1985 Minnesota Vikings season
Appearance
(Redirected from 1985 Minnesota Vikings)
1985 Minnesota Vikings season | |
---|---|
Owner | Max Winter |
General manager | Mike Lynn |
Head coach | Bud Grant |
Home field | Metrodome |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 3rd NFC Central |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | S Joey Browner |
The 1985 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 25th in the National Football League. Under returning head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs for a third season in a row. At the end of the season, Grant retired for good after 18 years with the franchise.
Offseason
[edit]1985 draft
[edit]Pro Bowler |
1985 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
Round | Selection | ||||
1 | 2 | Traded to the Atlanta Falcons[A] | from Oilers[B] | ||
3 | Traded to the Houston Oilers[B] | ||||
4 | Chris Doleman | Defensive end | Pittsburgh | from Falcons[A] | |
2 | 30 | Issiac Holt | Cornerback | Alcorn State | Provisional trade but was not exercise[B][C] |
3 | 59 | Kirk Lowdermilk | Center | Ohio State | |
60 | Tim Meamber | Linebacker | Washington | from Falcons[A] | |
66 | Tim Long | Offensive tackle | Memphis State | from Chargers[D] | |
4 | 85 | George Rhymes | Wide receiver | Oklahoma | |
106 | Kyle Morrell | Defensive back | BYU | from Rams[E] | |
5 | 115 | Mark MacDonald | Guard | Boston College | |
6 | 142 | Steve Bono | Quarterback | UCLA | |
164 | Tim Newton | Defensive tackle | Florida | from Raiders[F] | |
7 | 171 | Traded to the Green Bay Packers[G] | |||
8 | 198 | Nikita Blair | Linebacker | UTEP | |
9 | 227 | Jamie Covington | Running back | Syracuse | |
10 | 254 | Juan Johnson | Wide receiver | Langston | |
11 | 283 | Tim Williams | Defensive back | North Carolina A&T | |
12 | 310 | Byron Jones | Defensive tackle | Tulsa |
Notes
- ^ a b c When Kosar did not declare for the draft and instead controversially waited for the supplemental draft, the Vikings traded the first-round selection they received from the Oilers to the Falcons in exchange for a first- and third-round selections (4th and 60th overall).
- ^ a b c d In an attempt to select QB Bernie Kosar, the Vikings traded their first-round selection (3rd overall) and a provisional second-round selection (30th overall)[C] to the Oilers in exchange for a first-round selection (2nd overall).
- ^ a b As part of the trade between the Vikings and Oilers,[B] the Vikings agreed not to select DE Ray Childress or trade the pick to a team that would draft him. Houston selected Childress with the 3rd overall pick and this provisional selection was returned to Minnesota.
- ^ The Vikings traded CB John Turner to the Chargers in exchange for a third-round selection (66th overall).
- ^ The Vikings traded QB Steve Dils to the Rams in exchange for the a fourth-round selection (106th overall).
- ^ The Vikings traded LB Brad Van Pelt to the Raiders in exchange for the a sixth-round selection (164th overall) and a 1986 second-round selection (53rd overall).
- ^ The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (171st overall) to the Packers in exchange for K Jan Stenerud.
Preseason
[edit]Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 10 | at Miami Dolphins | W 16–13 (OT) | 1–0 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,129 |
2 | August 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–34 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,887 |
3 | August 24 | Seattle Seahawks | L 10–27 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,562 |
4 | August 30 | at Denver Broncos | W 13–9 | 3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 69,373 |
Regular season
[edit]Schedule
[edit]Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 8 | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–21 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 57,375 |
2 | September 15 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–16 | 2–0 | Tampa Stadium | 46,188 |
3 | September 19 | Chicago Bears | L 24–33 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,242 |
4 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bills | W 27–20 | 3–1 | Rich Stadium | 45,667 |
5 | October 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–13 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 61,139 |
6 | October 13 | at Green Bay Packers | L 17–20 | 3–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,674 |
7 | October 20 | San Diego Chargers | W 21–17 | 4–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,670 |
8 | October 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–27 | 4–4 | Soldier Field | 63,815 |
9 | November 3 | Detroit Lions | W 16–13 | 5–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,012 |
10 | November 10 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–27 | 5–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,970 |
11 | November 17 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–41 | 5–6 | Silverdome | 54,647 |
12 | November 24 | New Orleans Saints | L 23–30 | 5–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,117 |
13 | December 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–23 | 6–7 | Veterans Stadium | 54,688 |
14 | December 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–7 | 7–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,593 |
15 | December 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 13–14 | 7–8 | Atlanta Fulton County Stadium | 14,167 |
16 | December 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 35–37 | 7–9 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 49,722 |
Standings
[edit]NFC Central | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Chicago Bears(1) | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 8–0 | 12–0 | 456 | 198 | W3 |
Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 337 | 355 | W2 |
Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 5–9 | 346 | 359 | L2 |
Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–6 | 5–7 | 307 | 366 | L3 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 294 | 448 | L4 |
Personnel
[edit]Staff
[edit]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Roster
[edit]Statistics
[edit]Team leaders
[edit]Category | Player(s) | Value |
---|---|---|
Passing yards | Tommy Kramer | 3,522 |
Passing touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 19 |
Rushing yards | Darrin Nelson | 893 |
Rushing touchdowns | Ted Brown | 7 |
Receiving yards | Anthony Carter | 821 |
Receiving touchdowns | Anthony Carter | 8 |
Points | Jan Stenerud | 86 |
Kickoff return yards | Buster Rhymes | 1,345 |
Punt return yards | Darrin Nelson | 133 |
Tackles | Chris Doleman | 113 |
Sacks | Keith Millard | 11.0 |
Interceptions | John Turner | 5 |
League rankings
[edit]Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
---|---|---|---|
Passing offense | 3,635 | 227.2 | 7th |
Rushing offense | 1,516 | 94.8 | 27th |
Total offense | 5,151 | 321.9 | 16th |
Passing defense | 3,241 | 202.6 | 15th |
Rushing defense | 2,223 | 138.9 | 22nd |
Total defense | 5,464 | 341.5 | 16th |
25th anniversary team
[edit]The team recognized an all-time team in 1985 as part of the celebration of the 25th season.
Position | Player | Tenure |
---|---|---|
Offense | ||
QB | Fran Tarkenton | 1961–1966, 1972–1978 |
RB | Bill Brown | 1962–1974 |
Chuck Foreman | 1973–1979 | |
WR | Ahmad Rashad | 1976–1982 |
Sammy White | 1976–1985 | |
TE | Stu Voigt | 1970–1980 |
OT | Ron Yary | 1968–1981 |
Grady Alderman | 1961–1975 | |
G | Ed White | 1969–1977 |
Milt Sunde | 1964–1974 | |
C | Mick Tingelhoff | 1962–1978 |
Defense | ||
DE | Jim Marshall | 1961–1979 |
Carl Eller | 1964–1978 | |
DT | Alan Page | 1967–1978 |
Gary Larsen | 1965–1974 | |
OLB | Matt Blair | 1974–1985 |
Roy Winston | 1962–1976 | |
MLB | Jeff Siemon | 1972–1982 |
Scott Studwell | 1977–1990 | |
CB | Bobby Bryant | 1968–1980 |
Ed Sharockman | 1961–1972 | |
S | Paul Krause | 1968–1979 |
Karl Kassulke | 1963–1972 | |
Special teams | ||
K | Fred Cox | 1963–1977 |
P | Greg Coleman | 1978–1987 |
Coach | ||
HC | Bud Grant | 1967–1983, 1985 |
Source:[4] |
References
[edit]- ^ "1985 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
- ^ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ "Frustration for Morrell". Provo (UT) Daily Herald. December 8, 1985. p. 9. Retrieved May 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "VIKINGS 25TH SEASON ALL-TIME TEAM 1961–85" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011.