1968 Minnesota Vikings season | |
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General manager | Jim Finks |
Head coach | Bud Grant |
Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 8–6 |
Division place | 1st NFL Central |
Playoff finish | Lost
Western Conference Championship Game (at Colts) 14–24 Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 13–17 |
Uniform | |
The 1968 season was the Minnesota Vikings' eighth in the National Football League. Under head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings won the NFL Central division title with an 8–6 record, and qualified for the postseason for the first time in franchise history. This was the first of four consecutive division titles for the Vikings. The Vikings' first trip to the playoffs saw them suffer a 24–14 loss in the Western Conference Championship Game to the eventual NFL champion and Super Bowl runner-up Baltimore Colts at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. In the Playoff Bowl two weeks later, they again lost to the Dallas Cowboys 17–13.
Hall of Famer |
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams |
Practice squad
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance [1] |
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1 | August 10 | Kansas City Chiefs ( AFL) | L 10–13 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,228 |
2 | August 17 | at Denver Broncos (AFL) | W 39–16 | 1–1 | University of Denver Stadium | 20,901 |
3 | August 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 52–10 | 2–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 41,229 |
4 | September 1 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 28–31 | 2–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 25,233 |
5 | September 6 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–17 | 3–2 | State Fair Stadium ( Shreveport, LA) | 23,000 |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
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1 | September 14 | Atlanta Falcons | W 47–7 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,563 |
2 | September 22 | at Green Bay Packers | W 26–13 | 2–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 49,346 |
3 | September 29 | Chicago Bears | L 17–27 | 2–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
4 | October 6 | Detroit Lions [a] | W 24–10 | 3–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 44,289 |
5 | October 13 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–20 | 3–2 | Tulane Stadium | 71,105 |
6 | October 20 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–20 | 3–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
7 | October 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–26 | 3–4 | Wrigley Field | 46,562 |
8 | November 3 | Washington Redskins | W 27–14 | 4–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
9 | November 10 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–10 | 5–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
10 | November 17 | at Detroit Lions | W 13–6 | 6–4 | Tiger Stadium | 48,654 |
11 | November 24 | at Baltimore Colts | L 9–21 | 6–5 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 |
12 | December 1 | Los Angeles Rams | L 3–31 | 6–6 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
13 | December 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 30–20 | 7–6 | Kezar Stadium | 29,049 |
14 | December 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–17 | 8–6 | Franklin Field | 54,530 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Colts | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game information | ||
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This would be the last occasion the Colts hosted the Vikings in the regular season until 2000, by when the former team had been relocated to Indianapolis for seventeen seasons. The intervening gap of 31 seasons constitutes the second-longest gap without one team visiting another in NFL history. [b]
NFL Central | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–4 | 282 | 242 | W2 |
Chicago Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 250 | 333 | L1 |
Green Bay Packers | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 1–4–1 | 2–7–1 | 281 | 227 | W1 |
Detroit Lions | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 3–2–1 | 4–5–1 | 207 | 241 | L1 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
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Conference | December 22 | at Baltimore Colts | L 14–24 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 |
Playoff Bowl | January 5 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–17 | 0–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 22,961 |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Colts | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game information | ||
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Following upon their last regular-season visit to the Colts for 32 years, the Vikings would visit the Colts for the last time in a competition game until 2000 in their first-ever postseason appearance.
Category | Player(s) | Value |
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Passing yards | Joe Kapp | 1,695 |
Passing touchdowns | Joe Kapp | 10 |
Rushing yards | Bill Brown | 805 |
Rushing touchdowns | Bill Brown | 11 |
Receiving yards | Gene Washington | 756 |
Receiving touchdowns | Gene Washington | 6 |
Points | Fred Cox | 88 |
Kickoff return yards | Charlie West | 576 |
Punt return yards | Charlie West | 201 |
Interceptions | Paul Krause | 7 |
Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 16) |
---|---|---|---|
Passing offense | 1,685 | 120.4 | 15th |
Rushing offense | 1,921 | 137.2 | 6th |
Total offense | 3,606 | 257.6 | 14th |
Passing defense | 1,855 | 132.5 | 3rd |
Rushing defense | 1,903 | 135.9 | 11th |
Total defense | 3,758 | 268.4 | 5th |