1997 Minnesota Vikings season

1997 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach	Dennis Green
Home Field	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record	9–7
Place	4th NFC Central
Playoff Finish	Won NFC Wild Card Playoff (at Giants) 23–22 Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (at 49ers) 22–38
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1996	1998

The 1997 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 37th in the National Football League and their sixth under head coach Dennis Green. The team finished with a 9–7 record and qualified for a wild card berth in the playoffs. In the wild card round against the New York Giants, the Vikings came back from a 22–13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to win 23–22, their first playoff victory since 1988. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated 38–22 by the San Francisco 49ers.

Vikings defensive tackle John Randle led the league in sacks with 15.5. Wide receiver Cris Carter's 13 touchdown receptions also were most in the league.

Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after a year out of the game, a move that reunited Cunningham with his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Cris Carter.

Offseason

1997 Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

1997 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	20	20	Dwayne Rudd	Linebacker	Alabama
2	19	49	Torrian Gray	Safety	Virginia Tech
3	18	78	Stalin Colinet	Defensive end	Boston College
4	17	113	Antonio Banks	Defensive back	Virginia Tech
5	21	151	Tony Williams	Defensive tackle	Memphis
6	20	183	Robert Tate	Wide receiver	Cincinnati
7	19	220	Artie Ulmer	Linebacker	Valdosta State
	34	235	Matthew Hatchette	Wide receiver	Langston	Compensatory pick

Undrafted free agents

1997 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Todd Bouman	Quarterback	St. Cloud State
Duane Butler	Defensive Back	Illinois State

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance [1]	Notes
1	July 26	Seattle Seahawks	W 28-26	1-0	Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH)	23,846	Hall of Fame Game
2	August 2	St. Louis Rams	W 26-6	2-0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	36,971
3	August 8	at Buffalo Bills	L 3-19	2-1	Rich Stadium	32,559
4	August 16	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 13-37	2-2	Cinergy Field	44,316
5	August 22	San Diego Chargers	W 28-22	3-2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	44,300

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 31	at Buffalo Bills	W 34–13	1–0	Rich Stadium	79,139
2	September 7	at Chicago Bears	W 27–24	2–0	Soldier Field	59,263
3	September 14	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 28–14	2–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,697
4	September 21	at Green Bay Packers	L 38–32	2–2	Lambeau Field	60,115
5	September 28	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–19	3–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	55,149
6	October 5	at Arizona Cardinals	W 20–19	4–2	Sun Devil Stadium	45,550
7	October 12	Carolina Panthers	W 21–14	5–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,625
8	Bye
9	October 26	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 10–6	6–2	Houlihan's Stadium	66,815
10	November 2	New England Patriots	W 23–18	7–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,917
11	November 9	Chicago Bears	W 29–22	8–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,443
12	November 16	at Detroit Lions	L 38–15	8–3	Silverdome	68,910
13	November 23	at New York Jets	L 23–21	8–4	Giants Stadium	70,131
14	December 1	Green Bay Packers	L 27–11	8–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,001
15	December 7	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–17	8–6	3Com Park	55,761
16	December 14	Detroit Lions	L 14–13	8–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	60,982
17	December 21	Indianapolis Colts	W 39–28	9–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,107

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Template:1997 NFC Central standings

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 27	at New York Giants	W 23–22	1–0	Giants Stadium	77,497
Division	January 3	at San Francisco 49ers	L 38–22	1–1	3Com Park	65,018

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Brad Johnson	3,036
Passing touchdowns	Brad Johnson	20
Rushing yards	Robert Smith	1,266
Rushing touchdowns	Robert Smith	6
Receiving yards	Jake Reed	1,138
Receiving touchdowns	Cris Carter	13
Points	Cris Carter	84
Kickoff return yards	David Palmer	711
Punt return yards	David Palmer	444
Tackles	Robert Griffith	114
Sacks	John Randle	15.5
Interceptions	Dewayne Washington	4
Forced fumbles	Derrick Alexander	3

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 30)
Passing offense	3,313	207.1	14th
Rushing offense	2,041	127.6	6th
Total offense	5,354	334.6	8th
Passing defense	3,704	231.5	29th
Rushing defense	1,983	123.9	23rd
Total defense	5,687	355.4	29th

Personnel

Staff

1997 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick Head Coaches Head Coach – Dennis Green Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Brian Billick Quarterbacks – Ray Sherman Running Backs – Carl Hargrave Receivers – Chip Myers Tight Ends – Dave Atkins Offensive Line – Mike Tice Coaching Assistant – Wade Harman			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio Defensive Line – John Levra Inside Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Gary Zauner Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Friday

Final roster

1997 Minnesota Vikings roster
	Quarterbacks  8 Todd Bouman  7 Randall Cunningham  6 Jay Walker Running backs 29 Chuck Evans FB 32 Robert Green 44 Leroy Hoard 33 Harold Morrow FB 26 Robert Smith 21 Moe Williams RB Wide receivers 84 Tony Bland 80 Cris Carter 89 Matthew Hatchette 22 David Palmer KR/PR 86 Jake Reed 81 Chris Walsh Tight ends 85 Greg DeLong 82 Andrew Glover 87 Hunter Goodwin 85 Andrew Jordan		Offensive linemen 74 Orlando Bobo G 69 LeShun Daniels Sr. G 71 David Dixon G 61 Everett Lindsay G 60 Ben Lynch C 64 Randall McDaniel G 68 Mike Morris C/LS 79 Eric Moss G 78 Bob Sapp G 73 Todd Steussie T 77 Korey Stringer T Defensive linemen 90 Derrick Alexander DE 96 Jerry Ball DT 92 Duane Clemons DE 99 Stalin Colinet DT 72 Jason Fisk DT 93 John Randle DT 95 Fernando Smith DE 94 Tony Williams DT		Linebackers 56 Pete Bercich 59 Dixon Edwards 55 Ron George 58 Ed McDaniel OLB 57 Dwayne Rudd OLB Defensive backs 43 Greg Briggs CB 31 Duane Butler CB 27 Corey Fuller CB 24 Robert Griffith SS 42 Orlando Thomas FS 20 Dewayne Washington CB 37 Leonard Wheeler CB Special teams 17 Mitch Berger P  3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve lists 30 Antonio Banks CB (IR) 50 Jeff Brady MLB (IR) 62 Jeff Christy C (IR) 76 Scott Dill T (IR) 23 Torrian Gray CB 14 Brad Johnson QB (IR) 40 Anthony Prior CB (IR) 83 Robert Tate WR (IR) 53 Artie Ulmer LB (Susp.) Practice squad Rookies in italics 52 Active, 9 Inactive, 0 Practice squad