2004 Minnesota Vikings season

2004 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Mike Tice
Owner	Red McCombs
Home field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd NFC North
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Packers) 31–17 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Eagles) 14–27

The 2004 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League and the 85th regular season of the.

The Vikings finished the 2004 season going 3–7 over the final 10 weeks just like they did in 2003. However, they made the playoffs with an 8–8 record. Daunte Culpepper amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card matchup, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers in their first ever playoff meeting, 31–17, becoming the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game (the first team to do it was the St. Louis Rams, who beat Seattle 27–20 the day before the Vikings-Packers game took place). In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles 27–14, ending their season in a game noted for Viking penalties, turnovers, and other miscues.

Following the season, Randy Moss was traded to the Oakland Raiders. The Vikings would not make the playoffs again until 2008.

Offseason

2004 Draft

2004 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	19	19	Traded to the Miami Dolphins^[a]
	20	20	Kenechi Udeze	Defensive End	USC	from Dolphins^[a]
2	16	48	Dontarrious Thomas	Linebacker	Auburn	from Saints^[b]
	18	50	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[b]
3	19	82	Traded to the Baltimore Ravens^[c]
	25	88	Darrion Scott	Defensive End	Ohio State	from Ravens^[c]
4	19	115	Nat Dorsey	Offensive Tackle	Georgia Tech
	23	119	Mewelde Moore	Running Back	Tulane	from Dolphins^[a]
5	19	151	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[b]
	23	155	Rod Davis	Linebacker	Southern Mississippi	from Ravens^[c]
6	19	184	Deandre Eiland	Strong Safety	South Carolina
7	19	220	Jeff Dugan	Tight End	Maryland

^{^[a]} Miami traded their 1st round selection (20th overall) and 4th round selection (119th overall) to Minnesota to move up 1 spot to the 19th overall selection and draft OT Vernon Carey.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (50th overall) and 5th round selection (151st overall) to New Orleans to move up 2 spots to the 48th overall selection and make this pick.

^{^[c]} Baltimore traded their 3rd round selection (88th overall) and 5th round selection (155th overall) to Minnesota to move up 6 spots to the 82nd overall selection and draft WR Devard Darling.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	Dallas Cowboys	W 35–17	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,105
2	September 20	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–27	Lincoln Financial Field	67,676
3	September 26	Chicago Bears	W 27–22	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,163
4	Bye
5	October 10	at Houston Texans	W 34–28 (OT)	Reliant Stadium	70,718
6	October 17	at New Orleans Saints	W 38–31	Louisiana Superdome	64,900
7	October 24	Tennessee Titans	W 20–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,108
8	October 31	New York Giants	L 13–34	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,012
9	November 8	at Indianapolis Colts	L 28–31	RCA Dome	57,307
10	November 14	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–34	Lambeau Field	70,671
11	November 21	Detroit Lions	W 22–19	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,156
12	November 28	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 27–16	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,004
13	December 5	at Chicago Bears	L 14–24	Soldier Field	62,051
14	December 12	Seattle Seahawks	L 23–27	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,110
15	December 19	at Detroit Lions	W 28–27	Ford Field	62,337
16	December 24	Green Bay Packers	L 31–34	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,311
17	January 2	at Washington Redskins	L 18–21	FedExField	76,876

Standings

NFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	5–1	9–3	424	380	L1
^(6) Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	405	395	L2
Detroit Lions	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	296	350	L1
Chicago Bears	5	11	0	.313	2–4	4–8	231	331	L4

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue
Wildcard	January 9, 2005	at Green Bay Packers	W 31–17	Lambeau Field
Division	January 16, 2005	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–27	Lincoln Financial Field

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Daunte Culpepper	4,717 *
Passing Touchdowns	Daunte Culpepper	39 *
Rushing Yards	Onterrio Smith	544
Rushing Touchdowns	Moe Williams	3
Receiving Yards	Nate Burleson	1,006
Receiving Touchdowns	Randy Moss	13
Points	Morten Andersen	99
Kickoff Return Yards	Kelly Campbell	760
Punt Return Yards	Nate Burleson	215
Tackles	E.J. Henderson	93
Sacks	Kevin Williams	11.5
Interceptions	Antoine Winfield	3
Forced Fumbles	Lance Johnstone	5

• Vikings single season record.

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 32)
Passing Offense	4,516 Yards	282.2 YPG	2nd
Rushing Offense	1,823 Yards	113.9 YPG	18th
Total Offense	6,339 Yards	396.2 YPG	4th
Passing Defense	3,896 Yards	243.5 YPG	29th
Rushing Defense	2,006 Yards	125.4 YPG	21st
Total Defense	5,902 Yards	368.9 YPG	28th

Personnel

Staff

2004 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office Owner – Red McCombs President – Gary Woods Vice President of Football Operations – Rob Brzezinski Head Coaches Head Coach – Mike Tice Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Scott Linehan Running Backs – Dean Dalton Wide Receivers – Charlie Baggett Tight Ends/Assistant Offensive Line – John Tice Offensive Line – Steve Loney Offensive Quality Control – Randy Hanson			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Ted Cottrell Defensive Line – Brian Baker Secondary – Chuck Knox, Jr. Assistant Secondary – Kevin Ross Defensive Assistant/Assistant Linebackers – Pete Bercich Defensive Quality Control – Jim Panagos Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Rusty Tillman Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kurtis Shultz Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Mark Ellis

^[1]

Final roster

2004 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 11 Daunte Culpepper 12 Gus Frerotte Running backs 23 Michael Bennett 30 Mewelde Moore 29 Larry Ned 32 Onterrio Smith 20 Moe Williams Wide receivers 81 Nate Burleson 16 Kelly Campbell 84 Randy Moss 17 Ben Nelson 87 Marcus Robinson Tight ends 44 Sean Berton 83 Jeff Dugan FB 49 Richard Owens 85 Jermaine Wiggins		Offensive linemen 78 Matt Birk C 63 Bill Conaty C 71 David Dixon G 65 Nat Dorsey T 73 Adam Goldberg G 72 Adam Haayer T 76 Chris Liwienski G 74 Bryant McKinnie T 60 Cory Withrow C Defensive linemen 99 Chris Hovan DT 97 Spencer Johnson DT 51 Lance Johnstone DE 90 Steve Martin DT 79 Kenny Mixon DE 98 Darrion Scott DE 95 Kenechi Udeze DE 93 Kevin Williams DT		Linebackers 55 Chris Claiborne OLB 50 Rod Davis 56 E. J. Henderson MLB 59 Mike Nattiel OLB 52 Keith Newman OLB 57 Raonall Smith OLB 54 Dontarrious Thomas OLB Defensive backs 33 Ralph Brown CB 21 Corey Chavous SS 31 Rushen Jones CB 38 Rhett Nelson CB 24 Willie Offord SS 27 Brian Russell FS 25 Terrance Shaw CB 29 Brian Williams CB 26 Antoine Winfield CB Special teams  2 Darren Bennett P 46 Cullen Loeffler LS  7 Morten Andersen K  1 José Cortéz K		Reserve lists 86 Richard Angulo TE (IR)  8 Aaron Elling K (IR) 82 Keenan Howry WR (IR) 22 Ken Irvin CB (IR) 40 Jim Kleinsasser TE (IR) 75 Mike Rosenthal OT (IR) 91 Grant Wiley ILB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics 53 Active, 7 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

References

1. 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Retrieved 2010-03-06.