| 1970 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home stadium | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 1stNFC Central |
| Playoffs | LostDivisional Playoffs (vs.49ers) 14–17 |
| All-Pros | DECarl Eller (1st team) DTAlan Page (1st team) |
| Pro Bowlers | KFred Cox DECarl Eller SSKarl Kassulke DTGary Larsen RBDave Osborn DTAlan Page WRGene Washington |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The1970 season was theMinnesota Vikings' 10th in theNational Football League and the first season following theAFL–NFL merger. In their fourth year under head coachBud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first everNFC Central title before losing to theSan Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in theNFC Divisional Playoff game. 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]
| 1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 25 | John Ward | Offensive tackle | Oklahoma State | |
| 2 | 51 | Bill Cappleman | Quarterback | Florida State | |
| 3 | 77 | Chuck Burgoon | Linebacker | North Park | |
| 4 | 103 | Traded to theNew Orleans Saints[A] | |||
| 5 | 129 | Greg Jones | Running back | UCLA | |
| 6 | 155 | Traded to thePittsburgh Steelers[B] | |||
| 7 | 181 | Hap Farber | Linebacker | Ole Miss | |
| 8 | 207 | Mike Carroll | Guard | Missouri | |
| 9 | 233 | George Morrow | Defensive end | Ole Miss | |
| 10 | 259 | Stu Voigt | Tight end | Wisconsin | |
| 11 | 285 | Godfrey Zaunbrecher | Center | LSU | |
| 12 | 311 | James Holland | Defensive back | Jackson State | |
| 13 | 337 | Robert Pearce | Defensive back | Stephen F. Austin | |
| 14 | 363 | Tommy Spinks | Wide receiver | Louisiana Tech | |
| 15 | 389 | Bennie Francis | Defensive end | Chadron State | |
| 16 | 415 | Bruce Cerone | Wide receiver | Emporia State | |
| 17 | 441 | Brian Healy | Defensive back | Michigan | |
Notes
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Reserve lists
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 8 | New Orleans Saints | L 13–14 | 0–1 | Fawcett Stadium(Canton, OH) | 17,932 |
| 2 | August 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–20 | 0–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,591 |
| 3 | August 22 | atHouston Oilers | W 14–7 | 1–2 | Astrodome | 44,563 |
| 4 | August 30 | New York Jets | W 52–21 | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 5 | September 5 | atCleveland Browns | W 24–21 | 3–2 | Cleveland Stadium | 83,043 |
| 6 | September 11 | atChicago Bears | W 31–30 | 4–2 | Soldier Field | 46,630 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 20 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–10 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 2 | September 27 | New Orleans Saints | W 26–0 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 3 | October 4 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 10–13 | 2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,967 |
| 4 | October 11 | atChicago Bears | W 24–0 | 3–1 | Wrigley Field | 45,485 |
| 5 | October 18 | Dallas Cowboys | W 54–13 | 4–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 6 | October 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 13–3 | 5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 7 | November 1 | atDetroit Lions | W 30–17 | 6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 58,210 |
| 8 | November 8 | atWashington Redskins | W 19–10 | 7–1 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 50,415 |
| 9 | November 15 | Detroit Lions | W 24–20 | 8–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 10 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 10–3 | 9–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 11 | November 29 | atNew York Jets | L 10–20 | 9–2 | Shea Stadium | 62,333 |
| 12 | December 5 | Chicago Bears | W 16–13 | 10–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 13 | December 13 | atBoston Patriots | W 35–14 | 11–2 | Harvard Stadium | 37,819 |
| 14 | December 20 | atAtlanta Falcons | W 37–7 | 12–2 | Atlanta Stadium | 57,992 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Vikings | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
atMetropolitan Stadium,Bloomington, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| 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.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 27 | San Francisco 49ers | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,050 |
| 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 |
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 26) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 2,181 | 155.8 | 14th |
| Rushing offense | 1,634 | 116.7 | 14th |
| Total offense | 3,815 | 272.5 | 19th |
| Passing defense | 1,438 | 102.7 | 1st |
| Rushing defense | 1,365 | 97.5 | 5th |
| Total defense | 2,803 | 200.2 | 1st |
