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1975 Minnesota Vikings season

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1975 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record12–2
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Cowboys) 14–17
Pro BowlersCB Bobby Bryant
RB Chuck Foreman
WR John Gilliam
S Paul Krause
DT Alan Page
LB Jeff Siemon
QB Fran Tarkenton
G Ed White
T Ron Yary
AP All-ProsRB Chuck Foreman (1st team)
QB Fran Tarkenton (1st team)
T Ron Yary (1st team)
DT Alan Page (1st team)
S Paul Krause (1st team)
Uniform

The 1975 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 15th in the National Football League.

The Vikings began with a 10-game win streak before losing by one point to the Washington Redskins, though there was generally very little expectation they would equal the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season.[1] The 1975 Vikings had an even easier schedule than the often-criticized one of the unbeaten Dolphin team, and in fact had according to Eddie Epstein clearly the easiest schedule of any team between 1950 and 2001, with their fourteen opponents having a winning percentage excluding Vikings games of .346.[2] According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, only the Super Bowl-winning 1999 Rams have since had a weaker schedule than the 1975 Vikings, playing only one opponent with a winning record during the regular season.[3] Nine of fourteen opponents finished 4–10 or worse, and like the 1972 Dolphins only two had winning records.[4] Football journalists noted during their streak how the Vikings had been playing very weak schedules for several seasons and flattered thereby.[5]

The Vikings’ 10–0 start was not subsequently equaled until the 1984 Miami Dolphins began 11–0.[6] They sealed their third straight NFC Central title on Thanksgiving Day in this same week when the Detroit Lions lost to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 17–14 in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at home due to a play known as the "Hail Mary". Earlier in the season, the New York Jets made their first appearance in Minnesota in a much-anticipated match between Super Bowl quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Joe Namath, in what had been the first regular season game sold out during the summer.[7]

Third year halfback Chuck Foreman became the first Vikings running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

Offseason

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1975 draft

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1975 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 25 Mark Mullaney Defensive end Colorado State
2 52 Robert Barber Defensive tackle USC Originally Steelers pick[A]
3 63 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[B] From Lions[C]
77 Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals[D]
4 89 Champ Henson Running back Ohio State from Bengals[D]
103 Bruce Adams Wide receiver Kansas
5 129 Robert Miller Running back Kansas
6 155 Bubba Broussard Linebacker Houston
7 181 Henry Green Running back Southern
8 207 Joe Hollimon Defensive back Arkansas State
9 233 John Passananti Guard Western Illinois
10 258 Neil Clabo Punter Tennessee Originally Raiders pick[E]
11 285 Ike Spencer Running back Utah
12 311 Autry Beamon Safety East Texas State
13 336 Mike Hurd Wide receiver Michigan State Originally Redskins pick[F]
14 363 Mike Strickland Running back Eastern Michigan
15 388 Ollie Bakken Linebacker Minnesota Originally Raiders pick[G]
16 414 Tom Goedjen Placekicker Iowa State Originally Colts pick[H]
17 441 Adolph Bellizeare Running back Penn

Notes

  1. ^ The Vikings originally held the 51st overall selection but passed, allowing the Steelers to move up, before making their pick 52nd overall.
  2. ^ The Vikings traded the third-round selection they acquired from the Lions (63rd overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for G Andy Maurer.
  3. ^ The Vikings traded CB Charlie West to the Lions in exchange for a third-round selection (63rd overall).
  4. ^ a b The details of this trade are unknown.
  5. ^ The Vikings originally held the 259th overall selection but moved up to 258th overall when the Oakland Raiders passed.
  6. ^ The Vikings originally held the 337th overall selection but moved up to 336th overall when the Washington Redskins passed on the 334th overall selection and allowed several teams to move up.
  7. ^ The Vikings originally held the 389th overall selection but moved up to 388th overall when the Oakland Raiders passed.
  8. ^ The Vikings originally held the 415th overall selection but moved up to 414th overall when the Baltimore Colts passed.

Roster

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1975 Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics

, 0 practice squad

Source

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[8]
1 August 9 New York Jets L 15–20 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium, (Tempe, AZ) 51,323
2 August 17 at New England Patriots L 10–36 0–2 Schaefer Stadium 40,218
3 August 23 at Dallas Cowboys W 16–13 1–2 Texas Stadium 45,395
4 September 1 Miami Dolphins W 20–7 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,653
5 September 6 St. Louis Cardinals L 6–13 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 46,975
6 September 13 at San Diego Chargers T 14–14 (OT) 2–3–1 San Diego Stadium 31,642

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 21 San Francisco 49ers W 27–17 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 46,479
2 September 28 at Cleveland Browns W 42–10 2–0 Cleveland Stadium 68,064
3 October 5 Chicago Bears W 28–3 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,578
4 October 12 New York Jets W 29–21 4–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,739
5 October 19 Detroit Lions W 25–19 5–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,872
6 October 27 at Chicago Bears W 13–9 6–0 Soldier Field 51,259
7 November 2 at Green Bay Packers W 28–17 7–0 Lambeau Field 57,267
8 November 9 Atlanta Falcons W 38–0 8–0 Metropolitan Stadium 43,751
9 November 16 at New Orleans Saints W 20–7 9–0 Louisiana Superdome 52,765
10 November 23 San Diego Chargers W 28–13 10–0 Metropolitan Stadium 43,737
11 November 30 at Washington Redskins L 30–31 10–1 RFK Stadium 54,498
12 December 7 Green Bay Packers W 24–3 11–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,147
13 December 14 at Detroit Lions L 10–17 11–2 Silverdome 73,130
14 December 20 at Buffalo Bills W 35–13 12–2 Rich Stadium 54,993
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week 1: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 10 0717
Vikings 3 10 01427

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(1) 12 2 0 .857 5–1 8–2 377 180 W1
Detroit Lions 7 7 0 .500 4–2 6–5 245 262 L1
Chicago Bears 4 10 0 .286 2–4 4–7 191 379 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 10 0 .286 1–5 4–7 226 285 W1

Postseason

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional December 28 Dallas Cowboys (4) L 14–17 Metropolitan Stadium 46,425

Game summaries

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NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (#4) Dallas Cowboys

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NFC Divisional Playoff: (#4) Dallas Cowboys at (#1) Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 0 71017
Vikings 0 7 0714

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Awards and records

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Statistics

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Team leaders

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Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Fran Tarkenton 2,994
Passing touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 25
Rushing yards Chuck Foreman 1,070
Rushing touchdowns Chuck Foreman 13
Receiving yards John Gilliam 777
Receiving touchdowns Chuck Foreman 9
Points Chuck Foreman 132
Kickoff return yards Brent McClanahan 360
Punt return yards Bobby Bryant 125
Interceptions Paul Krause 10 *

* Vikings single season record.

League rankings

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Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 26)
Passing offense 2,861 204.4 3rd
Rushing offense 2,094 149.6 10th
Total offense 4,955 353.9 5th
Passing defense 1,621 115.8 1st
Rushing defense 1,532 109.4 1st
Total defense 3,153 262.2 1st

References

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  1. ^ Lowitt, Bruce (November 7, 1975). "Streaking Vikings Meet Old Nemesis in Falcons". Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. p. 7B.
  2. ^ Epstein, Eddie (2002). Dominance: The Best Seasons of Pro Football's Greatest Teams. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc. p. 171. ISBN 9781574884661.
  3. ^ "1999 Rams Against Opponents with Winning Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "1975 Minnesota Vikings". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ Donovan, Mark (September 22, 1975). "National Central". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013.
  6. ^ "Last Undefeated NFL Team in Each Season". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Kallestad, Brent; "Fran, Joe Square Off First Time"; in The Evening News; October 10, 1975; p. 7B
  8. ^ "1975 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  9. ^ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.