2003 Minnesota Vikings season

2003 Minnesota Vikings season
2003 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Mike Tice
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC North
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	4 C Matt Birk; FS Corey Chavous; QB Daunte Culpepper; WR Randy Moss (injured);
AP All-Pros	2 C Matt Birk (2nd team); WR Randy Moss;
	← 2002; Vikings seasons; 2004 →;

The 2003 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 43rd in the National Football League. They finished second in the NFC North with a 9–7 record, but missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Despite gaining 6,294 yards of offense over their 16 games, by far the most in the league, the team managed just 416 points, the sixth-most in the NFL. The Vikings won their first six games of the 2003 season, then lost their next four games, after which they alternated wins and losses for the remainder of the season. Despite their 9–7 record, they finished second in the division behind the 10–6 Green Bay Packers. The Vikings were officially eliminated from postseason contention with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals on the last play of their final game.

Wide receiver Randy Moss led the NFL with 17 touchdown receptions, the third time in his career that he led the league in that category. After two seasons of inconsistency, rejuvenated quarterback Daunte Culpepper was voted to play in the second Pro Bowl of his career at the end of the season.

Offseason

2003 Draft

	Pro Bowler

2003 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Overall	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Kevin Williams	Defensive tackle	Oklahoma State	in lieu of #7 (time expired)^[a]
2	40	E. J. Henderson	Linebacker	Maryland
3	71	Nate Burleson	Wide receiver	Nevada
4	105	Onterrio Smith	Running back	Oregon
5	142	Traded to the Cleveland Browns^[b]
6	180	Eddie Johnson	Punter	Idaho State
6	190	Mike Nattiel	Linebacker	Florida	from Saints^[c]
7	221	Keenan Howry	Wide receiver	Oregon

^{^[a]} While attempting to agree a trade, the Vikings' time elapsed, allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up and select QB Byron Leftwich. The Carolina Panthers were also able to select OT Jordan Gross before the Vikings ultimately selected DT Kevin Williams.^[1] Williams went on to become a mainstay in the Vikings team, missing only four games in his first 10 seasons in the NFL and making six Pro Bowls.

^{^[b]} The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (142nd overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Cleveland's 2002 seventh-round selection and defensive lineman Stalin Colinet.

^{^[c]} The Vikings traded quarterback Todd Bouman to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for New Orleans' sixth-round selection (190th overall).

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[2]
1	August 9	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 14–16	0–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,370
2	August 16	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 16–26	0–2	Arrowhead Stadium	75,634
3	August 22	at Oakland Raiders	W 21–6	1–2	Network Associates Coliseum	37,411
4	August 28	Arizona Cardinals	L 27–31	1–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,473

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at Green Bay Packers	W 30–25	1–0	Lambeau Field	70,505
2	September 14	Chicago Bears	W 24–13	2–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,144
3	September 21	at Detroit Lions	W 23–13	3–0	Ford Field	60,865
4	September 28	San Francisco 49ers	W 35–7	4–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,111
5	October 5	at Atlanta Falcons	W 39–26	5–0	Georgia Dome	70,427
6	Bye week
7	October 19	Denver Broncos	W 28–20	6–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,381
8	October 26	New York Giants	L 17–29	6–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,114
9	November 2	Green Bay Packers	L 27–30	6–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,482
10	November 9	at San Diego Chargers	L 28–42	6–3	Qualcomm Stadium	64,738
11	November 16	at Oakland Raiders	L 18–28	6–4	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	56,653
12	November 23	Detroit Lions	W 24–14	7–4	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,946
13	November 30	at St. Louis Rams	L 17–48	7–5	Edward Jones Dome	66,134
14	December 7	Seattle Seahawks	W 34–7	8–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,968
15	December 14	at Chicago Bears	L 10–13	8–6	Soldier Field	61,804
16	December 20	Kansas City Chiefs	W 45–20	9–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,291
17	December 28	at Arizona Cardinals	L 17–18	9–7	Sun Devil Stadium	52,734

Standings

NFC North
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽⁴⁾ Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	442	307	W4
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	4–2	7–5	416	353	L1
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	2–4	4–8	283	346	L1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	2–4	4–8	270	379	W1

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Daunte Culpepper	3,479
Passing touchdowns	Daunte Culpepper	25
Rushing yards	Moe Williams	745
Rushing touchdowns	Moe Williams Onterrio Smith	5
Receiving yards	Randy Moss	1,632 *
Receiving touchdowns	Randy Moss	17
Points	Randy Moss Aaron Elling	102
Kickoff return yards	Onterrio Smith	588
Punt return yards	Keenan Howry	247
Tackles	Brian Russell	95
Sacks	Kevin Williams	10.5
Interceptions	Brian Russell	9
Forced fumbles	Kenny Mixon	4

* Vikings single season record.

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 32)
Passing offense	3,951	246.9	4th
Rushing offense	2,343	146.4	4th
Total offense	6,294	393.4	1st
Passing defense	3,477	217.3	26th
Rushing defense	1,879	117.4	17th
Total defense	5,356	334.8	23rd

Staff

**2003 Minnesota Vikings staff**
	Front office Owner – Red McCombs President – Gary Woods Vice President of Football Operations – Rob Brzezinski Head coaches Head Coach – Mike Tice Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Scott Linehan Running Backs – Dean Dalton Wide Receivers – Charlie Baggett Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line – John Tice Offensive Line – Steve Loney Offensive Quality Control – Randy Hanson			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – George O'Leary Linebackers – Brian Baker Secondary – Chuck Knox Jr. Assistant Secondary – Kevin Ross Defensive Assistant/Assistant Defensive Line – Pete Bercich Defensive Quality Control – Jim Panagos Special teams coaches Special Teams – Rusty Tillman Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Daryl Lawrence

^[3]

Roster

**2003 Minnesota Vikings roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Daunte Culpepper 12 Gus Frerotte 13 Shaun Hill Running backs (RB) 23 Michael Bennett 29 Larry Ned 32 Onterrio Smith 45 Charles Stackhouse FB 20 Moe Williams Wide receivers (WR) 85 D'Wayne Bates 81 Nate Burleson 16 Kelly Campbell 82 Keenan Howry 84 Randy Moss Tight ends (TE) 47 Richard Angulo 45 Sean Berton 83 Hunter Goodwin 40 Jim Kleinsasser		Offensive linemen (OL) 78 Matt Birk C 71 David Dixon G 61 Lewis Kelly G 62 Everett Lindsay T 76 Chris Liwienski G 74 Bryant McKinnie T 75 Mike Rosenthal T 60 Cory Withrow C Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Chris Hovan DT 51 Lance Johnstone DE 96 Billy Lyon DT 79 Kenny Mixon DE 98 Fred Robbins DT 97 Talance Sawyer DE 94 Chuck Wiley DE 93 Kevin Williams DT		Linebackers (LB) 54 Greg Biekert MLB 55 Chris Claiborne OLB 52 Henri Crockett OLB 56 E. J. Henderson MLB 59 Mike Nattiel OLB 58 Nick Rogers OLB 57 Raonall Smith OLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Corey Chavous SS 22 Ken Irvin CB 31 Rushen Jones CB 25 Eric Kelly CB 38 Rhett Nelson CB 24 Willie Offord SS 27 Brian Russell FS 26 Denard Walker CB 29 Brian Williams CB Special teams 2 Leo Araguz P 8 Aaron Elling K 4 Eddie Johnson P 43 Brody Liddiard LS 1 José Cortéz K		Practice squad 89 Kenny Clark WR 73 Adam Goldberg T 72 Adam Haayer T Reserve 33 John Avery RB (IR) 42 Jack Brewer FS (IR) 48 Steve Farmer TE (IR) Rookies in italics 54 active, 3 reserve, 3 practice squad

References

^ Pasquarelli, Len (26 April 2003). "Slow on trigger, Vikings miss pick". ESPN. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
^ [1]
^ 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.

[1] Pasquarelli, Len (26 April 2003). "Slow on trigger, Vikings miss pick". ESPN. Retrieved 11 April 2014.

[2] [1]

[3] 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft All-time roster First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters Ownership Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders Alan Roach Truth Hurts (song) Quarterback "Higher" (Creed song)
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Herschel Walker trade Gary Anderson's missed field goal Love Boat scandal Minneapolis Miracle 33–0
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints
Division championships (21)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017 2022
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) appearance