From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NFL team season
The
1975 season was the
Minnesota Vikings ' 15th in the
National Football League .
The Vikings began with a 10-game win streak before losing by one point to the
Washington Redskins , though there was generally very little expectation they would equal the
1972 Dolphins '
perfect season .
[1] The 1975 Vikings had an even easier schedule than the often-criticized one of the unbeaten Dolphin team, and in fact had according to Eddie Epstein clearly the easiest schedule of any team between 1950 and 2001, with their fourteen opponents having a winning percentage excluding Vikings games of .346 .
[2] According to Pro-Football-Reference.com , only the Super Bowl-winning
1999 Rams have since had a weaker schedule than the 1975 Vikings, playing only one opponent with a winning record during the regular season.
[3] Nine of fourteen opponents finished 4–10 or worse, and like the 1972 Dolphins only two had winning records.
[4] Football journalists noted during their streak how the Vikings had been playing very weak schedules for several seasons and flattered thereby.
[5]
The Vikings’ 10–0 start was not subsequently equaled until the
1984 Miami Dolphins began 11–0.
[6] They sealed their third straight
NFC Central title on
Thanksgiving Day in this same week when
the Detroit Lions lost to
the Los Angeles Rams .
The Vikings finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to
the Dallas Cowboys , 17–14 in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at home due to a play known as the "
Hail Mary ". Earlier in the season,
the New York Jets made their first appearance in Minnesota in a much-anticipated match between
Super Bowl
quarterbacks
Fran Tarkenton and
Joe Namath , in what had been the first regular season game sold out during the summer.
[7]
Third year halfback
Chuck Foreman became the first Vikings running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Offseason
1975 Draft
^[a] The Vikings originally held the 51st overall selection but passed, allowing
Pittsburgh to move up before making their pick 52nd overall.
^[b] The Vikings traded CB
Charlie West to the
Detroit Lions in exchange for Detroit's third-round selection (63rd overall).
^[c] The Vikings traded the third-round selection they acquired from Detroit (63rd overall) to the
New Orleans Saints in exchange for OL
Andy Maurer .
^[d] The details of this trade are unknown.
^[e] The Vikings originally held the 259th overall selection but moved up to 258th overall when the
Oakland Raiders passed.
^[f] The Vikings originally held the 337th overall selection but moved up to 336th overall when the
Washington Redskins passed on the 334th overall selection and allowed
Miami ,
San Diego , Minnesota,
Pittsburgh ,
Miami ,
Baltimore ,
Atlanta ,
Cleveland ,
Chicago , and
New Orleans to move up.
^[g] The Vikings originally held the 389th overall selection but moved up to 388th overall when the
Oakland Raiders passed.
^[h] The Vikings originally held the 415th overall selection but moved up to 414th overall when the
Baltimore Colts passed and allowed Minnesota and
Pittsburgh to move up.
Roster
1975 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
, 0 practice squad
Source
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 21
San Francisco 49ers
W 27–17
1–0
Metropolitan Stadium
46,479
2
September 28
at
Cleveland Browns
W 42–10
2–0
Cleveland Stadium
68,064
3
October 5
Chicago Bears
W 28–3
3–0
Metropolitan Stadium
47,578
4
October 12
New York Jets
W 29–21
4–0
Metropolitan Stadium
47,739
5
October 19
Detroit Lions
W 25–19
5–0
Metropolitan Stadium
47,872
6
at
Chicago Bears
W 13–9
6–0
Soldier Field
51,259
7
November 2
at
Green Bay Packers
W 28–17
7–0
Lambeau Field
57,267
8
November 9
Atlanta Falcons
W 38–0
8–0
Metropolitan Stadium
43,751
9
November 16
at
New Orleans Saints
W 20–7
9–0
Louisiana Superdome
52,765
10
November 23
San Diego Chargers
W 28–13
10–0
Metropolitan Stadium
43,737
11
November 30
at
Washington Redskins
L 30–31
10–1
RFK Stadium
54,498
12
December 7
Green Bay Packers
W 24–3
11–1
Metropolitan Stadium
46,147
13
December 14
at
Detroit Lions
L 10–17
11–2
Silverdome
73,130
14
at
Buffalo Bills
W 35–13
12–2
Rich Stadium
54,993
Note : Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 1: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
49ers
0
10
0 7 17
Vikings
3
10
0 14 27
at
Metropolitan Stadium , Bloomington, Minnesota
Game information
First quarter
MIN –
Fred Cox 28-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0.
Second quarter
MIN – Fred Cox 29-yard field goal. Vikings 6–0.
MIN –
Terry Brown 26-yard fumble return (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 13–0.
SF –
Steve Mike-Mayer 19-yard field goal. Vikings 13–3.
SF –
Gene Washington 22-yard pass from
Norm Snead (Steve Mike-Mayer kick). Vikings 13–10.
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
SF –
Gene Washington – 6 receptions, 86 yards, TD
MIN – Brent McClanahan – 6 receptions, 73 yards, TD
Standings
Postseason
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Venue
Attendance
Divisional
December 28
Dallas Cowboys (4)
L 14–17
Metropolitan Stadium
46,425
Game summaries
NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (#4) Dallas Cowboys
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Awards and records
Fran Tarkenton,
Bert Bell Award ,
[9] and
AP MVP
AP First Team
All-Pro selections: RB
Chuck Foreman , S
Paul Krause , DT
Alan Page , QB
Fran Tarkenton and T
Ron Yary
Chuck Foreman, set an
NFL record with 73 receptions, most by a
running back
DE
Jim Marshall , recovered 26th fumble, a new league record
Pro Bowl selections:
Bobby Bryant , Chuck Foreman,
John Gilliam , Paul Krause, Alan Page,
Jeff Siemon , Fran Tarkenton,
Ed White and Ron Yary
Statistics
Team leaders
* Vikings single season
record .
League rankings
Category
Total yards
Yards per game
NFL rank(out of 26)
Passing offense
2,861
204.4
3rd
Rushing offense
2,094
149.6
10th
Total offense
4,955
353.9
5th
Passing defense
1,621
115.8
1st
Rushing defense
1,532
109.4
1st
Total defense
3,153
262.2
1st
References
^ Lowitt, Bruce (November 7, 1975). "Streaking Vikings Meet Old Nemesis in Falcons".
Star-Banner .
Ocala, Florida . p. 7B.
^ Epstein, Eddie (2002). Dominance: The Best Seasons of Pro Football's Greatest Teams . Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc. p. 171.
ISBN
9781574884661 .
^
"1999 Rams Against Opponents with Winning Record" . Pro-Football-Reference.com .
^
"1975 Minnesota Vikings" .
Pro-Football-Reference.com .
^ Donovan, Mark (September 22, 1975).
"National Central" .
Sports Illustrated .
^
"Last Undefeated NFL Team in Each Season" . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013 .
^ Kallestad, Brent; "Fran, Joe Square Off First Time"; in
The Evening News ; October 10, 1975; p. 7B
^
"1975 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives" .
^
"Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients" . Archived from
the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010 .
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (1) Retired numbers Current league affiliations