1970 Minnesota Vikings season

1970 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 17–14

The 1970 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League. It was also the first season of play following the AFL-NFL merger, as the Vikings played in the National Football Conference. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.^[1] The Vikings won the first-ever NFC Central title, as they finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game.

Offseason

1970 Draft

1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Overall
1	25	25	John Ward	Offensive Tackle	Oklahoma State
2	25	51	Bill Cappleman	Quarterback	Florida State
3	25	77	Chuck Burgoon	Linebacker	North Park
4	25	103	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[a]
5	25	129	Greg Jones	Running Back	UCLA
6	25	155	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[b]
7	25	181	Hap Farber	Linebacker	Mississippi
8	25	207	Mike Carroll	Guard	Missouri
9	25	233	George Morrow	Defensive End	Mississippi
10	25	259	Stu Voigt	Tight End	Wisconsin
11	25	285	Godfrey Zaunbrecher	Center	Louisiana State
12	25	311	James Holland	Defensive Back	Jackson State
13	25	337	Robert Pearce	Defensive Back	Stephen F. Austin
14	25	363	Tommy Spinks	Wide Receiver	Louisiana Tech
15	25	389	Bennie Francis	Defensive End	Chadron State
16	25	415	Bruce Cerone	Wide Receiver	Emporia State
17	25	441	Brian Healy	Defensive Back	Michigan

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (103rd overall) to New Orleans for TE Kent Kramer.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (155th overall) to Pittsburgh for TE Tony Jeter.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20, 1970	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–10	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 27, 1970	New Orleans Saints	W 26–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 4, 1970	at Green Bay Packers	L 10-13	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,967
4	October 11, 1970	at Chicago Bears	W 24–0	Wrigley Field	45,485
5	October 18, 1970	Dallas Cowboys	W 54–13	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
6	October 26, 1970	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
7	November 1, 1970	at Detroit Lions	W 30–17	Tiger Stadium	58,210
8	November 8, 1970	at Washington Redskins	W 19–10	RFK Stadium	50,415
9	November 15, 1970	Detroit Lions	W 24–20	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
10	November 22, 1970	Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
11	November 29, 1970	at New York Jets	L 10-20	Shea Stadium	62,333
12	December 5, 1970	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
13	December 13, 1970	at Boston Patriots	W 35–14	Harvard Stadium	37,819
14	December 20, 1970	at Atlanta Falcons	W 37–7	Atlanta Stadium	57,992

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 27, 1970	San Francisco 49ers	L 14-17	Metropolitan Stadium	46,050

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	12	2	0	.857	5–1	10–1	335	143	W3
Detroit Lions	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–4	347	202	W5
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	196	293	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	1–5	5–6	256	261	W2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

1970 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Bob Lee Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 41 Dave Osborn Wide receivers 27 Bob Grim 84 Gene Washington Tight ends 89 Kent Kramer 83 Stu Voigt		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 62 Ed White Defensive linemen 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE		Linebackers 58 Wally Hilgenberg 59 Lonnie Warwick 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 45 Ed Sharockman CB Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 12 Tom McNeil P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics 54 Active, 4 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Gary Cuozzo	1,720
Passing Touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	7
Rushing Yards	Dave Osborn	681
Rushing Touchdowns	Clint Jones	9
Receiving Yards	Gene Washington	702
Receiving Touchdowns	Gene Washington	4
Points	Fred Cox	125
Kickoff Return Yards	Clint Jones	452
Punt Return Yards	Charlie West	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing Offense	2,181 Yards	155.8 YPG	14th
Rushing Offense	1,634 Yards	116.7 YPG	14th
Total Offense	3,815 Yards	272.5 YPG	19th
Passing Defense	1,438 Yards	102.7 YPG	1st
Rushing Defense	1,365 Yards	97.5 YPG	5th
Total Defense	2,803 Yards	200.2 YPG	1st

References

1. The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6