1977 Minnesota Vikings season

1977 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs Lost Conference Championship

1977 was the 17th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and five losses. Quarterback Fran Tarkenton was injured with a broken leg in week 9 and missed the rest of the season.

Offseason

1977 Draft

Main article: 1977 NFL draft

=Pro Bowler

1977 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Overall
1	27	27	Tommy Kramer	Quarterback	Rice
2	27	55	Dennis Swilley	Guard	Texas A&M
3	27	83	Tom Hannon	Linebacker	San Diego State
4	27	111	Traded to the Seattle Seahawks
5	26	138	Ken Moore	Tight End	Northern Illinois
6	27	166	Traded to the New England Patriots
7	27	194	Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals
8	27	222	Clint Strozier	Defensive Back	USC
9	27	250	Scott Studwell	Linebacker	Illinois
10	27	278	Dan Beaver	Kicker	Illinois
11	27	306	Keith Hartwig	Wide Receiver	Arizona
12	27	335	Jim Kelleher	Running Back	Colorado

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (111th overall) to Seattle for RB Ahmad Rashād.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (166th overall) and 1976 8th round selection (235th overall) to New England for OL Doug Dumler.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (194th overall) to Cincinnati for TE Orlando Nelson.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 18, 1977	Dallas Cowboys	L 16–10 (OT)	Met Stadium	47,678
2	September 24, 1977	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 9–3	Tampa Stadium	66,272
3	October 2, 1977	Green Bay Packers	W 19–7	Met Stadium	47,143
4	October 9, 1977	Detroit Lions	W 14–7	Met Stadium	45,860
5	October 16, 1977	Chicago Bears	W 22–16 (OT)	Met Stadium	47,708
6	October 24, 1977	at Los Angeles Rams	L 35–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	62,414
7	October 30, 1977	at Atlanta Falcons	W 14–7	Atlanta Fulton County Stadium	59,257
8	November 6, 1977	St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–7	Busch Stadium	47,066
9	November 13, 1977	Cincinnati Bengals	W 42–10	Met Stadium	45,371
10	November 20, 1977	at Chicago Bears	L 10-7	Soldier Field	49,563
11	November 27, 1977	at Green Bay Packers	W 13–6	Lambeau Field	56,267
12	December 4, 1977	San Francisco 49ers	W 28–27	Met Stadium	40,745
13	December 11, 1977	at Oakland Raiders	L 35–13	Oakland Coliseum	52,771
14	December 17, 1977	at Detroit Lions	W 30–21	Silverdome	78,572

Game summaries

Week 10: at Chicago Bears

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	7	0	7
Bears	0	10	0	0	10

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, November 20
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 48°F, wind 21 mph
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second Quarter CHI – Walter Payton 1-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 7–0 CHI – Bob Thomas 37-yard field goal – Bears 10–0 Third Quarter MIN – Matt Blair 10-yard blocked punt return (Fred Cox kick) – Bears 10–7 Vikings Bob Lee 12/24, 116 Yds, 2 INT Chuck Foreman 14 Rush, 54 Yds Sammy White 3 Rec, 31 Yds Bears Bob Avellini 4/6, 33 Yds, INT Walter Payton 40 Rush, 275 Yds, TD James Scott 2 Rec, 22 Yds

Week 11: at Green Bay Packers

1 2 3 4 Total • Vikings 0 13 0 0 13 Packers 6 0 0 0 6 Date: Sunday, November 27 Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: Snow Source: [1]

Scoring summary 1 GB David Whitehurst 3-yard run (kick failed) GB 6–0 2 MIN Sammy White 40-yard pass from Bob Lee (Fred Cox kick) MIN 7–6 2 MIN Fred Cox 21-yard field goal MIN 10–6 2 MIN Fred Cox 31-yard field goal MIN 13–6

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 26, 1977	at Los Angeles Rams	W 14–7	L A Coliseum	62,538
Conference Championship	January 1, 1978	at Dallas Cowboys	L 23–6	Texas Stadium	61,968

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(3)	9	5	0	.643	6–1	8–4	231	227	W1
Chicago Bears(4)	9	5	0	.643	6–1	8–4	255	253	W6
Detroit Lions	6	8	0	.429	2–5	4–8	183	252	L1
Green Bay Packers	4	10	0	.286	2–5	4–7	134	219	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	12	0	.143	0–4	2–11	103	223	W2

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Fran Tarkenton	1,734
Passing Touchdowns	Fran Tarkenton	9
Rushing Yards	Chuck Foreman	1,112
Rushing Touchdowns	Chuck Foreman	6
Receiving Yards	Sammy White	760
Receiving Touchdowns	Sammy White	9
Points	Chuck Foreman Sammy White	54
Kickoff Return Yards	Manfred Moore	524
Punt Return Yards	Manfred Moore	277
Interceptions	Bobby Bryant	4

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	2,368 Yards	169.1 YPG	6th
Rushing Offense	1,821 Yards	130.1 YPG	21st
Total Offense	4,189 Yards	299.2 YPG	14th
Passing Defense	1,581 Yards	112.9 YPG	3rd
Rushing Defense	2,218 Yards	158.4 YPG	21st
Total Defense	3,799 Yards	271.4 YPG	11th