1983 Minnesota Vikings season

1983 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

1983 was the 23rd year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of eight wins and eight losses.

Offseason

1983 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1983 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	19	19	Joey Browner	Defensive Back	USC
2	18	46	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles^[a]
3	17	73	Walker Lee Ashley	Linebacker	Penn State
4	16	100	Mark Rush	Running Back	Miami
5	15	127	Mark Stewart	Linebacker	Washington
6	19	159	Mike Jones	Wide Receiver	Tennessee State
7	18	186	Carl Lee	Defensive Back	Marshall
8	17	213	Norris Brown	Tight End	Georgia
9	15	239	Rod Achter	Wide Receiver	Toledo
10	4	255	Melvin Brown	Defensive Back	Mississippi	from Rams^[b]
	15	266	Walter Tate	Center	Tennessee State
11	9	298	Brian Butcher	Offensive Guard	Clemson
12	18	325	Maurice Turner	Running Back	Utah State

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (46th overall) to Philadelphia for DT Charlie Johnson.

^{^[b]} The Rams traded their 10th round selection (255th overall) to Minnesota for OT Ron Yary.

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Location
1	August 6, 1983	St. Louis Cardinals	W 28-10	London, Eng
2	August 13, 1983	Baltimore Colts	L 10-7	Metrodome
3	August 19, 1983	at Seattle Seahawks	W 19-17	Kingdome
4	August 26, 1983	Denver Broncos	W 34-3	Metrodome

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4, 1983	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–21	Cleveland Stadium	70,087
2	September 8, 1983	San Francisco 49ers	L 48–17	Metrodome	58,167
3	September 18, 1983	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 19–16 (OT)	Tampa Stadium	57,567
4	September 25, 1983	Detroit Lions	W 20–17	Metrodome	58,254
5	October 2, 1983	Dallas Cowboys	L 37–24	Metrodome	60,774
6	October 9, 1983	at Chicago Bears	W 23–14	Soldier Field	59,632
7	October 16, 1983	Houston Oilers	W 34–14	Metrodome	58,910
8	October 23, 1983	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–17 (OT)	Lambeau Field	55,236
9	October 30, 1983	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 41–31	Busch Stadium	42,575
10	November 6, 1983	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 17–12	Metrodome	59,239
11	November 13, 1983	Green Bay Packers	L 29–21	Metrodome	60,113
12	November 20, 1983	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–14	Three Rivers Stadium	58,417
13	November 27, 1983	at New Orleans Saints	L 17–16	Superdome	59,502
14	December 5, 1983	at Detroit Lions	L 13–2	Silverdome	79,169
15	December 11, 1983	Chicago Bears	L 19–13	Metrodome	57,880
16	December 17, 1983	Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	Metrodome	51,565

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions^(3)	9	7	0	.563	7–1	8–4	347	286	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	429	439	L1
Chicago Bears	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–7	311	301	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	4–4	4–8	316	348	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–11	241	380	L3

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Steve Dils	2,840
Passing Touchdowns	Steve Dils	911
Rushing Yards	Darrin Nelson	642
Rushing Touchdowns	Ted Brown	10
Receiving Yards	Darrin Nelson	618
Receiving Touchdowns	Sammy White	4
Points	Benny Ricardo	108
Kickoff Return Yards	Jarvis Redwine	838
Punt Return Yards	Rufus Bess	158
Sacks	Doug Martin	13.0
Interceptions	John Swain John Turner	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	3,211 Yards	200.7 YPG	13th
Rushing Offense	1,808 Yards	113.0 YPG	20th
Total Offense	5,019 Yards	313.7 YPG	20th
Passing Defense	2,903 Yards	181.4 YPG	6th
Rushing Defense	2,584 Yards	161.5 YPG	25th
Total Defense	5,487 Yards	342.9 YPG	19th

Awards, records, and honors

• Against the Detroit Lions in Week 14, the Vikings became the 35th team in NFL history and only the fifth since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger, to score only a safety in a game. This has happened only three times since, by the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals ten years and a week later,by the 2011 Atlanta Falcons in a loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to the 2011 New York Giants, and by the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars on Week 1 of the 2013 season.

References