1994 Minnesota Vikings season

1994 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card

1994 was the 34th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 75th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of ten wins and six losses. For the third straight season in the Dennis Green era, the Vikings did not make it out of the Wild Card round, losing 35-18 to the rival Chicago Bears.

Offseason

1994 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1994 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	18	18	Dewayne Washington	Defensive Back	North Carolina State	from Broncos^[a]
	19	19	Todd Steussie	Offensive Tackle	California
2	11	40	David Palmer	Wide Receiver	Alabama	from Browns via Eagles and Falcons^[b]
	16	45	Traded to the Atlanta Falcons^[b]			Compensatory pick
	23	52	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders^[c]
	26	55	Fernando Smith	Defensive End	Jackson State	from Raiders^[c]
3	23	88	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[d]
4	16	119	Traded to the Houston Oilers^[e]
	22	125	Mike Wells	Defensive Tackle	Iowa	from Raiders^[c]
5	3	134	Shelly Hammonds	Defensive Back	Penn State	from Redskins^[e]
	20	151	Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs^[f]
6	18	179	Andrew Jordan	Tight End	Western Carolina	from Broncos^[a]
	19	180	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[d]
7	17	211	Pete Bercich	Linebacker	Notre Dame

^{^[a]} Denver traded their 1st round selection (18th overall), 6th round selection (179th overall), and 1995 2nd round selection to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.

^{^[b]} Atlanta traded a 2nd round selection (40th overall) and 1995 1st round selection to Minnesota in exchange for their 2nd round selection (45th overall) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.

^{^[c]} The Raiders traded their 2nd round selection (55th overall) and 4th round selection (125th overall) to Minnesota to move up 3 spot to the 52nd overall selection and draft LB James Folston.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (88th overall) and 6th round selection (180th overall) to Pittsburgh for TE Adrian Cooper.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (119th overall) and 1995 3rd round selection (89th overall) to Houston for QB Warren Moon.

^{^[e]} Washington traded a conditional 5th round selection (134th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for QB Rich Gannon on August 20, 1993.

^{^[f]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (151st overall) to Kansas City for RB Barry Word.

Regular season

• November 6, 1994 – Warren Moon threw for 420 yards in a game against the New Orleans Saints.
• November 20, 1994 – Warren Moon threw for 400 yards in a game against the New York Jets.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4, 1994	at Green Bay Packers	L 16–10	Lambeau Field	59,487
2	September 11, 1994	Detroit Lions	W 10–3	Metrodome	57,349
3	September 18, 1994	at Chicago Bears	W 42–14	Soldier Field	61,073
4	September 25, 1994	Miami Dolphins	W 38–35	Metrodome	64,035
5	October 2, 1994	at Arizona Cardinals	L 17–7	Sun Devil Stadium	67,950
6	October 10, 1994	at New York Giants	W 27–10	Giants Stadium	77,294
7	Bye
8	October 20, 1994	Green Bay Packers	W 13–10 (OT)	Metrodome	63,041
9	October 30, 1994	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 36–13	Tampa Stadium	42,110
10	November 6, 1994	New Orleans Saints	W 21–20	Metrodome	57,564
11	November 13, 1994	at New England Patriots	L 26–20 (OT)	Foxboro Stadium	58,382
12	November 20, 1994	New York Jets	L 31–21	Metrodome	60,687
13	November 27, 1994	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–17 (OT)	Metrodome	47,259
14	December 1, 1994	Chicago Bears	W 33–27 (OT)	Meetrodome	61,483
15	December 11, 1994	at Buffalo Bills	W 21–17	Rich Field	66,501
16	December 17, 1994	at Detroit Lions	L 41–19	Silverdome	73,881
17	December 26, 1994	San Francisco 49ers	W 21–14	Metrodme	63,326

Notable Moments

Week 1 @ Green Bay

• Warren Moon's first game for the Vikings was a rough affair as he was intercepted three times and limited to just 166 passing yards. The Vikings' only touchdown in the 16–10 loss was a James Harris fumble recovery.

Week 2 vs. Detroit

• Moon led the Vikings to their first win of the season in a 10–3 affair. He threw his first touchdown of the season and first since leaving the Oilers on a 30-yard pass to Qadry Ismail in the second quarter.

Week 3 @ Chicago

• Moon and the Vikings offense exploded at Soldier Field, putting up 464 combined yards, 212 of them on the ground with three scores in a 42–14 rout. Cris Carter caught a two-point conversion throw to go with nine catches for 86 yards.

Week 4 vs. Miami

• Dan Marino's comeback season almost became his biggest comeback win; the Vikings behind three Moon touchdowns to Cris Carter led 28–0, but Marino threw three touchdowns and by the fourth quarter had tied the game 28–28. The Vikings then finished it off 38–35, outscoring the Dolphins 10–7 in the fourth.

Week 5 @ Arizona

• The Vikings fell 17–7 to the previously-winless Cardinals despite 167 receiving yards from Cris Carter. Warren Moon was intercepted twice and the Cards rushed for 109 yards and a Larry Centers score.

Week 6 @ New York Giants

• The Vikings entered their bye week 4–2 after upending the Giants 27–10, scoring the game's final 17 points.

Week 8 vs. Green Bay

• In a rare Thursday night game, the Vikings limited the Packers to just 158 yards of offense yet needed overtime to win 13–10. Brett Favre completed six passes for just 32 yards and was replaced by Mark Brunell, who managed just 79 yards passing. Moon put up 50 passes with 31 completions but was intercepted twice.

Week 9 @ Tampa Bay

• Fuad Reveiz booted five field goals as the Vikings crushed the Bucs 36–13, intercepting Trent Dilfer three times.

Week 10 vs. New Orleans

• Three touchdowns by Warren Moon – the last to Qadry Ismail following a 13-point fourth-quarter run by the Saints – were enough to upend New Orleans 21–20. The win came despite eleven Minnesota penalties for 90 yards.

Week 11 @ New England

• Just under two seasons after his team's playoff meltdown in Buffalo, Warren Moon again had to witness a multi-score collapse to an AFC East opponent. Moon unloaded a 65-yard score to Qadry Ismail and led three other scoring drives for a 20–0 lead before halftime, but following a Matt Bahr field goal at the end of the half Moon was stymied and the Vikings saw their lead collapse; tied 20–20 the game went to overtime and the Patriots never let the Vikings get possession of the ball as Kevin Turner caught the winning touchdown and the 26–20 Vikings loss.

Week 12 vs. NY Jets

• Minnesota hit the skids for the second week straight. Two touchdowns (one a Moon throw to Cris Carter) put the Vikings up 14–10 but from there Moon was intercepted four times and Boomer Esiason unloaded three consecutive touchdowns, offsetting 400 passing yards from Moon and a late Qadry Ismail score. It all ended a 31–21 Vikings loss; unknown to all it would be the final win that season for Esiason's team.

Week 13 vs. Tampa Bay

• Looking for only their third win of the season, the Bucs held off the Vikings for a 17–9 lead in the fourth until Warren Moon once again found Qadry Ismail; a two-point conversion throw to Cris Carter forced overtime tied 17–17, but the Bucs drove downfield for Michael Husted's winning field goal and the 20–17 loss, the third loss in a row and second in overtime in that span.

Week 14 vs. Chicago

• The Bears entered this rare Thursday night affair (broadcast on ESPN) at 8–4 with the Vikings 7–5 and the Lions and Packers both 6–6; the NFC Central that season was closing on a rare four-team playoff scenario out of one division, and the race got even tighter in a battle of Fuad Reveiz and Kevin Butler field goals; Chicago led 24–16 after Greg McMurtry's touchdown from Steve Walsh in the third, but Reveiz and Warren Moon grabbed a 27–24 lead in the fourth; Butler's 33-yard field goal forced overtime, and in the fifth quarter Moon unleashed a 65-yard touchdown to Cris Carter and the stunning 33–27 Vikings win.

Week 15 @ Buffalo

• Following two straight bitter losses with the Oilers, Warren Moon got a measure of revenge with his first win at Buffalo. Moon led two scoring drives led by his touchdown to Terry Allen and a subsequent Fuad Reveiz field goal; Reveiz set a club season record with five field goals in the game. Linebacker Jack Del Rio picked off Jim Kelly via a one-handed catch. The Vikings finished off the win 21–17.

Week 16 @ Detroit

• The NFC Central race got even tighter as the Vikings were crushed 41–19 by the Lions and both teams were tied at 9–6 with the Bears. Barry Sanders erupted to 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns and Dave Krieg added two touchdown throws himself. John Randle was ejected in the fourth quarter for bumping an official after Krieg threw a touchdown pass to ex-Viking Anthony Carter for the final score.

Week 17 vs. San Francisco

• Monday Night Football wrapped up the regular season with the 49ers the NFC #1 seed and the Cowboys the #2. San Francisco played Steve Young into the second quarter and a touchdown to Jerry Rice, and from there played backups led by Elvis Grbac; the Vikings, needing the win in a three-way tie for the division, nonetheless started Sean Salisbury and he raced the Vikings to a 21–7 lead by the fourth quarter. Grbac's touchdown to Ed McCaffrey ended the 21–14 Vikings win; with the Bears losing to the Patriots, the Packers beating the Bucs, and the Lions losing to the Dolphins, Minnesota had the NFC Central crown.

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Minnesota Vikings	10	6	0	.625	356	314	W1
^(4) Green Bay Packers	9	7	0	.563	382	287	W3
^(5) Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	357	342	L1
^(6) Chicago Bears	9	7	0	.563	271	307	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	251	351	L1

Postseason

NFC Wildcard Game

Chicago Bears 35, Minnesota Vikings 18

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	14	7	14	35
Vikings	3	6	3	6	18

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
• Game attendance: 60,347
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and John Madden

The Bears picked off Warren Moon twice while Steve Walsh threw two touchdowns, backs Raymont Harris and Lewis Tillman added rushing scores, and Kevin Miniefield ran back a Vikings fumble for a touchdown.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Warren Moon	4,264
Passing Touchdowns	Warren Moon	18
Rushing Yards	Terry Allen	1,031
Rushing Touchdowns	Terry Allen	8
Receptions	Cris Carter	122 *
Receiving Yards	Cris Carter	1,256
Receiving Touchdowns	Cris Carter	7
Points	Fuad Reveiz	132
Kickoff Return Yards	Qadry Ismail	807
Punt Return Yards	David Palmer	193
Tackles	Jack Del Rio	128
Sacks	John Randle	13.5
Interceptions	Vencie Glenn Anthony Parker	4
Forced Fumbles	John Randle	3

• Vikings single season record (tie).

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	4,324 Yards	270.2 YPG	3rd
Rushing Offense	1,524 Yards	95.2 YPG	20th
Total Offense	5,848 Yards	365.5 YPG	3rd
Passing Defense	3,652 Yards	228.2 YPG	21st
Rushing Defense	1,090 Yards	68.1 YPG	1st
Total Defense	4,742 Yards	296.4 YPG	5th

Personnel

Staff

1994 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 – Brian Billick Running Backs – Tyrone Willingham Receivers – Jerry Rhome Offensive Line – Keith Rowen Assistant Offensive Line – Chris Foerster Offensive Assistant – Carl Hargrave			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tony Dungy Defensive Line – John Teerlinck Inside Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Gary Zauner Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Mike Wolf

^[1]

Final roster

1994 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 14 Brad Johnson  1 Warren Moon 12 Sean Salisbury Running backs 21 Terry Allen 29 Chuck Evans FB 31 Scottie Graham 32 Amp Lee 26 Robert Smith Wide receivers 80 Cris Carter 84 Eric Guliford 82 Qadry Ismail KR 22 David Palmer PR 86 Jake Reed (American football) 81 Chris Walsh Tight ends 83 Andrew Jordan 83 Steve Jordan		Offensive linemen 62 Jeff Christy C 75 Bernard Dafney G 71 David Dixon G 46 John Gerak G 78 Chris Hinton T 64 Randall McDaniel G 60 Reggie McElroy G 68 Mike Morris C/LS 73 Todd Steussie T Defensive linemen 92 Roy Barker DE 99 James Harris DE 90 Robert Harris DE 91 Martin Harrison DE 79 Roosevelt Nix DE 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 97 Henry Thomas DT 98 Esera Tuaolo DT		Linebackers 50 Bobby Abrams 52 Richard Brown 55 Jack Del Rio MLB 54 Dave Garnett OLB 51 Carlos Jenkins OLB 58 Ed McDaniel OLB 59 Ashley Sheppard 57 William Sims Defensive backs 36 Malik Boyd CB 34 Brian Davis CB 25 Vencie Glenn FS 24 Robert Griffith SS 37 Lamar McGriggs CB 27 Anthony Parker CB 38 Todd Scott SS 20 Dewayne Washington CB Special teams  7 Fuad Reveiz K  4 Mike Saxon P		Reserve lists 87 Adrian Cooper TE (IR) 61 Everett Lindsay G (IR) 85 Brent Novoselsky TE (IR) Practice squad 56 Pete Bercich LB -- Robert Staten FB Rookies in italics 52 Active, 3 Inactive, 2 Practice squad

Awards and honors

• Cris Carter, Led NFL in receptions
• Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
• Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection 1994
• Warren Moon, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (4,264)

Milestones

• Cris Carter, 100 reception season (Carter finished the season with 122 receptions) ^[2]
• Warren Moon, 3rd 4,000 Yard Passing Season
• Warren Moon, 5th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 6)
• Warren Moon, 6th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 20)

References

1. 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

• Vikings on Football Reference