1972 Minnesota Vikings season

1972 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

1972 was the 12th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and seven losses.

Offseason

1972 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1972 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	10	10	Jeff Siemon	Linebacker	Stanford	from Patriots^[a]
	24	24	Traded to the New York Giants^[b]
2	24	50	Ed Marinaro	Running Back	Cornell
3	7	59	Bart Buetow	Offensive Tackle	Minnesota	from Packers^[c]
	24	76	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles^[d]
4	24	102	Traded to the Denver Broncos^[e]
5	24	128	Traded to the Los Angeles Rams^[f]
6	24	154	Amos Martin	Linebacker	Louisville
7	25	181	Bill Slater	Defensive End	Western Michigan	originally Dolphins pick^[g]
8	24	206	Calvin Demery	Wide Receiver	Arizona State
9	24	232	Charlie Goodrum	Guard	Florida A&M
10	24	258	Willie Aldridge	Running Back	South Carolina State
11	24	284	Willie McKelton	Defensive Back	Southern
12	24	310	Bob Banaugh	Defensive Back	Montana State
13	24	336	Franklin Roberts	Running Back	Alcorn A&M
14	24	361	Marv Owens	Running Back	San Diego State
15	24	388	Mike Sivert	Guard	East Tennessee State
16	24	414	Neil Graff	Quarterback	Wisconsin
17	24	440	Dick Schmalz	Wide Receiver	Auburn

^{^[a]} Minnesota received New England's 1st round selection (10th overall), CB John Charles, and cash as compensation for free agent QB Joe Kapp.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 1st round selection (24th overall), 1973 2nd round selection (40th overall), QB Norm Snead, WR Bob Grim, and RB Vince Clements to the Giants for QB Fran Tarkenton.

^{^[c]} Green Bay traded their 3rd round selection (59th overall) to Minnesota for QB Zeke Bratkowski.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (76th overall), 1971 2nd round selection (50th overall), 1971 6th round selection (154th overall), and OL Steve Smith to Philadelphia for QB Norm Snead.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (102nd overall) and CB John Charles to Denver for WR Al Denson.

^{^[f]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (128th overall) to Los Angeles for CB Ted Provost.

^{^[g]} Minnesota originally chose 180th overall but passed allowing Miami to move up and Minnesota to choose 181st overall.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Final score	Team record
1	September 18	Washington Redskins	L 21-24	0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 24	at Detroit Lions	W 34–10	1–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
3	October 1	Miami Dolphins	L 14-16	1–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
4	October 8	St. Louis Cardinals	L 17-19	1–3	Metropolitan Stadium	49,687
5	October 15	at Denver Broncos	W 23–20	2–3	Mile High Stadium	51,656
6	October 23	at Chicago Bears	L 10-13	2–4	Soldier Field	55,701
7	October 29	at Green Bay Packers	W 27–13	3–4	Lambeau Field	56,263
8	November 5	New Orleans Saints	W 37–6	4–4	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
9	November 12	Detroit Lions	W 16–14	5–4	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
10	November 19	at Los Angeles Rams	W 45–41	6–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	77,982
11	November 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10-23	6–5	Three Rivers Stadium	50,348
12	December 3	Chicago Bears	W 23–10	7–5	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
13	December 10	Green Bay Packers	L 7-23	7–6	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
14	December 16	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17-20	7–7	Candlestick Park	61,214

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	10	4	0	.714	5–1	8–3	304	226	W3
Detroit Lions	8	5	1	.607	2–4	6–5	339	290	W1
Minnesota Vikings	7	7	0	.500	4–2	6–5	301	252	L2
Chicago Bears	4	9	1	.321	1–5	3–7–1	225	275	L1

Awards, records, and honors

All-Pros

First Team

• OT Ron Yary (AP)

Second Team

• OT Ron Yary (NEA-2, PFWA-2)
• DE Carl Eller (AP-2)
• DT Alan Page (AP-2, NEA-2, PFWA-2)
• S Paul Krause (AP-2)

Pro Bowlers

• WR John Gilliam
• OT Ron Yary
• DT Alan Page
• FS Paul Krause

League leaders

• John Gilliam – Yards per reception (22.0)

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Fran Tarkenton	2,651
Passing Touchdowns	Fran Tarkenton	18
Rushing Yards	Oscar Reed	639
Rushing Touchdowns	Bill Brown	4
Receiving Yards	John Gilliam	1,035
Receiving Touchdowns	John Gilliam	7
Points	Fred Cox	97
Kickoff Return Yards	John Gilliam	369
Punt Return Yards	Charlie West	111
Interceptions	Paul Krause	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing Offense	2,523 Yards	180.2 YPG	4th
Rushing Offense	1,740 Yards	124.3 YPG	20th
Total Offense	4,263 Yards	304.5 YPG	12th
Passing Defense	1,699 Yards	121.4 YPG	1st
Rushing Defense	2,002 Yards	143.0 YPG	16th
Total Defense	3,701 Yards	264.4 YPG	5th

References