1978 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record8–7–1
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Rams) 10–34
Uniform

The 1978 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 18th in the National Football League (NFL). The Vikings finished with an 8–7–1 record, and finished in first place in the NFC Central division, despite having a regular season point differential of minus 12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years; In the Divisional Playoffs The Los Angeles Rams whipped the Vikings 34–10. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.

Offseason

1978 Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL draft
1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 21 Randy Holloway Defensive end Pittsburgh
2 48 John Turner Defensive back Miami
3 75 Whip Walton Linebacker San Diego State
4 100 Jim Hough Center Utah State
5 132 Traded to the New York Giants[a]
6 159 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[b]
7 186 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[c]
8 204 Mike Wood Kicker Southeast Missouri State from Seahawks[d]
213 Traded to the New York Jets[e]
9 240 Mike Deutsch Punter Colorado State
10 272 Hughie Shaw Running back Texas A&I
11 299 Ron Harris Running back Colorado State
12 326 Jeff Morrow Offensive tackle Minnesota
^[a] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for TE Bob Tucker.
^[b] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (159th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for DBs Windlan Hill and Nate Allen.
^[c] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (186th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for S Bill Bradley.
^[d] The Vikings traded CB Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Seattle's eighth-round selection (204th overall).
^[e] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (213th overall) and 1979 10th-round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.

Roster

1978 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • -- Whip Walton LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Rookies in italics
 , 5 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1]
1 August 5 Washington Redskins W 20–13 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 46,212
2 August 12 at Kansas City Chiefs L 13–17 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 41,092
3 August 18 at Miami Dolphins L 22–30 1–2 Miami Orange Bowl 46,316
4 August 26 Buffalo Bills W 30–27 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,062

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 3 at New Orleans Saints L 24–31 0–1 Superdome 54,187
2 September 11 Denver Broncos W 12–9 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,508
3 September 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–16 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 46,152
4 September 25 at Chicago Bears W 24–20 2–2 Soldier Field 53,551
5 October 1 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–7 3–2 Tampa Stadium 65,972
6 October 8 at Seattle Seahawks L 28–29 3–3 Kingdome 62,031
7 October 15 Los Angeles Rams L 17–34 3–4 Metropolitan Stadium 46,551
8 October 22 Green Bay Packers W 21–7 4–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,411
9 October 26 at Dallas Cowboys W 21–10 5–4 Texas Stadium 61,848
10 November 5 Detroit Lions W 17–7 6–4 Metropolitan Stadium 46,008
11 November 12 Chicago Bears W 17–14 7–4 Metropolitan Stadium 43,286
12 November 19 San Diego Chargers L 7–13 7–5 Metropolitan Stadium 38,859
13 November 26 at Green Bay Packers T 10–10 (OT) 7–5–1 Lambeau Field 51,737
14 December 3 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–27 8–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 38,722
15 December 9 at Detroit Lions L 14–45 8–6–1 Silverdome 78,685
16 December 17 at Oakland Raiders L 20–27 8–7–1 Oakland Coliseum 44,643

Game summaries

Week 8: vs Green Bay Packers

Week 8: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 7 007
Vikings 0 14 0721

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

The Vikings won a game they had to win in their bid to win a 10th NFC Central division title in 11 seasons, as Fran Tarkenton completed 26 of 43 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Ahmad Rashad. "That's pretty amazing for a guy who can't throw a football anymore, isn't it?" said the 38-year-old Tarkenton, who raised his 18-year yardage total to 45,143, the first man to surpass 45,000 yards. Tarkenton's third scoring strike to running back Chuck Foreman just before the half went for 16 yards. Terdell Middleton, who entered the game as the NFC's third leading rusher, scored Green Bay's only touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter, giving Green Bay a 7–7 tie. He finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 7–4–1 294 306 L2
Green Bay Packers 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 6–5–1 249 269 L2
Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 4–4 5–7 290 300 W2
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 3–5 7–5 253 274 W2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 2–6 3–11 241 259 L4

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Divisional December 31 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–34 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,631

In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1978 Vikings as one of the "worst playoff teams ever".[2]

Awards and records

Statistical leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Fran Tarkenton 3,468
Passing touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 25
Rushing yards Chuck Foreman 749
Rushing touchdowns Chuck Foreman 5
Receiving yards Ahmad Rashad 769
Receiving touchdowns Sammy White 9
Points Rick Danmeier 72
Kickoff return yards Kevin Miller 854
Punt return yards Kevin Miller 239
Interceptions Bobby Bryant 7

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense 3,243 202.7 2nd
Rushing offense 1,536 96.0 28th
Total offense 4,779 298.7 17th
Passing defense 2,690 168.1 19th
Rushing defense 2,116 132.3 10th
Total defense 4,806 300.4 14th

References

  1. ^ "1978 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  2. ^ Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever
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