Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
Year: | 1997 |
Record: | 9–7 |
Division Place: | 4th NFC Central |
Coach: | Dennis Green |
Stadium: | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
Playoffs: | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 23–22 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 22–38 |
Pro Bowlers: | WR Cris Carter G Randall McDaniel DT John Randle T Todd Steussie |
Ap All-Pros: | DT John Randle (1st team) G Randall McDaniel (2nd team) T Todd Steussie (2nd team) |
Uniform: | File:Viking1996-98.png |
Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1997 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 37th in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth under head coach Dennis Green. The team matched their 9–7 record from 1996 and qualified for a wild card berth in the playoffs for a second consecutive year. In the wild card round against the New York Giants, the Vikings came back from a 22–13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to win 23–22, their first playoff victory since 1988. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated 38–22 by the San Francisco 49ers.
Vikings defensive tackle John Randle led the league in sacks with 15.5. Wide receiver Cris Carter's 13 touchdown receptions also were most in the league.
Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after a year out of the game, a move that reunited Cunningham with his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Cris Carter.
See main article: 1997 NFL draft.
1997 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
Round | Selection | ||||
20 | |||||
2 | 49 | ||||
3 | 78 | ||||
4 | 113 | ||||
5 | 151 | ||||
6 | 183 | ||||
7 | 220 | ||||
235 | Compensatory pick |
Todd Bouman | Quarterback | St. Cloud State | |
Duane Butler | Defensive back | Illinois State |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[2] | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | July 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 28–26 | 1–0 | 23,846 | Hall of Fame Game | ||
2 | August 2 | St. Louis Rams | W 26–6 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 36,971 | ||
3 | August 8 | at Buffalo Bills | L 3–19 | 2–1 | Rich Stadium | 32,559 | ||
4 | August 16 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–37 | 2–2 | Cinergy Field | 44,316 | ||
5 | August 22 | San Diego Chargers | W 28–22 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 44,300 |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 31 | at Buffalo Bills | W 34–13 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 79,139 | |
2 | September 7 | at Chicago Bears | W 27–24 | 2–0 | Soldier Field | 59,263 | |
3 | September 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 28–14 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,697 | |
4 | September 21 | at Green Bay Packers | L 38–32 | 2–2 | Lambeau Field | 60,115 | |
5 | September 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–19 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 55,149 | |
6 | October 5 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 20–19 | 4–2 | Sun Devil Stadium | 45,550 | |
7 | October 12 | Carolina Panthers | W 21–14 | 5–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 62,625 | |
8 | Bye | ||||||
9 | October 26 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 10–6 | 6–2 | Houlihan's Stadium | 66,815 | |
10 | November 2 | New England Patriots | W 23–18 | 7–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 62,917 | |
11 | November 9 | Chicago Bears | W 29–22 | 8–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,443 | |
12 | November 16 | at Detroit Lions | L 38–15 | 8–3 | Silverdome | 68,910 | |
13 | November 23 | at New York Jets | L 23–21 | 8–4 | Giants Stadium | 70,131 | |
14 | December 1 | Green Bay Packers | L 27–11 | 8–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,001 | |
15 | December 7 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 28–17 | 8–6 | 3Com Park | 55,761 | |
16 | December 14 | Detroit Lions | L 14–13 | 8–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,982 | |
17 | December 21 | Indianapolis Colts | W 39–28 | 9–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,107 |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wildcard | December 27 | at New York Giants | W 23–22 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 77,497 | |
Division | January 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 38–22 | 1–1 | 3Com Park | 65,018 |
width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing yards | 3,036 | ||||
Passing touchdowns | 20 | ||||
Rushing yards | 1,266 | ||||
Rushing touchdowns | 6 | ||||
Receiving yards | 1,138 | ||||
Receiving touchdowns | 13 | ||||
Points | 84 | ||||
Kickoff return yards | 711 | ||||
Punt return yards | 444 | ||||
Tackles | 114 | ||||
Sacks | 15.5 | ||||
Interceptions | 4 | ||||
Forced fumbles | 3 |
width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing offense | 3,313 | 207.1 | 14th | ||||
Rushing offense | 2,041 | 127.6 | 6th | ||||
Total offense | 5,354 | 334.6 | 8th | ||||
Passing defense | 3,704 | 231.5 | 29th | ||||
Rushing defense | 1,983 | 123.9 | 23rd | ||||
Total defense | 5,687 | 355.4 | 29th |