1970 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger. Under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.[1]

1970 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (49ers) 14–17

Offseason

1970 Draft

1969 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	25	John Ward	Offensive tackle	Oklahoma State
2	51	Bill Cappleman	Quarterback	Florida State
3	77	Chuck Burgoon	Linebacker	North Park
4	103	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[a]
5	129	Greg Jones	Running back	UCLA
6	155	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[b]
7	181	Hap Farber	Linebacker	Mississippi
8	207	Mike Carroll	Guard	Missouri
9	233	George Morrow	Defensive end	Mississippi
10	259	Stu Voigt	Tight end	Wisconsin
11	285	Godfrey Zaunbrecher	Center	Louisiana State
12	311	James Holland	Defensive back	Jackson State
13	337	Robert Pearce	Defensive back	Stephen F. Austin
14	363	Tommy Spinks	Wide receiver	Louisiana Tech
15	389	Bennie Francis	Defensive end	Chadron State
16	415	Bruce Cerone	Wide receiver	Emporia State
17	441	Brian Healy	Defensive back	Michigan

^{^[a]} The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (103rd overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for TE Kent Kramer.

^{^[b]} The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (155th overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for TE Tony Jeter.

Roster

1970 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Bill Cappleman 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Bob Lee Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 26 Clinton Jones 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed Wide receivers 27 Bob Grim 80 John Henderson 84 Gene Washington Tight ends 87 John Beasley 89 Kent Kramer 83 Stu Voigt		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis T 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 63 Jim Vellone G 72 John Ward G 62 Ed White 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher C Defensive linemen 76 Paul Dickson DT 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 88 Alan Page DT 74 Steve Smith DE		Linebackers 50 Jim Hargrove 58 Wally Hilgenberg 55 Mike McGill 66 Wayne Meylan 59 Lonnie Warwick 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 20 Bobby Bryant CB 25 John Charles S 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 28 Ted Provost 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 12 Tom McNeill P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance[2]
1	August 8	New Orleans Saints	L 13–14	0–1	Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH)	17,932
2	August 15	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–20	0–2	Metropolitan Stadium	45,591
3	August 22	at Houston Oilers	W 14–7	1–2	Astrodome	44,563
4	August 30	New York Jets	W 52–21	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
5	September 5	at Cleveland Browns	W 24–21	3–2	Cleveland Stadium	83,043
6	September 11	at Chicago Bears	W 31–30	4–2	Soldier Field	46,630

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20, 1970	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–10	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 27, 1970	New Orleans Saints	W 26–0	2–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 4, 1970	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–13	2–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,967
4	October 11, 1970	at Chicago Bears	W 24–0	3–1	Wrigley Field	45,485
5	October 18, 1970	Dallas Cowboys	W 54–13	4–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
6	October 26, 1970	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–3	5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
7	November 1, 1970	at Detroit Lions	W 30–17	6–1	Tiger Stadium	58,210
8	November 8, 1970	at Washington Redskins	W 19–10	7–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	50,415
9	November 15, 1970	Detroit Lions	W 24–20	8–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
10	November 22, 1970	Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	9–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
11	November 29, 1970	at New York Jets	L 10-20	9–2	Shea Stadium	62,333
12	December 5, 1970	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	10–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
13	December 13, 1970	at Boston Patriots	W 35–14	11–2	Harvard Stadium	37,819
14	December 20, 1970	at Atlanta Falcons	W 37–7	12–2	Atlanta Stadium	57,992

Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week One: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	7	3	0	10
Vikings	0	17	0	10	27

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 47,900
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Fred Cox 20-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0. MIN – Roy Winston 36-yard fumble recovery (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 10–0. KC – Otis Taylor 59-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick). Vikings 10–7. MIN – Dave Osborn 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–7. Third quarter KC – Jan Stenerud 26-yard field goal. Vikings 17–10. Fourth quarter MIN – Oscar Reed 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–10. MIN – Fred Cox 40-yard field goal. Vikings 27–10. Top passers KC – Len Dawson – 18/27, 164 yards, TD, 2 INT MIN – Gary Cuozzo – 12/20, 100 yards, 2 INT Top rushers KC – Wendell Hayes – 7 rushes, 22 yards MIN – Bill Brown – 17 rushes, 55 yards Top receivers KC – Otis Taylor – 5 receptions, 100 yards, TD MIN – John Beasley – 3 receptions, 41 yards

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	12	2	0	.857	5–1	10–1	335	143	W3
Detroit Lions	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–4	347	202	W5
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	196	293	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	1–5	5–6	256	261	W2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 27, 1970	San Francisco 49ers	L 14-17	Metropolitan Stadium	46,050

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Gary Cuozzo	1,720
Passing touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	7
Rushing yards	Dave Osborn	681
Rushing touchdowns	Clint Jones	9
Receiving yards	Gene Washington	702
Receiving touchdowns	Gene Washington	4
Points	Fred Cox	125
Kickoff return yards	Clint Jones	452
Punt return yards	Charlie West	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing offense	2,181	155.8	14th
Rushing offense	1,634	116.7	14th
Total offense	3,815	272.5	19th
Passing defense	1,438	102.7	1st
Rushing defense	1,365	97.5	5th
Total defense	2,803	200.2	1st

References

1. The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p. 294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
2. "1970 Minnesota Vikings - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com.