1970 Minnesota Vikings season
NFL team season
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The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger. In their fourth year under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.[1]
| 1970 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home stadium | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 1st NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. 49ers) 14–17 |
| All-Pros | DE Carl Eller (1st team) DT Alan Page (1st team) |
| Pro Bowlers | K Fred Cox DE Carl Eller SS Karl Kassulke DT Gary Larsen RB Dave Osborn DT Alan Page WR Gene Washington |
| Uniform | |
| |
Offseason
1970 draft
| 1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 25 | John Ward | Offensive tackle | Oklahoma State | |
| 2 | 51 | Bill Cappleman | Quarterback | Florida State | |
| 3 | 77 | Chuck Burgoon | Linebacker | North Park | |
| 4 | 103 | Traded to the New Orleans Saints[A] | |||
| 5 | 129 | Greg Jones | Running back | UCLA | |
| 6 | 155 | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[B] | |||
| 7 | 181 | Hap Farber | Linebacker | Ole Miss | |
| 8 | 207 | Mike Carroll | Guard | Missouri | |
| 9 | 233 | George Morrow | Defensive end | Ole Miss | |
| 10 | 259 | Stu Voigt | Tight end | Wisconsin | |
| 11 | 285 | Godfrey Zaunbrecher | Center | LSU | |
| 12 | 311 | James Holland | Defensive back | Jackson State | |
| 13 | 337 | Robert Pearce | Defensive back | Stephen F. Austin | |
| 14 | 363 | Tommy Spinks | Wide receiver | Louisiana Tech | |
| 15 | 389 | Bennie Francis | Defensive end | Chadron State | |
| 16 | 415 | Bruce Cerone | Wide receiver | Emporia State | |
| 17 | 441 | Brian Healy | Defensive back | Michigan | |
Notes
- The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (103rd overall) to the Saints in exchange for TE Kent Kramer.
- The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (155th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for TE Tony Jeter.
Roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 8 | New Orleans Saints | L 13–14 | 0–1 | Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH) | 17,932 |
| 2 | August 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–20 | 0–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,591 |
| 3 | August 22 | at Houston Oilers | W 14–7 | 1–2 | Astrodome | 44,563 |
| 4 | August 30 | New York Jets | W 52–21 | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 5 | September 5 | at Cleveland Browns | W 24–21 | 3–2 | Cleveland Stadium | 83,043 |
| 6 | September 11 | at Chicago Bears | W 31–30 | 4–2 | Soldier Field | 46,630 |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 20 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–10 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 2 | September 27 | New Orleans Saints | W 26–0 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 3 | October 4 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–13 | 2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,967 |
| 4 | October 11 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–0 | 3–1 | Wrigley Field | 45,485 |
| 5 | October 18 | Dallas Cowboys | W 54–13 | 4–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 6 | October 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 13–3 | 5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 7 | November 1 | at Detroit Lions | W 30–17 | 6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 58,210 |
| 8 | November 8 | at Washington Redskins | W 19–10 | 7–1 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 50,415 |
| 9 | November 15 | Detroit Lions | W 24–20 | 8–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 10 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 10–3 | 9–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 11 | November 29 | at New York Jets | L 10–20 | 9–2 | Shea Stadium | 62,333 |
| 12 | December 5 | Chicago Bears | W 16–13 | 10–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 13 | December 13 | at Boston Patriots | W 35–14 | 11–2 | Harvard Stadium | 37,819 |
| 14 | December 20 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 37–7 | 12–2 | Atlanta Stadium | 57,992 |
Game summaries
Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs
Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Vikings | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Date: September 20
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C)
- Game attendance: 47,900
- Referee: Tommy Bell
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The Vikings opened up the season in a rematch of Super Bowl IV against the Chiefs. This time, the Vikings exacted revenge in a 27-10 win.
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 10–1 | 335 | 143 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 7–4 | 347 | 202 | W5 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 196 | 293 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 1–5 | 5–6 | 256 | 261 | W2 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Postseason
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 27 | San Francisco 49ers | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,050 |
Statistics
Team leaders
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Gary Cuozzo | 1,720 |
| Passing touchdowns | Gary Cuozzo | 7 |
| Rushing yards | Dave Osborn | 681 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Clint Jones | 9 |
| Receiving yards | Gene Washington | 702 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Gene Washington | 4 |
| Points | Fred Cox | 125 |
| Kickoff return yards | Clint Jones | 452 |
| Punt return yards | Charlie West | 169 |
| Interceptions | Ed Sharockman | 7 |
League rankings
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 26) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 2,181 | 155.8 | 14th |
| Rushing offense | 1,634 | 116.7 | 14th |
| Total offense | 3,815 | 272.5 | 19th |
| Passing defense | 1,438 | 102.7 | 1st |
| Rushing defense | 1,365 | 97.5 | 5th |
| Total defense | 2,803 | 200.2 | 1st |