The 2012 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 52nd in the National Football League (NFL), as well as their second full season under head coach Leslie Frazier. They looked to improve upon their 3–13 season the year before, and did so after defeating the Tennessee Titans in Week 5; their win over the Houston Texans in Week 16 made this their first winning season since 2009. The Vikings also made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 with a Week 17 win over the Green Bay Packers to give them a 10–6 regular season record, but were defeated by the same opponents in the Wild Card playoff round the following week. Adrian Peterson was named the league's Most Valuable Player after rushing for 2,097 yards, just nine yards short of breaking the single-season record held by Eric Dickerson since 1984.
On May 10, 2012, the Minnesota State Legislature approved a bill for a new stadium for the team that would see a new facility (later named U.S. Bank Stadium) constructed by 2016 and ensure the Vikings' presence in Minneapolis through the year 2046. The bill was signed by Governor Mark Dayton on May 14, and approved by the Minneapolis City Council by a vote of 7–6 on May 25.
Offseason
Pre-draft transactions The first major transactions of the 2012 offseason were the releases of veteran guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera, and CB Cedric Griffin on March 10, as the Vikings began rebuilding their offensive line and secondary. Three days later, the team re-signed perennial backup QB Sage Rosenfels and DT Letroy Guion off their unrestricted free agents list. This was followed up with the signing of the Seattle Seahawks' unrestricted free agent TE John Carlson on a five-year contract.
The next week, the team brought in FB Jerome Felton, also an unrestricted free agent, from the Indianapolis Colts. They then released DT Remi Ayodele on March 21, but re-signed DT Fred Evans. March 26 was a big day for signings by the Vikings, with the re-signings of WR Devin Aromashodu and LB Erin Henderson, as well as the free agent acquisitions of CB Zack Bowman from the Chicago Bears and T Geoff Schwartz from the Carolina Panthers.
April saw very few transactions go through in anticipation of the 2012 NFL draft at the end of the month. Nevertheless, the Vikings signed LB Marvin Mitchell and WR Jerome Simpson, despite the fact that Simpson would miss the first three games of the season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.
2012 draft
Pro Bowler
2012 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Contract Notes Round Overall 1 3 Traded to the Cleveland Browns 4 Matt Kalil OT USC 4 years From Browns 29 Harrison Smith S Notre Dame 4 years From Ravens 2 35 Traded to the Baltimore Ravens 3 66 Josh Robinson CB UCF 4 years 4 98 Traded to the Baltimore Ravens 118 Jarius Wright WR Arkansas 4 years From Falcons, via Browns 128 Rhett Ellison FB USC 4 years Compensatory pick 134 Greg Childs WR Arkansas 4 years Compensatory pick 5 138 Traded to the Detroit Lions 139 Robert Blanton S Notre Dame 4 years From Browns 6 173 Traded to the Washington Redskins 175 Blair Walsh K Georgia 4 years From Browns 7 210 Audie Cole LB NC State 4 years 211 Traded to the Tennessee Titans From Browns 219 Trevor Guyton DE California 4 years From Seahawks, via Lions 223 Traded to the Detroit Lions From Eagles, via Patriots
Notes:
Post-draft transactions With the 2012 Draft over, the Vikings resumed their transactions in May, signing a number of undrafted free agents to their roster, and releasing RB Caleb King, following a short jail term. With the drafting of Blair Walsh, veteran kicker Ryan Longwell found himself surplus to requirements for the Vikings and he was released on May 7. By the start of June, all of the Vikings draft selections (with the exception of T Matt Kalil) had been signed to long-term contracts.
Staff
Roster
Preseason Schedule This was the first year the Vikings used a TV/radio simulcast for their preseason games.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue NFL.comrecap 1 August 10 at San Francisco 49ers L 6–17 0–1 Candlestick Park Recap 2 August 17 Buffalo Bills W 36–14 1–1 Mall of America Field Recap 3 August 24 San Diego Chargers L 10–12 1–2 Mall of America Field Recap 4 August 30 at Houston Texans L 24–28 1–3 Reliant Stadium Recap
Game summaries Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 3: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 4: at Houston Texans
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue NFL.comrecap 1September 9Jacksonville JaguarsW 26–23 (OT)1–0Mall of America Field Recap 2September 16at Indianapolis ColtsL 20–231–1Lucas Oil StadiumRecap 3September 23San Francisco 49ersW 24–132–1Mall of America FieldRecap 4September 30at Detroit LionsW 20–133–1Ford FieldRecap 5October 7Tennessee TitansW 30–74–1Mall of America FieldRecap 6October 14at Washington RedskinsL 26–384–2FedExFieldRecap 7October 21Arizona CardinalsW 21–145–2Mall of America FieldRecap 8Tampa Bay BuccaneersL 17–365–3Mall of America FieldRecap 9November 4at Seattle SeahawksL 20–305–4CenturyLink FieldRecap 10November 11Detroit LionsW 34–246–4Mall of America FieldRecap 11Bye 12November 25at Chicago BearsL 10–286–5Soldier FieldRecap 13December 2at Green Bay PackersL 14–236–6Lambeau FieldRecap 14December 9Chicago BearsW 21–147–6Mall of America FieldRecap 15December 16at St. Louis RamsW 36–228–6Edward Jones DomeRecap 16December 23at Houston TexansW 23–69–6Reliant StadiumRecap 17December 30Green Bay PackersW 37–3410–6Mall of America FieldRecap Team names in bold indicate Vikings' home games.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 4: at Detroit Lions
Week 5: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 6: at Washington Redskins
Week 7: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 12: at Chicago Bears
Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 15: at St. Louis Rams
Week 16: at Houston Texans
Week 17: vs. Green Bay Packers
Adrian Peterson rushed for 199 yards, coming up nine yards short of breaking the single season record by Eric Dickerson. This included five rushes for 36 yards on the final drive to set up the winning field goal by Blair Walsh. This game was rated #3 on the Top 20 NFL Games of 2012 on NFL.com as AP2K.
Standings
Postseason Schedule Playoff round Date Opponent Result Record Venue NFL.comrecap WC January 5 at Green Bay Packers L 10–24 0–1 Lambeau Field Recap
Game summaries NFC Wild Card Round: at Green Bay Packers
Having secured the NFC's #6 seed, the Vikings traveled to Lambeau Field for a rematch with the Packers, with the two teams meeting in the playoffs for only the second time ever. Despite not starting a game all season, the Vikings started Joe Webb over Christian Ponder due to the latter having an elbow injury. Blair Walsh capped the game's opening drive with a field goal to put the Vikings 3–0 up. However, the Packers then scored 24 unanswered points to take a 24–3 lead in the 3rd quarter. The Vikings tried to rally a comeback with a touchdown to make it 24–10, but it was too little, too late as time ran out for Minnesota.
Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Christian Ponder 2,935 Passing touchdowns Christian Ponder 18 Rushing yards Adrian Peterson 2,097 * Rushing touchdowns Adrian Peterson 12 Receiving yards Percy Harvin 677 Receiving touchdowns Kyle Rudolph 9 Points Blair Walsh 141 Kickoff return yards Percy Harvin 574 Punt return yards Marcus Sherels 287 TacklesChad Greenway 148 Sacks Jared Allen 12.0 Interceptions Harrison SmithAntoine Winfield 3 Forced fumbles Jamarca Sanford 4 Vikings single season record.
League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank Passing offense 2,751 171.9 31st Rushing offense 2,634 164.6 2nd Total offense 5,385 336.6 20th Passing defense 3,908 244.2 24th Rushing defense 1,692 105.8 11th Total defense 5,600 350.0 16th
Pro Bowl Four Minnesota Vikings players were selected for the 2013 Pro Bowl: two on offense (running back partners Adrian Peterson and Jerome Felton), one on defense (DE Jared Allen) and one special teamer (K Blair Walsh). Of these, Peterson, Felton and Walsh were selected as starters, with Allen going as a reserve.
With the withdrawal of Dallas Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware on January 10 because of a shoulder injury, Vikings LB Chad Greenway was called up to the NFC roster as a replacement. TE Kyle Rudolph was also added to the NFC roster for his first Pro Bowl two weeks later after Atlanta Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez dropped out due to injury. Rookie Matt Kalil was also added later as a replacement for the Washington Redskins' tackle, Trent Williams, yet another casualty of injury. Rudolph was named the game's MVP.
Notes and references
External links Minnesota Vikings official website 2012 Minnesota Vikings at ESPN 2012 Minnesota Vikings at Pro Football Reference