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

1983 draft

Pro Bowler

1983 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 19 Joey Browner Cornerback USC 2 46 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles 3 73 Walker Lee Ashley Linebacker Penn State 4 100 Mark Rush Running back Miami (FL) 5 127 Mark Stewart Linebacker Washington 6 159 Mike Jones Wide receiver Tennessee State 7 186 Carl Lee Cornerback Marshall 8 213 Norris Brown Tight end Georgia 9 239 Rod Achter Wide receiver Toledo 10 255 Melvin Brown Defensive back Ole Miss From Rams 266 Walter Tate Center Tennessee State 11 298 Brian Butcher Guard Clemson 12 325 Maurice Turner Running back Utah State

Notes

Roster

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Notes 1 August 6 vs St. Louis Cardinals W 28–10 1–0 Wembley Stadium 32,847 Global Cup 2 August 13 Baltimore Colts L 7–10 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,061 3 August 19 at Seattle Seahawks W 19–17 2–1 Kingdome 54,402 4 August 26 Denver Broncos W 34–3 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,435

Regular season

Schedule 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 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 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

Statistics

Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Steve Dils 2,840 Passing touchdowns Steve Dils 911 Rushing yards Darrin Nelson 642 Rushing touchdowns Ted Brown 10 Receiving yards Darrin Nelson 618 Receiving touchdowns Sammy White 4 Points Benny Ricardo 108 Kickoff return yards Jarvis Redwine 838 Punt return yards Rufus Bess 158 Sacks Doug Martin 13 Interceptions John Swain John Turner 6

League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank 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