1968 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1968 season was the Minnesota Vikings' eighth in the National Football League. Under head coach Bud Grant, the Vikings won the NFL Central division title with an 8–6 record, and qualified for the postseason for the first time in franchise history. The Vikings' first trip to the playoffs saw them suffer a 24–14 loss in the Western Conference Championship Game to the eventual NFL champion and Super Bowl runner-up Baltimore Colts at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. In the Playoff Bowl two weeks later, they again lost to the Dallas Cowboys 17–13.

1968 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	8–6
Division place	1st NFL Central
Playoff finish	Lost Western Conference Championship Game (Colts) 14–24 Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 13–17

Offseason

1968 Draft

Hall of Famer

1968 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	1	Ron Yary	Offensive tackle	USC	from Giants^[a]
	7	Traded to the New Orleans Saints^[b]
2	33	Charlie West	Defensive back	Texas–El Paso
3	61	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[c]
	76	Mike McGill	Linebacker	Notre Dame	from Cowboys^[d]
4	89	Mike Freeman	Defensive back	Fresno State
5	117	Traded to the Washington Redskins^[e]
6	144	Bob Goodridge	Wide receiver	Vanderbilt
7	167	Oscar Reed	Wide receiver	Colorado State	from Falcons^[f]
	171	Lenny Snow	Running back	Georgia Tech
8	198	Hank Urbanowicz	Defensive tackle	Miami
9	225	Mike Donohue	Tight end	San Francisco
10	250	Tom Sakal	Defensive back	Minnesota
11	279	Bill Haas	Wide receiver	Nebraska–Omaha
12	308	Howie Small	Center	Rhode Island
13	333	Dick Wherry	Wide receiver	Northern State
14	360	Don Evans	Offensive tackle	Arkansas–Pine Bluff
15	387	Jim Haynie	Quarterback	West Chester
16	414	Lary Kuharich	Defensive back	Boston College
17	441	Bob Lee	Quarterback	Pacific
	445	Bill Hull	Guard	Tennessee Tech	from Lions^[g]

^{^[a]} The New York Giants traded their 1st-round selection (1st overall), 1967 1st-round selection (2nd overall), 1967 2nd-round selection (28th overall), and 1969 2nd-round selection (39th overall) to Minnesota for QB Fran Tarkenton.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 1st-round selection (7th overall) and their 1969 1st-round selection (17th overall) to New Orleans for QB Gary Cuozzo.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded their 3rd-round selection (61st overall) to PIttsburgh for CB Brady Keys.

^{^[d]} Dallas traded their 3rd-round selection (76th overall) to Minnesota for WR Lance Rentzel.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 5th-round selection (117th overall) to Washington for OL Bob Breitenstein.

^{^[f]} Atlanta traded their 7th-round selection (167th overall) to Minnesota for QB Ron Vander Kelen.

^{^[g]} Detroit traded their 17th-round selection (445th overall) to Minnesota for their 1969 16th-round selection (407th overall).

Roster

1968 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks 15 Gary Cuozzo 11 Joe Kapp Running backs 30 Bill Brown 28 Earl Denny 26 Clinton Jones 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed Wide receivers 82 Bob Goodridge 27 Bob Grim 86 Tom Hall 80 John Henderson 84 Gene Washington Tight ends 87 John Beasley 85 Bill Martin		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 66 Bookie Bolin G 61 Larry Bowie G 71 Doug Davis T 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 63 Jim Vellone G 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen 76 Paul Dickson DT 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 88 Alan Page DT 74 Steve Smith DE		Linebackers 58 Wally Hilgenberg 36 John Kirby 55 Mike McGill 59 Lonnie Warwick 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 20 Bobby Bryant CB 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke S 22 Paul Krause FS 46 Earsell Mackbee CB 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 10 King Hill P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics active, inactive, practice squad

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 10	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	L 10–13	0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,228
2	August 17	at Denver Broncos (AFL)	W 39–16	1–1	University of Denver Stadium	20,901
3	August 24	Philadelphia Eagles	W 52–10	2–1	Metropolitan Stadium	41,229
4	September 1	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 28–31	2–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	25,233
5	September 6	New Orleans Saints	W 20–17	3–2	State Fair Stadium (Shreveport, LA)	23,000

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 14	Atlanta Falcons	W 47–7	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	45,563
2	September 22	at Green Bay Packers	W 26–13	2–0	Milwaukee County Stadium	49,346
3	September 29	Chicago Bears	L 17–27	2–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644
4	October 6	Detroit Lions	W 24–10	3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	44,289
5	October 13	at New Orleans Saints	L 17–20	3–2	Tulane Stadium	71,105
6	October 20	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–20	3–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644
7	October 27	at Chicago Bears	L 24–26	3–4	Wrigley Field	46,562
8	November 3	Washington Redskins	W 27–14	4–4	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644
9	November 10	Green Bay Packers	W 14–10	5–4	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644
10	November 17	at Detroit Lions	W 13–6	6–4	Tiger Stadium	48,654
11	November 24	at Baltimore Colts	L 9–21	6–5	Memorial Stadium	60,238
12	December 1	Los Angeles Rams	L 3–31	6–6	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644
13	December 8	at San Francisco 49ers	W 30–20	7–6	Kezar Stadium	29,049
14	December 15	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–17	8–6	Franklin Field	54,530

Note: The October 6 game against Detroit was originally scheduled to be played in Detroit. The game was switched with the November 17 game due to game 4 of the World Series.

Standings

NFL Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	8	6	0	.571	4–2	6–4	282	242	W2
Chicago Bears	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–5	250	333	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	7	1	.462	1–4–1	2–7–1	281	227	W1
Detroit Lions	4	8	2	.333	3–2–1	4–5–1	207	241	L1

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

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Conference	December 22	at Baltimore Colts	L 14–24	0–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
Playoff Bowl	January 5	Dallas Cowboys	L 13–17	0–2	Miami Orange Bowl	22,961

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Joe Kapp	1,695
Passing touchdowns	Joe Kapp	10
Rushing yards	Bill Brown	805
Rushing touchdowns	Bill Brown	11
Receiving yards	Gene Washington	756
Receiving touchdowns	Gene Washington	6
Points	Fred Cox	88
Kickoff return yards	Charlie West	576
Punt return yards	Charlie West	201
Interceptions	Paul Krause	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 16)
Passing offense	1,685	120.4	15th
Rushing offense	1,921	137.2	6th
Total offense	3,606	257.6	14th
Passing defense	1,855	132.5	3rd
Rushing defense	1,903	135.9	11th
Total defense	3,758	268.4	5th

External links

• 1968 Minnesota Vikings at Pro-Football-Reference.com