1997 Minnesota Vikings season

1997 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won NFC Wild Card Playoff Lost NFC Divisional Round

1997 was the 37th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses. Their record was good enough to qualify for a wild card berth. 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 defeat the Giants 23–22. It was their first playoff victory since 1988 and their first under head coach Dennis Green. In the Divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers, 38–22.

The season is notable for John Randle leading the league in sacks (15.5).

Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after being out of football last season. This move reunited Cunningham with former Philadelphia teammate Cris Carter.

Offseason

1997 Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

1997 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	20	20	Dwayne Rudd	Linebacker	Alabama
2	19	49	Torrian Gray	Safety	Virginia Tech
3	18	78	Stalin Colinet	Defensive End	Boston College
4	17	113	Antonio Banks	Defensive Back	Virginia Tech
5	21	151	Tony Williams	Defensive Tackle	Memphis
6	20	183	Robert Tate	Wide Receiver	Cincinnati
7	19	220	Artie Ulmer	Linebacker	Valdosta State
	34	235	Matthew Hatchette	Wide Receiver	Langston	Compensatory pick

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at Buffalo Bills	W 34–13	Rich Stadium	79,139
2	September 7, 1997	at Chicago Bears	W 27–24	Soldier Field	59,263
3	September 14, 1997	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 28–14	Metrodome	63,697
4	September 21, 1997	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–32	Lambeau Field	60,115
5	September 28, 1997	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–19	Metrodome	55,149
6	October 5, 1997	at Arizona Cardinals	W 20–19	Sun Devil Stadium	45,550
7	October 12, 1997	Carolina Panthers	W 21–14	Metrodome	62,625
8	Bye
9	October 26, 1997	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 10–6	Houlihan's Stadium	66,815
10	November 2, 1997	New England Patriots	W 23–18	Metrodome	62,917
11	November 9, 1997	Chicago Bears	W 29–22	Metrodome	63,443
12	November 16, 1997	at Detroit Lions	L 38–15	Silverdome	68,910
13	November 23, 1997	at New York Jets	L 23–21	Giants Stadium	70,131
14	December 1, 1997	Green Bay Packers	L 27–11	Metrodome	64,001
15	December 7, 1997	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–17	3com Park	55,761
16	December 14, 1997	Detroit Lions	L 14–13	Metrodome	60,982
17	December 21, 1997	Indianapolis Colts	W 39–28	Metrodome	54,107

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) Green Bay Packers	13	3	0	.813	422	282	W5
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	10	6	0	.625	299	263	W1
(5) Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	379	306	W2
(6) Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	354	359	W1
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	263	421	L1

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 27, 1997	at New York Giants	W 23–22	Giants Stadium	77,497
Division	January 3, 1998	at San Francisco 49ers	L 38–22	3com Park	65,018

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Brad Johnson	3,036
Passing Touchdowns	Brad Johnson	20
Rushing Yards	Robert Smith	1,266
Rushing Touchdowns	Robert Smith	6
Receiving Yards	Jake Reed	1,138
Receiving Touchdowns	Cris Carter	13
Points	Cris Carter	84
Kickoff Return Yards	David Palmer	711
Punt Return Yards	David Palmer	444
Tackles	Robert Griffith	114
Sacks	John Randle	15.5
Interceptions	Dewayne Washington	4
Forced Fumbles	Derrick Alexander	3

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 30)
Passing Offense	3,313 Yards	207.1 YPG	14th
Rushing Offense	2,041 Yards	127.6 YPG	6th
Total Offense	5,354 Yards	334.6 YPG	8th
Passing Defense	3,704 Yards	231.5 YPG	29th
Rushing Defense	1,983 Yards	123.9 YPG	23rd
Total Defense	5,687 Yards	355.4 YPG	29th

Personnel

Staff

1997 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick Head Coaches Head Coach – Dennis Green Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Brian Billick Quarterbacks – Ray Sherman Running Backs – Carl Hargrave Receivers – Chip Myers Tight Ends – Dave Atkins Offensive Line – Mike Tice Coaching Assistant – Wade Harman			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio Defensive Line – John Levra Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Gary Zauner Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

Final roster

1997 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks  8 Todd Bouman  7 Randall Cunningham  6 Jay Walker Running backs 29 Chuck Evans FB 32 Robert Green 44 Leroy Hoard 33 Harold Morrow FB 26 Robert Smith 21 Moe Williams RB Wide receivers 84 Tony Bland 80 Cris Carter 89 Matthew Hatchette 22 David Palmer KR/PR 86 Jake Reed 81 Chris Walsh Tight ends 85 Greg DeLong 82 Andrew Glover 87 Hunter Goodwin 85 Andrew Jordan		Offensive linemen 74 Orlando Bobo G 69 LeShun Daniels G 71 David Dixon G 61 Everett Lindsay G 60 Ben Lynch C 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris C/LS 79 Eric Moss G 78 Bob Sapp G 73 Todd Steussie T 77 Korey Stringer T Defensive linemen 90 Derrick Alexander DE 96 Jerry Ball DT 92 Duane Clemons DE 99 Stalin Colinet DT 72 Jason Fisk DT 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 94 Tony Williams DT		Linebackers 56 Pete Bercich 59 Dixon Edwards 55 Ron George 58 Ed McDaniel OLB 57 Dwayne Rudd OLB Defensive backs 43 Greg Briggs CB 31 Duane Butler CB 27 Corey Fuller CB 24 Robert Griffith SS 42 Orlando Thomas FS 20 Dewayne Washington CB 37 Leonard Wheeler CB Special teams 17 Mitch Berger P  3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve lists 30 Antonio Banks CB (IR) 10px 50 Jeff Brady MLB (IR) 10px 62 Jeff Christy C (IR) 10px 76 Scott Dill T (IR) 10px 23 Torrian Gray CB 14 Brad Johnson QB (IR) 10px 40 Anthony Prior CB (IR) 10px 83 Robert Tate WR (IR) 10px 53 Artie Ulmer LB (Susp.) Practice squad Rookies in italics 52 Active, 9 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Awards and records

• David Palmer, NFL Kickoff Return Leader