1982 Minnesota Vikings season
| 1982 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mike Lynn |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–4 |
| Division place | 4th NFC |
| Playoff finish | Won First Round (Falcons) 30–24 Lost Second Round (at Redskins) 7–21 |
The 1982 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League. This was Minnesota's first season in the newly constructed Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
Offseason
1982 Draft
| =Pro Bowler |
| 1982 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | ||
| Round | Choice | Overall | |||
| 1 | 7 | 7 | Darrin Nelson | Running Back | Stanford |
| 2 | 12 | 39 | Terry Tausch | Offensive Guard | University of Texas at Austin |
| 3 | 11 | 66 | Traded to the New Orleans Saints[a] | ||
| 4 | 9 | 92 | Jim Fahnhorst | Linebacker | Minnesota |
| 5 | 9 | 120 | Traded to the Miami Dolphins[b] | ||
| 6 | 8 | 147 | Greg Storr | Linebacker | Boston College |
| 7 | 12 | 179 | Steve Jordan | Tight End | Brown |
| 8 | 11 | 206 | Kirk Harmon | Linebacker | Pacific |
| 9 | 10 | 233 | Bryan Howard | Defensive Back | Tennessee State |
| 10 | 9 | 260 | Gerald Lucear | Wide Receiver | Temple |
| 11 | 7 | 286 | Curtis Rouse | Offensive Guard | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 12 | 12 | 318 | Hobson Milner | Running Back | Cincinnati |
- ^[a] Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (66th overall) to New Orleans for RB Tony Galbreath.
- ^[b] Minnesota traded their 1981 6th round selection (154th overall) and 1982 5th round selection (120th overall) to Miami for OL Jim Langer.
Regular season
The Vikings opened up 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 TD 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 TD run in the second period cut it to 14–7, but Joe Theismann hit Alvin Garrett late in the quarter with an 18-yard TD strike to make it 21–7. Neither team scored in the second half.
QB Tommy Kramer threw for 2,037 yards and 15 TDs in the short season. RB Ted Brown had 515 yards to lead all rushers, and WR Sammy White tallied 503 yards and 5 TDs to lead receivers.
LB Matt Blair anchored the Vikings defense and also made the 1982 Pro Bowl.
Schedule
| Week | Original week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | September 12, 1982 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–10 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| 2 | 2 | September 16, 1982 | at Buffalo Bills | L 23–22 | Rich Stadium | |
| * | 3 | September 26, 1982 | Dallas Cowboys | Postponed | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| * | 4 | October 3, 1982 | at Chicago Bears | Canceled | Soldier Field | |
| * | 5 | October 10, 1982 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Canceled | Tampa Stadium | |
| * | 6 | October 17, 1982 | New Orleans Saints | Canceled | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| * | 7 | October 24, 1982 | Green Bay Packers | Canceled | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| * | 8 | November 1, 1982 | Detroit Lions | Canceled | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| * | 9 | November 7, 1982 | at San Francisco 49ers | Canceled | Candlestick Park | |
| * | 10 | November 14, 1982 | at Washington Redskins | Canceled | RFK Stadium | |
| 3 | 11 | November 21, 1982 | at Green Bay Packers | L 26–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | |
| 4 | 12 | November 28, 1982 | Chicago Bears | W 35–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| 5 | 13 | December 5, 1982 | at Miami Dolphins | L 22–14 | Miami Orange Bowl | |
| 6 | 14 | December 12, 1982 | Baltimore Colts | W 13–10 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| 7 | 15 | December 19, 1982 | at Detroit Lions | W 34–31 | Pontiac Silverdome | |
| 8 | 16 | December 26, 1982 | New York Jets | L 42–14 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| 9 | 3 | January 3, 1983 | Dallas Cowboys | W 31–27 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | January 9, 1983 | Atlanta Falcons | W 30–24 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
| Division | January 15, 1983 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–7 | RFK Stadium |
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 |
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded postseason qualifiers | |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 | |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 | |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 | |
| 4[a] | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 | |
| 5[a] | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 | |
| 6[a] | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 | |
| 7[a] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 | |
| 8[b] | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 | |
| Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||
| 9[b] | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 | |
| 10[b] | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 | |
| 11[c] | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 | |
| 12[c] | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 | |
| 13[c] | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 | |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 | |
| Tiebreakers | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Statistics
Team leaders
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | Tommy Kramer | 2,037 |
| Passing Touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 15 |
| Rushing Yards | Ted Brown | 515 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 3 |
| Receiving Yards | Sammy White | 503 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Sammy White | 5 |
| Points | Rick Danmeier | 47 |
| Kickoff Return Yards | Jarvis Redwine | 286 |
| Punt Return Yards | Eddie Payton | 179 |
| Sacks | Doug Martin | 11.5 |
| Interceptions | Willie Teal | 4 |
League rankings
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing Offense | 1,967 Yards | 122.9 YPG | 5th |
| Rushing Offense | 912 Yards | 57.0 YPG | 22nd |
| Total Offense | 2,879 Yards | 179.9 YPG | 14th |
| Passing Defense | 1,875 Yards | 117.2 YPG | 20th |
| Rushing Defense | 1,020 Yards | 63.8 YPG | 14th |
| Total Defense | 2,895 Yards | 180.9 YPG | 19th |