1986 Minnesota Vikings season

1986 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Jerry Burns
Home stadium	Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	S Joey Browner TE Steve Jordan QB Tommy Kramer
All-Pros	QB Tommy Kramer (2nd team)
Uniform
←  1985 Vikings seasons 1987  →

The 1986 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 26th season in the National Football League, and their first with former offensive coordinator Jerry Burns as head coach, following the departure of Bud Grant at the end of the previous season.

The Vikings finished with a 9–7 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.

Offseason

1986 draft

Main article: 1986 NFL draft

1986 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	8	Traded to the San Diego Chargers [A]
	14	Gerald Robinson	Defensive end	Auburn	From Packers, via Chargers [A]
2	40	Traded to the Miami Dolphins [B]
	44	Traded to the New York Giants [C]			From Chargers [A]
	53	Traded to the New York Giants [C]			From Raiders [D]
3	66	Traded to the San Diego Chargers [A]
4	93	Joe Phillips	Defensive tackle	SMU
5	120	Hassan Jones	Wide receiver	Florida State
6	147	Thomas Rooks	Running back	Illinois
7	179	Carl Hilton	Tight end	Houston
8	206	Gary Shippang	Offensive tackle	West Chester
9	232	Mike Slaton	Cornerback	South Dakota
10	259	Joe Cormier	Wide receiver	USC
11	286	John Armstrong	Wide receiver	Richmond
12	318	Jesse Solomon	Linebacker	Florida State

Notes:

1. The Vikings traded a first- and a third-round selection (8th and 66th overall) to the Chargers in exange for a first- and a second-sound selection (14th and 44th overall).
2. The Vikings traded a second-round selection (40th overall) and LB Robin Sendlein to the Dolphins in exange for WR Anthony Carter.
3. The Vikings traded two second-round selections (44th and 53rd overall) to the Giants in exange for OT Gary Zimmerman.
4. The Vikings traded LB Brad Van Pelt to the Raiders in exange for a second-round selection (53rd overall) and a 1985 sixth-round selection (164th overall).

Staff

1986 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office President – Max Winter General manager – Mike Lynn Administrative assistant – Bob Hollway Head coaches Head coach – Jerry Burns Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bob Schnelker Running backs – Marc Trestman Receivers – Dick Rehbein Offensive line – John Michels

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive backs – Pete Carroll Special teams coaches Special teams/ Tight ends coach – Tom Batta

^[1]

Roster

1986 Minnesota Vikings roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  9 Tommy Kramer 11 Wade Wilson Running backs (RB) 46 Alfred Anderson 23 Ted Brown 20 Darrin Nelson 36 Allen Rice Wide receivers (WR) 81 Anthony Carter 80 Jim Gustafson 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis Tight ends (TE) 82 Carl Hilton 83 Steve Jordan 86 Mike Mularkey

Offensive linemen (OL) 51 Jim Hough G 72 Dave Huffman G/T 76 Tim Irwin T 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 68 Curtis Rouse G 67 Dennis Swilley C 66 Terry Tausch G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Doug Martin DE 75 Keith Millard DT 77 Mark Mullaney DE 96 Tim Newton DT 91 Joe Phillips DT 95 Gerald Robinson DE 74 Mike Stensrud DT

Linebackers (LB) 58 Walker Lee Ashley MLB 56 Chris Doleman OLB 99 David Howard OLB 57 Chris Martin OLB 53 Jeff Schuh OLB 54 Jesse Solomon OLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Rufus Bess CB 47 Joey Browner SS 26David EvansCB 41 Neal Guggemos SS 30 Issiac Holt CB 44 John Harris FS 39 Carl Lee CB 37 Willie Teal CB Special teams (ST)  8 Greg Coleman P  1 Chuck Nelson K

Reserve 27 Mike Lush S (IR) 71 Mark MacDonald G (IR) 88 Buster Rhymes WR (IR) 85 Sammy White WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance [2]
1	August 9	Miami Dolphins	W 30–16	1–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	52,865
2	August 16	Denver Broncos	W 29–27	2–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	53,193
3	August 22	at Seattle Seahawks	L 17–27	2–1	Kingdome	57,730
4	August 30	at Indianapolis Colts	W 23–20 (OT)	3–1	Hoosier Dome	57,969

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Detroit Lions	L 10–13	0–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,851
2	September 14	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–10	1–1	Tampa Stadium	34,579
3	September 21	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–7	2–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,795
4	September 28	Green Bay Packers	W 42–7	3–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,478
5	October 5	at Chicago Bears	L 0–23	3–2	Soldier Field	63,921
6	October 12	at San Francisco 49ers	W 27–24 (OT)	4–2	Candlestick Park	58,637
7	October 19	Chicago Bears	W 23–7	5–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,851
8	October 26	Cleveland Browns	L 20–23	5–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	59,133
9	November 2	at Washington Redskins	L 38–44 (OT)	5–4	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	51,928
10	November 9	at Detroit Lions	W 24–10	6–4	Silverdome	53,725
11	November 16	New York Giants	L 20–22	6–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,003
12	November 23	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 20–24	6–6	Riverfront Stadium	53,003
13	November 30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 45–13	7–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,235
14	December 7	at Green Bay Packers	W 32–6	8–6	Lambeau Field	47,637
15	December 14	at Houston Oilers	L 10–23	8–7	Astrodome	32,738
16	December 21	New Orleans Saints	W 33–17	9–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,209

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Detroit Lions

Week 1: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	7	3	3	13
Vikings	3	0	0	7	10

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 54,851
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier and Dick Vermeil
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 35-yard field goal, 3:38. Vikings 3–0. Second quarter DET – James Jones 2-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 1:56. Lions 7–3. Third quarter DET – Eddie Murray 33-yard field goal, 2:01. Lions 10–3. Fourth quarter DET – Eddie Murray 44-yard field goal, 9:05. Lions 13–3. MIN – Jim Gustafson 5-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick), 0:03. Lions 13–10. Top passers DET – Eric Hipple – 8/15, 95 yards, INT MIN – Tommy Kramer – 21/38, 223 yards, TD, INT Top rushers DET – James Jones – 36 rushes, 174 yards, TD MIN – Darrin Nelson – 11 rushes, 58 yards Top receivers DET – Leonard Thompson – 3 receptions, 40 yards MIN – Darrin Nelson – 6 receptions, 74 yards

Week 8: vs Cleveland Browns

Week 8: Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	3	0	7	13	23
Vikings	3	14	3	0	20

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: October 26
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 59,133
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Jimmy Cefalo
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter MIN – Chuck Nelson 33-yard field goal, 6:55. Vikings 3–0. CLE – Matt Bahr 52-yard field goal, 3:16. Tie 3–3. Second quarter MIN – Darrin Nelson 5-yard run (Chuck Nelson kick), 5:00. Vikings 10–3. MIN – Anthony Carter 8-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Chuck Nelson kick), 0:24. Vikings 17–3. Third quarter CLE – Felix Wright 30-yard blocked punt return (Matt Bahr kick), 12:40. Vikings 17–10. MIN – Chuck Nelson 32-yard field goal, 3:29. Vikings 20–10. Fourth quarter CLE – Matt Bahr 19-yard field goal, 13:13. Vikings 20–13. CLE – Curtis Dickey 17-yard run (Matt Bahr kick), 3:23. Tie 20–20. CLE – Matt Bahr 22-yard field goal, 1:46. Browns 23–20. Top passers CLE – Bernie Kosar – 9/18, 101 yards, TD MIN – Tommy Kramer – 18/35, 261 yards, TD, INT Top rushers CLE – Curtis Dickey – 19 rushes, 106 yards, TD MIN – Darrin Nelson – 22 rushes, 118 yards, TD Top receivers CLE – Reggie Langhorne – 2 receptions, 37 yards MIN – Allen Rice – 4 receptions, 71 yards

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears (2)	14	2	0	.875	7–1	10–2	352	187	W7
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	398	273	W1
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	277	326	L4
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	3–5	3–9	254	418	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–13	239	473	L7

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Tommy Kramer	3,000
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	24
Rushing yards	Darrin Nelson	793
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown Darrin Nelson	4
Receiving yards	Steve Jordan	859
Receiving touchdowns	Anthony Carter	7
Points	Chuck Nelson	110
Kickoff return yards	Rufus Bess	705
Punt return yards	Rufus Bess	162
Tackles	Jesse Solomon	96
Sacks	Keith Millard	10.5
Interceptions	Issiac Holt	8
Forced fumbles	Chris Doleman	2

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,913	244.6	5th
Rushing offense	1,738	108.6	16th
Total offense	5,651	353.2	4th
Passing defense	3,216	201.0	13th
Rushing defense	1,796	112.3	13th
Total defense	5,012	313.3	11th

Awards and records

• On August 2, Fran Tarkenton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was the first player inducted who was primarily a Minnesota Viking during his career.
• Tommy Kramer, the NFL passer rating leader, was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by Pro Football Weekly.

References

1. 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
2. "1986 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".

External links

• Vikings on Pro Football Reference
• Vikings on jt-sw.com