1983 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record8–8
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

The 1983 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL), and their 17th under head coach Bud Grant. After starting 6–2, the Vikings lost six of their next seven – including a home loss to the 0–9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and were eliminated from playoff contention with one week to play.

Even with the loss to Tampa Bay, Minnesota would have won the NFC Central Division championship if not for a 13–2 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in week 14.

The team finished 8–8 record and failed to reach the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. At the end of the season, Grant retired as head coach, although he returned for a final season in 1985.

Offseason

1983 Draft

Main article: 1983 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1983 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 19 Joey Browner Safety USC
2 46 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[a]
3 73 Walker Lee Ashley Linebacker Penn State
4 100 Mark Rush Running back Miami
5 127 Mark Stewart Linebacker Washington
6 159 Mike Jones Wide receiver Tennessee State
7 186 Carl Lee Cornerback Marshall
8 213 Norris Brown Tight end Georgia
9 239 Rod Achter Wide receiver Toledo
10 255 Melvin Brown Defensive back Mississippi from Rams[b]
266 Walter Tate Center Tennessee State
11 298 Brian Butcher Guard Clemson
12 325 Maurice Turner Running back Utah State
^[a] The Vikings traded their 2nd-round selection (46th overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for defensive tackle Charlie Johnson.
^[b] The Vikings traded offensive tackle Ron Yary to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams' 10th-round selection (255th overall).

Roster

1983 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1] Notes
1 August 6 vs St. Louis Cardinals W 28–10 1–0 Wembley Stadium (London, England) 32,847 Global Cup
2 August 13 Baltimore Colts L 7–10 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,061
3 August 19 at Seattle Seahawks W 19–17 2–1 Kingdome 54,402
4 August 26 Denver Broncos W 34–3 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,435

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 4 at Cleveland Browns W 27–21 1–0 Cleveland Stadium 70,087
2 September 8 San Francisco 49ers L 17–48 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,167
3 September 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 19–16 (OT) 2–1 Tampa Stadium 57,567
4 September 25 Detroit Lions W 20–17 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,254
5 October 2 Dallas Cowboys L 24–37 3–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,774
6 October 9 at Chicago Bears W 23–14 4–2 Soldier Field 59,632
7 October 16 Houston Oilers W 34–14 5–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,910
8 October 23 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 (OT) 6–2 Lambeau Field 55,236
9 October 30 at St. Louis Cardinals L 31–41 6–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 42,575
10 November 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 12–17 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,239
11 November 13 Green Bay Packers L 21–29 6–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,113
12 November 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–14 7–5 Three Rivers Stadium 58,417
13 November 27 at New Orleans Saints L 16–17 7–6 Louisiana Superdome 59,502
14 December 5 at Detroit Lions L 2–13 7–7 Silverdome 79,169
15 December 11 Chicago Bears L 13–19 7–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,880
16 December 17 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–14 8–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,565

Against the Detroit Lions in week 14, the Vikings became the 35th team in NFL history and only the fifth since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger, to score just a safety in a game. This has happened only three times since: by the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2011 Atlanta Falcons, and the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Detroit Lions(3) 9 7 0 .563 7–1 8–4 347 286 W1
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 429 439 L1
Chicago Bears 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–7 311 301 W2
Minnesota Vikings 8 8 0 .500 4–4 4–8 316 348 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 14 0 .125 1–7 1–11 241 380 L3

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Steve Dils 2,840
Passing touchdowns Steve Dils 911
Rushing yards Darrin Nelson 642
Rushing touchdowns Ted Brown 10
Receiving yards Darrin Nelson 618
Receiving touchdowns Sammy White 4
Points Benny Ricardo 108
Kickoff return yards Jarvis Redwine 838
Punt return yards Rufus Bess 158
Sacks Doug Martin 13
Interceptions John Swain
John Turner		 6

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense 3,211 200.7 13th
Rushing offense 1,808 113.0 20th
Total offense 5,019 313.7 20th
Passing defense 2,903 181.4 6th
Rushing defense 2,584 161.5 25th
Total defense 5,487 342.9 19th

References

  1. ^ "1983 Minnesota Vikings". The Pro Football Archives. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
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