1970 Minnesota Vikings season

1970 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 17–14

The 1970 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League. It was also the first season of play following the AFL-NFL merger, as the Vikings played in the National Football Conference. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.^[1] The Vikings won the first-ever NFC Central title, as they finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game.

Offseason

1970 Draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Overall	Player name	Position	College
1	25	25	John Ward	Offensive Tackle	Oklahoma State
2	25	51	Bill Cappleman	Quarterback	Florida State
3	25	77	Chuck Burgoon	Linebacker	North Park
4	25	103	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[a]
5	25	129	Greg Jones	Running Back	UCLA
6	25	155	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[b]
7	25	181	Hap Farber	Linebacker	Mississippi
8	25	207	Mike Carroll	Guard	Missouri
9	25	233	George Morrow	Defensive End	Mississippi
10	25	259	Stu Voigt	Tight End	Wisconsin
11	25	285	Godfrey Zaunbrecher	Center	Louisiana State
12	25	311	James Holland	Defensive Back	Jackson State
13	25	337	Robert Pearce	Defensive Back	Stephen F. Austin
14	25	363	Tommy Spinks	Wide Receiver	Louisiana Tech
15	25	389	Bennie Francis	Defensive End	Chadron State
16	25	415	Bruce Cerone	Wide Receiver	Emporia State
17	25	441	Brian Healy	Defensive Back	Michigan

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (103rd overall) to New Orleans for TE Kent Kramer.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (155th overall) to Pittsburgh for TE Tony Jeter.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20, 1970	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–10	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 27, 1970	New Orleans Saints	W 26–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 4, 1970	at Green Bay Packers	L 10-13	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,967
4	October 11, 1970	at Chicago Bears	W 24–0	Wrigley Field	45,485
5	October 18, 1970	Dallas Cowboys	W 54–13	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
6	October 26, 1970	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
7	November 1, 1970	at Detroit Lions	W 30–17	Tiger Stadium	58,210
8	November 8, 1970	at Washington Redskins	W 19–10	RFK Stadium	50,415
9	November 15, 1970	Detroit Lions	W 24–20	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
10	November 22, 1970	Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
11	November 29, 1970	at New York Jets	L 10-20	Shea Stadium	62,333
12	December 5, 1970	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
13	December 13, 1970	at Boston Patriots	W 35–14	Harvard Stadium	37,819
14	December 20, 1970	at Atlanta Falcons	W 37–7	Atlanta Stadium	57,992

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 27, 1970	San Francisco 49ers	L 14-17	Metropolitan Stadium	46,050

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	12	2	0	.857	5–1	10–1	335	143	W3
Detroit Lions	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–4	347	202	W5
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	196	293	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	1–5	5–6	256	261	W2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

1970 Minnesota Vikings final roster

Quarterbacks

15 Gary Cuozzo
19 Bob Lee

Running backs

30 Bill Brown FB
41 Dave Osborn

Wide receivers

27 Bob Grim
84 Gene Washington

Tight ends

89 Kent Kramer
83 Stu Voigt

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

81 Carl Eller DE
77 Gary Larsen DT
70 Jim Marshall DE

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

14 Fred Cox K
12 Tom McNeil P

Reserve lists

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
54 Active, 4 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Gary Cuozzo	1,720
Passing Touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	7
Rushing Yards	Dave Osborn	681
Rushing Touchdowns	Clint Jones	9
Receiving Yards	Gene Washington	702
Receiving Touchdowns	Gene Washington	4
Points	Fred Cox	125
Kickoff Return Yards	Clint Jones	452
Punt Return Yards	Charlie West	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing Offense	2,181 Yards	155.8 YPG	14th
Rushing Offense	1,634 Yards	116.7 YPG	14th
Total Offense	3,815 Yards	272.5 YPG	19th
Passing Defense	1,438 Yards	102.7 YPG	1st
Rushing Defense	1,365 Yards	97.5 YPG	5th
Total Defense	2,803 Yards	200.2 YPG	1st

References

↑ The Best Show in Football:The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

Minnesota Vikings

Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft

Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium

Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal "Little Minnesota" (How I Met Your Mother episode) Cheerleaders

Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers

Lore	The Wrong Way Run Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Gary Anderson's missed field goal Hail Mary 2010 Metrodome roof collapse

Division championships (19)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015

Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976

League championships (0^†)	^† does not include 1969 NFL championship

Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

Seasons (56)	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Minnesota Vikings seasons

1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance

1970 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Boston	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Buffalo	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
Miami	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets			Washington

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