Buccaneers	10	6	0	.625	299	263	W1
⁽⁵⁾ Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	379	306	W2
⁽⁶⁾ Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	354	359	W1
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	263	421	L1

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 27, 1997	at New York Giants	W 23–22	Giants Stadium	77,497
Division	January 3, 1998	at San Francisco 49ers	L 38–22	3com Park	65,018

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Brad Johnson	3,036
Passing Touchdowns	Brad Johnson	20
Rushing Yards	Robert Smith	1,266
Rushing Touchdowns	Robert Smith	6
Receiving Yards	Jake Reed	1,138
Receiving Touchdowns	Cris Carter	13
Points	Cris Carter	84
Kickoff Return Yards	David Palmer	711
Punt Return Yards	David Palmer	444
Tackles	Robert Griffith	114
Sacks	John Randle	15.5
Interceptions	Dewayne Washington	4
Forced Fumbles	Derrick Alexander	3

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 30)
Passing Offense	3,313 Yards	207.1 YPG	14th
Rushing Offense	2,041 Yards	127.6 YPG	6th
Total Offense	5,354 Yards	334.6 YPG	8th
Passing Defense	3,704 Yards	231.5 YPG	29th
Rushing Defense	1,983 Yards	123.9 YPG	23rd
Total Defense	5,687 Yards	355.4 YPG	29th

Personnel

Staff

1997 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front Office

Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head Coaches

Head Coach – Dennis Green

Offensive Coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Brian Billick
Quarterbacks – Ray Sherman
Running Backs – Carl Hargrave
Receivers – Chip Myers
Tight Ends – Dave Atkins
Offensive Line – Mike Tice
Coaching Assistant – Wade Harman

Defensive Coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio
Defensive Line – John Levra
Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti
Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters
Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon

Special Teams Coaches

Special Teams – Gary Zauner

Strength and Conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

^[1]

Final roster

1997 Minnesota Vikings final roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

84 Tony Bland
80 Cris Carter
89 Matthew Hatchette
22 David Palmer KR/PR
86 Jake Reed
81 Chris Walsh

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

74 Orlando Bobo G
69 LeShun Daniels G
71 David Dixon G
61 Everett Lindsay G
60 Ben Lynch C
64 Randall McDaniel G
68 Mike Morris C/LS
79 Eric Moss G
78 Bob Sapp G
73 Todd Steussie T
77 Korey Stringer T

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

17 Mitch Berger P
3 Eddie Murray K

Reserve lists

30 Antonio Banks CB (IR)
50 Jeff Brady MLB (IR)
62 Jeff Christy C (IR)
76 Scott Dill T (IR)
23 Torrian Gray CB
14 Brad Johnson QB (IR)
40 Anthony Prior CB (IR)
83 Robert Tate WR (IR)
53 Artie Ulmer LB (Susp.)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
52 Active, 9 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Awards and records

David Palmer, NFL Kickoff Return Leader

References

↑ 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Retrieved 2010-02-26.

Minnesota Vikings

Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft

Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium

Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal "Little Minnesota" (How I Met Your Mother episode) Cheerleaders

Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers

Lore	The Wrong Way Run Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Gary Anderson's missed field goal Hail Mary 2010 Metrodome roof collapse

Division championships (19)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015

Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976

League championships (0^†)	^† does not include 1969 NFL championship

Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

Seasons (56)	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Minnesota Vikings seasons

1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

1997 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Denver	Arizona	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Dallas	Detroit	Carolina
Miami	Jacksonville	Oakland	NY Giants	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Philadelphia	Minnesota	St. Louis
NY Jets	Tennessee	Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay	San Francisco

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.