| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1985 |
| Record: | 7–9 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC Central |
| Coach: | Bud Grant |
| General Manager: | Mike Lynn |
| Owner: | Max Winter |
| Stadium: | Metrodome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | S Joey Browner |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1985 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 25th in the National Football League. Under returning head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs for a third season in a row. At the end of the season, Grant retired for good after 18 years with the franchise.
See main article: 1985 NFL draft.
| Pro Bowler |
| 1985 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 2 | Traded to the Atlanta Falcons | from Oilers | ||||
| 3 | Traded to the Houston Oilers | |||||
| 4 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | from Falcons | ||||
| 2 | 30 | Provisional trade not exercised | ||||
| 3 | 59 | |||||
| 60 | from Falcons | |||||
| 66 | from Chargers | |||||
| 4 | 85 | |||||
| 106 | from Rams | |||||
| 5 | 115 | |||||
| 6 | 142 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | ||||
| 164 | from Raiders | |||||
| 7 | 171 | Traded to the Green Bay Packers | ||||
| 8 | 198 | Nikita Blair | ||||
| 9 | 227 | Jamie Covington | ||||
| 10 | 254 | Juan Johnson | ||||
| 11 | 283 | Tim Williams | ||||
| 12 | 310 | Byron Jones | ||||
In an attempt to draft QB Bernie Kosar, the Vikings traded their first-round selection (3rd overall) and a provisional second-round selection (30th overall) to the Houston Oilers in exchange for Houston's first-round selection (2nd overall).
When Kosar did not declare for the draft and instead controversially waited for the supplemental draft, the traded the first-round selection they received from the Oilers to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Atlanta's first- and third-round selections (4th and 60th overall).
As part of the trade between the Vikings and Oilers, the Vikings agreed not to draft DE Ray Childress or trade the pick to a team that would draft Childress. Houston drafted Childress with the 3rd overall pick and this provisional selection was returned to Minnesota.
The Vikings traded CB John Turner to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for San Diego's third-round selection (66th overall).
The Vikings traded QB Steve Dils to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams' fourth-round selection (106th overall).
The Vikings traded LB Brad Van Pelt to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' sixth-round selection (164th overall) and 1986 second-round selection.
The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (171st overall) to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for K Jan Stenerud.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10 | at Miami Dolphins | W 16–13 | 1–0 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,129 | |
| 2 | August 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–34 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,887 | |
| 3 | August 24 | Seattle Seahawks | L 10–27 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,562 | |
| 4 | August 30 | at Denver Broncos | W 13–9 | 3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 69,373 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–21 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 57,375 | |
| 2 | September 15 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–16 | 2–0 | Tampa Stadium | 46,188 | |
| 3 | September 19 | Chicago Bears | L 24–33 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,242 | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bills | W 27–20 | 3–1 | Rich Stadium | 45,667 | |
| 5 | October 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–13 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 61,139 | |
| 6 | October 13 | L 17–20 | 3–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,674 | ||
| 7 | October 20 | W 21–17 | 4–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,670 | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–27 | 4–4 | Soldier Field | 63,815 | |
| 9 | November 3 | Detroit Lions | W 16–13 | 5–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,012 | |
| 10 | November 10 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–27 | 5–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,970 | |
| 11 | November 17 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–41 | 5–6 | Silverdome | 54,647 | |
| 12 | November 24 | New Orleans Saints | L 23–30 | 5–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,117 | |
| 13 | December 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–23 | 6–7 | Veterans Stadium | 54,688 | |
| 14 | December 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–7 | 7–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,593 | |
| 15 | December 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 13–14 | 7–8 | Atlanta Fulton County Stadium | 14,167 | |
| 16 | December 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 35–37 | 7–9 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 49,722 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 3,522 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 19 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 893 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 7 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 821 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 8 | ||||
| Points | 86 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 1,345 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 133 | ||||
| Tackles | 113 | ||||
| Sacks | 11.0 | ||||
| Interceptions | 5 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 3,635 | 227.2 | 7th | ||||
| Rushing offense | 1,516 | 94.8 | 27th | ||||
| Total offense | 5,151 | 321.9 | 16th | ||||
| Passing defense | 3,241 | 202.6 | 15th | ||||
| Rushing defense | 2,223 | 138.9 | 22nd | ||||
| Total defense | 5,464 | 341.5 | 16th |
The team recognized an all-time team in 1985 as part of the celebration of the 25th season.[3]