The 1988 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 28th in the National Football League. They finished with an 11–5 record, 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1988 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics 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.Cold Hard Football Facts: Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history
The Vikings made the postseason for the second consecutive time under coach Jerry Burns. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams 28–17 in the wildcard round, but lost 34–9 in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers, who went on to win their third Super Bowl. This was the last time the Vikings won a playoff game until 1997.
Offseason
1988 draft
Hall of Famer
1988 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 19 Randall McDaniel Guard Arizona State 2 45 Traded to the Denver Broncos 54 Brad Edwards Safety South Carolina From Broncos 3 71 Al Noga Defensive end Hawaii 4 97 Traded to the New England Patriots 108 Todd Kalis Guard Arizona State From Broncos 5 124 Darrell Fullington Safety Miami (FL) 6 156 Traded to the Miami Dolphins 164 Derrick White Defensive back Oklahoma From Broncos 7 183 Brad Beckman Tight end Nebraska–Omaha 8 210 Joe Cain Linebacker Oregon Tech 9 237 Paul McGowan Linebacker Florida State 10 264 Brian Habib Offensive tackle Washington 11 296 Norman Floyd Safety South Carolina From Vikings, via Patriots 12 323 Traded to the New York Giants Notes:
Supplemental draft
Round Name Position College Notes 5 Ryan Bethea Defensive back South Carolina Resulted in forfeiture of 1989 fifth-round selection.
Undrafted free agents
+ 1988 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBob FurlongGuardWisconsin–Stevens PointMike GreenfieldQuarterbackNorthwesternDarryl HarrisRunning backArizona StateVan SheppardWide receiverNebraskaReggie WardWide receiverNotre Dame
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Notes 1 August 7 New Orleans Saints L 20–23 0–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 47,624 2 August 14 Chicago Bears W 28–21 1–1 Ullevi Stadium 33,115 Volvo American Football Classic 3 August 21 at Phoenix Cardinals W 19–16 2–1 Sun Devil Stadium 45,429 4 August 26 Miami Dolphins W 24–17 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,463
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at Buffalo Bills L 10–13 0–1 Rich Stadium 76,783 2 September 11 New England Patriots W 36–6 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,545 3 September 18 at Chicago Bears W 31–7 2–1 Soldier Field 63,990 4 September 25 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–21 3–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,012 5 October 2 at Miami Dolphins L 7–24 3–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 59,867 6 October 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–13 4–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,274 7 October 16 Green Bay Packers L 14–34 4–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,053 8 October 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 49–20 5–3 Tampa Stadium 48,020 9 October 30 at San Francisco 49ers L 21–24 5–4 Candlestick Park 60,738 10 November 6 Detroit Lions W 44–17 6–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,573 11 November 13 at Dallas Cowboys W 43–3 7–4 Texas Stadium 57,830 12 November 20 Indianapolis Colts W 12–3 8–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 58,342 13 November 24 at Detroit Lions W 23–0 9–4 Silverdome 46,379 14 December 4 New Orleans Saints W 45–3 10–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,215 15 December 11 at Green Bay Packers L 6–18 10–5 Lambeau Field 48,892 16 December 19 Chicago Bears W 28–27 11–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,067
Game summaries
Week 5: at Miami Dolphins
Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys
Standings
Playoffs
Schedule Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wild Card December 26 Los Angeles Rams (5) W 28–17 1–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,666 Divisional January 1 at San Francisco 49ers (2) L 9–34 1–1 Candlestick Park 61,848
Game summaries
NFC Wild Card: vs. (#5) Los Angeles Rams
NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (#2) San Francisco 49ers
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 DolemanKeith 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 Passing offense 3,789 236.8 4th Rushing offense 1,806 112.9 20th Total offense 5,595 349.7 7th Passing defense 2,489 155.6 2nd Rushing defense 1,602 100.1 5th Total defense 4,091 255.7 1st
References
Vikings on Pro Football Reference Vikings on jt-sw.com