1965 Minnesota Vikings season

1965 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	5th NFL Western
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1965 Minnesota Vikings season was the fifth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 46th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and seven losses under head coach Norm Van Brocklin.

Offseason

1965 Draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft

=Pro Bowler

1965 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	8	8	Jack Snow	Wide Receiver	Notre Dame
2	1	15	Archie Sutton	Tackle	Illinois	from Giants
	9	23	Lance Rentzel	Wide Receiver	Oklahoma
3	8	36	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
4	9	51	Jim Whalen	Wide Receiver	Boston College
	13	55	Jim Harris	Tackle	Utah State	from Browns
5	8	64	Traded to the Detroit Lions
6	9	79	Jim Grisham	Running Back	Oklahoma
7	8	92	Traded to the Detroit Lions
8	2	100	John Hankinson	Quarterback	Minnesota	from 49ers
	9	107	Jeff Jordon	Running Back	Tulsa
9	8	120	Frank McClendon	Tackle	Alabama
10	9	135	Jerald Schweiger	Tackle	Wisconsin–Superior
11	8	148	John Thomas	Wide Receiver	USC
12	9	163	Mike Tilleman	Defensive Tackle	Montana
13	8	176	Dave Osborn	Running Back	North Dakota
14	9	191	Max Leetzow	Wide Receiver	Idaho
15	8	204	Phillip Morgan	Running Back	East Tennessee State
16	9	219	Paul Labinski	Tackle	St. John's (Minnesota)
17	8	232	Veran Smith	Running Back	Utah State
18	9	247	Rich Kotite	Wide Receiver	Wagner
19	8	260	Ellis Johnson	Running Back	Southeastern Louisiana
20	9	271	Cosmo Iacavazzi	Running Back	Princeton

^{^[a]} The New York Giants traded their 2nd round selection (15th overall) and 1964 4th round selection (53rd overall) to Minnesota for RB Hugh McElhenny.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (36th overall) to Pittsburgh for RB Bob Ferguson.

^{^[c]} Cleveland traded their 4th round selection (55th overall) (and by some reports their 1966 6th round selection (90th overall)) to Minnesota for DT Mike Bundra.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (64th overall) to Detroit for WR Tom Hall and HB Bruce Zellmer.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (92nd overall) and 1966 6th round selection (87th overall) to Detroit for DT Mike Bundra and End Larry Vargo.

^{^[f]} San Francisco traded their 8th round selection (100th overall) to Minnesota for DT Roy Williams.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Record
1	1965-09-19	at Baltimore Colts	L 16-35	Memorial Stadium	56,562	0–1
2	1965-09-26	Detroit Lions	L 29-31	Metropolitan Stadium	46,826	0–2
3	1965-10-03	at Los Angeles Rams	W 38–35	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	36,755	1–2
4	1965-10-09	New York Giants	W 40–14	Metropolitan Stadium	44,283	2–2
5	1965-10-17	Chicago Bears	L 37-45	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426	2–3
6	1965-10-24	at San Francisco 49ers	W 42–41	Kezar Stadium	42,680	3–3
7	1965-10-31	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–17	Cleveland Stadium	83,505	4–3
8	1965-11-07	Los Angeles Rams	W 24–13	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426	5–3
9	1965-11-14	Baltimore Colts	L 21-41	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426	5–4
10	1965-11-21	Green Bay Packers	L 13-38	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426	5–5
11	1965-11-28	San Francisco 49ers	L 24-45	Metropolitan Stadium	40,306	5–6
12	1965-12-05	at Green Bay Packers	L 19-24	Lambeau Field	50,852	5–7
13	1965-12-12	at Detroit Lions	W 29–7	Tiger Stadium	45,420	6–7
14	1965-12-19	at Chicago Bears	W 24–17	Wrigley Field	46,604	7–7

Note: The game against the Giants, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 10, was pushed up to Saturday night because of the World Series.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	316	224	T1
Baltimore Colts	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	389	284	W1
Chicago Bears	9	5	0	.643	7–5	409	275	L1
San Francisco 49ers	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	421	402	T1
Minnesota Vikings	7	7	0	.500	5–7	383	403	W2
Detroit Lions	6	7	1	.462	4–7–1	257	295	W1
Los Angeles Rams	4	10	0	.286	2–10	269	328	L1

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

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Fran Tarkenton	2,609
Passing Touchdowns	Fran Tarkenton	19
Rushing Yards	Bill Brown	699
Rushing Touchdowns	Tommy Mason	10
Receiving Yards	Paul Flatley	896
Receiving Touchdowns	Paul Flatley	7
Points	Fred Cox	113
Kickoff Return Yards	Lance Rentzel	602
Punt Return Yards	Tommy Mason	63
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 14)
Passing Offense	2,546 Yards	181.9 YPG	8th
Rushing Offense	2,278 Yards	162.7 YPG	2nd
Total Offense	4,824 Yards	344.6 YPG	4th
Passing Defense	2,493 Yards	178.1 YPG	6th
Rushing Defense	1,755 Yards	125.4 YPG	9th
Total Defense	4,248 Yards	303.4 YPG	7th