1977_Minnesota_Vikings_season
1977 Minnesota Vikings season
NFL team season
The 1977 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 17th in the National Football League. After starting the season 5–3, the team's starting quarterback Fran Tarkenton broke his leg in week 9 and missed the rest of the season. Despite losing Tarkenton, the team managed to finish the season with a 9–5 record and went to the playoffs as winners of the NFC Central division title. They beat the Los Angeles Rams 14–7 in the Divisional Round in a game played in Los Angeles and termed the Mud Bowl, although the Vikings had lost 35–3 to the Rams in week 6.[1][2] In the NFC Championship game played in Dallas, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys 23–6.
Quick Facts Minnesota Vikings season, General manager ...
| 1977 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mike Lynn |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 1st NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 14–7 Lost NFC Championship (at Cowboys) 6–23 |
| Uniform | |
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1977 Draft
Main article: 1977 NFL draft
| Pro Bowler |
More information Draft order, Player name ...
| 1977 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 27 | Tommy Kramer | Quarterback | Rice | |
| 2 | 55 | Dennis Swilley | Guard | Texas A&M | |
| 3 | 83 | Tommy Hannon | Safety | Michigan State | |
| 4 | 111 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[a] | |||
| 5 | 138 | Ken Moore | Tight end | Northern Illinois | |
| 6 | 166 | Traded to the New England Patriots[b] | |||
| 7 | 194 | Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals[c] | |||
| 8 | 222 | Clint Strozier | Defensive back | USC | |
| 9 | 250 | Scott Studwell | Linebacker | Illinois | |
| 10 | 278 | Dan Beaver | Kicker | Illinois | |
| 11 | 306 | Keith Hartwig | Wide receiver | Arizona | |
| 12 | 335 | Jim Kelleher | Running back | Colorado | |
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- ^[a] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (111th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for WR Ahmad Rashad.
- ^[b] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (166th overall) and 1976 eighth-round selection (235th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for OL Doug Dumler.
- ^[c] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (194th overall) to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for TE Orlando Nelson.
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | ||||||
More information Week, Date ...
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 22–17 | 1–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 55,168 |
| 2 | August 13 | Cleveland Browns | W 34–33 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,370 |
| 3 | August 19 | at Baltimore Colts | L 7–29 | 2–1 | Memorial Stadium | 45,529 |
| 4 | August 26 | Miami Dolphins | W 33–7 | 3–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 44,396 |
| 5 | September 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 7–26 | 3–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,942 |
| 6 | September 10 | at Buffalo Bills | W 30–6 | 4–2 | Rich Stadium | 35,017 |
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Schedule
More information Week, Date ...
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 18 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–16 (OT) | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,678 |
| 2 | September 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 9–3 | 1–1 | Tampa Stadium | 66,272 |
| 3 | October 2 | Green Bay Packers | W 19–7 | 2–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,143 |
| 4 | October 9 | Detroit Lions | W 14–7 | 3–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,860 |
| 5 | October 16 | Chicago Bears | W 22–16 (OT) | 4–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,708 |
| 6 | October 24 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 3–35 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 62,414 |
| 7 | October 30 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 14–7 | 5–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 59,257 |
| 8 | November 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 7–27 | 5–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,066 |
| 9 | November 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 42–10 | 6–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,371 |
| 10 | November 20 | at Chicago Bears | L 7-10 | 6–4 | Soldier Field | 49,563 |
| 11 | November 27 | at Green Bay Packers | W 13–6 | 7–4 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 12 | December 4 | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–27 | 8–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 40,745 |
| 13 | December 11 | at Oakland Raiders | L 13–35 | 8–5 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,771 |
| 14 | December 17 | at Detroit Lions | W 30–21 | 9–5 | Silverdome | 78,572 |
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Game summaries
Week 7: at Atlanta Falcons
- Television network: CBS[citation needed]
- Announcers: Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier[citation needed]
Minnesota's Fran Tarkenton threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Sammy White to tie the game in the second quarter, then tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Bob Tucker in the fourth quarter after Chuck Foreman's 51-yard run to salvage a big win for the Vikings. The Falcons took the lead early lead on a 49-yard scoring pass from Scott Hunter to Greg McCrary.[citation needed]
Week 10: at Chicago Bears
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
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More information Game information ...
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Week 10: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears – Game summary
at Soldier Field, Chicago
- Date: Sunday, November 20
- Game time: 12:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C)
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 11: at Green Bay Packers
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Packers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
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More information Game information ...
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Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: Sunday, November 27
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 10 °F (−12 °C)
- Referee: Don Wedge
- TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 13: at Oakland Raiders
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Raiders | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
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More information Game information ...
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Week 13: Minnesota Vikings at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Date: Sunday, December 11
- Game time: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Standings
More information NFC Central, W ...
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings(3) | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–1 | 8–4 | 231 | 227 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears(4) | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–1 | 8–4 | 255 | 253 | W6 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–5 | 4–8 | 183 | 252 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–5 | 4–7 | 134 | 219 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–4 | 2–11 | 103 | 223 | W2 |
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More information Week, Date ...
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div | December 26 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 14–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 62,538 |
| Conf | January 1 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 6–23 | Texas Stadium | 61,968 |
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Team leaders
More information Category, Player(s) ...
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Fran Tarkenton | 1,734 |
| Passing touchdowns | Fran Tarkenton | 9 |
| Rushing yards | Chuck Foreman | 1,112 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Chuck Foreman | 6 |
| Receiving yards | Sammy White | 760 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Sammy White | 9 |
| Points | Chuck Foreman Sammy White | 54 |
| Kickoff return yards | Manfred Moore | 524 |
| Punt return yards | Manfred Moore | 277 |
| Interceptions | Bobby Bryant | 4 |
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League rankings
More information Category, Total yards ...
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 2,368 | 169.1 | 6th |
| Rushing offense | 1,821 | 130.1 | 21st |
| Total offense | 4,189 | 299.2 | 14th |
| Passing defense | 1,581 | 112.9 | 3rd |
| Rushing defense | 2,218 | 158.4 | 21st |
| Total defense | 3,799 | 271.4 | 11th |
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- Heroes of Yesteryear: Pro Football’S Dying Breed of Players from a Bygone Era, Danny Jones, Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2017. Chapter on Chuck Foreman.
- The Super '70s, Tom Danyluk, Mad Uke Publishing, 2005, page 95. The person being interviewed, "LM," is former Rams running back (1972-'79) Lawrence McCutcheon.