1978 Minnesota Vikings season

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 round, the Vikings lost 34–10 to the Los Angeles Rams. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.

1978 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home stadium	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	8–7–1
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoffs	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 10–34
Pro Bowlers	LB Matt Blair WR Ahmad Rashad
Uniform
← 1977 Vikings seasons 1979 →

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 (FL)
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	Placekicker	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

Notes

1. The Vikings traded a fifth-round selection (132nd overall) to the New York Giants in exchange for TE Bob Tucker.
2. The Vikings traded a sixth-round selection (159th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for DB Windlan Hall and CB Nate Allen.
3. The Vikings traded a seventh-round selection (186th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for S Bill Bradley.
4. The Vikings traded S Autry Beamon and LB Amos Martin to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an eighth-round selection (204th overall).
5. The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (213th overall) and a 1979 10th-round selection (263rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.

Roster

1978 Minnesota Vikings roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  9 Tommy Kramer 19 Bob Lee 10 Fran Tarkenton Running backs (RB) 44 Chuck Foreman 48 Sammy Johnson 39 Mark Kellar 33 Brent McClanahan 35 Robert Miller 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers (WR) 87 Kevin Miller 28 Ahmad Rashad 80 Harry Washington 85 Sammy White Tight ends (TE) 84 Steve Craig 38 Bob Tucker 83 Stu Voigt

Offensive linemen (OL) 68 Charlie Goodrum G 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough G/C 76 Bob Lingenfelter T 74 Frank Myers T 67 Dennis Swilley C/G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen (DL) 81 Carl Eller DE 75 Randy Holloway DE 70 Jim Marshall DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 79 Lyman Smith DT 69 Doug Sutherland DT 72 James White DE

Linebackers (LB) 59 Matt Blair OLB 58 Wally Hilgenberg OLB 54 Fred McNeill OLB 50 Jeff Siemon MLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB Defensive backs (DB) 25 Nate Allen CB 20 Bobby Bryant CB 45 Tommy Hannon SS 22 Paul Krause FS 27 John Turner CB 29 Phil Wise SS 43 Nate Wright CB Special teams (ST)  8 Greg Coleman P  7 Rick Danmeier K

Reserve 78 Steve Riley T (IR) -- Whip Walton LB (IR) 23 Jeff Wright S (IR) Rookies in italics

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	7	0	0	7
Vikings	0	14	0	7	21

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

• Date: October 22
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C)
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Chuck Foreman 16-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 7–0. GB – Terdell Middleton 3-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Tied 7–7. MIN – Ahmad Rashad 4-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 14–7. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter MIN – Ahmad Rashad 15-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Rick Danmeier kick). Vikings 21–7. Top passers GB – David Whitehurst – 18/30, 120 yards, INT MIN – Fran Tarkenton – 26/43, 262 yards, 3 TD Top rushers GB – Terdell Middleton – 15 rushes, 81 yards, TD MIN – Chuck Foreman – 24 rushes, 46 yards Top receivers GB – Barty Smith – 6 receptions, 54 yards MIN – Rickey Young – 7 receptions, 73 yards

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
view talk edit	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

• QB Fran Tarkenton threw 32 interceptions on the season, surpassing his own franchise record of 25 (set in 1962)
• RB Rickey Young led the league with 88 receptions, setting a Vikings single-season record.

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