1966 Minnesota Vikings season

1966 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Norm Van Brocklin
General manager Jim Finks
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 4–9–1
Division place T-6th NFL Western
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1966 Minnesota Vikings season was the sixth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 47th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of four wins, nine losses, and one tie under sixth-year head coach Norm Van Brocklin, who resigned on February 11, 1967.

Offseason

1966 Draft

Main article: 1966 NFL draft
1966 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
1 6 6 Jerry Shay Tackle Purdue
2 11 27 Jim Lindsey Running Back Arkansas
3 10 42 Don Hansen Linebacker Illinois
4 9 57 Ron Acks Defensive Back Illinois
5 8 72 Doug Davis Tackle Kentucky
12 76 Bob Hall Defensive Back Brown from Bears[a]
6 3 83 Wilbur Aylor Tackle Southwest Texas State from Steelers via Giants[b]
7 87 Traded to the Detroit Lions[c]
7 11 106 Bob Meers End Massachusetts
8 10 120 Traded to the Baltimore Colts[d]
9 9 134 Ron Green Flanker North Dakota
10 8 148 Traded to the Detroit Lions[e]
11 7 162 Stan Quintana Defensive Back New Mexico
12 11 181 Bob Petrella Defensive Back Tennessee
13 10 195 Larry Martin Tackle San Diego State
14 9 209 Howard Twilley Wide Receiver Tulsa
15 8 223 Hugh Wright Running Back Adams State
16 7 237 Jim Williams Defensive End Arkansas
17 11 256 Monroe Beard Running Back Virginia Union
18 10 270 Dale Greco Defensive Tackle Illinois
19 9 284 Jesse Stokes Running Back Corpus Christi State
20 8 298 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[f]
^[a] Chicago traded their 5th round selection (76th overall) to Minnesota for OG Palmer Pyle.
^[b] The New York Giants traded Pittsburgh's 6th round selection (83rd overall) to Minnesota for LB Bill Swain.
^[c] Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (87th overall) and 1965 7th round selection (92nd overall) to Detroit for DT Mike Bundra and End Larry Vargo.
^[d] Minnesota traded their 8th round selection (120th overall) and LB John Campbell to Baltimore for OT Larry Kramer.
^[e] Minnesota traded their 10th round selection (148th overall) to Detroit for DB Gary Lowe.
^[f] Minnesota traded their 20th round selection (298th overall) to Philadelphia for HB Billy Ray Barnes.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 11 at San Francisco 49ers T 20–20 0–0–1 Kezar Stadium
29,312
2 September 18 Baltimore Colts L 23–38 0–1–1 Metropolitan Stadium
47,426
3 September 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–28 0–2–1 Cotton Bowl
64,116
4 October 2 Chicago Bears L 10–13 0–3–1 Metropolitan Stadium
47,426
5 October 9 Bye
6 October 16 Los Angeles Rams W 35–7 1–3–1 Metropolitan Stadium
47,426
7 October 23 at Baltimore Colts L 17–20 1–4–1 Memorial Stadium
60,238
8 October 30 San Francisco 49ers W 28–3 2–4–1 Metropolitan Stadium
45,077
9 November 6 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 3–4–1 Lambeau Field
50,861
10 November 13 Detroit Lions L 31–32 3–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium
43,939
11 November 20 at Los Angeles Rams L 6–21 3–6–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
38,775
12 November 27 Green Bay Packers L 16–28 3–7–1 Metropolitan Stadium
47,426
13 December 4 Atlanta Falcons L 13–20 3–8–1 Metropolitan Stadium
37,117
14 December 11 at Detroit Lions W 28–16 4–8–1 Tiger Stadium
43,022
15 December 18 at Chicago Bears L 28–41 4–9–1 Wrigley Field
45,191

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 12 2 0 .857 10–2 335 163 W5
Baltimore Colts 9 5 0 .643 7–5 314 226 W1
Los Angeles Rams 8 6 0 .571 6–6 289 212 L1
San Francisco 49ers 6 6 2 .500 5–5–2 320 325 L1
Chicago Bears 5 7 2 .417 4–6–2 234 272 W1
Detroit Lions 4 9 1 .308 3–8–1 206 317 L3
Minnesota Vikings 4 9 1 .308 4–7–1 206 304 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing Yards Fran Tarkenton 2,561
Passing Touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 17
Rushing Yards Bill Brown 829
Rushing Touchdowns Bill Brown 6
Receiving Yards Paul Flatley 777
Receiving Touchdowns Preston Carpenter 4
Points Fred Cox 88
Kickoff Return Yards Mike Fitzgerald 301
Punt Return Yards Ed Sharockman 95
Interceptions Dale Hackbart 5

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 15)
Passing Offense 2,548 Yards 182.0 YPG 7th
Rushing Offense 2,091 Yards 149.4 YPG 3rd
Total Offense 4,639 Yards 331.4 YPG 4th
Passing Defense 2,236 Yards 159.7 YPG 2nd
Rushing Defense 1,686 Yards 120.4 YPG 7th
Total Defense 3,922 Yards 280.1 YPG 5th
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