1972 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) |
| 3rd place • National Football Conference • Central Division • 7-7-0 .500 |
| Head Coach: Bud Grant |
| Neill Armstrong | Defensive Coordinator |
| Jerry Burns | Offensive Coordinator |
| Bus Mertes | Offensive Backs |
| John Michels | Offensive Line |
| Jocko Nelson | Linebackers |
| Jack Patera | Defensive Line |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/12/1972 | H | San Diego Chargers | 24-13 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47900 | |
| Fri | 8/18/1972 | A | Buffalo Bills | 10-21 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 41006 | |
| Sat | 8/26/1972 | A | Cleveland Browns | 20-17 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 70583 | |
| Mon | 9/4/1972 | H | Houston Oilers | 26-14 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47900 | |
| Sun | 9/10/1972 | A | Miami Dolphins | 19-21 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 74298 | |
| Mon | 9/18/1972 | H | Washington Redskins | 21-24 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47900 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1972 | A | Detroit Lions | 34-10 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1972 | H | Miami Dolphins | 14-16 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47900 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1972 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 17-19 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49687 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1972 | A | Denver Broncos | 23-20 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 51656 | |
| Mon | 10/23/1972 | A | Chicago Bears | 10-13 | L | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 55701 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1972 | A | Green Bay Packers | 27-13 | W | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 56263 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1972 | H | New Orleans Saints | 37-6 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1972 | H | Detroit Lions | 16-14 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1972 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 45-41 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 77982 | |
| Sun | 11/26/1972 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-23 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 50348 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1972 | H | Chicago Bears | 23-10 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1972 | H | Green Bay Packers | 7-23 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sat | 12/16/1972 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 17-20 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 61214 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Grady Alderman | 67 | LOT | 6-2 | 242 | 34 | Detroit Mercy | 14 | 14 |
| John Beasley | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 231 | 27 | California | 14 | 14 |
| Bill Brown | 30 | RB | 5-11 | 225 | 34 | Illinois | 14 | 0 |
| Terry Brown | 24 | RS | 6-1 | 210 | 25 | Oklahoma State | 8 | 0 |
| Bobby Bryant | 20 | RCB | 6-0 | 176 | 28 | South Carolina | 14 | 14 |
| Fred Cox | 14 | K | 5-10 | 200 | 34 | Pittsburgh | 14 | 0 |
| Doug Davis | 71 | OT | 6-4 | 250 | 28 | Kentucky | 5 | 0 |
| Calvin Demery | 27 | WR | 6-0 | 190 | 22 | Arizona State | 5 | 0 |
| Mike Eischeid | 11 | P | 6-0 | 190 | 32 | Upper Iowa | 14 | 0 |
| Carl Eller | 81 | LDE | 6-6 | 252 | 30 | Minnesota | 14 | 14 |
| Carl Gersbach | 56 | LLB-MLB | 6-1 | 230 | 25 | Duke; West Chester | 14 | 1 |
| John Gilliam | 42 | WR | 6-1 | 190 | 27 | South Carolina State | 14 | 14 |
| John Henderson | 80 | WR | 6-3 | 191 | 29 | Michigan | 12 | 4 |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 58 | RLB | 6-2 | 230 | 30 | Iowa | 14 | 14 |
| Clint Jones | 26 | RB | 6-0 | 204 | 27 | Michigan State | 7 | 3 |
| Karl Kassulke | 29 | LS | 6-0 | 194 | 31 | Marquette; Drake | 8 | 6 |
| Paul Krause | 22 | RS | 6-3 | 199 | 30 | Iowa | 14 | 14 |
| Gary Larsen | 77 | LDT | 6-5 | 256 | 32 | Concordia (Moorhead) | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Lee | 19 | QB | 6-2 | 190 | 26 | Arizona State; San Francisco CC; Pacific | 2 | 0 |
| Jim Lindsey | 21 | RB | 6-2 | 210 | 28 | Arkansas | 13 | 0 |
| Bob Lurtsema | 75 | LDE | 6-6 | 251 | 30 | Grand Rapids CC; Michigan Tech; Western Michigan | 14 | 0 |
| Ed Marinaro | 49 | RB | 6-2 | 212 | 22 | Cornell | 10 | 6 |
| Jim Marshall | 70 | RDE | 6-3 | 239 | 35 | Ohio State | 14 | 14 |
| Amos Martin | 55 | LB | 6-3 | 228 | 23 | Louisville | 5 | 0 |
| Dave Osborn | 41 | RB | 6-0 | 204 | 29 | North Dakota | 14 | 5 |
| Alan Page | 88 | RDT | 6-5 | 255 | 27 | Notre Dame | 14 | 14 |
| Oscar Reed | 32 | RB | 5-11 | 222 | 28 | Colorado State | 14 | 14 |
| Ed Sharockman | 45 | LCB | 6-0 | 200 | 33 | Pittsburgh | 7 | 1 |
| Jeff Siemon | 50 | MLB | 6-2 | 235 | 22 | Stanford | 13 | 8 |
| Milt Sunde | 64 | ROG | 6-2 | 245 | 30 | Minnesota | 14 | 14 |
| Doug Sutherland | 69 | LB | 6-3 | 250 | 24 | Wisconsin-Superior | 14 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 10 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 32 | Georgia | 14 | 14 |
| Mick Tingelhoff | 53 | C | 6-1 | 237 | 32 | Nebraska | 14 | 14 |
| Stu Voigt | 83 | TE | 6-1 | 223 | 24 | Wisconsin | 14 | 0 |
| John Ward | 72 | DE | 6-4 | 250 | 24 | Oklahoma State | 14 | 0 |
| Lonnie Warwick | 59 | MLB | 6-3 | 235 | 30 | Tennessee; Tennessee Tech | 6 | 6 |
| Gene Washington | 84 | WR | 6-3 | 212 | 28 | Michigan State | 12 | 10 |
| Charlie West | 40 | LCB | 6-1 | 190 | 26 | Angelo State; Texas-El Paso | 14 | 13 |
| Ed White | 62 | LOG | 6-2 | 264 | 25 | California | 14 | 14 |
| Roy Winston | 60 | LLB | 6-1 | 228 | 32 | Louisiana State | 13 | 13 |
| Jeff Wright | 23 | LS | 5-11 | 190 | 23 | Minnesota | 13 | 8 |
| Nate Wright | 43 | LCB | 5-11 | 179 | 25 | Monterey Peninsula JC; San Diego State | 14 | 0 |
| Ron Yary | 73 | ROT | 6-6 | 256 | 26 | Cerritos JC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Godfrey Zaunbrecher | 51 | C | 6-2 | 235 | 24 | Louisiana State | 7 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 10 | Jeff Siemon | LB | Stanford |
| 2 | 50 | Ed Marinaro | RB | Cornell |
| 3 | 59 | Bart Buetow | T | Minnesota |
| 6 | 154 | Amos Martin | LB | Louisville |
| 7 | 181 | Bill Slater | DE | Western Michigan |
| 8 | 206 | Calvin Demery | WR | Arizona State |
| 9 | 232 | Charlie Goodrum | G | Florida A&M |
| 10 | 258 | Willie Aldridge | RB-DB | South Carolina State |
| 11 | 284 | Willie McKelton | DB | Southern University |
| 12 | 310 | Bob Banaugh | DB | Montana State |
| 13 | 336 | Franklin Roberts | RB | Alcorn State |
| 14 | 361 | Marv Owens | WR-RB | San Diego State |
| 15 | 388 | Mike Sivert | G | East Tennessee State |
| 16 | 414 | Neil Graff | QB | Wisconsin |
| 17 | 440 | Dick Schmalz | WR | Auburn |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 46 | 71 | 89 | 95 | 301 |
| Opponents Totals | 37 | 45 | 59 | 111 | 252 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 31:16 | 235 | 95 | 127 | 13 | 85/204 41.7% | 6/10 60.0% | 51 | 440 |
| Opponents Totals | 28:44 | 200 | 103 | 82 | 15 | 78/196 39.8% | 7/8 87.5% | 47 | 490 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Cox | 0 | 34 | 34 | 100.0 | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 0 | 97 |
| Bill Brown | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| John Gilliam | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Dave Osborn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| John Henderson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Clint Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Paul Krause | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Oscar Reed | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Stu Voigt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Gene Washington | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| John Beasley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bobby Bryant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Wally Hilgenberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Ed Marinaro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 34 | 34 | 34 | 100.0 | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 0 | 301 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 24 | 27 | 88.9 | 22 | 35 | 62.9 | 0 | 252 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Cox | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 1 | 45 | 4/4 | 6/9 | 7/10 | 4/9 | 0/1 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 33 | 63.6 | 1 | 45 | 4/4 | 6/9 | 7/10 | 4/9 | 0/1 |
| Opponents Totals | 22 | 35 | 62.9 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 9/12 | 3/10 | 1/3 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Reed | 151 | 639 | 4.2 | 43 | 2 |
| Bill Brown | 82 | 263 | 3.2 | 19 | 4 |
| Dave Osborn | 82 | 261 | 3.2 | 14t | 2 |
| Ed Marinaro | 66 | 223 | 3.4 | 19 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 27 | 180 | 6.7 | 21 | 0 |
| Clint Jones | 52 | 164 | 3.2 | 33 | 2 |
| John Gilliam | 8 | 14 | 1.8 | 14 | 0 |
| Jim Lindsey | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Stu Voigt | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1t | 1 |
| Paul Krause | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Eischeid | 1 | -13 | -13.0 | -13 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 472 | 1740 | 3.7 | 43 | 11 |
| Opponents Totals | 454 | 2002 | 4.4 | 61 | 13 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fran Tarkenton | 378 | 215 | 56.9 | 150 | 2651 | 7.0 | 12.3 | 76t | 18 | 4.8 | 13 | 3.4 | 26 | 203 | 2448 | 80.2 |
| Bob Lee | 6 | 3 | 50.0 | 3 | 75 | 12.5 | 25.0 | 63 | 1 | 16.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 135.4 |
| Paul Krause | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 385 | 218 | 56.6 | 154 | 2726 | 7.1 | 12.5 | 76t | 19 | 4.9 | 13 | 3.4 | 26 | 203 | 2523 | 81.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 331 | 169 | 51.1 | 136 | 1791 | 5.4 | 10.6 | 53 | 13 | 3.9 | 26 | 7.9 | 21 | 92 | 1699 | 47.5 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gilliam | 47 | 1035 | 22.0 | 66t | 7 |
| Oscar Reed | 30 | 205 | 6.8 | 37 | 0 |
| John Beasley | 28 | 232 | 8.3 | 18 | 1 |
| Ed Marinaro | 28 | 218 | 7.8 | 18t | 1 |
| Bill Brown | 22 | 298 | 13.5 | 76t | 4 |
| Dave Osborn | 20 | 166 | 8.3 | 18 | 1 |
| Gene Washington | 18 | 259 | 14.4 | 39 | 2 |
| John Henderson | 10 | 190 | 19.0 | 70t | 2 |
| Stu Voigt | 6 | 50 | 8.3 | 14 | 1 |
| Clint Jones | 6 | 42 | 7.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Jim Lindsey | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 13 | 0 |
| Ed White | 0 | 3 | 3L | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 218 | 2726 | 12.5 | 76t | 19 |
| Opponents Totals | 169 | 1791 | 10.6 | 53 | 13 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Krause | 6 | 109 | 18.2 | 35 | 1 |
| Bobby Bryant | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 34 | 0 |
| Roy Winston | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 23 | 0 |
| Jeff Wright | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 31 | 0 |
| Charlie West | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 8 | 0 |
| Karl Kassulke | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 22 | 0 |
| Jeff Siemon | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 23 | 0 |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 14t | 1 |
| Nate Wright | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Lonnie Warwick | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 26 | 365 | 14.0 | 35 | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 13 | 116 | 8.9 | 26 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Eischeid | 62 | 2651 | 42.8 | 61 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 317 | 2134 | 34.4 |
| Team Totals | 62 | 2651 | 42.8 | 61 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 317 | 2134 | 35.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 62 | 2575 | 41.5 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 159 | 2416 | 39.0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie West | 16 | 6 | 111 | 6.9 | 23 | 0 |
| Bobby Bryant | 10 | 15 | 48 | 4.8 | 10 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 26 | 21 | 159 | 6.1 | 23 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 35 | 4 | 317 | 9.1 | 31 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gilliam | 14 | 369 | 26.4 | 47 | 0 | |
| Clint Jones | 12 | 327 | 27.3 | 48 | 0 | |
| Charlie West | 9 | 196 | 21.8 | 31 | 0 | |
| Bill Brown | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 27 | 0 | |
| Bobby Bryant | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 22 | 0 | |
| Jim Lindsey | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Stu Voigt | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 42 | 989 | 23.5 | 48 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 62 | 1373 | 22.1 | 57 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Eller | 7.0 | |
| Alan Page | 6.0 | |
| Gary Larsen | 2.0 | |
| Bob Lurtsema | 2.0 | |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 1.0 | |
| Jim Marshall | 1.0 | |
| Roy Winston | 1.0 | |
| Jeff Wright | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 21.0 | 92.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 26.0 | 203.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Beasley | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Bill Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bobby Bryant | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 1 | |
| Mike Eischeid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carl Eller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gilliam | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | |
| John Henderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 0 | |
| Clint Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Paul Krause | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 1 | |
| Ed Marinaro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Marshall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Osborn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Oscar Reed | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeff Siemon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mick Tingelhoff | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie West | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 0 | |
| Roy Winston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| Jeff Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 |
| Nate Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 32 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 139 | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 14 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 0 |
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