| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Record: | 9–7 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC Central |
| Coach: | Dennis Green |
| Stadium: | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| Playoffs: | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Cowboys) 15–40 |
| Pro Bowlers: | WR Cris Carter G Randall McDaniel DT John Randle |
| Ap All-Pros: | G Randall McDaniel (1st team) DT John Randle (1st team) |
| Uniform: | File:Viking1996-98.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1996 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 36th in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Dennis Green, they finished with a 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, starting a run of five consecutive playoff appearances.
They started the season with five wins in their first six games, before losing their next four. Starting quarterback Warren Moon suffered a broken collarbone during the season and missed the final six games, allowing fifth-year backup Brad Johnson to take his place. With Johnson under center, the Vikings won four of their remaining five games, including divisional victories on the road against the Detroit Lions and at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those wins proved pivotal in the Vikings qualification for the playoffs, as their superior intra-conference record (8–4) over the Washington Redskins rendered Minnesota's week 17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers irrelevant, despite the Redskins defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings entered the playoffs as the number 6 seed in the NFC, pitting them against the Cowboys in the wildcard round. The Cowboys put up 30 unanswered points in the first half and ultimately won the game 40–15, making it the fourth time in five seasons that the Vikings' season ended in the wildcard round.
For the season, the Vikings sported new uniforms, adding the team's logo to both sleeves of the jersey as well as adding yellow number and yellow name outlines. These uniforms would remain in use with the Minnesota Vikings until 2005.
| Additions | Subtractions | |
|---|---|---|
| T Scott Dill (Buccaneers) | DE Roy Barker (49ers) | |
| DE Robert Goff (Saints) | T Rick Cunningham (Raiders) | |
| LB Dixon Edwards (Cowboys) | TE Adrian Cooper (49ers) | |
| TE David Frisch (Patriots) | LB Jack Del Rio (Dolphins) | |
| DB Anthony Prior (Jets) | S Charles Mincy (Buccaneers) | |
| T Ariel Solomon (Steelers) | ||
| LB Darryl Talley (Falcons) |
See main article: 1996 NFL draft.
| 1996 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 16 | Duane Clemons | Linebacker | ||||
| 2 | 45 | |||||
| 3 | 75 | |||||
| 4 | 97 | from Cardinals | ||||
| 112 | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | |||||
| 5 | 137 | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | from Giants | |||
| 148 | Sean Boyd | |||||
| 6 | 182 | Traded to the New York Giants | ||||
| 7 | 223 | Jon Merrill | ||||
The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection and the fifth-round selection they received from the New York Giants (112th and 137th overall) to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for Arizona's fourth-round selection (97th overall).
The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection and safety Vencie Glenn to the New York Giants in exchange for the Giants' fifth-round selection (137th overall) and 1995 sixth-round selection (189th overall).
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 3 | San Diego Chargers | W 23–20 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 34,367 | |
| 2 | August 8 | Buffalo Bills | L 12–35 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 36,297 | |
| 3 | August 19 | at Miami Dolphins | L 17–24 | 1–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 55,598 | |
| 4 | August 23 | at New Orleans Saints | L 13–16 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 35,728 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | Detroit Lions | W 17–13 | 1–0 | Metrodome | 52,972 | |
| 2 | September 8 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 23–17 | 2–0 | Georgia Dome | 42,688 | |
| 3 | September 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–14 | 3–0 | Soldier Field | 61,301 | |
| 4 | September 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 30–21 | 4–0 | Metrodome | 64,168 | |
| 5 | September 29 | at New York Giants | L 15–10 | 4–1 | Giants Stadium | 70,970 | |
| 6 | October 6 | Carolina Panthers | W 14–12 | 5–1 | Metrodome | 60,894 | |
| 7 | October 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 24–13 | 5–2 | Houlihan's Stadium | 32,175 | |
| 8 | Bye | ||||||
| 9 | October 28 | Chicago Bears | L 15–13 | 5–3 | Metrodome | 58,143 | |
| 10 | November 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–6 | 5–4 | Metrodome | 59,552 | |
| 11 | November 10 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 42–23 | 5–5 | Kingdome | 50,794 | |
| 12 | November 17 | at Oakland Raiders | W 16–13 | 6–5 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 41,183 | |
| 13 | November 24 | Denver Broncos | L 21–17 | 6–6 | Metrodome | 59,142 | |
| 14 | December 1 | Arizona Cardinals | W 41–17 | 7–6 | Metrodome | 45,767 | |
| 15 | December 8 | at Detroit Lions | W 24–22 | 8–6 | Silverdome | 46,043 | |
| 16 | December 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–10 | 9–6 | Metrodome | 49,202 | |
| 17 | December 22 | at Green Bay Packers | L 38–10 | 9–7 | Lambeau Field | 59,306 | |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2,258 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 17 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 692 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 3 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 1,320 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 10 | ||||
| Points | 96 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 527 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 216 | ||||
| Tackles | 101 | ||||
| Sacks | 11.5 | ||||
| Interceptions | 5 | ||||
| Forced fumbles | 4 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 3,658 | 228.6 | 8th | ||||
| Rushing offense | 1,546 | 96.6 | 24th | ||||
| Total offense | 5,204 | 325.2 | 12th | ||||
| Passing defense | 3,121 | 195.1 | 9th | ||||
| Rushing defense | 1,966 | 122.9 | 24th | ||||
| Total defense | 5,087 | 317.9 | 16th |