American Football Wiki
1997 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach Dennis Green
Home Field Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record 9–7
Place 4th NFC Central
Playoff Finish Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Giants) 23–22
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 22–38
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1996 1998

1997 was the 37th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 78th regular season of the National Football League.

The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses. Their record was good enough to qualify for a wild card berth. In the wild card round against the New York Giants, the Vikings came back from a 22-13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to defeat the Giants 23-22. It was their first playoff victory since 1988 and their first under head coach Dennis Green. In the Divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers, 38-22.

Vikings defensive tackle John Randle led the league in sacks with 15.5. Wide receiver Cris Carter's 13 touchdown receptions also were most in the league.

Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after a year out of the game, a move that reunited Cunningham with his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Cris Carter.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1997 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office
  • Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
  • President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator – Brian Billick
  • Quarterbacks – Ray Sherman
  • Running Backs – Carl Hargrave
  • Receivers – Chip Myers
  • Tight Ends – Dave Atkins
  • Offensive Line – Mike Tice
  • Coaching Assistant – Wade Harman
 

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio
  • Defensive Line – John Levra
  • Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti
  • Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters
  • Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – Gary Zauner

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

[1]

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 31 at Buffalo Bills W 34-13
79,139
2 September 7 at Chicago Bears W 27-24
59,263
3 September 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 28-14
63,697
4 September 21 at Green Bay Packers L 38-32
60,115
5 September 28 Philadelphia Eagles W 28-19
55,149
6 October 5 at Arizona Cardinals W 20-19
45,550
7 October 12 Carolina Panthers W 21-14
62,625
8 Bye week
9 October 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 10-6
66,815
10 November 2 New England Patriots W 23-18
62,917
11 November 9 Chicago Bears W 29-22
63,443
12 November 16 at Detroit Lions L 38-15
68,910
13 November 23 at New York Jets L 23-21
70,131
14 December 1 Green Bay Packers L 27-11
64,001
15 December 7 at San Francisco 49ers L 28-17
55,761
16 December 14 Detroit Lions L 14-13
60,982
17 December 21 Indianapolis Colts W 39-28
54,107

Standings[]

NFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Green Bay Packers 13 3 0 .813 422 282
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 6 0 .625 299 263
Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 379 306
Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 354 359
Chicago Bears 4 12 0 .250 263 421

Roster[]

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  • 26 Robert Smith
  • 44 Leroy Hoard
  • 32 Robert Green
  • 31 Scottie Graham
  • 21 Moe Williams
  • 29 Chuck Evans
  • 33 Harold Morrow

Wide Receivers

  • 80 Chris Carter
  • 86 Jake Reed
  • 89 Matthew Hatchette
  • 81 Chris Walsh
  • 22 David Palmer
  • 84 Tony Bland

Tight Ends

  • 89 Andrew Jordan
  • 87 Hunter Goodwin
  • 85 Greg DeLong
  • 82 Andrew Glover
Offensive Linemen
  • 73 Todd Steussie
  • 77 Korey Stringer
  • 76 Scott Dill
  • 71 David Dixon
  • 61 Everett Lindsay
  • 78 Bob Sapp
  • 64 Randall McDaniel
  • 69 LeShun Daniels
  • 74 Orlando Bobo
  • 62 Jeff Christy
  • 68 Mike Morris

Defensive Linemen

  • 90 Derrick Alexander
  • 92 Duane Clemons
  • 95 Fernando Smith
  • 99 Stalin Colinet
  • 96 Jerry Ball
  • 72 Jason Fisk
  • 93 John Randle
  • 94 Tony Williams
Linebackers
  • 58 Ed McDaniel
  • 59 Dixon Edwards
  • 50 Jeff Brady
  • 56 Pete Bercich
  • 55 Ron George
  • 57 Dwayne Rudd

Defensive Backs

  • 42 Orlando Thomas
  • 24 Robert Griffith
  • 23 Torrian Gray
  • 31 Duane Butler
  • 43 Greg Briggs
  • 83 Robert Tate
  • 37 Leonard Wheeler
  • 20 Dewayne Washington
  • 40 Anthony Prior
  • 27 Corey Fuller

Special Teams

  •  3 Eddie Murray
  •  5 Greg Davis
  • 17 Mitch Berger

Playoffs[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Wildcard December 27 at New York Giants W 23-22
77,497
Division January 3 at San Francisco 49ers L 38-22
65,018

Awards and records[]

  • David Palmer, NFL Kickoff Return Leader

References[]

  1. 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide,2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. Retrieved on 2010-02-26. ISBN .