1970 Minnesota Vikings season

1970 Minnesota Vikings season
1970 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs; (vs. 49ers) 14–17
Pro Bowlers	K Fred Cox; DE Carl Eller; SS Karl Kassulke; DT Gary Larsen; RB Dave Osborn; DT Alan Page; WR Gene Washington
AP All-Pros	DE Carl Eller (1st team); DT Alan Page (1st team)
Uniform
	← 1969; Vikings seasons; 1971 →;

The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger. Under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.^[1]

Offseason

1970 draft

1970 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	25	John Ward	Offensive tackle	Oklahoma State
2	51	Bill Cappleman	Quarterback	Florida State
3	77	Chuck Burgoon	Linebacker	North Park
4	103	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[A]
5	129	Greg Jones	Running back	UCLA
6	155	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[B]
7	181	Hap Farber	Linebacker	Ole Miss
8	207	Mike Carroll	Guard	Missouri
9	233	George Morrow	Defensive end	Ole Miss
10	259	Stu Voigt	Tight end	Wisconsin
11	285	Godfrey Zaunbrecher	Center	LSU
12	311	James Holland	Defensive back	Jackson State
13	337	Robert Pearce	Defensive back	Stephen F. Austin
14	363	Tommy Spinks	Wide receiver	Louisiana Tech
15	389	Bennie Francis	Defensive end	Chadron State
16	415	Bruce Cerone	Wide receiver	Emporia State
17	441	Brian Healy	Defensive back	Michigan

Notes

^ The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (103rd overall) to the Saints in exchange for TE Kent Kramer.
^ The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (155th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for TE Tony Jeter.

Roster

**1970 Minnesota Vikings roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Bill Cappleman 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Bob Lee Running backs (RB) 30 Bill Brown FB 26 Clinton Jones 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed Wide receivers (WR) 27 Bob Grim 80 John Henderson 84 Gene Washington Tight ends (TE) 87 John Beasley 89 Kent Kramer 83 Stu Voigt		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis T 74 Steve Smith 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 63 Jim Vellone G 72 John Ward G 62 Ed White 73 Ron Yary T 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher C Defensive linemen (DL) 76 Paul Dickson DT 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 88 Alan Page DT		Linebackers (LB) 56 Hap Farber 50 Jim Hargrove 58 Wally Hilgenberg 55 Mike McGill 66 Wayne Meylan 59 Lonnie Warwick 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs (DB) 20 Bobby Bryant CB 25 John Charles S 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 28 Ted Provost 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 12 Tom McNeill P				Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[2]
1	August 8	New Orleans Saints	L 13–14	0–1	Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH)	17,932
2	August 15	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–20	0–2	Metropolitan Stadium	45,591
3	August 22	at Houston Oilers	W 14–7	1–2	Astrodome	44,563
4	August 30	New York Jets	W 52–21	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
5	September 5	at Cleveland Browns	W 24–21	3–2	Cleveland Stadium	83,043
6	September 11	at Chicago Bears	W 31–30	4–2	Soldier Field	46,630

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–10	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 27	New Orleans Saints	W 26–0	2–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 4	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–13	2–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,967
4	October 11	at Chicago Bears	W 24–0	3–1	Wrigley Field	45,485
5	October 18	Dallas Cowboys	W 54–13	4–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
6	October 26	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–3	5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
7	November 1	at Detroit Lions	W 30–17	6–1	Tiger Stadium	58,210
8	November 8	at Washington Redskins	W 19–10	7–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	50,415
9	November 15	Detroit Lions	W 24–20	8–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
10	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	9–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
11	November 29, 1970	at New York Jets	L 10-20	9–2	Shea Stadium	62,333
12	December 5	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	10–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
13	December 13	at Boston Patriots	W 35–14	11–2	Harvard Stadium	37,819
14	December 20	at Atlanta Falcons	W 37–7	12–2	Atlanta Stadium	57,992

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	7	3	0	10
Vikings	0	17	0	10	27

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Date: September 20
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C)
Game attendance: 47,900
Referee: Tommy Bell
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays.

Second quarter

MIN – Fred Cox 20-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0.
MIN – Roy Winston 36-yard fumble recovery (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 10–0.
KC – Otis Taylor 59-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick). Vikings 10–7.
MIN – Dave Osborn 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–7.

Third quarter

KC – Jan Stenerud 26-yard field goal. Vikings 17–10.

Fourth quarter

MIN – Oscar Reed 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–10.
MIN – Fred Cox 40-yard field goal. Vikings 27–10.

Top passers

KC – Len Dawson – 18/27, 164 yards, TD, 2 INT
MIN – Gary Cuozzo – 12/20, 100 yards, 2 INT

Top rushers

KC – Wendell Hayes – 7 rushes, 22 yards
MIN – Bill Brown – 17 rushes, 55 yards

Top receivers

KC – Otis Taylor – 5 receptions, 100 yards, TD
MIN – John Beasley – 3 receptions, 41 yards

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	12	2	0	.857	5–1	10–1	335	143	W3
Detroit Lions	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–4	347	202	W5
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	196	293	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	1–5	5–6	256	261	W2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 27	San Francisco 49ers	L 14–17	0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,050

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Gary Cuozzo	1,720
Passing touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	7
Rushing yards	Dave Osborn	681
Rushing touchdowns	Clint Jones	9
Receiving yards	Gene Washington	702
Receiving touchdowns	Gene Washington	4
Points	Fred Cox	125
Kickoff return yards	Clint Jones	452
Punt return yards	Charlie West	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing offense	2,181	155.8	14th
Rushing offense	1,634	116.7	14th
Total offense	3,815	272.5	19th
Passing defense	1,438	102.7	1st
Rushing defense	1,365	97.5	5th
Total defense	2,803	200.2	1st

References

^ The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p. 294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
^ "1970 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives". Archived from the original on December 24, 2022.

[2] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (103rd overall) to the Saints in exchange for TE Kent Kramer.

[3] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (155th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for TE Tony Jeter.

[1] The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p. 294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6

[4] "1970 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives". Archived from the original on December 24, 2022.

[1]

[A]

[B]

[2]

v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft All-time roster First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters Ownership Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders Alan Roach Truth Hurts (song) Quarterback "Higher" (Creed song)
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Herschel Walker trade Gary Anderson's missed field goal Love Boat scandal Minneapolis Miracle 33–0
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints
Division championships (21)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017 2022
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) appearance