The 2015 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 55th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their second under head coach Mike Zimmer. It marked the last season in which the Vikings played their home games at the University of Minnesota's on-campus TCF Bank Stadium, before moving into U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in July 2016, located on the site of the now-demolished Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
The Vikings improved on their 7–9 record from 2014 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012. They also won their first NFC North title since 2009 with a Week 17 victory at the Packers. As a result, they hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round of the 2015–16 NFL playoffs, but lost 10–9 after kicker Blair Walsh missed a potential game-winning 27-yard field goal in the final seconds.
Offseason
2015 draft
Pro Bowler
2015 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Contract Notes Round Selection 1 11 Trae Waynes CB Michigan State 4 years / $12.944 million 2 45 Eric Kendricks LB UCLA 4 years / $5.156 million 3 76 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 80 Traded to the Detroit Lions from Chiefs 88 Danielle Hunter DE LSU 4 years / $3.077 million from Lions 4 110 T. J. Clemmings OT Pittsburgh 4 years / $2.804 million 5 137 Traded to the Atlanta Falcons from Buccaneers via Bills 143 MyCole Pruitt TE Southern Illinois 4 years / $2.51 million from Lions via Broncos and Bears 146 Stefon Diggs WR Maryland 4 years / $2.5 million from Falcons 149 Traded to the Miami Dolphins 6 185 Tyrus Thompson OT Oklahoma 4 years / $2.4 million from Falcons 187 Traded to the Buffalo Bills 193 B. J. Dubose DE Louisville 4 years / $2.399 million from Chiefs 7 228 Austin Shepherd OT Alabama 4 years / $2.349 million 232 Edmond Robinson OLB Newberry 4 years / $2.34 million from 49ers via Dolphins
Roster changes + Re-signings Date Player name Position Contract terms March 8, 2015 Tom Johnson DE 3 years / $7 million March 10, 2015 Matt Asiata RB 1 year / $800,000March 11, 2015 Joe Berger C 2 years / $2.155 million Cullen Loeffler LS 1 year / $1.05 million March 17, 2015 Mike Harris OT 1 year / $1.542 million July 4, 2015 John Sullivan C 3 years / $16.7 million July 26, 2015 Blair Walsh K 4 year / $14 million
+ Departures Date Player name Position Note New team February 27, 2015 Charlie Johnson G ReleasedMarch 10, 2015 Matt Cassel QB Traded Buffalo Bills Jerome Felton FB UFA March 13, 2015 Christian Ponder QB Oakland RaidersMarch 14, 2015 Jasper Brinkley ILB Dallas Cowboys Greg Jennings WR Released Miami Dolphins March 16, 2015 Vladimir Ducasse G UFA Chicago BearsMarch 26, 2015 Justin Anderson LB Released Dallas Cowboys Jordan McCray G Released April 2, 2015 Pat Devlin QB Released Chicago Bears August 24, 2015 Cullen Loeffler LS Released August 30, 2015 Joe Banyard RB Released Jacksonville Jaguars Brandon Bostick TE Arizona Cardinals Jalil Carter CB Justin Coleman CB New England Patriots DaVaris Daniels WR New England Patriots Stephen Goodin OT Brooklyn Bolts (FXFL) Josh Kaddu LB Jordan Leslie WR Jacksonville Jaguars Caesar Rayford DE Los Angeles Kiss (AFL) Chrishon Rose DT DeMarcus Van Dyke CB Atlanta Falcons September 5, 2015 Babatunde Aiyegbusi OT Waived October 6, 2015 Gerald Hodges MLB Traded San Francisco 49ers November 17, 2015 Chase Ford TE Signed off Practice Squad Baltimore Ravens
+ Additions Date Player name Position Previous team Contract terms February 18, 2015 Brandon Bostick TE Green Bay Packers Claimed off waivers March 11, 2015 Shaun Hill QB St. Louis Rams 2 years / $6.5 million March 13, 2015 Mike Wallace WR Miami Dolphins Acquired in trade March 19, 2015 DuJuan Harris RB Green Bay Packers 1 year / $660,000March 24, 2015 Casey Matthews LB Philadelphia Eagles 1 years / $825,000 Taylor Mays S Cincinnati Bengals 1 year / $795,000 March 26, 2015 Babatunde Aiyegbusi OL Dresden Monarchs (GFL) 3 years / $1.575 million March 27, 2015 Terence Newman CB Cincinnati Bengals 1 year / $2.25 millionApril 2, 2015 Mike Kafka QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 year / $660,000 Caesar Rayford DE Montreal Alouettes (CFL) 1 year / $660,000 April 6, 2015 Kevin McDermott LS Baltimore Ravens 2 years / $1.26 million May 11, 2015 Isaac Fruechte WR Minnesota Golden Gophers (NCAA) 3 years / $1.575 million June 9, 2015 Chrishon Rose DT East Carolina Pirates (NCAA) July 24, 2015 Josh Thomas CB Detroit Lions August 1, 2015 Ryan Whalen WR Cincinnati Bengals August 14, 2015 Greg Hickman DT Detroit Lions October 6, 2015 Nick Easton C San Francisco 49ers Acquired in trade
Preseason
Schedule On February 11, 2015, the National Football League announced that the Vikings would play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. The game was played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday, August 9. The remainder of the Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 9. The Vikings first hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders before road games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans, making this the third consecutive year in which the Vikings face the Titans in the preseason.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap HOF August 9 Pittsburgh Steelers W 14–3 1–0 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium 22,364 Recap 1 August 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–16 2–0 TCF Bank Stadium 50,610 Recap 2 August 22 Oakland Raiders W 20–12 3–0 TCF Bank Stadium 50,656 Recap 3 August 29 at Dallas Cowboys W 28–14 4–0 AT&T Stadium 86,082 Recap 4 September 3 at Tennessee Titans L 17–24 4–1 Nissan Stadium 61,294 Recap
Game summaries
Hall of Fame Game: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 3: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 4: at Tennessee Titans
Regular season
Schedule The Vikings' 2015 schedule was announced on April 21.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 3–20 0–1 Levi's Stadium 70,499 Recap 2 September 20 Detroit Lions W 26–16 1–1 TCF Bank Stadium 52,319 Recap 3 September 27 San Diego Chargers W 31–14 2–1 TCF Bank Stadium 52,400 Recap 4 October 4 at Denver Broncos L 20–23 2–2 Sports Authority Field at Mile High 77,029 Recap 5 Bye 6 October 18 Kansas City Chiefs W 16–10 3–2 TCF Bank Stadium 52,480 Recap 7 October 25 at Detroit Lions W 28–19 4–2 Ford Field 60,231 Recap 8 November 1 at Chicago Bears W 23–20 5–2 Soldier Field 62,311 Recap 9 November 8 St. Louis Rams W 21–18 6–2 TCF Bank Stadium 52,406 Recap 10 November 15 at Oakland Raiders W 30–14 7–2 O.co Coliseum 54,700 Recap 11 November 22 Green Bay Packers L 13–30 7–3 TCF Bank Stadium 52,529 Recap 12 November 29 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–10 8–3 Georgia Dome 70,610 Recap 13 December 6 Seattle Seahawks L 7–38 8–4 TCF Bank Stadium 52,430 Recap 14 at Arizona Cardinals L 20–23 8–5 University of Phoenix Stadium 64,784 Recap 15 December 20 Chicago Bears W 38–17 9–5 TCF Bank Stadium 52,421 Recap 16 December 27 New York Giants W 49–17 10–5 TCF Bank Stadium 52,455 Recap 17 January 3 at Green Bay Packers W 20–13 11–5 Lambeau Field 78,412 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings opened their 2015 season on the road against the San Francisco 49ers. Despite allowing San Francisco to start with the ball, the Vikings made a positive start, as Andrew Sendejo blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt from Phil Dawson, which Marcus Sherels returned 44 yards to the San Francisco 26-yard line. Minnesota QB Teddy Bridgewater was unable to complete a single pass on the next drive, forcing Blair Walsh to attempt a 44-yard field goal; however, he pushed it wide right. After forcing the 49ers to punt on the next series, the Vikings were themselves forced to punt immediately afterwards, only for the 49ers' rookie former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne to muff the catch, allowing the Vikings to recover the ball. The next drive saw the Vikings attempt to convert on 4th-and-3, but Bridgewater's completed pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph fell a yard short of a fresh set of downs.
Both sides exchanged punts at the start of the second quarter, with the 49ers eventually returning one 85 yards for a touchdown, only for it to be called back for an illegal block by a San Francisco player. However, the ensuing possession ended with a 49ers touchdown, as they drove 93 yards in just under 5 minutes, before Carlos Hyde finished the series with a 10-yard touchdown run; after finding nowhere to go on his initial run to the right, he beat a Minnesota defender with a spin move and ran back to the left side of the field, where quarterback Colin Kaepernick led him into the end zone. With the Vikings unable to score in the remaining 47 seconds, the first half ended 7–0 to San Francisco.
Minnesota started the third quarter with the ball, but they were unable to make it out of their half before being forced to punt. The 49ers then extended their lead on the ensuing possession, driving 73 yards to the Minnesota 11-yard line to set up a 30-yard field goal attempt for Dawson. The Vikings finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, as Walsh finished off a 66-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal, but the 49ers pulled further ahead with a second touchdown for Hyde on a 17-yard run. Bridgewater attempted to spark the Vikings back into the game, but a deep pass intended for Rudolph was intercepted by Tramaine Brock, setting up a 25-yard field goal for Dawson. The next drive saw the Vikings go for it again on 4th-and-8, but Bridgewater was sacked for a loss of 14 yards, allowing the 49ers to kneel out the game.
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 3: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 4: at Denver Broncos
Week 6: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 7: at Detroit Lions
Week 8: at Chicago Bears
Week 9: vs. St. Louis Rams
Week 10: at Oakland Raiders
Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 15: vs. Chicago Bears
Teddy Bridgewater's best game of his career, going 17/20, 231 yards, and 4 touchdowns, along with a rushing touchdown on the ground. Before this game, Bridgewater had only 9 passing touchdowns, and afterwards, he had 13. Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears were stopped to 17 points, while Cutler also having a good game with 26/37 for 231 and 2 touchdowns.
Week 16: vs. New York Giants
Week 17: at Green Bay Packers
Standings
Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap Wild Card January 10, 2016 Seattle Seahawks (6) L 9–10 0–1 TCF Bank Stadium 52,090 Recap
Game summaries
NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. #6 Seattle Seahawks
The Vikings' only points in this game came from the foot of kicker Blair Walsh, whose three field goals put them 9–0 up by the end of the third quarter; however, Seattle outscored them 10–0 in the final period, with a touchdown catch from Doug Baldwin being followed by a 46-yard Steven Hauschka field goal in the first seven minutes of the quarter. The Vikings had a chance to win it with 20 seconds remaining, but Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal, reminding Vikings fans of Gary Anderson's missed field goal in the 1998 NFC Championship Game.
Pro Bowl