1988 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachJerry Burns
Home fieldMetrodome
Local radioWCCO
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Rams) 28–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at 49ers) 9–34
Uniform

The 1988 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 28th in the National Football League. They finished with an 11–5 record, and finished second to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Central division.

The Vikings had one of the best defenses in the NFL in 1988. The team allowed 4,091 total yards, 4.3 yards per play, and 243 first downs, all best in the league. The Vikings also had a league-best 53 takeaways.[1] Opposing quarterbacks had a league-worst 41.2 passer rating against the Vikings' defense, the lowest total of the 1980s and fifth all-time for the Super Bowl era.[2]

The Vikings made the postseason for the second consecutive time under coach Jerry Burns. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams 28-17 in the wildcard round, but lost 34–9 in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers, who went on to win their third Super Bowl. This was the last time the Vikings won a playoff game until 1997.

Offseason

1988 draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft
Hall of Famer
1988 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 19 Randall McDaniel Guard Arizona State
2 45 Traded to the Denver Broncos[a]
54 Brad Edwards Defensive back South Carolina from Broncos[a]
3 71 Al Noga Defensive end Hawaii
4 97 Traded to the New England Patriots[b]
108 Todd Kalis Guard Arizona State from Broncos[a]
5 124 Darrell Fullington Defensive back Miami
6 156 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[c]
164 Derrick White Defensive back Oklahoma from Broncos[a]
7 183 Brad Beckman Tight end Nebraska–Omaha
8 210 Joe Cain Linebacker Oregon Tech
9 237 Paul McGowan Linebacker Florida State
10 264 Brian Habib Offensive tackle Washington
11 296 Norman Floyd Safety South Carolina from Vikings[b] via Patriots[d]
12 323 Traded to the New York Giants[e]
^[a] The Vikings traded their second-round selection (45th overall) to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Denver's second-, fourth- and sixth-round selections (54th, 108th and 164th overall).
^[b] The Vikings traded their fourth- and 11th-round selections (97th and 294th overall) to the New England Patriots for QB Rich Gannon.
^[c] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (156th overall) and 1989 10th-round selection (275th overall) to the Miami Dolphins for OL Greg Koch.
^[d] The Vikings traded their 1989 ninth-round selection to the New England Patriots in exchange for the 11th-round selection that the Patriots received in the Gannon trade (296th overall).[b]
^[e] The Vikings traded their 12th-round selection (323rd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for C Chris Foote.

Supplemental draft

Round Name Position College Notes
5 Ryan Bethea Wide receiver South Carolina Resulted in forfeiture of 1989 fifth-round selection

Staff

1988 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams/tight ends – Tom Batta


[3]

Roster

1988 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad None
Rookies in italics
 47 active, 4 inactive

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[4] Notes
1 August 7 New Orleans Saints L 20–23 0–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 47,624
2 August 14 Chicago Bears W 28–21 1–1 Ullevi Stadium (Gothenburg, Sweden) 33,115 Volvo American Football Classic
3 August 21 at Phoenix Cardinals W 19–16 (OT) 2–1 Sun Devil Stadium 45,429
4 August 26 Miami Dolphins W 24–17 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,463

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 4 at Buffalo Bills L 10–13 0–1 Rich Stadium 76,783
2 September 11 New England Patriots W 36–6 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,545
3 September 18 at Chicago Bears W 31–7 2–1 Soldier Field 63,990
4 September 25 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–21 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,012
5 October 2 at Miami Dolphins L 7–24 3–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 59,867
6 October 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–13 4–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,274
7 October 16 Green Bay Packers L 14–34 4–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,053
8 October 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 49–20 5–3 Tampa Stadium 48,020
9 October 30 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–24 5–4 Candlestick Park 60,738
10 November 6 Detroit Lions W 44–17 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,573
11 November 13 at Dallas Cowboys W 43–3 7–4 Texas Stadium 57,830
12 November 20 Indianapolis Colts W 12–3 8–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,342
13 November 24 at Detroit Lions W 23–0 9–4 Silverdome 46,379
14 December 4 New Orleans Saints W 45–3 10–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,215
15 December 11 at Green Bay Packers L 6–18 10–5 Lambeau Field 48,892
16 December 19 Chicago Bears W 28–27 11–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,067

Game summaries

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins

Week 5: Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 0 077
Dolphins 0 17 7024

at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida

Game information

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 17 0 17943
Cowboys 0 3 003

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(1) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 312 215 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 406 233 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 4–4 4–8 261 350 W1
Detroit Lions 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–11 220 315 L2
Green Bay Packers 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–9 240 313 W2

Playoffs

See also: 1988–89 NFL playoffs
A ticket for the 1988 NFC Wildcard Game between the Vikings and the Rams

Schedule

Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card December 26 Los Angeles Rams (5) W 28–17 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,666
Divisional January 1 at San Francisco 49ers (2) L 9–34 1–1 Candlestick Park 61,848

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card: vs. (#5) Los Angeles Rams

NFC Wild Card Playoff: (#5) Los Angeles Rams at (#4) Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 7 3717
Vikings 14 0 7728

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#2) San Francisco 49ers

NFC Divisional Playoff: (#4) Minnesota Vikings at (#2) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 0 609
49ers 7 14 01334

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Game information

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Wade Wilson 2,746
Passing touchdowns Wade Wilson 15
Rushing yards Darrin Nelson 380
Rushing touchdowns Alfred Anderson 7
Receiving yards Anthony Carter 1,225
Receiving touchdowns Anthony Carter 6
Points Chuck Nelson 108
Kickoff return yards Darryl Harris 833
Punt return yards Leo Lewis 550 *
Tackles Jesse Solomon 124
Sacks Chris Doleman
Keith Millard		 8.0
Interceptions Carl Lee 8
Forced fumbles Henry Thomas 4

* Vikings single season record

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense 3,789 236.8 4th
Rushing offense 1,806 112.9 20th
Total offense 5,595 349.7 7th
Passing defense 2,489 155.6 2nd
Rushing defense 1,602 100.1 5th
Total defense 4,091 255.7 1st

References

  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1988 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  2. ^ Cold Hard Football Facts: Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history
  3. ^ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "1988 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
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