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1985 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1985 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 25th in the National Football League. Under returning head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs for a third season in a row. At the end of the season, Grant retired for good after 18 years with the franchise.

OwnerMax Winter
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home stadiumMetrodome
Quick facts Minnesota Vikings season, Owner ...
1985 Minnesota Vikings season
OwnerMax Winter
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home stadiumMetrodome
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd NFC Central
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro BowlersS Joey Browner
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Offseason

1985 draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
More information Round, Selection ...
1985 Minnesota Vikings draft selections
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
12 Traded to the Atlanta Falcons[A]from Oilers[B]
3 Traded to the Houston Oilers[B]
4 Chris DolemanDefensive endPittsburghfrom Falcons[A]
230 Issiac HoltCornerbackAlcorn StateProvisional trade not exercised[B]
359 Kirk LowdermilkCenterOhio State
60 Tim MeamberLinebackerWashingtonfrom Falcons[A]
66 Tim LongOffensive tackleMemphis Statefrom Chargers[C]
485 Buster RhymesWide receiverOklahoma
106 Kyle MorrellDefensive backBYUfrom Rams[D]
5115 Mark MacDonaldGuardBoston College
6142 Steve BonoQuarterbackUCLA
164 Tim NewtonDefensive tackleFloridafrom Raiders[E]
7171 Traded to the Green Bay Packers[F]
8198 Nikita BlairLinebackerUTEP
9227 Jamie CovingtonRunning backSyracuse
10254 Juan JohnsonWide receiverLangston
11283 Tim WilliamsDefensive backNorth Carolina A&T
12310 Byron JonesDefensive tackleTulsa
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Notes

  1. [A]
    The Vikings traded a first-round selection (2nd overall) to the Falcons in exchange for first- and third-round selections (4th and 60th overall).
  2. [B]
    The Vikings traded a first-round selection (3rd overall) and a provisional second-round selection (30th overall) to the Oilers in exchange for a first-round selection (2nd overall). As part of the trade, the Vikings agreed not to select DE Ray Childress or trade the pick to a team that would draft him. Houston selected Childress with the 3rd overall pick and this provisional selection was returned to Minnesota.
  3. [C]
    The Vikings traded CB John Turner to the Chargers in exchange for a third-round selection (66th overall).
  4. [D]
    The Vikings traded QB Steve Dils to the Rams in exchange for a fourth-round selection (106th overall).
  5. [E]
    The Vikings traded LB Brad Van Pelt to the Raiders in exchange for a sixth-round selection (164th overall) and a 1986 second-round selection (53rd overall).
  6. [F]
    The Vikings traded a seventh-round selection (171st overall) to the Packers in exchange for K Jan Stenerud.

Undrafted free agents

More information Player, Position ...
1985 undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Rick Hechinger Tackle Memphis State
Dave Lewis Running back Northern Iowa
Al Tachovsky Linebacker Minnesota State
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Personnel

Staff

1985 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

  • Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
  • President – Max Winter
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Lynn
  • Senior vice president – Jack Steele
  • Secretary/treasurer – Sheldon Kaplan
  • Director of football operations – Jerry Reichow
  • Director of player personnel – Frank Gilliam
  • Head scout – Ralph Kohl
  • Assistant head scout – Don Deisch
  • Regional scout – John Carson
  • Equipment manager – Dennis Ryan
  • Film director – Larry Kohout

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Defensive assistant/kicking teams – Tom Batta

Strength and conditioning

  • Trainer – Fred Zamberletti
  • Assistant trainer – Larry Neumann
  • Team physician – David Fischer

[1]

Roster

1985 Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Preseason

More information Week, Date ...
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[3]
1 August 10 at Miami Dolphins W 16–13 (OT) 1–0 Miami Orange Bowl 41,129
2 August 17 Pittsburgh Steelers W 41–34 2–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,887
3 August 24 Seattle Seahawks L 10–27 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,562
4 August 30 at Denver Broncos W 13–9 3–1 Mile High Stadium 69,373
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Regular season

Schedule

More information Week, Date ...
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 San Francisco 49ers W 28–21 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,375
2 September 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–16 2–0 Tampa Stadium 46,188
3 September 19 Chicago Bears L 24–33 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,242
4 September 29 at Buffalo Bills W 27–20 3–1 Rich Stadium 45,667
5 October 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–13 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 61,139
6 October 13 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 3–3 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,674
7 October 20 San Diego Chargers W 21–17 4–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,670
8 October 27 at Chicago Bears L 9–27 4–4 Soldier Field 63,815
9 November 3 Detroit Lions W 16–13 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,012
10 November 10 Green Bay Packers L 17–27 5–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,970
11 November 17 at Detroit Lions L 21–41 5–6 Silverdome 54,647
12 November 24 New Orleans Saints L 23–30 5–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,117
13 December 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 28–23 6–7 Veterans Stadium 54,688
14 December 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–7 7–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,593
15 December 15 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–14 7–8 Atlanta Fulton County Stadium 14,167
16 December 22 Philadelphia Eagles L 35–37 7–9 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,722
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Standings

More information NFC Central, W ...
NFC Central
 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(1) 15 1 0 .938 8–0 12–0 456 198 W3
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 6–2 8–4 337 355 W2
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 3–5 5–9 346 359 L2
Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 2–6 5–7 307 366 L3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 14 0 .125 1–7 2–10 294 448 L4
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Statistics

Team leaders

More information Category, Player(s) ...
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsTommy Kramer3,522
Passing touchdownsTommy Kramer19
Rushing yardsDarrin Nelson893
Rushing touchdownsTed Brown7
Receiving yardsAnthony Carter821
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Carter8
PointsJan Stenerud86
Kickoff return yardsBuster Rhymes1,345
Punt return yardsDarrin Nelson133
TacklesChris Doleman113
SacksKeith Millard11.0
InterceptionsJohn Turner5
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League rankings

More information Category, Total yards ...
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense3,635227.27th
Rushing offense1,51694.827th
Total offense5,151321.916th
Passing defense3,241202.615th
Rushing defense2,223138.922nd
Total defense5,464341.516th
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25th anniversary team

The team recognized an all-time team in 1985 as part of the celebration of the 25th season.

More information Position, Player ...
Position Player Tenure
Offense
QB Fran Tarkenton 1961–1966,
1972–1978
RB Bill Brown 1962–1974
Chuck Foreman 1973–1979
WR Ahmad Rashad 1976–1982
Sammy White 1976–1985
TE Stu Voigt 1970–1980
OT Ron Yary 1968–1981
Grady Alderman 1961–1975
G Ed White 1969–1977
Milt Sunde 1964–1974
C Mick Tingelhoff 1962–1978
Defense
DE Jim Marshall 1961–1979
Carl Eller 1964–1978
DT Alan Page 1967–1978
Gary Larsen 1965–1974
OLB Matt Blair 1974–1985
Roy Winston 1962–1976
MLB Jeff Siemon 1972–1982
Scott Studwell 1977–1990
CB Bobby Bryant 1968–1980
Ed Sharockman 1961–1972
S Paul Krause 1968–1979
Karl Kassulke 1963–1972
Special teams
K Fred Cox 1963–1977
P Greg Coleman 1978–1987
Coach
HC Bud Grant 1967–1983,
1985
Source:[4]
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References

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