1992 Minnesota Vikings season

1992 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card

The 1992 Minnesota Vikings season was the team's 32nd in the 73rd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of 11 wins and five losses. With that record, they returned to the playoffs after a two-year absence. They met the Washington Redskins, their first playoff meeting in six years after the 1987 NFC Championship game, this time in the Wildcard round. The Vikings looked to avenge their loss, but it was too late as the Redskins would go on to stun the NFC Central Champions, 24-7.

Minnesota's starting quarterbacks were Rich Gannon, who went 8-4 in twelve starts, and Sean Salisbury, who won three of his four starts. The team's leading rusher was Terry Allen, who ran for 1,201 yards. Receivers Cris Carter and Anthony Carter led the team with 681 and 580 receiving yards, respectively.^[1]

Offseason

On January 10, 1992, Dennis Green was named the fifth head coach in franchise history.^[2]

1992 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1992 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	13	13	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys^[a]
2	11	39	Robert Harris	Defensive end	Southern University	from Seahawks^[b]
	12	40	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys^[a]
3	15	71	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys^[a]
4	14	98	Roy Barker	Defensive tackle	North Carolina
5	13	125	Ed McDaniel	Linebacker	Clemson
6	12	152	Mike Gaddis	Running back	Oklahoma
7	15	183	David Wilson	Defensive back	California
8	14	210	Luke Fisher	Tight end	East Carolina
9	3	227	Brad Johnson	Quarterback	Florida State	from Buccaneers^[c]
	13	237	Ronnie West	Wide receiver	Pittsburg State
10	12	264	Brad Culpepper	Defensive tackle	Florida
11	15	295	Chuck Evans	Running back	Clark Atlanta
12	14	322	Joe Randolph	Wide receiver	Elon

^{^[a]} These picks were involved in the Herschel Walker trade on October 12, 1989.

^{^[b]} Seattle traded their 2nd round selection (39th overall – Robert Harris) and a 1993 3rd round selection (57th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for DT Keith Millard on April 25, 1992.

^{^[c]} Tampa Bay traded their 9th round selection (227th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for LB Jimmy Williams.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6, 1992	at Green Bay Packers	W 23–20 (OT)	Lambeau Field	58,617
2	September 13, 1992	at Detroit Lions	L 31–17	Silverdome	57,519
3	September 20, 1992	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 26–20	Metrodome	48,113
4	September 27, 1992	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 42–7	Riverfront Stadium	53,847
5	October 4, 1992	Chicago Bears	W 21–20	Metrodome	60,992
6	Bye
7	October 15, 1992	Detroit Lions	W 31–14	Metrodome	52,816
8	October 25, 1992	Washington Redskins	L 15–13	Metrodome	59,098
9	November 2, 1992	at Chicago Bears	W 38–10	Soldier Field	61,257
10	November 8, 1992	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 35–7	Tampa Stadium	49,095
11	November 15, 1992	Houston Oilers	L 17–13	Metrodome	56,726
12	November 22, 1992	Cleveland Browns	W 17–13	Metrodome	53,323
13	November 29, 1992	at Los Angeles Rams	W 31–17	Anaheim Stadium	54,831
14	December 6, 1992	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 28–17	Veterans Stadium	65,280
15	December 13, 1992	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–17	Candlestick Park	60,685
16	December 20, 1992	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 6–3	Three Rivers Stadium	53,613
17	December 27, 1992	Green Bay Packers	W 27–7	Metrodome	61,461

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Minnesota Vikings	11	5	0	.688	7–1	8–4	374	249	W2
Green Bay Packers	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	276	296	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	5–9	267	365	W1
Chicago Bears	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	295	361	L2
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	3–5	3–9	273	332	L1

Playoffs

Washington Redskins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	3	14	7	0	24
Vikings	7	0	0	0	7

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST
• Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
• Game attendance: 57,353
• Referee: Gordon McCarter
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Rich Gannon	1,905
Passing Touchdowns	Rich Gannon	12
Rushing Yards	Terry Allen	1,201
Rushing Touchdowns	Terry Allen	13
Receiving Yards	Cris Carter	681
Receiving Touchdowns	Cris Carter	6
Points	Fuad Reveiz	102
Kickoff Return Yards	Darrin Nelson	626
Punt Return Yards	Anthony Parker	336
Tackles	Jack Del Rio	153
Sacks	Chris Doleman	14.5
Interceptions	Audray McMillian	8
Forced Fumbles	Chris Doleman	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	2,869 Yards	179.3 YPG	18th
Rushing Offense	2,030 Yards	126.9 YPG	7th
Total Offense	4,899 Yards	306.2 YPG	11th
Passing Defense	2,782 Yards	173.9 YPG	7th
Rushing Defense	1,733 Yards	108.3 YPG	14th
Total Defense	4,515 Yards	282.2 YPG	8th

Personnel

Staff

1992 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front office Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick Head coaches Head Coach – Dennis Green Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks – Jack Burns Running backs – Tyrone Willingham Receivers – Tom Moore Tight ends – Brian Billick Offensive line – John Michels			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Tony Dungy Defensive line – John Teerlinck Inside linebackers – Monte Kiffin Outside linebackers – Richard Solomon Secondary – Willie Shaw Special teams coaches Special teams – Tom Batta Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Steve Wetzel Strength and conditioning assistant – Mike Wolf

^[3]

Final roster

1992 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Rich Gannon 14 Brad Johnson 12 Sean Salisbury Running backs 21 Terry Allen 33 Roger Craig 20 Darrin Nelson KR Wide receivers 81 Anthony Carter 80 Cris Carter 89 Joe Johnson 84 Hassan Jones 86 Jake Reed (American football) 35 Ronnie West Tight ends 83 Steve Jordan 85 Brent Novoselsky 87 Mike Tice 82 Danta Whitaker		Offensive linemen 72 Scott Adams G 71 Bernard Dafney G 74 Brian Habib G 76 Tim Irwin T 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris C/LS 60 Adam Schreiber G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 92 Roy Barker DE 56 Chris Doleman DE 90 Robert Harris DE 98 George Hinkle DE 99 Al Noga DT 93 John Randle DT 97 Henry Thomas DT 95 Esera Tuaolo DT		Linebackers 52 David Bavaro ILB 55 Jack Del Rio MLB 51 Carlos Jenkins OLB 91 Greg Manusky MLB 58 Ed McDaniel OLB 57 Mike Merriweather OLB 54 Van Waiters Defensive backs 31 Eric Everett CB 25 Vencie Glenn CB 39 Carl Lee CB 26 Audray McMillian CB 27 Anthony Parker CB 38 Todd Scott SS 24 David Wilson Special teams 18 Harry Newsome P  7 Fuad Reveiz K		Reserve lists 50 Ray Berry MLB (IR) 77 Brad Culpepper DT (IR) 43 Luke Fisher TE (IR) -- Lorenzo Freeman DT (IR) -- Mike Gaddis RB (IR) 30 Keith Henderson RB (IR) 69 Todd Kalis G (IR) 48 Reggie Rutland CB (IR) 22 Felix Wright FS (IR) Practice squad -- David Dixon G Rookies in italics 49 Active, 9 Inactive, 1 Practice squad

Awards and records

• Audrey MacMillan, NFL leader, Interceptions (8)

External links

• 1992 Minnesota Vikings at Pro-Football-Reference.com

References

1. 1992 Minnesota Vikings at Pro-Football-Reference.com
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.108
3. 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Retrieved February 26, 2010.