| 1982 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mike Lynn |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–4 |
| Division place | 4th NFC |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Falcons) 30–24 Lost Divisional Playoffs (atRedskins) 7–21 |
| Pro Bowlers | LBMatt Blair |
| Uniform | |
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The 1982 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their first in the newly constructed Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The team was looking to improve on its 7–9 record from 1981. However, a players strike meant seven of the team's 16 games were canceled, and each NFL team was only able to play nine games. The Vikings won their opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before losing the next week to the Buffalo Bills, a game in which they had a 19–0 lead before the Bills pulled off a comeback to win 23–22.
After the strike ended, the Vikings lost 26–7 to the Packers in Green Bay before beating the Bears 35–7 the following week to sit at 2–2. After a loss to the Dolphins, the Vikings won their next two games to sit at 4–3. In their final game of the season, they upset the Dallas Cowboys 31–27 to clinch the NFC's fourth place spot in the playoffs[i] In the playoffs, the Vikings defeated the Atlanta Falcons 30–24 to reach the divisional round. However, in that game, they lost 21–7 to the eventual champion Redskins.
| Pro Bowler |
| 1982 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 7 | Darrin Nelson | Running back | Stanford | |
| 2 | 39 | Terry Tausch | Guard | Texas | |
| 3 | 66 | Traded to the New Orleans Saints[ii] | |||
| 4 | 92 | Jim Fahnhorst | Linebacker | Minnesota | |
| 5 | 120 | Traded to the Miami Dolphins[iii] | |||
| 6 | 147 | Greg Storr | Linebacker | Boston College | |
| 7 | 179 | Steve Jordan | Tight end | Brown | |
| 8 | 206 | Kirk Harmon | Linebacker | Pacific | |
| 9 | 233 | Bryan Howard | Defensive back | Tennessee State | |
| 10 | 260 | Gerald Lucear | Wide receiver | Temple | |
| 11 | 286 | Curtis Rouse | Guard | Chattanooga | |
| 12 | 318 | Hobson Milner | Running back | Cincinnati | |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 7 | Baltimore Colts[iv] | W 30–14 | 1–0 | Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) | 23,379 |
| 2 | August 14 | atAtlanta Falcons | L 17–20 | 1–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 49,831 |
| 3 | August 21 | Seattle Seahawks | W 7–3 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome[v] | 57,880 |
| 4 | August 28 | atDenver Broncos | L 17–27 | 2–2 | Mile High Stadium | 73,371 |
| 5 | September 3 | New Orleans Saints | W 24–21 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,810 |
The Vikings opened their new stadium with a 17–10 win over Tampa Bay in the season opener. A close loss to Buffalo on the road followed.
The season was then interrupted by the players' 57-day strike that reduced the NFL regular season to nine games. Upon resumption of play in November, the Vikings went 4–3 to close out the abbreviated regular season and closed the campaign with a 5–4 record. Games against Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, New Orleans, San Francisco, Tampa Bay and Washington were canceled.
As three of Minnesota's losses were to AFC opponents, their 4–1 conference record put them at the top of a logjam of teams with similar records in the playoff seedings. In 1982, the NFL took the top eight teams from each conference regardless of division record for playoff consideration. The Vikings earned the #4 seed based on this tiebreaker and home field advantage in round one.
In their opening round playoff game, the Vikings took on the Atlanta Falcons. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw Minnesota take a 13–7 halftime lead, only to see the Falcons retake the lead late in the final period on a 41-yard field goal by Mick Luckhurst. With just under two minutes remaining, the Vikings began a game-winning drive that culminated in a Ted Brown 5-yard touchdown run to win the game and send the Vikings on to round two.
In the second round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins, 21–7, at RFK Stadium. The Vikings trailed 14–0 after one quarter. Ted Brown's touchdown run in the second period cut it to 14–7, but Joe Theismann hit Alvin Garrett late in the quarter with an 18-yard touchdown strike to make it 21–7. Neither team scored in the second half.
QBTommy Kramer threw for 2,037 yards and 15 touchdowns in the short season. RB Ted Brown had 515 yards to lead all rushers, and WR Sammy White tallied 503 yards and five touchdowns to lead receivers.
LB Matt Blair anchored the Vikings defense and also made the 1982 Pro Bowl.
| Week | Original week |
Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | September 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–10 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,440 |
| 2 | 2 | September 16 | atBuffalo Bills | L 22–23 | 1–1 | Rich Stadium | 77,753 |
| — | 3 | September 26 | Dallas Cowboys | Postponed | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 1982 NFL players strike |
| — | 4 | October 3 | atChicago Bears | Canceled | 1–1 | Soldier Field | |
| — | 5 | October 10 | atTampa Bay Buccaneers | Tampa Stadium | |||
| — | 6 | October 17 | New Orleans Saints | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |||
| — | 7 | October 24 | Green Bay Packers | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |||
| — | 8 | November 1 | Detroit Lions | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |||
| — | 9 | November 7 | atSan Francisco 49ers | Candlestick Park | |||
| — | 10 | November 14 | atWashington Redskins | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | |||
| 3 | 11 | November 21 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 7–26 | 1–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 44,681 |
| 4 | 12 | November 28 | Chicago Bears | W 35–7 | 2–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,724 |
| 5 | 13 | December 5 | atMiami Dolphins | L 14–22 | 2–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 45,721 |
| 6 | 14 | December 12 | Baltimore Colts | W 13–10 | 3–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 53,981 |
| 7 | 15 | December 19 | atDetroit Lions | W 34–31 | 4–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 73,058 |
| 8 | 16 | December 26 | New York Jets | L 14–42 | 4–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,672 |
| 9 | 17 | January 3 | Dallas Cowboys | W 31–27 | 5–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,007 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Week 4: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Vikings | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Week 5: Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Dolphins | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 22 |
atMiami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Week 6: Baltimore Colts at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Vikings | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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Week 8: New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers(3) | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings(4) | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 158 | 178 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions(8) | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
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| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers | |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 | |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 | |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 | |
| 4[a] | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 | |
| 5[a] | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 | |
| 6[a] | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 | |
| 7[a] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 | |
| 8[b] | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 | |
| Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||
| 9[b] | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 | |
| 10[b] | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 | |
| 11[c] | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 | |
| 12[c] | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 | |
| 13[c] | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 | |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 | |
| Tiebreakers | |||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | January 9 | Atlanta Falcons (5) | W 30–24 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,560 |
| Division | January 15 | atWashington Redskins (1) | L 7–21 | 1–1 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 54,593 |
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Tommy Kramer | 2,037 |
| Passing touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 15 |
| Rushing yards | Ted Brown | 515 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 3 |
| Receiving yards | Sammy White | 503 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Sammy White | 5 |
| Points | Rick Danmeier | 47 |
| Kickoff return yards | Jarvis Redwine | 286 |
| Punt return yards | Eddie Payton | 179 |
| Sacks | Doug Martin | 11.5 |
| Interceptions | Willie Teal | 4 |
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 1,967 | 122.9 | 5th |
| Rushing offense | 912 | 57.0 | 22nd |
| Total offense | 2,879 | 179.9 | 14th |
| Passing defense | 1,875 | 117.2 | 20th |
| Rushing defense | 1,020 | 63.8 | 14th |
| Total defense | 2,895 | 180.9 | 19th |
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| Franchise |
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| Rivalries |
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| Division championships (21) |
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| Conference championships (4) |
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| League championships (1) |
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory |
