1965 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerJim Finks
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record7–7
Division place5th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

The 1965 season was the Minnesota Vikings' fifth in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Norm van Brocklin, the team finished with a 7–7 record.

Offseason

1965 Draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1965 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 8 Jack Snow Wide receiver Notre Dame
2 15 Archie Sutton Tackle Illinois from Giants[a]
23 Lance Rentzel Wide receiver Oklahoma
3 36 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[b]
4 51 Jim Whalen Wide receiver Boston College
55 Jim Harris Tackle Utah State from Browns[c]
5 64 Traded to the Detroit Lions[d]
6 79 Jim Grisham Running back Oklahoma
7 92 Traded to the Detroit Lions[e]
8 100 John Hankinson Quarterback Minnesota from 49ers[f]
107 Jeff Jordan Defensive back Tulsa
9 120 Frank McClendon Tackle Alabama
10 135 Jerald Schweiger Tackle Wisconsin–Superior
11 148 John Thomas Wide receiver USC
12 163 Mike Tilleman Defensive tackle Montana
13 176 Dave Osborn Running back North Dakota
14 191 Max Leetzow Defensive end Idaho
15 204 Phillip Morgan Running back East Tennessee State
16 219 Paul Labinski Tackle St. John's (Minnesota)
17 232 Veran Smith Running back Utah State
18 247 Rich Kotite Wide receiver Wagner
19 260 Ellis Johnson Running back Southeastern Louisiana
20 271 Cosmo Iacavazzi Running back Princeton
^[a] The Vikings traded RB Hugh McElhenny to the New York Giants in exchange for the Giants' second-round selection (15th overall) and 1964 fourth-round selection (53rd overall).
^[b] The Vikings traded their third-round selection (36th overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for RB Bob Ferguson.
^[c] The Vikings traded DT Mike Bundra to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Cleveland's fourth-round selection (55th overall) (and by some reports their 1966 6th round selection (90th overall)).
^[d] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (64th overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for WR Tom Hall and HB Bruce Zellmer.
^[e] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (92nd overall) and 1966 sixth-round selection (87th overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for DT Mike Bundra and E Larry Vargo.
^[f] The Vikings traded DT Roy Williams to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for San Francisco's eighth-round selection (100th overall).

Roster

1965 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Rookies in italics
 , 5 practice squad

Preseason

Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1]
1 August 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–21 1–0 Atlanta Stadium (Atlanta, GA) 39,240
2 August 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–21 2–0 Metropolitan Stadium 43,125
3 August 28 Washington Redskins W 20–16 3–0 American Legion Memorial Stadium (Charlotte, NC) 20,426
4 September 3 Dallas Cowboys W 57–17 4–0 Legion Field (Birmingham, AL) 41,500
5 September 11 New York Giants W 24–9 5–0 Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium (Omaha, NE) 14,250

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 19 at Baltimore Colts L 16–35 0–1 Memorial Stadium 56,562
2 September 26 Detroit Lions L 29–31 0–2 Metropolitan Stadium 46,826
3 October 3 at Los Angeles Rams W 38–35 1–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 36,755
4 October 9 New York Giants W 40–14 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 44,283
5 October 17 Chicago Bears L 37–45 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
6 October 24 at San Francisco 49ers W 42–41 3–3 Kezar Stadium 42,680
7 October 31 at Cleveland Browns W 27–17 4–3 Cleveland Stadium 83,505
8 November 7 Los Angeles Rams W 24–13 5–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
9 November 14 Baltimore Colts L 21–41 5–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
10 November 21 Green Bay Packers L 13–38 5–5 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426
11 November 28 San Francisco 49ers L 24–45 5–6 Metropolitan Stadium 40,306
12 December 5 at Green Bay Packers L 19–24 5–7 Lambeau Field 50,852
13 December 12 at Detroit Lions W 29–7 6–7 Tiger Stadium 45,420
14 December 19 at Chicago Bears W 24–17 7–7 Wrigley Field 46,604

Note: The game against the Giants, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 10, was brought forward to Saturday night because of the World Series.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 316 224 T1
Baltimore Colts 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 389 284 W1
Chicago Bears 9 5 0 .643 7–5 409 275 L1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 421 402 T1
Minnesota Vikings 7 7 0 .500 5–7 383 403 W2
Detroit Lions 6 7 1 .462 4–7–1 257 295 W1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 2–10 269 328 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Fran Tarkenton 2,609
Passing touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 19
Rushing yards Bill Brown 699
Rushing touchdowns Tommy Mason 10
Receiving yards Paul Flatley 896
Receiving touchdowns Paul Flatley 7
Points Fred Cox 113
Kickoff return yards Lance Rentzel 602
Punt return yards Tommy Mason 63
Interceptions Ed Sharockman 6
Sacks Jim Marshall 7.5

Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.[2]

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 14)
Passing offense 2,546 181.9 8th
Rushing offense 2,278 162.7 2nd
Total offense 4,824 344.6 4th
Passing defense 2,493 178.1 6th
Rushing defense 1,755 125.4 9th
Total defense 4,248 303.4 7th

References

  1. ^ "1965 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  2. ^ "Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
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