1968 Minnesota Vikings season
| 1968 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–6 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Western Conference Championship Game (at Colts) 14–24 Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 13–17 |
The 1968 season was the Minnesota Vikings' eighth in the National Football League. Under head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings won the NFL Central division title with an 8–6 record, and qualified for the postseason for the first time in franchise history. This was the first of four consecutive division titles for the Vikings. The Vikings' first trip to the playoffs saw them suffer a 24–14 loss in the Western Conference Championship Game to the eventual NFL champion and Super Bowl runner-up Baltimore Colts at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. In the Playoff Bowl two weeks later, they again lost to the Dallas Cowboys 17–13.
Offseason
1968 Draft
| Hall of Famer |
- ^[a] The New York Giants traded their 1st-round selection (1st overall), 1967 1st-round selection (2nd overall), 1967 2nd-round selection (28th overall), and 1969 2nd-round selection (39th overall) to Minnesota for QB Fran Tarkenton.
- ^[b] Minnesota traded their 1st-round selection (7th overall) and their 1969 1st-round selection (17th overall) to New Orleans for QB Gary Cuozzo.
- ^[c] Minnesota traded their 3rd-round selection (61st overall) to PIttsburgh for CB Brady Keys.
- ^[d] Dallas traded their 3rd-round selection (76th overall) to Minnesota for WR Lance Rentzel.
- ^[e] Minnesota traded their 5th-round selection (117th overall) to Washington for OL Bob Breitenstein.
- ^[f] Atlanta traded their 7th-round selection (167th overall) to Minnesota for QB Ron Vander Kelen.
- ^[g] Detroit traded their 17th-round selection (445th overall) to Minnesota for their 1969 16th-round selection (407th overall).
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
|
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10 | Kansas City Chiefs (AFL) | L 10–13 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,228 |
| 2 | August 17 | at Denver Broncos (AFL) | W 39–16 | 1–1 | University of Denver Stadium | 20,901 |
| 3 | August 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 52–10 | 2–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 41,229 |
| 4 | September 1 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 28–31 | 2–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 25,233 |
| 5 | September 6 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–17 | 3–2 | State Fair Stadium (Shreveport, LA) | 23,000 |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 14 | Atlanta Falcons | W 47–7 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,563 |
| 2 | September 22 | at Green Bay Packers | W 26–13 | 2–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 49,346 |
| 3 | September 29 | Chicago Bears | L 17–27 | 2–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 4 | October 6 | Detroit Lions | W 24–10 | 3–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 44,289 |
| 5 | October 13 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–20 | 3–2 | Tulane Stadium | 71,105 |
| 6 | October 20 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–20 | 3–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 7 | October 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–26 | 3–4 | Wrigley Field | 46,562 |
| 8 | November 3 | Washington Redskins | W 27–14 | 4–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 9 | November 10 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–10 | 5–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 10 | November 17 | at Detroit Lions | W 13–6 | 6–4 | Tiger Stadium | 48,654 |
| 11 | November 24 | at Baltimore Colts | L 9–21 | 6–5 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 |
| 12 | December 1 | Los Angeles Rams | L 3–31 | 6–6 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 13 | December 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 30–20 | 7–6 | Kezar Stadium | 29,049 |
| 14 | December 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–17 | 8–6 | Franklin Field | 54,530 |
Note: The October 6 game against Detroit was originally scheduled to be played in Detroit. The game was switched with the November 17 game due to game 4 of the World Series.
Standings
| NFL Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–4 | 282 | 242 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 250 | 333 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 1–4–1 | 2–7–1 | 281 | 227 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 3–2–1 | 4–5–1 | 207 | 241 | L1 |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | December 22 | at Baltimore Colts | L 14–24 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 |
| Playoff Bowl | January 5 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–17 | 0–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 22,961 |
Statistics
Team leaders
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Joe Kapp | 1,695 |
| Passing touchdowns | Joe Kapp | 10 |
| Rushing yards | Bill Brown | 805 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Bill Brown | 11 |
| Receiving yards | Gene Washington | 756 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Gene Washington | 6 |
| Points | Fred Cox | 88 |
| Kickoff return yards | Charlie West | 576 |
| Punt return yards | Charlie West | 201 |
| Interceptions | Paul Krause | 7 |
League rankings
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 16) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 1,685 | 120.4 | 15th |
| Rushing offense | 1,921 | 137.2 | 6th |
| Total offense | 3,606 | 257.6 | 14th |
| Passing defense | 1,855 | 132.5 | 3rd |
| Rushing defense | 1,903 | 135.9 | 11th |
| Total defense | 3,758 | 268.4 | 5th |
References
- ^ "1968 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com.
External links
- 1968 Minnesota Vikings at Pro-Football-Reference.com