The 2022 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 62nd in the National Football League (NFL), their seventh playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their first under new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell, following the firings of Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer at the end of the 2021 season.

The Vikings started 8–1 for the first time since 2009. They improved upon their 8–9 record from 2021 and clinched the NFC North for the first time since 2017, finishing with a 13–4 record. Despite the Vikings' strong record, many analysts did not view them as legitimate championship contenders due to most of their wins being within one score (11 of 13 wins) and three of their four losses being blowouts. The Vikings ranked 31st in total yards allowed (6,608) and finished the season with a negative point differential (−3), the first time this had been done by a team with at least 12 wins. Some of those claims subsided after the win over the Colts, in which the Vikings completed the largest comeback in NFL history; having trailed 33–0 at halftime, they rallied to win 39–36 in overtime.

In the playoffs, the Vikings were eliminated in the Wild Card round after losing 31–24, their first and only one-score loss of the season, to the New York Giants.

Transactions Free agency

+ Players lost in 2022 Name Position Type 2022 team Contract Ref. Tyler Conklin TE UFA New York Jets 3 years, $20.25 million Mason Cole C Pittsburgh Steelers 3 years, $15.75 million Xavier Woods S UFA Carolina Panthers 3 years, $15 million Anthony Barr OLB UFA Dallas Cowboys 1 year, $2 million Nick Vigil OLB Arizona Cardinals 1 year, $1.77 million Chris Herndon TE UFA New Orleans Saints 1 year, $1.035 million Chad Beebe WR Houston Texans 1 year, $1.035 million Tashawn Bower DE Las Vegas Raiders 1 year, $1.035 million Mackensie Alexander CB Miami Dolphins Sheldon Richardson DT Rashod Hill G Washington Commanders Dede Westbrook WR Everson Griffen DE Wayne Gallman RB Jordon Scott DT Eddie Yarbrough DE

+ Players signed in 2022 Name Position Type 2021 team Contract Ref. Za'Darius Smith OLB UFA Green Bay Packers 3 years, $42 million Harrison Phillips DT UFA Buffalo Bills 3 years, $19.5 million Jordan Hicks ILB UFA Arizona Cardinals 2 years, $10 million Chris Reed G UFA Indianapolis Colts 2 years, $4.5 million Patrick Peterson CB UFA Minnesota Vikings 1 year, $4 million Jesse Davis OT UFA Miami Dolphins 1 year, $3 million Johnny Mundt TE UFA Los Angeles Rams 2 years, $2.415 million Chandon Sullivan CB UFA Green Bay Packers 1 year, $1.75 million Sean Mannion QB UFA Minnesota Vikings 1 year, $1.2725 million Albert Wilson WR UFA Miami Dolphins 1 year, $1.12 million Nate Hairston CB Denver Broncos 1 year, $1.06 million Jonathan Bullard DE Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $1.035 million Tye Smith CB Minnesota Vikings 1 year, $1.035 million Austin Schlottmann G Denver Broncos 1 year, $965,000 Andre Mintze DE Denver Broncos 1 year, $825,000 Shaun Beyer TE Denver Broncos 1 year, $705,000

Draft

+ 2022 Minnesota Vikings draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 12 Traded to the Detroit Lions 32 Lewis Cine S Georgia From Rams via Lions 2 34 Traded to the Green Bay Packers From Lions 42 Andrew Booth Jr. CB Clemson From Commanders via Colts 46 Traded to the Detroit Lions 53 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts From Raiders via Packers 59 Ed Ingram G LSU From Packers 3 66 Brian Asamoah LB Oklahoma From Lions 77 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts 4 117 Traded to the New York Jets 118 Akayleb Evans CB Missouri From Browns 122 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders From Colts 126 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders From Raiders 5 156 Traded to the Cleveland Browns From Ravens 157 Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars 165 Esezi Otomewo DE Minnesota From Raiders 169 Ty Chandler RB North Carolina From Titans via Raiders 6 184 Vederian Lowe OT Illinois From Jets 191 Jalen Nailor WR Michigan State From Ravens via Chiefs 192 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts 7 227 Nick Muse TE South Carolina From Panthers via Raiders 233 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 250 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders From 49ers via Broncos Draft trades

+ 2022 Minnesota Vikings undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Gabe Brkic K Oklahoma Mike Brown S Miami (OH) Thomas Hennigan WR Appalachian State Bryant Koback RB Toledo William Kwenkeu OLB Temple Zach McCloud Miami (FL) Josh Sokol C Sacred Heart Tyarise Stevenson DT Tulsa Luiji Vilain OLB Wake Forest Ryan Wright P Tulane Despite initially announcing Virginia Tech wide receiver Tré Turner as one of their UDFAs, Turner ultimately signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, who offered him a better contract.

Staff

Offseason changes

Head coach

On January 10, 2022, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Zimmer, who had led the team to two NFC North titles and three NFL playoffs appearances in his eight years in charge. On February 16, 2022, former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell was named the 10th head coach in franchise history.

General manager

The Minnesota Vikings fired tenth-year general manager Rick Spielman on January 10, 2022, who most notably led the organization to draft Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Harrison Smith, Teddy Bridgewater and Anthony Barr, among other draftees. The Vikings hired Cleveland Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on January 26, 2022. Initially, Adofo-Mensah and Kansas City Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles were the finalists for the general manager position. However, Poles withdrew on January 25, 2022, for the general manager position at the Chicago Bears, which ultimately resulted in Adofo-Mensah being hired.

Final roster

Preseason Schedule The Vikings' preseason opponents and schedule were announced on May 12, 2022. They traveled to face the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos either side of a home game against the San Francisco 49ers. They lost all three games by between 6 and 10 points.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 14 at Las Vegas Raiders L 20–26 0–1 Allegiant Stadium Recap 2 San Francisco 49ers L 7–17 0–2 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 3 at Denver Broncos L 13–23 0–3 Empower Field at Mile High Recap

Game summaries Week 1: at Las Vegas Raiders

Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Regular season Schedule On May 4, the NFL announced that the Vikings would play the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, United Kingdom, on October 2, as part of the league's International Series. The game would kick off at 2:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. CDT, televised by the NFL Network, with the Saints serving as the home team. On May 9, the NFL announced that the Vikings would play at the Philadelphia Eagles at 7:30 p.m. CDT on , as part of ESPN's Week 2 Monday Night doubleheader.

The remainder of the Vikings' 2022 schedule, with exact dates and times, was announced on May 12. In addition to their usual six games home and away against their NFC North rivals, the Vikings also played games against each of the teams from the NFC East and the AFC East, as well as the two teams that, like the Vikings, finished in second place in the NFC West and NFC South in 2021: the Arizona Cardinals and the aforementioned Saints. The Vikings' week 15 matchup was against the Indianapolis Colts, one of the second-placed teams from the American Football Conference (AFC) whom they were not originally scheduled to play in 2022.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 Green Bay Packers W 23–7 1–0 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 2 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–24 1–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 3 September 25 Detroit Lions W 28–24 2–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 4 October 2 at New Orleans Saints W 28–25 3–1 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Recap 5 October 9 Chicago Bears W 29–22 4–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 6 October 16 at Miami Dolphins W 24–16 5–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 7Bye 8 October 30 Arizona Cardinals W 34–26 6–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 9 November 6 at Washington Commanders W 20–17 7–1 FedExField Recap 10 November 13 at Buffalo Bills W 33–30 8–1 Highmark Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Dallas Cowboys L 3–40 8–2 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 12 November 24 New England Patriots W 33–26 9–2 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 13 December 4 New York Jets W 27–22 10–2 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 14 December 11 at Detroit Lions L 23–34 10–3 Ford Field Recap 15 Indianapolis Colts W 39–36 11–3 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 16 New York Giants W 27–24 12–3 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 17 January 1 at Green Bay Packers L 17–41 12–4 Lambeau Field Recap 18 January 8 at Chicago Bears W 29–13 13–4 Soldier Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries Week 1: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 2: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 4: at New Orleans Saints NFL London Games

Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 6: at Miami Dolphins

Week 8: vs. Arizona Cardinals

During this game, Jared Allen was inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor. Week 9: at Washington Commanders

Week 10: at Buffalo Bills

In Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, after forcing a quick three-and-out, the Vikings took an early lead on a 22-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson; however, following a big kick return, the Bills responded immediately, as Devin Singletary ran it in from five yards. The Vikings punted on the ensuing possession, allowing the Bills to take the lead on another Singletary run, this time from one yard. Cousins then threw an interception, but this time the defense was able to hold Buffalo to a field goal, keeping the score at 17–7 as the game ticked into the second quarter. The Vikings then drove down to the Bills' 2-yard line, but a tackle for loss on Alexander Mattison, followed by an offensive pass interference call against T. J. Hockenson meant they had to settle for a field goal. Just as the Bills were looking like going on another scoring drive, the ball was punched out of Singletary's hands and returned 40 yards by Camryn Bynum. Midway inside the Buffalo half at the two-minute warning, the Vikings were faced with a 3rd-and-1 situation, but were unable to convert on successive passes from Cousins to Jefferson and then K. J. Osborn, resulting in a turnover on downs. A long run from Josh Allen then set up the Bills for another scoring drive, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Gabe Davis. The Vikings had to punt on the following drive, which meant the Bills took a 24–10 lead into the interval.