| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Record: | 10–6 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC North |
| Coach: | Mike Zimmer |
| General Manager: | Rick Spielman |
| Owner: | Zygi Wilf |
| Stadium: | U.S. Bank Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 26–20 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 10–27 |
| Ap All-Pros: | LB Eric Kendricks (1st team) |
| Uniform: | File:Vikings 2019 Uniform (cropped).png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 2019 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 59th in the National Football League (NFL), their fourth playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their sixth under head coach Mike Zimmer. They improved on their 8–7–1 campaign from 2018 with a Week 14 win over the Detroit Lions, and returned to the playoffs following a one-year absence after the Los Angeles Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. That week, the Vikings were eliminated from contention for the NFC North division title, losing 23–10 to the Green Bay Packers. They defeated the New Orleans Saints 26–20 in overtime in the Wild Card round but lost 27–10 to the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
See main article: 2019 NFL draft.
| 2019 Minnesota Vikings draft | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Contract | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | ||||||
| 18 | 4 years, $12.88 million[1] | ||||||
| 2 | 50 | 4 years, $5.798 million[2] | |||||
| 3 | 81 | Traded to the Detroit Lions | |||||
| 88 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks | from Eagles via Lions | |||||
| 92 | Traded to the New York Jets | from Chiefs via Seahawks | |||||
| 93 | Traded to the Baltimore Ravens | from Saints via Jets | |||||
| 102 | 4 years, $3.35 million | Compensatory pick
| |||||
| 4 | 114 | 4 years, $3.259 million | from Packers via Seahawks | ||||
| 120 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks | ||||||
| 5 | 156 | Traded to the Denver Broncos | |||||
| 159 | Traded to the New England Patriots | from Seahawks | |||||
| 162 | 4 years, $2.815 million | from Bears via Patriots, Rams and Patriots | |||||
| 6 | 190 | 4 years, $2.689 million[3] | |||||
| 191 | 4 years, $2.688 million | from Titans via Ravens | |||||
| 193 | 4 years, $2.687 million | from Ravens | |||||
| 204 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks | from Patriots via Lions | |||||
| 209 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks | Compensatory pick | |||||
| 7 | 217 | 4 years, $2.629 million[4] | from Jets | ||||
| 232 | Traded to the New York Giants | ||||||
| 239 | 4 years, $2.6 million | from Eagles via Patriots | |||||
| 247 | 4 years, $2.594 million | Compensatory pick | |||||
| 250 | 4 years, $2.59 million[5] | Compensatory pick | |||||
| Player | Position | College | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micah Abernathy | Tennessee | ||
| Vanderbilt | |||
| Washington | |||
| Sam Houston State | |||
| Marian | |||
| Eastern Illinois | |||
| John Keenoy | Western Michigan | ||
| UCLA | |||
| Tito Odenigbo | Miami | ||
| Anree Saint-Amour | Georgia Tech |
Notes
Draft trades
The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 9, with exact dates and times finalized on April 17.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at New Orleans Saints | W 34–25 | 1–0 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | 73,018 | Recap | ||
| 2 | August 18 | Seattle Seahawks | W 25–19 | 2–0 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,636 | Recap | |
| 3 | Arizona Cardinals | W 20–9 | 3–0 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,698 | Recap | ||
| 4 | at Buffalo Bills | L 23–27 | 3–1 | New Era Field | 57,765 | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | Atlanta Falcons | W 28–12 | 1–0 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,714 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 15 | at Green Bay Packers | L 16–21 | 1–1 | Lambeau Field | 78,416 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 22 | Oakland Raiders | W 34–14 | 2–1 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,738 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Chicago Bears | L 6–16 | 2–2 | Soldier Field | 62,131 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 6 | at New York Giants | W 28–10 | 3–2 | MetLife Stadium | 75,041 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 38–20 | 4–2 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,837 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 20 | at Detroit Lions | W 42–30 | 5–2 | Ford Field | 60,314 | Recap | |
| 8 | Washington Redskins | W 19–9 | 6–2 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,776 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 23–26 | 6–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 73,615 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 10 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 28–24 | 7–3 | AT&T Stadium | 91,188 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 17 | Denver Broncos | W 27–23 | 8–3 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,883 | Recap | |
| 12 | Bye | |||||||
| 13 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 30–37 | 8–4 | CenturyLink Field | 69,080 | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 8 | Detroit Lions | W 20–7 | 9–4 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,776 | Recap | |
| 15 | December 15 | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 39–10 | 10–4 | Dignity Health Sports Park | 25,446 | Recap | |
| 16 | Green Bay Packers | L 10–23 | 10–5 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 67,157 | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 29 | Chicago Bears | L 19–21 | 10–6 | U.S. Bank Stadium | 66,913 | Recap | |
The Vikings defeated the Oakland Raiders for their 500th win as a franchise, with an overall record of 500-427-11 at that point.[7]
See also: 2019–20 NFL playoffs.
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | January 5, 2020 | at New Orleans Saints (3) | W 26–20 | 1–0 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | 73,038 | Recap | |
| Divisional | at San Francisco 49ers (1) | L 10–27 | 1–1 | Levi's Stadium | 71,649 | Recap |
| Category | Player(s) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 3,603 | ||
| Passing touchdowns | 26 | ||
| Rushing yards | 1,135 | ||
| Rushing touchdowns | 13 | ||
| Receptions | 63 | ||
| Receiving yards | 1,130 | ||
| Receiving touchdowns | 6 | ||
| Points | 121 | ||
| Kickoff return yards | 325 | ||
| Punt return yards | 104 | ||
| Tackles | 110 | ||
| Sacks | 14.5 | ||
| Interceptions | 6 | ||
| Forced fumbles | 3 |
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 2,314 | 231.4 | 17th | |
| Rushing offense | 1,530 | 153.0 | 3rd | |
| Total offense | 3,844 | 384.4 | 8th | |
| Passing defense | 2,419 | 241.9 | 18th | |
| Rushing defense | 912 | 91.2 | 7th | |
| Total defense | 3,331 | 333.1 | 13th |
Three Vikings players were selected for the 2020 Pro Bowl when the initial rosters were announced on December 18, 2019: running back Dalvin Cook, safety Harrison Smith and defensive end Danielle Hunter. It was Smith's fifth Pro Bowl and Hunter's second, while Cook made his Pro Bowl debut.[10] With the withdrawal of several NFC players, including San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, defensive end Nick Bosa and cornerback Richard Sherman, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Chicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, several Vikings were added to the roster for the Pro Bowl: fullback C. J. Ham, defensive end Everson Griffen, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, quarterback Kirk Cousins and linebacker Eric Kendricks. It was a first Pro Bowl appearance for Ham and Kendricks, a second for Cousins, a third for Rhodes and a fourth for Griffen.[11]