1996 Minnesota Vikings season

1996 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Dennis Green
Home field Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record 9–7
Division place 2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish Lost Wild Card

1996 was the 36th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 77th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses.

For the season, the Vikings sported new uniforms, adding the team's logo to both sleeves of the jersey. These uniforms would remain in use with the Minnesota Vikings until 2005.

The Vikings season started off with a bang, winning their first four regular season games under backup quarterback Brad Johnson, who filled in for an injured Warren Moon. However, they ran into struggles as an injury to Johnson forced Moon to regain his starting position. Luckily for the Vikings, they won three of their final four games in order to clinch a playoff spot. The Vikings were crushed by the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, 40-15 in the Wildcard round, making it the fourth year that the Vikings didn't make it out of the Wildcard round in the Dennis Green era.

Offseason

1996 Draft

Main article: 1996 NFL draft
1996 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
11616Duane ClemonsLinebackerCalifornia
21545James ManleyDefensive TackleVanderbilt
31475Moe WilliamsRunning BackKentucky
4297Hunter GoodwinTight EndTexas A&Mfrom Cardinals[a]
17112Traded to the Arizona Cardinals[a]
55137Traded to the Arizona Cardinals[a]from Giants[b]
16148Sean BoydDefensive BackNorth Carolina
615182Traded to the New York Giants[b]
714223Jon MerrillOffensive TackleDuke
^[a] Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (112th overall) and the Giants 5th round selection (137th overall) to Arizona to move up 15 spots to the 97th overall selection and make this pick.
^[b] During the 1995 NFL draft, the Giants traded their 1995 6th round selection (189th overall) and 1996 5th round selection (137th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1996 6th round selection (182nd overall) and Safety Vencie Glenn.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (CT) Venue Attendance
1 September 1, 1996 Detroit Lions W 17–13 FOX 12:00pm Metrodome
52,972
2 September 8, 1996 at Atlanta Falcons W 23–17 FOX 12:00pm Georgia Dome
42,688
3 September 15, 1996 at Chicago Bears W 20–14 FOX 12:00pm Soldier Field
61,301
4 September 22, 1996 Green Bay Packers W 30–21 FOX 12:00pm Metrodome
64,168
5 September 29, 1996 at New York Giants L 15–10 FOX 12:00pm Giants Stadium
70,970
6 October 6, 1996 Carolina Panthers W 14–12 FOX 12:00pm Metrodome
60,894
7 October 13, 1996 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 24–13 FOX 12:00pm Houlihan's Stadium
32,175
8 Bye
9 October 28, 1996 Chicago Bears L 15–13 ABC 8:00pm Metrodome
58,143
10 November 3, 1996 Kansas City Chiefs L 21–6 NBC 12:00pm Metrodome
59,552
11 November 10, 1996 at Seattle Seahawks L 42–23 FOX 3:15pm Kingdome
50,794
12 November 17, 1996 at Oakland Raiders W 16–13 (OT) ESPN 7:15pm Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
41,183
13 November 24, 1996 Denver Broncos L 21–17 NBC 12:00pm Metrodome
59,142
14 December 1, 1996 Arizona Cardinals W 41–17 FOX 12:00pm Metrodome
45,767
15 December 8, 1996 at Detroit Lions W 24–22 FOX 3:15pm Silverdome
46,043
16 December 15, 1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–10 FOX 12:00pm Metrodome
49,202
17 December 22, 1996 at Green Bay Packers L 38–10 FOX 12:00pm Lambeau Field
59,306

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Green Bay Packers 13 3 0 .813 456 210 W5
(6) Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 298 315 L1
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 283 305 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 221 293 W1
Detroit Lions 5 11 0 .313 302 368 L5

Postseason

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time (CT) Attendance
Wildcard December 28, 1996 at Dallas Cowboys L 40–15 ABC 3:00pm
64,682

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing Yards Brad Johnson 2,258
Passing Touchdowns Brad Johnson 17
Rushing Yards Robert Smith 692
Rushing Touchdowns Leroy Hoard
Robert Smith 		3
Receiving Yards Jake Reed 1,320
Receiving Touchdowns Cris Carter 10
Points Scott Sisson 96
Kickoff Return Yards Qadry Ismail 527
Punt Return Yards David Palmer 216
Tackles Jeff Brady 101
Sacks John Randle 11.5
Interceptions Orlando Thomas 5
Forced Fumbles John Randle 4

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 30)
Passing Offense 3,658 Yards 228.6 YPG 8th
Rushing Offense 1,546 Yards 96.6 YPG 24th
Total Offense 5,204 Yards 325.2 YPG 12th
Passing Defense 3,121 Yards 195.1 YPG 9th
Rushing Defense 1,966 Yards 122.9 YPG 24th
Total Defense 5,087 Yards 317.9 YPG 16th

Personnel

Staff

1996 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office
  • Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
  • President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

  

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio
  • Defensive Line – John Levra
  • Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti
  • Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters
  • Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon

Special Teams Coaches

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

[1]

Final roster

1996 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 53 Active, 7 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

References

  1. ↑ 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
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