The 1986 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 26th season in the National Football League, and their first with former offensive coordinator Jerry Burns as head coach, following the departure of Bud Grant at the end of the previous season.
Although the Vikings finished with a 9–7 record (a two-game improvement from their 7–9 record from 1985) for their first winning season in a full 16-game season since 1980, they missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Offseason
1986 draft
1986 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 8 Traded to the San Diego Chargers 14 Gerald Robinson Defensive end Auburn From Packers, via Chargers 2 40 Traded to the Miami Dolphins44 Traded to the New York Giants From Chargers53 Traded to the New York Giants From Raiders 3 66 Traded to the San Diego Chargers 4 93 Joe Phillips Defensive tackle SMU 5 120 Hassan Jones Wide receiver Florida State 6 147 Thomas Rooks Running back Illinois 7 179 Carl Hilton Tight end Houston 8 206 Gary Shippang Offensive tackle West Chester 9 232 Mike Slaton Cornerback South Dakota 10 259 Joe Cormier Wide receiver USC 11 286 John Armstrong Wide receiver Richmond 12 318 Jesse Solomon Linebacker Florida State Notes:
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 9 Miami Dolphins W 30–16 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 52,865 2 August 16 Denver Broncos W 29–27 2–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,193 3 August 22 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–27 2–1 Kingdome 57,730 4 August 30 at Indianapolis Colts W 23–20 3–1 Hoosier Dome 57,969
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 Detroit Lions L 10–13 0–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,851 2 September 14 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–10 1–1 Tampa Stadium 34,579 3 September 21 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–7 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,795 4 September 28 Green Bay Packers W 42–7 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,478 5 October 5 at Chicago Bears L 0–23 3–2 Soldier Field 63,921 6 October 12 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–24 4–2 Candlestick Park 58,637 7 October 19 Chicago Bears W 23–7 5–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,851 8 October 26 Cleveland Browns L 20–23 5–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,133 9 November 2 at Washington Redskins L 38–44 5–4 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 51,928 10 November 9 at Detroit Lions W 24–10 6–4 Silverdome 53,725 11 November 16 New York Giants L 20–22 6–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,003 12 November 23 at Cincinnati Bengals L 20–24 6–6 Riverfront Stadium 53,003 13 November 30 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 45–13 7–6 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,235 14 December 7 at Green Bay Packers W 32–6 8–6 Lambeau Field 47,637 15 December 14 at Houston Oilers L 10–23 8–7 Astrodome 32,738 16 December 21 New Orleans Saints W 33–17 9–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,209
Game summaries
Week 1: vs Detroit Lions
Week 8: vs Cleveland Browns
Standings
Statistics
Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Tommy Kramer 3,000 Passing touchdowns Tommy Kramer 24 Rushing yards Darrin Nelson 793 Rushing touchdowns Ted Brown Darrin Nelson 4 Receiving yards Steve Jordan 859 Receiving touchdowns Anthony Carter 7 Points Chuck Nelson 110 Kickoff return yards Rufus Bess 705 Punt return yards Rufus Bess 162 Tackles Jesse Solomon 96 Sacks Keith Millard 10.5 Interceptions Issiac Holt 8 Forced fumbles Chris Doleman 2
League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank Passing offense 3,913 244.6 5th Rushing offense 1,738 108.6 16th Total offense 5,651 353.2 4th Passing defense 3,216 201.0 13th Rushing defense 1,796 112.3 13th Total defense 5,012 313.3 11th
Awards and records On August 2, Fran Tarkenton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was the first player inducted who was primarily a Minnesota Viking during his career. Tommy Kramer, the NFL passer rating leader, was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by Pro Football Weekly.
References
External links Vikings on Pro Football Reference Vikings on jt-sw.com