1986 Minnesota Vikings season

1986 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Jerry Burns
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season      Next season < 1985      1987 >

1986 was the 26th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses.

Offseason

1986 Draft

Main article: 1986 NFL Draft

Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	8	8	Traded to the San Diego Chargers
	14	14	Gerald Robinson	Defensive End	Auburn	from Packers via Chargers
2	13	40	Traded to the Miami Dolphins
	17	44	Traded to the New York Giants			from Chargers
	26	53	Traded to the New York Giants			from Raiders
3	12	66	Traded to the San Diego Chargers
4	11	93	Joe Phillips	Defensive Tackle	Southern Methodist
5	10	120	Hassan Jones	Wide Receiver	Florida State
6	9	147	Thomas Rooks	Running Back	Illinois
7	13	179	Carl Hilton	Tight End	Houston
8	12	206	Gary Shippang	Offensive Tackle	West Chester (PA)
9	11	232	Mike Slaton	Defensive Back	South Dakota
10	10	259	Joe Cormier	Wide Receiver	USC
11	9	286	John Armstrong	Wide Receiver	Richmond
12	13	318	Jesse Solomon	Linebacker	Florida State

^{^[a]} San Diego traded a 1st round selection (14th overall) and 2nd round selection (44th overall) to the Vikings for their 1st round selection (8th overall) and 3rd round selection (66th overall).

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selections (40th overall) and LB Robin Sendlein to Miami for WR Anthony Carter.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded two 2nd round selections (44th and 53rd overall) to the Giants for OT Gary Zimmerman.

^{^[d]} Los Angeles traded their 1985 6th round selection (164th overall) and 1986 2nd round selection (53rd overall) to Minnesota for LB Brad Van Pelt.

Personnel

Staff

1986 Minnesota Vikings staff
	Front Office President – Max Winter General Manager – Mike Lynn Administrative Assistant – Bob Hollway Head Coaches Head Coach – Jerry Burns Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bob Schnelker Running Backs – Marc Trestman Receivers – Dick Rehbein Tight Ends – Tom Batta Offensive Line – John Michels			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive Line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive Backs – Pete Carroll Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Tom Batta

Roster

1986 Minnesota Vikings roster
	Quarterbacks  9 Tommy Kramer Running Backs 46 Alfred Anderson 23 Ted Brown 20 Darrin Nelson Wide Receivers 87 Leo Lewis Tight Ends 86 Mike Mularkey		Offensive Linemen 51 Jim Hough G Defensive Linemen 79 Doug Martin DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE		Linebackers Defensive Backs 47 Joey Browner S 39 Carl Lee CB Special Teams  8 Greg Coleman P		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice Squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1986	Detroit Lions	L 13-10	54,851
2	September 14, 1986	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23-10	34,579
3	September 21, 1986	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31-7	56,795
4	September 28, 1986	Green Bay Packers	W 42-7	60,478
5	October 5, 1986	at Chicago Bears	L 23-0	63,921
6	October 12, 1986	at San Francisco 49ers	W 27-24 (OT)	58,637
7	October 19, 1986	Chicago Bears	W 23-7	62,851
8	October 26, 1986	Cleveland Browns	L 23-20	59,133
9	November 2, 1986	at Washington Redskins	L 44-38 (OT)	51,928
10	November 9, 1986	at Detroit Lions	W 24-10	53,725
11	November 16, 1986	New York Giants	L 22-20	62,003
12	November 23, 1986	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 24-20	53,003
13	November 30, 1986	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 45-13	56,235
14	December 7, 1986	at Green Bay Packers	W 32-6	47,637
15	December 14, 1986	at Houston Oilers	L 23-10	32,738
16	December 21, 1986	New Orleans Saints	W 33-17	51,209

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears(2)	14	2	0	.875	7–1	10–2	352	187	W7
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	398	273	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	277	326	L4
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	3–5	3–9	254	418	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–13	239	473	L7

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Tommy Kramer	3,000
Passing Touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	24
Rushing Yards	Darrin Nelson	793
Rushing Touchdowns	Ted Brown Darrin Nelson	4
Receiving Yards	Steve Jordan	859
Receiving Touchdowns	Anthony Carter	7
Points	Chuck Nelson	110
Kickoff Return Yards	Rufus Bess	705
Punt Return Yards	Rufus Bess	162
Tackles	Jesse Solomon	96
Sacks	Keith Millard	10.5
Interceptions	Issiac Holt	8
Forced Fumbles	Chris Doleman	2

League rankings

Category	Total Yards	Yards Per Game	NFL Rank
Passing Offense	3,913 Yards	244.6 YPG	5th
Rushing Offense	1,738 Yards	108.6 YPG	16th
Total Offense	5,651 Yards	353.2 YPG	4th
Passing Defense	3,216 Yards	201.0 YPG	13th
Rushing Defense	1,796 Yards	112.3 YPG	13th
Total Defense	5,012 Yards	313.3 YPG	11th

Awards and records

• Tommy Kramer, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

References

• Vikings on Pro Football Reference
• Vikings on jt-sw.com