1988 Minnesota Vikings season

1988 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Jerry Burns
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won NFC Wild Card Game Lost Divisional Playoffs

The 1988 Minnesota Vikings season was the team's 28th year in the National Football League. The team won eleven games, and finished second to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Central division.

The Vikings had one of the best defenses in the NFL in 1988. The team allowed 4,091 total yards, 4.3 yards per play, and 243 first downs, all best in the league. The Vikings also had a league-best 53 takeaways.^[1] Opposing quarterbacks had a league-worst 41.2 passer rating against the Vikings' defense, the lowest total of the 1980s and fifth all-time for the Super Bowl era.^[2]

The Vikings made the postseason for the second consecutive time under coach Jerry Burns. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the Wildcard round, but the following week, the Vikings couldn't flick the switch this time, losing 34-9 to the rejuvenated San Francisco 49ers, who would go on to win their third Super Bowl.

Offseason

1988 Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

= Hall of Famer

1988 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	19	19	Randall McDaniel	Offensive Guard	Arizona State
2	18	45	Traded to the Denver Broncos^[a]
2	27	54	Brad Edwards	Defensive Back	South Carolina	from Broncos^[a]
3	16	71	Al Noga	Defensive End	Hawaii
4	15	97	Traded to the New England Patriots^[b]
4	26	108	Todd Kalis	Offensive Guard	Arizona State	from Broncos^[a]
5	15	124	Darrell Fullington	Defensive Back	Miami
6	19	156	Traded to the Miami Dolphins^[c]
6	27	164	Derrick White	Defensive Back	Oklahoma	from Broncos^[a]
7	18	183	Brad Beckman	Tight End	Nebraska-Omaha
8	17	210	Joe Cain	Linebacker	Oregon Tech
9	16	237	Paul McGowan	Linebacker	Florida State
10	15	264	Brian Habib	Offensive Tackle	Washington
11	19	296	Norman Floyd	Safety	South Carolina	from Vikings^[b] via Patriots^[d]
12	18	323	Traded to the New York Giants^[e]

^{^[a]} Denver traded their 2nd round selection (54th overall), 4th round selection (108th overall), and 6th round selection (164th overall) to the Vikings to move up 9 spots to the 45th selection and draft Offensive Tackle Gerald Perry.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (97th overall) and 11th round selection (294th overall) to New England for QB Rich Gannon.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (156th overall) and 1989 10th round selection (275th overall) to Miami for OL Greg Koch.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 1989 9th round selection to New England for the 11th round selection (296th overall) that the Patriots received in the Gannon trade^[b].

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 12th round selection (323rd overall) to the Giants for C Chris Foote.

Supplemental Draft

Round	Name	Position	College	Notes
5	Ryan Bethea	Wide Receiver	South Carolina	Resulted in forfeiture of 1989 5th round selection

Personnel

Staff

1988 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

President – Wheelock Whitney, Jr.
General Manager – Mike Lynn

Head coaches

Head Coach – Jerry Burns

Offensive coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Bob Schnelker
Receivers – Dick Rehbein
Offensive Assistant/Receivers – Jerry Brown
Running Backs – John Brunner
Tight Ends – Tom Batta
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 – Tom Batta

^[3]

Final roster

1988 Minnesota Vikings final roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

81 Anthony Carter
80 Jim Gustafson
84 Hassan Jones
87 Leo Lewis PR

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

60 Al Baker DE
78 Barry Bennett DT
56 Chris Doleman DE
78 William Gay DE
73 Stafford Mays DE
75 Keith Millard DT
99 Al Noga DE
97 Henry Thomas DT

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

1 Chuck Nelson K
13 Bucky Scribner P

Reserve lists

79 Doug Martin DE (IR)
96 Tim Newton DT (IR)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
49 Active, 2 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Regular season

A ticket for the 1988 NFC Wildcard Game between the Vikings and the Rams.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–10	Rich Stadium	76,783
2	September 11, 1988	New England Patriots	W 36–6	Metrodome	55,545
3	September 18, 1988	at Chicago Bears	W 31–7	Soldier Field	63,990
4	September 25, 1988	Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–21	Metrodome	56,012
5	October 2, 1988	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–7	Joe Robbie Stadium	59,867
6	October 9, 1988	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 14–13	Tampa Stadium	55,274
7	October 16, 1988	Green Bay Packers	L 34–14	Metrodome	59,053
8	October 23, 1988	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 49–20	Tampa Stadium	48,020
9	October 30, 1988	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–21	Candlestick Park	60,738
10	November 6, 1988	Detroit Lions	W 44–17	Metrodome	55,573
11	November 13, 1988	at Dallas Cowboys	W 43–3	Texas Stadium	57,830
12	November 20, 1988	Indianapolis Colts	W 12–3	Metrodome	58,342
13	November 24, 1988	at Detroit Lions	W 23–0	Silverdome	46,379
14	December 4, 1988	New Orleans Saints	W 45–3	Metrodome	61,215
15	December 11, 1988	at Green Bay Packers	L 18–6	Lambeau Field	48,892
16	December 19, 1988	Chicago Bears	W 28–27	Metrodome	62,067

Game summaries

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Vikings	17	0	17	9	43
Cowboys	0	3	0	0	3

Date: November 13
Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
Game start: 7:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 57,830
Game weather: 59°F; wind 12

Scoring summary

Q1	MIN	Hassan Jones 26 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick)	MIN 7–0

Q1	MIN	Henry Thomas 2 yard fumble return (Chuck Nelson kick)	MIN 14–0

Q1	MIN	Chuck Nelson 39 yard field goal	MIN 17–0

Q2	DAL	Roger Ruzek 50 yard field goal	MIN 17–3

Q3	MIN	Hassan Jones 64 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick)	MIN 24–3

Q3	MIN	Chuck Nelson 27 yard field goal	MIN 27–3

Q3	MIN	Steve Jordan 3 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick)	MIN 34–3

Q4	MIN	D.J. Dozier 19 yard run (Chuck Nelson kick)	MIN 41–3

Q4	MIN	Safety, Kevin Sweeney tackled by Al Baker in end zone	MIN 43–3

^[4]

Postseason

12/26 LA Rams W 28–17 (NFC Wildcard)
1/1 at San Francisco L 9–34 (NFC Divisional)

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings⁽⁴⁾	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	406	233	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	4–4	4–8	261	350	W1
Detroit Lions	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–11	240	315	L2
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	220	313	W2

Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoff

San Francisco 49ers 34, Minnesota Vikings 9

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	3	0	6	0	9
49ers	7	14	0	13	34

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 61,848
Referee: Jerry Markbreit
TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Wade Wilson	2,746
Passing Touchdowns	Wade Wilson	15
Rushing Yards	Darrin Nelson	380
Rushing Touchdowns	Alfred Anderson	7
Receiving Yards	Anthony Carter	1,225
Receiving Touchdowns	Anthony Carter	6
Points	Chuck Nelson	108
Kickoff Return Yards	Darryl Harris	833
Punt Return Yards	Leo Lewis	550 *
Tackles	Jesse Solomon	124
Sacks	Chris Doleman Keith Millard	8.0
Interceptions	Carl Lee	8
Forced Fumbles	Henry Thomas	4

Vikings single season record.

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	3,789 Yards	236.8 YPG	4th
Rushing Offense	1,806 Yards	112.9 YPG	20th
Total Offense	5,595 Yards	349.7 YPG	7th
Passing Defense	2,489 Yards	155.6 YPG	2nd
Rushing Defense	1,602 Yards	100.1 YPG	5th
Total Defense	4,091 Yards	255.7 YPG	1st

References

↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1988 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
↑ Cold Hard Football Facts: Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history
↑ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jan-20.

Minnesota Vikings

Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft

Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium

Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal "Little Minnesota" (How I Met Your Mother episode) Cheerleaders

Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers

Lore	The Wrong Way Run Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Gary Anderson's missed field goal Hail Mary 2010 Metrodome roof collapse

Division championships (19)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015

Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976

League championships (0^†)	^† does not include 1969 NFL championship

Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

Seasons (56)	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Minnesota Vikings seasons

1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

1988 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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