| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Record: | 8–7–1 |
| Division Place: | 1st NFC Central |
| Coach: | Bud Grant |
| General Manager: | Mike Lynn |
| Stadium: | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 10–34 |
| Pro Bowlers: | LB Matt Blair WR Ahmad Rashad |
| Uniform: | File:Vikings1975-86.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1978 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 18th in the National Football League (NFL). The Vikings finished with an 8–7–1 record, and finished in first place in the NFC Central division, despite having a regular season point differential of minus 12. The team appeared in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years. In the divisional round, the Vikings lost 34–10 to the Los Angeles Rams. Following the season, longtime quarterback Fran Tarkenton retired.
See main article: 1978 NFL draft.
| 1978 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 1 | 21 | Randy Holloway | Defensive end | Pittsburgh | ||
| 2 | 48 | John Turner | Defensive back | Miami (FL) | ||
| 3 | 75 | Whip Walton | Linebacker | San Diego State | ||
| 4 | 100 | Jim Hough | Center | Utah State | ||
| 5 | 132 | Traded to the New York Giants | ||||
| 6 | 159 | Traded to the San Francisco 49ers | ||||
| 7 | 186 | Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles | ||||
| 8 | 204 | Mike Wood | Placekicker | Southeast Missouri State | From Seahawks | |
| 213 | Traded to the New York Jets | |||||
| 9 | 240 | Mike Deutsch | Punter | Colorado State | ||
| 10 | 272 | Hughie Shaw | Running back | Texas A&I | ||
| 11 | 299 | Ron Harris | Running back | Colorado State | ||
| 12 | 326 | Jeff Morrow | Offensive tackle | Minnesota | ||
Notes
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 5 | Washington Redskins | W 20–13 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,212 | |
| 2 | August 12 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–17 | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 41,092 | |
| 3 | August 18 | at Miami Dolphins | L 22–30 | 1–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 46,316 | |
| 4 | August 26 | Buffalo Bills | W 30–27 | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,062 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at New Orleans Saints | L 24–31 | 0–1 | Superdome | 54,187 | |
| 2 | September 11 | Denver Broncos | W 12–9 | 1–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,508 | |
| 3 | September 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–16 | 1–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,152 | |
| 4 | September 25 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–20 | 2–2 | Soldier Field | 53,551 | |
| 5 | October 1 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–7 | 3–2 | Tampa Stadium | 65,972 | |
| 6 | October 8 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 28–29 | 3–3 | Kingdome | 62,031 | |
| 7 | October 15 | L 17–34 | 3–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,551 | ||
| 8 | October 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 21–7 | 4–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,411 | |
| 9 | October 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 21–10 | 5–4 | Texas Stadium | 61,848 | |
| 10 | November 5 | Detroit Lions | W 17–7 | 6–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,008 | |
| 11 | November 12 | Chicago Bears | W 17–14 | 7–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,286 | |
| 12 | November 19 | San Diego Chargers | L 7–13 | 7–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 38,859 | |
| 13 | November 26 | at Green Bay Packers | T 10–10 | 7–5–1 | Lambeau Field | 51,737 | |
| 14 | December 3 | W 28–27 | 8–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 38,722 | ||
| 15 | December 9 | at Detroit Lions | L 14–45 | 8–6–1 | Silverdome | 78,685 | |
| 16 | December 17 | L 20–27 | 8–7–1 | Oakland Coliseum | 44,643 |
The Vikings won a game they had to win in their bid to win a 10th NFC Central division title in 11 seasons, as Fran Tarkenton completed 26 of 43 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Ahmad Rashad. "That's pretty amazing for a guy who can't throw a football anymore, isn't it?" said the 38-year-old Tarkenton, who raised his 18-year yardage total to 45,143, the first man to surpass 45,000 yards. Tarkenton's third scoring strike to running back Chuck Foreman just before the half went for 16 yards. Terdell Middleton, who entered the game as the NFC's third leading rusher, scored Green Bay's only touchdown on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter, giving Green Bay a 7–7 tie. He finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries.
In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1978 Vikings as one of the "worst playoff teams ever".[2]
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 3,468 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 25 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 749 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 5 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 769 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 9 | ||||
| Points | 72 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 854 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 239 | ||||
| Interceptions | 7 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 3,243 | 202.7 | 2nd | ||||
| Rushing offense | 1,536 | 96.0 | 28th | ||||
| Total offense | 4,779 | 298.7 | 17th | ||||
| Passing defense | 2,690 | 168.1 | 19th | ||||
| Rushing defense | 2,116 | 132.3 | 10th | ||||
| Total defense | 4,806 | 300.4 | 14th |