NFL team season
The 1983 season was the Minnesota Vikings ' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL), and their 17th under head coach Bud Grant . After starting 6–2, the Vikings lost six of their next seven – including a home loss to the 0–9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and were eliminated from playoff contention with one week to play.
Even with the loss to Tampa Bay, Minnesota would have won the NFC Central Division championship if not for a 13–2 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in week 14.
The team finished 8–8 record and failed to reach the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. At the end of the season, Grant retired as head coach, although he returned for a final season in 1985.
Offseason [ edit ] 1983 Draft [ edit ] ^[a] The Vikings traded their 2nd-round selection (46th overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for defensive tackle Charlie Johnson . ^[b] The Vikings traded offensive tackle Ron Yary to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams' 10th-round selection (255th overall). 1983 Minnesota Vikings final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics
Preseason [ edit ] Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at Cleveland Browns W 27–21 1–0 Cleveland Stadium 70,087 2 September 8 San Francisco 49ers L 17–48 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,167 3 September 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 19–16 (OT) 2–1 Tampa Stadium 57,567 4 September 25 Detroit Lions W 20–17 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,254 5 October 2 Dallas Cowboys L 24–37 3–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,774 6 October 9 at Chicago Bears W 23–14 4–2 Soldier Field 59,632 7 October 16 Houston Oilers W 34–14 5–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,910 8 October 23 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 (OT) 6–2 Lambeau Field 55,236 9 October 30 at St. Louis Cardinals L 31–41 6–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 42,575 10 November 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 12–17 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,239 11 November 13 Green Bay Packers L 21–29 6–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,113 12 November 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–14 7–5 Three Rivers Stadium 58,417 13 November 27 at New Orleans Saints L 16–17 7–6 Louisiana Superdome 59,502 14 December 5 at Detroit Lions L 2–13 7–7 Silverdome 79,169 15 December 11 Chicago Bears L 13–19 7–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,880 16 December 17 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–14 8–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,565
Against the Detroit Lions in week 14, the Vikings became the 35th team in NFL history and only the fifth since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger, to score just a safety in a game. This has happened only three times since: by the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals , the 2011 Atlanta Falcons , and the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars .
Standings [ edit ] Statistics [ edit ] Team leaders [ edit ] League rankings [ edit ] Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 28) Passing offense 3,211 200.7 13th Rushing offense 1,808 113.0 20th Total offense 5,019 313.7 20th Passing defense 2,903 181.4 6th Rushing defense 2,584 161.5 25th Total defense 5,487 342.9 19th
References [ edit ]
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (1) Retired numbers Current league affiliations