1995 Minnesota Vikings season

1995 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Uniform

The 1995 Minnesota Vikings season was the 35th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of eight wins and eight losses. The Vikings however had a chance to still make the playoffs entering Week 17 at Cincinnati. But with the Bears and the Falcons winning their games to fight for the final spot in the playoffs, it was too much to overcome for Minnesota to clinch. This was the first time the Vikings had not reached the playoffs under Green.

Orlando Thomas

Despite the team's poor play, rookie safety Orlando Thomas recorded a league-leading 9 interceptions of the season.

Offseason

1995 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft

Minnesota Vikings selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
11	22	Dave Garnett	Linebacker	Carolina Panthers
26	52	William Sims	Linebacker	Carolina Panthers
32	63	Eric Guliford	Wide receiver	Carolina Panthers

1995 Draft

Main article: 1995 NFL draft

=Pro Bowler

1995 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	11	11	Derrick Alexander	Defensive end	Florida State	from Broncos via Falcons[a]
	24	24	Korey Stringer	Offensive tackle	Ohio State
2	10	42	Orlando Thomas	Safety	Louisiana-Lafayette	from Broncos[b]
	23	55	Corey Fuller	Defensive back	Florida State
3	25	89	Traded to the Houston Oilers[c]
4	13	111	Chad May	Quarterback	Kansas State	from Broncos[d]
	23	121	Traded to the Denver Broncos[d]
5	23	157	James Stewart	Running back	Miami
6	18	189	John Solomon	Defensive end	Sam Houston State	from Giants[e]
	25	196	Traded to the Denver Broncos[d]
7	24	232	Jose White	Defensive tackle	Howard
	35	243	Jason Fisk	Defensive tackle	Stanford	Compensatory pick

^{^[a]} Atlanta traded their 1994 2nd round selection (40th overall – David Palmer) and 1995 1st round selection (11th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1994 2nd round selection (45th overall – Bert Emanuel) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.

^{^[b]} Denver traded their 1994 1st round selection (18th overall – Dewayne Washington), 1994 6th round selection (179th overall – Andrew Jordan, and 1995 2nd round selection (42nd overall) to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.

^{^[c]} Houston traded their 3rd round selection (89th overall) and 1994 4th round selection (119th overall – Michael Davis) to Minnesota for QB Warren Moon.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (121st overall) and 6th round selection (196th overall) to Denver to move up 10 spots to the 111th overall selection and make this pick.

^{^[e]} The Giants traded their 6th round selection (189th overall) and 1996 5th round selection (137th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1996 6th round selection (182nd overall) and Safety Vencie Glenn.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	TV Time
1	September 3, 1995	at Chicago Bears	L 31–14	Soldier Field	FOX 3:00CT	63,036
2	September 10, 1995	Detroit Lions	W 20–10	Metrodome	FOX 12:00CT	52,234
3	September 17, 1995	Dallas Cowboys	L 23–17 (OT)	Metrodome	TNT 7:00CT	60,088
4	September 24, 1995	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 44–24	Three Rivers Stadium	FOX 12:00CT	57,853
5	Bye
6	October 8, 1995	Houston Oilers	W 23–17 (OT)	Metrodome	NBC 12:00CT	56,430
7	October 15, 1995	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–17 (OT)	Tampa Stadium		55,703
8	October 22, 1995	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–21	Lambeau Field	FOX 3:00CT	60,332
9	October 30, 1995	Chicago Bears	L 14–6	Metrodome	ABC 8:00CT	61,238
10	November 5, 1995	Green Bay Packers	W 27–24	Metrodome	FOX 12:00CT	62,839
11	November 12, 1995	at Arizona Cardinals	W 30–24 (OT)	Sun Devil Stadium	FOX 3:00CT	51,342
12	November 19, 1995	New Orleans Saints	W 43–24	Metrodome	FOX 12:00CT	58,108
13	November 23, 1995	at Detroit Lions	L 44–38	Silverdome	FOX 11:30CT	74,559
14	December 3, 1995	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 31–17	Metrodome	FOX 12:00CT	52,879
15	December 9, 1995	Cleveland Browns	W 27–11	Metrodome	NBC 11:30CT	47,984
16	December 18, 1995	at San Francisco 49ers	L 37–30	Candlestick Park	ABC 8:00CT	64,975
17	December 24, 1995	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 27–24	Riverfront Stadium	FOX 12:00CT	34,568

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) Green Bay Packers	11	5	0	.688	404	314	W2
(5) Detroit Lions	10	6	0	.625	436	336	W7
Chicago Bears	9	7	0	.563	392	360	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	412	385	L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7	9	0	.438	238	335	L2

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Warren Moon	4,228
Passing Touchdowns	Warren Moon	33
Rushing Yards	Robert Smith	632
Rushing Touchdowns	Robert Smith	5
Receptions	Cris Carter	122 *
Receiving Yards	Cris Carter	1,371
Receiving Touchdowns	Cris Carter	17
Points	Fuad Reveiz	122
Kickoff Return Yards	Qadry Ismail	1,037
Punt Return Yards	David Palmer	342
Tackles	Ed McDaniel	115
Sacks	John Randle	10.5
Interceptions	Orlando Thomas	9
Forced Fumbles	Ed McDaniel	6

• Vikings single season record (tie).

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 30)
Passing Offense	4,205 Yards	262.8 YPG	5th
Rushing Offense	1,733 Yards	108.3 YPG	16th
Total Offense	5,938 Yards	371.1 YPG	4th
Passing Defense	4,122 Yards	257.6 YPG	28th
Rushing Defense	1,329 Yards	83.1 YPG	4th
Total Defense	5,451 Yards	340.7 YPG	20th

Personnel

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #4F2683; color:white; border:2px solid FFFFFF; text-align: center;"|1995 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/Assistant Offensive Line – Chris Foerster Offensive Line – Keith Rowen			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tony Dungy Defensive Line – John Levra Inside Linebackers – Foge Fazio 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 – Mark Asanovich

Final roster

1995 Minnesota Vikings roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Brad Johnson  1 Warren Moon  5 Chad May Running backs (RB) 29 Chuck Evans FB 31 Scottie Graham 32 Amp Lee 30 Bobby Phillips 26 Robert Smith 28 James Stewart RB Wide receivers (WR) 80 Cris Carter 82 Qadry Ismail KR 22 David Palmer PR 86 Jake Reed 81 Chris Walsh Tight ends (TE) 87 Adrian Cooper 85 Greg DeLong 89 Andrew Jordan 83 Mike Tice

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Jeff Christy C 67 Rick Cunningham T 71 David Dixon G 46 John Gerak G 61 Everett Lindsay G 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris 73 Todd Steussie T 77 Korey Stringer T Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Derrick Alexander DE 92 Roy Barker DE 72 Jason Fisk DT 99 James Harris DE 91 Martin Harrison DE 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 98 Esera Tuaolo NT

Linebackers (LB) 53 Tuineau Alipate 56 Pete Bercich 50 Jeff Brady MLB 52 Richard Brown 55 Jack Del Rio MLB 58 Ed McDaniel OLB Defensive backs (DB) 42 Harlon Barnett SS 37 Donald Frank CB 27 Corey Fuller CB 24 Robert Griffith SS 25 Alfred Jackson CB 21 Charles Mincy FS 43 Orlando Thomas FS 20 Dewayne Washington CB Special teams  7 Fuad Reveiz K  4 Mike Saxon P

Practice squad 23 Shelly Hammonds CB 97 Jose White DT Reserve 78 Chris Hinton T (IR) 96 Keith Washington DE (IR) Rookies in italics 51 active, 2 reserve, 2 practice squad

Awards and records

• Cris Carter, Led NFL in receiving touchdowns
• Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
• Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
• Warren Moon, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (4,228)
• David Palmer, NFL Kickoff Return Leader
• Orlando Thomas, NFL Leader, Interceptions (9)

Milestones

• Cris Carter, 100 reception season
• Warren Moon, 4th 4,000 Yard Passing Season

References

• Vikings on Football Reference