1973 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) |
| 1st place • National Football Conference • Central Division • 12-2-0 .857 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| 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 | 8/11/1973 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-6 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46619 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1973 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 13-10 | W | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 72676 | |
| Sat | 8/25/1973 | A | Oakland Raiders | 34-10 | W | Berkeley, CA | Memorial Stadium | 57515 | |
| Fri | 8/31/1973 | H | Miami Dolphins | 20-17 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46619 | |
| Sat | 9/8/1973 | A | San Diego Chargers | 24-16 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 42007 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1973 | H | Oakland Raiders | 24-16 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 44818 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1973 | A | Chicago Bears | 22-13 | W | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 52035 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1973 | H | Green Bay Packers | 11-3 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 48176 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1973 | A | Detroit Lions | 23-9 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 49544 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1973 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 17-13 | W | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 56438 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1973 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 28-21 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47478 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1973 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 10-9 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47787 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1973 | H | Cleveland Browns | 26-3 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46722 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1973 | H | Detroit Lions | 28-7 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47911 | |
| Mon | 11/19/1973 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 14-20 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 56519 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1973 | H | Chicago Bears | 31-13 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46430 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1973 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 0-27 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 57859 | |
| Sat | 12/8/1973 | A | Green Bay Packers | 31-7 | W | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 53830 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1973 | A | New York Giants | 31-7 | W | New Haven, CT | Yale Bowl | 70041 | |
| NFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 12/22/1973 | H | Washington Redskins | 27-20 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45475 | |
| NFC Championship | |||||||||
| Sun | 12/30/1973 | A | Dallas Cowboys | 27-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 59688 | |
| Super Bowl VIII | |||||||||
| Sun | 1/13/1974 | A | Miami Dolphins | 7-24 | L | Houston, TX | Rice Stadium | 68142 | |
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 | 35 | Detroit Mercy | 14 | 14 |
| Gary Ballman | 85 | TE | 6-0 | 203 | 33 | Michigan State | 3 | 0 |
| John Beasley | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 231 | 28 | California | 5 | 1 |
| Bob Berry | 17 | QB | 5-11 | 185 | 31 | Oregon | 6 | 0 |
| Bill Brown | 30 | RB | 5-11 | 225 | 35 | Illinois | 14 | 2 |
| Terry Brown | 24 | CB-S | 6-1 | 210 | 26 | Oklahoma State | 14 | 0 |
| Bobby Bryant | 20 | RCB | 6-0 | 176 | 29 | South Carolina | 14 | 14 |
| Fred Cox | 14 | K | 5-10 | 200 | 35 | Pittsburgh | 14 | 0 |
| Carroll Dale | 84 | WR | 6-1 | 198 | 35 | Virginia Tech | 13 | 12 |
| Rhett Dawson | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 180 | 25 | Florida State | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Eischeid | 11 | P | 6-0 | 190 | 33 | Upper Iowa | 14 | 0 |
| Carl Eller | 81 | LDE | 6-6 | 252 | 31 | Minnesota | 14 | 14 |
| Chuck Foreman | 44 | RB | 6-2 | 212 | 23 | Miami (Florida) | 12 | 11 |
| Frank Gallagher | 66 | OG | 6-2 | 240 | 30 | North Carolina | 4 | 0 |
| John Gilliam | 42 | WR | 6-1 | 190 | 28 | South Carolina State | 14 | 14 |
| Charlie Goodrum | 68 | OG | 6-3 | 256 | 23 | Florida A&M | 10 | 0 |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 58 | RLB | 6-2 | 230 | 31 | Iowa | 13 | 12 |
| Doug Kingsriter | 80 | TE | 6-2 | 225 | 23 | Minnesota | 11 | 0 |
| Paul Krause | 22 | RS | 6-3 | 199 | 31 | Iowa | 14 | 14 |
| Gary Larsen | 77 | LDT | 6-5 | 256 | 33 | Concordia (Moorhead) | 14 | 12 |
| Jim Lash | 82 | WR | 6-2 | 200 | 22 | Northwestern | 9 | 2 |
| Steve Lawson | 65 | OG | 6-3 | 265 | 24 | Kansas | 2 | 0 |
| Bob Lurtsema | 75 | LDT | 6-6 | 251 | 31 | Grand Rapids CC; Michigan Tech; Western Michigan | 14 | 2 |
| Ed Marinaro | 49 | RB | 6-2 | 212 | 23 | Cornell | 13 | 7 |
| Jim Marshall | 70 | RDE | 6-3 | 239 | 36 | Ohio State | 14 | 14 |
| Amos Martin | 55 | RLB-LLB | 6-3 | 228 | 24 | Louisville | 14 | 3 |
| Brent McClanahan | 33 | RB | 5-10 | 202 | 22 | Arizona State | 13 | 0 |
| Dave Osborn | 41 | RB | 6-0 | 204 | 30 | North Dakota | 11 | 0 |
| Alan Page | 88 | RDT | 6-5 | 255 | 28 | Notre Dame | 14 | 14 |
| Ron Porter | 52 | LB | 6-3 | 232 | 28 | Idaho | 13 | 0 |
| Al Randolph | 34 | S | 6-2 | 199 | 29 | Iowa | 11 | 0 |
| Oscar Reed | 32 | RB | 5-11 | 222 | 29 | Colorado State | 12 | 8 |
| Jeff Siemon | 50 | MLB | 6-2 | 235 | 23 | Stanford | 14 | 14 |
| Milt Sunde | 64 | ROG | 6-2 | 245 | 31 | Minnesota | 14 | 8 |
| Doug Sutherland | 69 | DE | 6-3 | 250 | 25 | Wisconsin-Superior | 9 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 10 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 33 | Georgia | 14 | 14 |
| Mick Tingelhoff | 53 | C | 6-1 | 237 | 33 | Nebraska | 14 | 14 |
| Stu Voigt | 83 | TE | 6-1 | 223 | 25 | Wisconsin | 13 | 13 |
| John Ward | 72 | ROG | 6-4 | 250 | 25 | Oklahoma State | 8 | 7 |
| Charlie West | 40 | S-CB | 6-1 | 190 | 27 | Angelo State; Texas-El Paso | 5 | 0 |
| Ed White | 62 | LOG | 6-2 | 264 | 26 | California | 14 | 14 |
| Roy Winston | 60 | LLB | 6-1 | 228 | 33 | Louisiana State | 13 | 13 |
| Jeff Wright | 23 | LS | 5-11 | 190 | 24 | Minnesota | 14 | 14 |
| Nate Wright | 43 | LCB | 5-11 | 179 | 26 | Monterey Peninsula JC; San Diego State | 14 | 14 |
| Ron Yary | 73 | ROT | 6-6 | 256 | 27 | Cerritos JC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Godfrey Zaunbrecher | 51 | C | 6-2 | 235 | 25 | Louisiana State | 6 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 12 | Chuck Foreman | RB | Miami (Florida) |
| 2 | 34 | Jackie Wallace | DB | Arizona |
| 3 | 65 | Jim Lash | WR | Northwestern |
| 4 | 80 | Mike Wells | QB | Illinois |
| 5 | 118 | Brent McClanahan | RB | Arizona State |
| 6 | 139 | Doug Kingsriter | TE | Minnesota |
| 6 | 143 | Fred Abbott | LB | Florida |
| 7 | 168 | Josh Brown | RB | Texas State |
| 8 | 196 | Craig Darling | T | Iowa |
| 9 | 221 | Larry Dibbles | DE | New Mexico |
| 10 | 236 | Randy Lee | DB-P | Tulane |
| 10 | 246 | Dave Mason | DB | Nebraska |
| 11 | 274 | Geary Murdock | G | Iowa State |
| 12 | 299 | Alan Spencer | WR | Pittsburg State |
| 13 | 324 | Ron Just | G | Minot State |
| 14 | 352 | Ed Bishop | DB | Southern University |
| 15 | 377 | Tony Chandler | RB | Missouri Valley |
| 16 | 402 | Larry Smiley | DE | Texas Southern |
| 17 | 429 | Dave Winfield | TE | Minnesota |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 75 | 96 | 55 | 70 | 296 |
| Opponents Totals | 26 | 62 | 39 | 41 | 168 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 30:43 | 246 | 137 | 99 | 10 | 79/200 39.5% | 2/4 50.0% | 55 | 482 |
| Opponents Totals | 29:17 | 220 | 106 | 99 | 15 | 61/189 32.3% | 2/9 22.2% | 58 | 633 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Cox | 0 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 21 | 35 | 60.0 | 0 | 96 |
| John Gilliam | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | ||
| Chuck Foreman | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Bill Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Ed Marinaro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Oscar Reed | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Stu Voigt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| John Beasley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Terry Brown | 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 | ||
| Fran Tarkenton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Roy Winston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 33 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 21 | 35 | 60.0 | 1 | 296 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 15 | 15 | 100.0 | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 0 | 168 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Cox | 21 | 35 | 60.0 | 2 | 41 | 7/7 | 7/9 | 4/7 | 3/10 | 0/2 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 35 | 60.0 | 2 | 41 | 7/7 | 7/9 | 4/7 | 3/10 | 0/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 4/4 | 6/8 | 6/12 | 5/13 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Foreman | 182 | 801 | 4.4 | 50t | 4 |
| Oscar Reed | 100 | 401 | 4.0 | 30 | 3 |
| Ed Marinaro | 95 | 302 | 3.2 | 27 | 2 |
| Dave Osborn | 48 | 216 | 4.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Bill Brown | 47 | 206 | 4.4 | 21 | 3 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 41 | 202 | 4.9 | 16 | 1 |
| John Gilliam | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 44t | 1 |
| Brent McClanahan | 17 | 69 | 4.1 | 10 | 0 |
| Bob Berry | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 |
| Stu Voigt | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 538 | 2275 | 4.2 | 50t | 14 |
| Opponents Totals | 450 | 1974 | 4.4 | 40t | 5 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fran Tarkenton | 274 | 169 | 61.7 | 98 | 2113 | 7.7 | 12.5 | 54t | 15 | 5.5 | 7 | 2.6 | 31 | 270 | 1843 | 93.2 |
| Bob Berry | 24 | 10 | 41.7 | 12 | 121 | 5.0 | 12.1 | 30t | 1 | 4.2 | 2 | 8.3 | 1 | 8 | 113 | 37.0 |
| Team Totals | 298 | 179 | 60.1 | 110 | 2234 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 54t | 16 | 5.4 | 9 | 3.0 | 32 | 278 | 1956 | 88.7 |
| Opponents Totals | 377 | 198 | 52.5 | 158 | 2124 | 5.6 | 10.7 | 63 | 8 | 2.1 | 21 | 5.6 | 30 | 230 | 1894 | 53.2 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gilliam | 42 | 907 | 21.6 | 54t | 8 |
| Chuck Foreman | 37 | 362 | 9.8 | 35 | 2 |
| Ed Marinaro | 26 | 196 | 7.5 | 17 | 2 |
| Stu Voigt | 23 | 318 | 13.8 | 43 | 2 |
| Oscar Reed | 19 | 122 | 6.4 | 13 | 0 |
| Carroll Dale | 14 | 192 | 13.7 | 40 | 0 |
| Bill Brown | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 7 | 1 |
| Dave Osborn | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 5 | 0 |
| Jim Lash | 2 | 34 | 17.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Doug Kingsriter | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Rhett Dawson | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Gary Ballman | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 15 | 0 |
| John Beasley | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3t | 1 |
| John Ward | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 179 | 2234 | 12.5 | 54 | 16 |
| Opponents Totals | 198 | 2124 | 10.7 | 63 | 8 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bryant | 7 | 105 | 15.0 | 46t | 1 |
| Paul Krause | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Jeff Wright | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 25 | 0 |
| Nate Wright | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Jeff Siemon | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Terry Brown | 1 | 63 | 63.0 | 63t | 1 |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 263 | 12.5 | 63t | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 9 | 88 | 9.8 | 33 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Eischeid | 66 | 2628 | 39.8 | 57 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 271 | 2277 | 34.5 |
| Team Totals | 66 | 2628 | 39.8 | 57 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 271 | 2277 | 34.5 |
| Opponents Totals | 57 | 2338 | 41.0 | 68 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 140 | 2098 | 37.5 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bryant | 25 | 14 | 140 | 5.6 | 16 | 0 |
| Jeff Wright | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie West | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 16 | 140 | 5.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 42 | 8 | 271 | 6.5 | 63t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent McClanahan | 16 | 410 | 25.6 | 45 | 0 | |
| John Gilliam | 10 | 174 | 17.4 | 29 | 0 | |
| Charlie West | 3 | 104 | 34.7 | 42 | 0 | |
| Bill Brown | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 18 | 0 | |
| Oscar Reed | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 15 | 0 | |
| Jeff Wright | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 35 | 752 | 21.5 | 45 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 59 | 1148 | 19.5 | 47 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Eller | 11.0 | |
| Jim Marshall | 7.0 | |
| Alan Page | 5.0 | |
| Bob Lurtsema | 4.0 | |
| Jeff Siemon | 2.0 | |
| Bobby Bryant | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 30.0 | 230.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 32.0 | 278.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Brown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bobby Bryant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carl Eller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Foreman | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Gilliam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Charlie Goodrum | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wally Hilgenberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Doug Kingsriter | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Krause | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Gary Larsen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Lurtsema | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Marinaro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
| Brent McClanahan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Osborn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alan Page | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Porter | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oscar Reed | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeff Siemon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mick Tingelhoff | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stu Voigt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ed White | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Winston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Jeff Wright | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nate Wright | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 29 | 18 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 17 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 36 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 1 |
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