1984 Minnesota Vikings season

1984 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach	Les Steckel
General Manager	Mike Lynn
Home Field	Metrodome
Results
Record	3–13
Place	5th NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1983	1985

The 1984 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a 3–13 record, their worst record since the AFL–NFL merger, later equaled by the 2011 team, and the team's second worst overall record by win percentage (only 1962 was worse). The Vikings' 484 points allowed (30.3 average points per game) was the most by any NFL team between 1983 and 2000,^[1] and the most any Vikings team allowed in one season.

The team was coached by Les Steckel after Bud Grant retired; after the bad season, Steckel was fired and Bud Grant was re-hired.

Offseason[]

1984 Draft[]

	Pro Bowler

1984 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Overall	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	13	Keith Millard	Defensive tackle	Washington State
2	40	Traded to the Houston Oilers^[a]
3	67	Alfred Anderson	Running back	Baylor
4	100	Traded to the Houston Oilers^[a]
5	127	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders^[b]
5	140	Allen Rice	Running back	Baylor	from Raiders^[b]
6	154	Dwight Collins	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh
7	181	John Haines	Defensive tackle	Texas
7	196	Lloyd Lewis	Guard	Texas A&I	from Raiders^[b]
8	208	Paul Sverchek	Defensive tackle	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
9	235	Keith Kidd	Wide receiver	Arkansas
10	268	James Spencer	Linebacker	Oklahoma State
11	295	Edgar Pickett	Linebacker	Clemson
11	308	Lawrence Thompson	Wide receiver	Miami	from Raiders^[b]
12	321	Mike Jones	Running back	North Carolina A&T	Originally Packers pick^[c]

^{^[a]} The Vikings traded their second- and fourth-round selections (40th and 100th overall) to Houston for quarterback Archie Manning and tight end Dave Casper.

^{^[b]} The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (127th overall) to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' 5th-, 7th- and 11th round selections (140th, 196th and 308th overall).

^{^[c]} The Vikings were due to pick 322nd overall but Green Bay passed on the 321st pick, allowing the Vikings to move up one spot.

1984 Supplemental USFL/CFL Draft[]

Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Pro Team
Round	Overall	Player name	Position	College	Pro Team
1	13	Allanda Smith	Cornerback	TCU	Los Angeles Express
2	40	Robert B. Smith	Defensive end	Grambling	Arizona Wranglers
3	67	David Howard	Linebacker	Long Beach State	Los Angeles Express

Preseason[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[2]
1	August 4	Atlanta Falcons	W 37–6	1–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,693
2	August 11	Miami Dolphins	L 7–29	1–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,003
3	August 18	Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–31	1–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,743
4	August 24	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 0–31	1–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	31,210

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 2	San Diego Chargers	L 13–42	0–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,276
2	September 9	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–19	0–2	Veterans Stadium	55,942
3	September 16	Atlanta Falcons	W 27–20	1–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	53,955
4	September 23	at Detroit Lions	W 29–28	2–2	Silverdome	57,511
5	September 30	Seattle Seahawks	L 12–20	2–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,171
6	October 7	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–35	2–4	Tampa Stadium	47,405
7	October 14	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 20–23	2–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	49,276
8	October 21	Detroit Lions	L 14–16	2–6	Metrodome	57,953
9	October 28	at Chicago Bears	L 7–16	2–7	Soldier Field	57,517
10	November 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–24	3–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,949
11	November 11	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–45	3–8	Milwaukee County Stadium	52,931
12	November 18	at Denver Broncos	L 21–42	3–9	Mile High Stadium	74,716
13	November 25	Chicago Bears	L 3–34	3–10	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,881
14	November 29	Washington Redskins	L 17–31	3–11	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	55,017
15	December 8	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7–51	3–12	Candlestick Park	56,670
16	December 16	Green Bay Packers	L 14–38	3–13	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,197

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1984 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

President – Max Winter
General Manager – Mike Lynn

Head coaches

Head Coach – Les Steckel

Offensive coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Jerry Burns
Offensive Backfield – John Michels
Receivers – Bob Leahy
Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich
Special Assistant – Dick Rehbein
Quality Control – Bus Mertes

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers – Floyd Reese
Defensive Line – Tom Batta
Outside Linebackers – Mike Sweatman
Defensive Backfield – Ross Fichtner
Quality Control – Bob Hollway

Special teams coaches

Special Teams – Mike Sweatman

Strength and conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Bud Bjornaraa
Strength and Conditioning – Dean Brittenham

^[3]

Roster[]

1984 Minnesota Vikings roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

84 Dwight Collins
89 Mike Jones
87 Leo Lewis
80 Billy Waddy
85 Sammy White

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

56 Malcolm Carson G
56 Bill Dugan T
78 Steve Riley T
68 Curtis Rouse G
67 Ron Sams C
66 Terry Tausch G

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

47 Joey Browner S
43 Jeff Colter
39 Carl Lee CB
29 John Swain CB

Special teams

8 Greg Coleman P
3 Jan Stenerud K

Reserve lists

61 Wes Hamilton G (IR)
51 Jim Hough G (IR)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Standings[]

NFC Central
view · talk · edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	10	6	0	.625	325	248	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	390	309	W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	335	380	W2
Detroit Lions	4	11	1	.281	283	408	L3
Minnesota Vikings	3	13	0	.188	276	484	L6

^[4]

Statistics[]

Team leaders[]

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Tommy Kramer	1,678
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	9
Rushing yards	Alfred Anderson	773
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown Darrin Nelson	3
Receiving yards	Leo Lewis	830
Receiving touchdowns	Leo Lewis	4
Points	Jan Stenerud	90
Kickoff return yards	Darrin Nelson	891
Punt return yards	Darrin Nelson	180
Tackles	Carl Lee	100
Sacks	Randy Holloway	5
Interceptions	Rufus Bess	3

League rankings[]

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	2,872	179.5	22nd
Rushing offense	1,844	115.2	18th
Total offense	4,716	294.8	25th
Passing defense	3,779	236.2	26th
Rushing defense	2,573	160.8	27th
Total defense	6,352	397.0	28th

References[]

↑ Most Points Allowed: 1983 to 2000
↑ "1984 Minnesota Vikings". The Pro Football Archives. https://www.profootballarchives.com/1984nflmin.html. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
↑ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
↑ (PDF) 2010 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 383. http://www.nfl.info/download/2010%20NFL%20Record%20and%20Fact%20Book.pdf. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

1984 NFL seasonv · d · e
AFC	East	Central	West	East	Central	West	NFC
	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	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
	NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay
1984 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XIX

[1] Most Points Allowed: 1983 to 2000

[2] "1984 Minnesota Vikings". The Pro Football Archives. https://www.profootballarchives.com/1984nflmin.html. Retrieved September 8, 2018.

[3] 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. http://www.vikings.com/news/media-guide.html. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

[4] (PDF) 2010 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 383. http://www.nfl.info/download/2010%20NFL%20Record%20and%20Fact%20Book.pdf. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

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