1984 Minnesota Vikings season

1984 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Les Steckel
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	3–13
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

1984 was the 24th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses. This remains the Vikings’ worst record since the merger, later equaled with the 2011 team, and the team's second worst overall record by win percentage (only 1962 was worse). The Vikings’ 484 points allowed (30.25 average points per game) was the most by any NFL team between 1983 and 2000, and the most any Vikings team allowed in one season.

The team was coached by Les Steckel after Bud Grant retired; after the bad season, Steckel was fired and Bud Grant was re-hired.

Offseason

1984 Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	13	13	Keith Millard	Defensive Tackle	Washington State
2	12	40	Traded to the Houston Oilers[a]
3	11	67	Alfred Anderson	Running Back	Baylor
4	16	100	Traded to the Houston Oilers[a]
5	15	127	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders[b]
	28	140	Allen Rice	Running Back	Baylor	from Raiders[b]
6	14	154	Dwight Collins	Wide Receiver	Pittsburgh
7	13	181	John Haines	Defensive Tackle	Texas
	28	196	Lloyd Lewis	Offensive Guard	Texas A&I	from Raiders[b]
8	12	208	Paul Sverchek	Defensive Tackle	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
9	11	235	Keith Kidd	Wide Receiver	Arkansas
10	16	268	James Spencer	Linebacker	Oklahoma State
11	15	295	Edgar Pickett	Linebacker	Clemson
	28	308	Lawrence Thompson	Wide Receiver	Miami	from Raiders[b]
12	13	321	Mike Jones	Running Back	North Carolina A&T	Originally Packers pick[c]

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (40th overall) and 4th round selection (100th overall) to Houston for QB Archie Manning and TE Dave Casper.

^{^[b]} The Raiders traded their 5th round selection (140th overall), 7th round selection (196th overall), and 11th round selection (308th overall) to Minnesota to move up 17 spots and draft TE Andy Parker.

^{^[c]} Minnesota originally chose 322nd overall but picked 321st overall when Green Bay passed and chose at 323rd overall.

1984 Supplemental USFL/CFL Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players

Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Pro Team
Round	Choice	Overall
1	13	13	Allanda Smith	Cornerback	TCU	Los Angeles Express
2	12	40	Robert B. Smith	Defensive End	Grambling	Arizona Wranglers
3	11	67	David Howard	Linebacker	Long Beach State	Los Angeles Express

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Attendance
			Final score	Team record
1	September 2, 1984	San Diego Chargers	L 13–42	0–1	57,276
2	September 9, 1984	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–19	0–2	55,942
3	September 16, 1984	Atlanta Falcons	W 27–20	1–2	53,955
4	September 23, 1984	at Detroit Lions	W 29–28	2–2	57,511
5	September 30, 1984	Seattle Seahawks	L 12–20	2–3	57,171
6	October 7, 1984	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–35	2–4	47,405
7	October 14, 1984	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 20–23	2–5	49,276
8	October 21, 1984	Detroit Lions	L 14–16	2–6	57,953
9	October 28, 1984	at Chicago Bears	L 7–16	2–7	57,517
10	November 4, 1984	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–24	3–7	54,949
11	November 11, 1984	at Green Bay Packers (Milw)	L 17–45	3–8	52,931
12	November 18, 1984	at Denver Broncos	L 21–42	3–9	74,716
13	November 25, 1984	Chicago Bears	L 3–34	3–10	56,881
14	November 29, 1984	Washington Redskins	L 17–31	3–11	55,017
15	December 8, 1984	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–51	3–12	56,670
16	December 16, 1984	Green Bay Packers	L 14–38	3–13	51,197

Personnel

Staff

1984 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office President – Max Winter General Manager – Mike Lynn Head coaches Head Coach – Les Steckel Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Jerry Burns Offensive Backfield – John Michels Receivers – Bob Leahy Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich Special Assistant – Dick Rehbein Quality Control – Bus Mertes

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Floyd Reese Defensive Line – Tom Batta Outside Linebackers – Mike Sweatman Defensive Backfield – Ross Fichtner Quality Control – Bob Hollway Special teams coaches Special Teams – Mike Sweatman Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bud Bjornaraa Strength and Conditioning – Dean Brittenham

Roster

1984 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks  9 Tommy Kramer Running backs 46 Alfred Anderson 23 Ted Brown 20 Darrin Nelson Wide receivers 87 Leo Lewis 85 Sammy White Tight ends 86 Mike Mularkey		Offensive linemen 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough G 78 Steve Riley T Defensive linemen 75 Randy Holloway DE 79 Doug Martin DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE		Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 54 Fred McNeill Defensive backs 47 Joey Browner S 39 Carl Lee CB Special teams  8 Greg Coleman P		Rookies in italics

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears(3)	10	6	0	.625	7–1	8–4	325	248	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	5–3	8–4	390	309	W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–9	335	380	W2
Detroit Lions	4	11	1	.281	3–5	4–7–1	283	408	L3
Minnesota Vikings	3	13	0	.188	2–6	3–9	276	484	L6

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Tommy Kramer	1,678
Passing Touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	9
Rushing Yards	Alfred Anderson	773
Rushing Touchdowns	Ted Brown Darrin Nelson	3
Receiving Yards	Leo Lewis	830
Receiving Touchdowns	Leo Lewis	4
Points	Jan Stenerud	90
Kickoff Return Yards	Darrin Nelson	891
Punt Return Yards	Darrin Nelson	180
Tackles	Carl Lee	100
Sacks	Randy Holloway	5.0
Interceptions	Rufus Bess	3

League rankings

Category	Total Yards	Yards Per Game	NFL Rank
Passing Offense	2,872 Yards	179.5 YPG	22nd
Rushing Offense	1,844 Yards	115.2 YPG	18th
Total Offense	4,716 Yards	294.8 YPG	25th
Passing Defense	3,779 Yards	236.2 YPG	26th
Rushing Defense	2,573 Yards	160.8 YPG	27th
Total Defense	6,352 Yards	397.0 YPG	28th