1988 Minnesota Vikings season

1988 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Jerry Burns
General manager	Mike Lynn
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won NFC Wild Card Game Lost Divisional Playoffs

The 1988 Minnesota Vikings season was the team's 28th year in the National Football League. The team won eleven games, and finished second to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Central division.

The Vikings had one of the best defenses in the NFL in 1988. The team allowed 4,091 total yards, 4.3 yards per play, and 243 first downs, all best in the league. The Vikings also had a league-best 53 takeaways. Opposing quarterbacks had a league-worst 41.2 passer rating against the Vikings' defense, the lowest total of the 1980s and fifth all-time for the Super Bowl era.

The Vikings made the postseason for the second consecutive time under coach Jerry Burns. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the Wildcard round, but the following week, the Vikings couldn't flick the switch this time, losing 34-9 to the rejuvenated San Francisco 49ers, who would go on to win their third Super Bowl.

Offseason

1988 Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

= Hall of Famer

1988 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	19	19	Randall McDaniel	Offensive Guard	Arizona State
2	18	45	Traded to the Denver Broncos
	27	54	Brad Edwards	Defensive Back	South Carolina	from Broncos
3	16	71	Al Noga	Defensive End	Hawaii
4	15	97	Traded to the New England Patriots
	26	108	Todd Kalis	Offensive Guard	Arizona State	from Broncos
5	15	124	Darrell Fullington	Defensive Back	Miami
6	19	156	Traded to the Miami Dolphins
	27	164	Derrick White	Defensive Back	Oklahoma	from Broncos
7	18	183	Brad Beckman	Tight End	Nebraska-Omaha
8	17	210	Joe Cain	Linebacker	Oregon Tech
9	16	237	Paul McGowan	Linebacker	Florida State
10	15	264	Brian Habib	Offensive Tackle	Washington
11	19	296	Norman Floyd	Safety	South Carolina	from Vikings via Patriots
12	18	323	Traded to the New York Giants

^{^[a]} Denver traded their 2nd round selection (54th overall), 4th round selection (108th overall), and 6th round selection (164th overall) to the Vikings to move up 9 spots to the 45th selection and draft Offensive Tackle Gerald Perry.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (97th overall) and 11th round selection (294th overall) to New England for QB Rich Gannon.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (156th overall) and 1989 10th round selection (275th overall) to Miami for OL Greg Koch.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 1989 9th round selection to New England for the 11th round selection (296th overall) that the Patriots received in the Gannon trade.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 12th round selection (323rd overall) to the Giants for C Chris Foote.

Supplemental Draft

Round	Name	Position	College	Notes
5	Ryan Bethea	Wide Receiver	South Carolina	Resulted in forfeiture of 1989 5th round selection

Personnel

Staff

1988 Minnesota Vikings staff
	Front office President – Wheelock Whitney, Jr. General Manager – Mike Lynn Head coaches Head Coach – Jerry Burns Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bob Schnelker Receivers – Dick Rehbein Offensive Assistant/Receivers – Jerry Brown Running Backs – John Brunner Tight Ends – Tom Batta Offensive Line – John Michels			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive Line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive Backs – Pete Carroll Special teams coaches Special Teams – Tom Batta

Final roster

1988 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Rich Gannon  9 Tommy Kramer 11 Wade Wilson Running backs 46 Alfred Anderson FB 42 D. J. Dozier 31 Rick Fenney 32 Darryl Harris KR 20 Darrin Nelson 36 Allen Rice Wide receivers 81 Anthony Carter 80 Jim Gustafson 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis PR Tight ends 82 Carl Hilton 83 Steve Jordan 86 Mike Mularkey		Offensive linemen 62 Chris Foote C 72 Dave Huffman G 76 Tim Irwin T 69 Todd Kalis G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 52 Randy Rasmussen C 66 Terry Tausch G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 60 Al Baker DE 78 Barry Bennett DT 56 Chris Doleman DE 78 William Gay DE 73 Stafford Mays DE 75 Keith Millard DT 99 Al Noga DE 97 Henry Thomas DT		Linebackers 53 Sam Anno 58 Walker Lee Ashley 50 Ray Berry OLB 51 David Howard OLB 54 Jesse Solomon OLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB Defensive backs 47 Joey Browner SS 27 Brad Edwards FS 29 Darrell Fullington FS 44 John Harris FS 24 Wymon Henderson CB 30 Issiac Holt CB 39 Carl Lee CB 48 Reggie Rutland CB Special teams  1 Chuck Nelson K 13 Bucky Scribner P		Reserve lists 79 Doug Martin DE (IR) 10px 96 Tim Newton DT (IR) 10px Practice squad Rookies in italics 49 Active, 2 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Regular season

A ticket for the 1988 NFC Wildcard Game between the Vikings and the Rams.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–10	Rich Stadium	76,783
2	September 11, 1988	New England Patriots	W 36–6	Metrodome	55,545
3	September 18, 1988	at Chicago Bears	W 31–7	Soldier Field	63,990
4	September 25, 1988	Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–21	Metrodome	56,012
5	October 2, 1988	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–7	Joe Robbie Stadium	59,867
6	October 9, 1988	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 14–13	Tampa Stadium	55,274
7	October 16, 1988	Green Bay Packers	L 34–14	Metrodome	59,053
8	October 23, 1988	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 49–20	Tampa Stadium	48,020
9	October 30, 1988	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–21	Candlestick Park	60,738
10	November 6, 1988	Detroit Lions	W 44–17	Metrodome	55,573
11	November 13, 1988	at Dallas Cowboys	W 43–3	Texas Stadium	57,830
12	November 20, 1988	Indianapolis Colts	W 12–3	Metrodome	58,342
13	November 24, 1988	at Detroit Lions	W 23–0	Silverdome	46,379
14	December 4, 1988	New Orleans Saints	W 45–3	Metrodome	61,215
15	December 11, 1988	at Green Bay Packers	L 18–6	Lambeau Field	48,892
16	December 19, 1988	Chicago Bears	W 28–27	Metrodome	62,067

Game summaries

1 2 3 4 Total • Vikings 17 0 17 9 43 Cowboys 0 3 0 0 3 Date: November 13 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 7:00 p.m. Game attendance: 57,830 Game weather: 59°F; wind 12

Scoring summary Q1 MIN Hassan Jones 26 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick) MIN 7–0 Q1 MIN Henry Thomas 2 yard fumble return (Chuck Nelson kick) MIN 14–0 Q1 MIN Chuck Nelson 39 yard field goal MIN 17–0 Q2 DAL Roger Ruzek 50 yard field goal MIN 17–3 Q3 MIN Hassan Jones 64 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick) MIN 24–3 Q3 MIN Chuck Nelson 27 yard field goal MIN 27–3 Q3 MIN Steve Jordan 3 yard pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson kick) MIN 34–3 Q4 MIN D.J. Dozier 19 yard run (Chuck Nelson kick) MIN 41–3 Q4 MIN Safety, Kevin Sweeney tackled by Al Baker in end zone MIN 43–3

Postseason

• 12/26 LA Rams W 28–17 (NFC Wildcard)
• 1/1 at San Francisco L 9–34 (NFC Divisional)

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears(1)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	312	215	L1
Minnesota Vikings(4)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	406	233	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	4–4	4–8	261	350	W1
Detroit Lions	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–11	240	315	L2
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	220	313	W2

Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoff

San Francisco 49ers 34, Minnesota Vikings 9

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	3	0	6	0	9
49ers	7	14	0	13	34

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game attendance: 61,848
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Wade Wilson	2,746
Passing Touchdowns	Wade Wilson	15
Rushing Yards	Darrin Nelson	380
Rushing Touchdowns	Alfred Anderson	7
Receiving Yards	Anthony Carter	1,225
Receiving Touchdowns	Anthony Carter	6
Points	Chuck Nelson	108
Kickoff Return Yards	Darryl Harris	833
Punt Return Yards	Leo Lewis	550 *
Tackles	Jesse Solomon	124
Sacks	Chris Doleman Keith Millard	8.0
Interceptions	Carl Lee	8
Forced Fumbles	Henry Thomas	4

• Vikings single season record.

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing Offense	3,789 Yards	236.8 YPG	4th
Rushing Offense	1,806 Yards	112.9 YPG	20th
Total Offense	5,595 Yards	349.7 YPG	7th
Passing Defense	2,489 Yards	155.6 YPG	2nd
Rushing Defense	1,602 Yards	100.1 YPG	5th
Total Defense	4,091 Yards	255.7 YPG	1st

References

• Vikings on Pro Football Reference
• Vikings on jt-sw.com