1987 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachJerry Burns
Home fieldMetrodome
Results
Record8–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Saints) 44–10
Won Divisional Playoffs
(at 49ers) 36–24
Lost NFC Championship
(at Redskins) 10–17
Uniform

The 1987 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 27th year in the National Football League. A players' strike caused the cancellation of the September 27 game at the Kansas City Chiefs, while the games played on October 4, 11 and 18 were played with replacement players. The Vikings finished with an 8–7 record.

Despite finishing the season only one game over .500, and losing three of their final four games, Minnesota sneaked into the playoffs with the final Wild Card position. There, they won two huge upsets, beating the New Orleans Saints (12–3) and San Francisco 49ers (13–2) on the road. The Vikings were unable, however, to defeat the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game.

The last remaining active member of the 1987 Minnesota Vikings was quarterback Rich Gannon, who played his final NFL game in the 2004 season, although he missed the 1989 and 1994 seasons.

Offseason

1987 Draft

Pro Bowler
1987 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
114 D. J. DozierRunning backPenn Statefrom Dolphins[a]
16 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[a]
244 Ray BerryLinebackerBaylor
372 Henry ThomasDefensive tackleLouisiana State
4100 Reggie RutlandCornerbackGeorgia Tech
5128 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[a]
6156 Greg RichardsonWide receiverAlabama
7184 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[b]
8211 Rick FenneyRunning backWashington
9239 Leonard JonesDefensive backTexas Tech
10267 Bob RileyOffensive tackleIndiana State
11295 Brent PeaseQuarterbackMontana
12323 Keith WilliamsDefensive tackleFlorida
^[a] The Vikings traded their first- and fifth-round selections (16th and 128th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Miami's first-round selection (14th overall).

Staff

1987 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams/tight ends coach – Tom Batta


[1]

Roster

1987 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 51 active, 2 inactive, 0 practice squad
Source

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 Minnesota Vikings replacement roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2]
1 August 15 at New Orleans Saints L 17–23 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 52,884
2 August 22 Indianapolis Colts W 37–13 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,304
3 August 29 New England Patriots L 27–38 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 49,339
4 September 3 at Denver Broncos W 27–17 2–2 Mile High Stadium 74,081

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13 Detroit Lions W 34–19 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,061
2 September 20 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–16 2–0 Anaheim Stadium 63,367
– September 27 at Kansas City Chiefs canceled 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium
3 October 4 Green Bay Packers L 16–23 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 13,911
4 October 11 at Chicago Bears L 7–27 2–2 Soldier Field 32,113
5 October 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 10–20 2–3 Tampa Stadium 20,850
6 October 26 Denver Broncos W 34–27 3–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,011
7 November 1 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–28 3–4 Kingdome 61,134
8 November 8 Los Angeles Raiders W 31–20 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,150
9 November 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–17 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 48,605
10 November 22 Atlanta Falcons W 24–13 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,866
11 November 26 at Dallas Cowboys W 44–38 (OT) 7–4 Texas Stadium 54,229
12 December 6 Chicago Bears L 24–30 7–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,331
13 December 13 at Green Bay Packers L 10–16 7–6 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,059
14 December 20 at Detroit Lions W 17–14 8–6 Pontiac Silverdome 27,693
15 December 26 Washington Redskins L 24–27 (OT) 8–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,160

Notes:

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
  • The October 18 game against Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to be played in Minneapolis. The game was switched with the November 15 game due to Game 2 of the World Series. The game against the Broncos, originally scheduled for October 25, was pushed back to Monday because the Metrodome was being used for Game 7 of the World Series.

Game summaries

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Vikings 14 7 710644
Cowboys 0 14 1014038

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

In the Vikings' first game on Thanksgiving for 18 years, starting quarterback Tommy Kramer helped the team to a 14–0 lead by the end of the first quarter, opening with an 11-yard strike to Anthony Carter, before taking the ball in himself from a yard out. However, a bruised throwing arm meant he had to leave the game for a time meant Wade Wilson took over. The Cowboys tied it up with two touchdowns of their own in the second quarter, but another throw from Kramer to Carter, this time from 37 yards, meant the Vikings took a seven-point lead into halftime. Darrin Nelson extended the Vikings' lead with the opening score of the second half, running 52 yards for the Vikings' fourth touchdown of the game. A field goal and another touchdown for the Cowboys reduced the Vikings' lead to four points going into the final quarter, but they restored the two-score margin with a field goal from Chuck Nelson and a 1-yard run from Rick Fenney. The Cowboys managed to come back and tie the game with just over two minutes left to play, enough time for the Vikings to drive downfield and set up a potential game-winning, 46-yard field goal attempt for Chuck Nelson with nine seconds left. He missed the kick and the game went to overtime. Both teams failed with their first two possessions, with both throwing interceptions. Vikings linebacker Scott Studwell returned his interception to the Minnesota 40-yard line to begin their third drive of the extra period. They opened with four straight run plays, including a fourth-down conversion to get them to midfield, followed by a 24-yard pass from Wilson to Carter, before Darrin Nelson ran the remaining distance for the walkoff game-winning touchdown. The result brought the Vikings to a 7–4 record with four games left to play.[3]

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(2) 11 4 0 .733 7–0 9–2 356 282 W1
Minnesota Vikings(5) 8 7 0 .533 3–5 6–6 336 335 L1
Green Bay Packers 5 9 1 .367 3–4 4–7 255 300 L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 11 0 .267 3–4 4–9 286 360 L8
Detroit Lions 4 11 0 .267 2–5 4–7 269 384 W1

Postseason

Schedule

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Wild Card January 3, 1988 at New Orleans Saints (4) W 44–10 1–0 Louisiana Superdome
Divisional January 9, 1988 at San Francisco 49ers (1) W 36–24 2–0 Candlestick Park
NFC Championship January 17, 1988 at Washington Redskins (3) L 10–17 2–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (#4) New Orleans Saints

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#4) New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 10 21 31044
Saints 7 3 0010

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

In the Saints' first playoff game in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording two sacks, forcing four turnovers and allowing only 149 yards. The 34-point margin of victory stands as the most lopsided win by an NFC team in a Wild Card round game in NFL history.

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#1) San Francisco 49ers

NFC Divisional Playoffs: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#1) San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 17 10636
49ers 3 0 14724

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Game information

The heavy underdog Vikings pulled off a shocker in San Francisco, controlling most of the game with Anthony Carter leading the way with 227 receiving yards.

NFC Championship Game: at (#3) Washington Redskins

NFC Championship Game: (#5) Minnesota Vikings at (#3) Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0310
Redskins 7 0 3717

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game information

In a defensive battle, the Redskins played a little better by limiting the Vikings to only 76 rushing yards and forcing eight sacks. Washington scored first on a 98-yard drive that was capped by running back Kelvin Bryant's 42-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Doug Williams. However, Minnesota tied the game before halftime with quarterback Wade Wilson's 23-yard touchdown pass to Leo Lewis. In the third quarter, Redskins linebacker Mel Kaufman returned an interception 10 yards to the Minnesota 17-yard line to set up kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh's 28-yard field goal. In the final period, Vikings kicker Chuck Nelson made an 18-yard field goal to tie the game, 10–10. The Redskins then marched 70 yards to score on Williams' 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to take the lead, 17–10, with 5:06 remaining in the game. Minnesota then advanced to the Washington 6-yard line, but Wilson's fourth down pass, intended for running back Darrin Nelson in the end zone was defended by Darrell Green with 52 seconds remaining and the Redskins ran out the clock.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsWade Wilson2,106
Passing touchdownsWade Wilson14
Rushing yardsDarrin Nelson642
Rushing touchdownsD.J. Dozier
Wade Wilson		5
Receiving yardsAnthony Carter922
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Carter7
PointsChuck Nelson75
Kickoff return yardsNeal Guggemos808
Punt return yardsLeo Lewis275
TacklesJesse Solomon126
SacksChris Doleman11.0
InterceptionsJoey Browner6
Forced fumblesChris Doleman6

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense2,826176.620th
Rushing offense1,983123.911th
Total offense4,809300.615th
Passing defense3,100193.816th
Rushing defense1,724107.811th
Total defense4,824301.810th

References

  1. ↑ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  2. ↑ "1987 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  3. ↑ Wilbon, Michael (November 27, 1987). "Vikings top Cowboys in overtime". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
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