1984 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season

The 1984 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 24th 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. At the time, it was the third-most allowed in a 16-game season, trailing only the 1981 Baltimore Colts (533, still the record going into the 2021 season) and 1980 New Orleans Saints (487).

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 Selection
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]
140 Allen Rice Running back Baylor from Raiders[b]
6 154 Dwight Collins Wide receiver Pittsburgh
7 181 John Haines Defensive tackle Texas
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
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 the Houston Oilers in exchange 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

1984 Minnesota Vikings Supplemental USFL/CFL Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Pro team
Round Selection
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

Game summaries

Week 3: vs Atlanta Falcons

Week 3: Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 3 7720
Vikings 3 3 21027

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: September 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 53,955
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • Box Score, Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • ATL – Mick Luckhurst 33-yard field goal, 7:32. Falcons 3–0. Drive:
  • MIN – Jan Stenerud 22-yard field goal, 3:39. Tie 3–3. Drive:

Second quarter

  • MIN – Jan Stenerud 54-yard field goal, 14:29. Vikings 6–3. Drive:
  • ATL – Mick Luckhurst 43-yard field goal, 6:04. Tie 6–6. Drive:

Third quarter

  • MIN – Leo Lewis 42-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 12:10. Vikings 13–6. Drive:
  • ATL – Stacey Bailey 57-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick), 9:58. Tie 13–13. Drive:
  • MIN – Steve Jordan 21-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 5:50. Vikings 20–13. Drive:
  • MIN – Dwight Collins 43-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 1:59. Vikings 27–13. Drive:

Fourth quarter

  • ATL – Billy Johnson 32-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick), 5:43. Vikings 27–20. Drive:

Top passers

Top rushers

Top receivers

  • ATL – Stacey Bailey – 4 receptions, 102 yards, TD
  • MIN – Leo Lewis – 3 receptions, 69 yards, TD

Week 15: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 15: Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 007
49ers 14 17 61451

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: December 8, 1984
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 56,670
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play-by-play) and Dick Vermeil (color commentator)
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • MIN – Darrin Nelson 5-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 13:16. 49ers 14–7.
  • SF – Wendell Tyler 5-yard run (Ray Wersching kick), 9:12. 49ers 21–7.
  • SF – Renaldo Nehemiah 59-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick), 6:54. 49ers 28–7.
  • SF – Ray Wersching 41-yard field goal, 0:03. 49ers 31–7.

Third quarter

  • SF – Ray Wersching 25-yard field goal, 9:48. 49ers 34–7.
  • SF – Ray Wersching 38-yard field goal, 0:44. 49ers 37–7.

Fourth quarter

  • SF – Derrick Harmon 3-yard run (Ray Wersching kick), 10:08. 49ers 44–7.
  • SF – Bill Ring 15-yard run (Ray Wersching kick), 3:02. 49ers 51–7.

Top passers

  • MIN – Wade Wilson – 18/32, 212 yards, INT
  • SF – Joe Montana – 15/21, 246 yards, 3 TD

Top rushers

Top receivers

  • MIN – Leo Lewis – 3 receptions, 55 yards
  • SF – Renaldo Nehemiah – 6 receptions, 125 yards, TD

Standings

NFC Central
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(3) 10 6 0 .625 7–1 8–4 325 248 W1
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 5–3 8–4 390 309 W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 3–5 5–9 335 380 W2
Detroit Lions 4 11 1 .281 3–5 4–7–1 283 408 L3
Minnesota Vikings 3 13 0 .188 2–6 3–9 276 484 L6

Staff

1984 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

Head coaches

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

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Bud Bjornaraa
  • Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham

[3]

Roster

1984 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

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

  1. ^ Most Points Allowed: 1983 to 2000
  2. ^ "1984 Minnesota Vikings". The Pro Football Archives. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  3. ^ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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