1994 Minnesota Vikings season

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1994 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Dennis Green
Home field Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record 10–6
Division place 1st NFC Central
Playoff finish Lost Wild Card

1994 was the 34th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 75th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of ten wins and six losses. For the third straight season in the Dennis Green era, the Vikings did not make it out of the Wild Card round, losing 35-18 to the rival Chicago Bears.

Offseason

1994 Draft

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=Pro Bowler
1994 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
1 18 18 Dewayne Washington Defensive Back North Carolina State from Broncos[a]
19 19 Todd Steussie Offensive Tackle California
2 11 40 David Palmer Wide Receiver Alabama from Browns via Eagles and Falcons[b]
16 45 Traded to the Atlanta Falcons[b] Compensatory pick
23 52 Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders[c]
26 55 Fernando Smith Defensive End Jackson State from Raiders[c]
3 23 88 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[d]
4 16 119 Traded to the Houston Oilers[e]
22 125 Mike Wells Defensive Tackle Iowa from Raiders[c]
5 3 134 Shelly Hammonds Defensive Back Penn State from Redskins[e]
20 151 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs[f]
6 18 179 Andrew Jordan Tight End Western Carolina from Broncos[a]
19 180 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[d]
7 17 211 Pete Bercich Linebacker Notre Dame
^[a] Denver traded their 1st round selection (18th overall), 6th round selection (179th overall), and 1995 2nd round selection to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.
^[b] Atlanta traded a 2nd round selection (40th overall) and 1995 1st round selection to Minnesota in exchange for their 2nd round selection (45th overall) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.
^[c] The Raiders traded their 2nd round selection (55th overall) and 4th round selection (125th overall) to Minnesota to move up 3 spot to the 52nd overall selection and draft LB James Folston.
^[d] Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (88th overall) and 6th round selection (180th overall) to Pittsburgh for TE Adrian Cooper.
^[e] Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (119th overall) and 1995 3rd round selection (89th overall) to Houston for QB Warren Moon.
^[e] Washington traded a conditional 5th round selection (134th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for QB Rich Gannon on August 20, 1993.
^[f] Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (151st overall) to Kansas City for RB Barry Word.

Regular season

  • November 6, 1994 – Warren Moon threw for 420 yards in a game against the New Orleans Saints.
  • November 20, 1994 – Warren Moon threw for 400 yards in a game against the New York Jets.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
1 September 4, 1994 at Green Bay Packers L 16–10 Lambeau Field
59,487
2 September 11, 1994 Detroit Lions W 10–3 Metrodome
57,349
3 September 18, 1994 at Chicago Bears W 42–14 Soldier Field
61,073
4 September 25, 1994 Miami Dolphins W 38–35 Metrodome
64,035
5 October 2, 1994 at Arizona Cardinals L 17–7 Sun Devil Stadium
67,950
6 October 10, 1994 at New York Giants W 27–10 Giants Stadium
77,294
7 Bye
8 October 20, 1994 Green Bay Packers W 13–10 (OT) Metrodome
63,041
9 October 30, 1994 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 36–13 Tampa Stadium
42,110
10 November 6, 1994 New Orleans Saints W 21–20 Metrodome
57,564
11 November 13, 1994 at New England Patriots L 26–20 (OT) Foxboro Stadium
58,382
12 November 20, 1994 New York Jets L 31–21 Metrodome
60,687
13 November 27, 1994 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 20–17 (OT) Metrodome
47,259
14 December 1, 1994 Chicago Bears W 33–27 (OT) Meetrodome
61,483
15 December 11, 1994 at Buffalo Bills W 21–17 Rich Field
66,501
16 December 17, 1994 at Detroit Lions L 41–19 Silverdome
73,881
17 December 26, 1994 San Francisco 49ers W 21–14 Metrodme
63,326

1994 Minnesota Vikings Notable Moments

Week 1 @ Green Bay

  • Warren Moon's first game for the Vikings was a rough affair as he was intercepted three times and limited to just 166 passing yards. The Vikings' only touchdown in the 16–10 loss was a James Harris fumble recovery.

Week 2 vs. Detroit

  • Moon led the Vikings to their first win of the season in a 10–3 affair. He threw his first touchdown of the season and first since leaving the Oilers on a 30-yard pass to Qadry Ismail in the second quarter.

Week 3 @ Chicago

  • Moon and the Vikings offense exploded at Soldier Field, putting up 464 combined yards, 212 of them on the ground with three scores in a 42–14 rout. Cris Carter caught a two-point conversion throw to go with nine catches for 86 yards.

Week 4 vs. Miami

  • Dan Marino's comeback season almost became his biggest comeback win; the Vikings behind three Moon touchdowns to Cris Carter led 28–0, but Marino threw three touchdowns and by the fourth quarter had tied the game 28–28. The Vikings then finished it off 38–35, outscoring the Dolphins 10–7 in the fourth.

Week 5 @ Arizona

  • The Vikings fell 17–7 to the previously-winless Cardinals despite 167 receiving yards from Cris Carter. Warren Moon was intercepted twice and the Cards rushed for 109 yards and a Larry Centers score.

Week 6 @ New York Giants

  • The Vikings entered their bye week 4–2 after upending the Giants 27–10, scoring the game's final 17 points.

Week 8 vs. Green Bay

  • In a rare Thursday night game, the Vikings limited the Packers to just 158 yards of offense yet needed overtime to win 13–10. Brett Favre completed six passes for just 32 yards and was replaced by Mark Brunell, who managed just 79 yards passing. Moon put up 50 passes with 31 completions but was intercepted twice.

Week 9 @ Tampa Bay

  • Fuad Reveiz booted five field goals as the Vikings crushed the Bucs 36–13, intercepting Trent Dilfer three times.

Week 10 vs. New Orleans

  • Three touchdowns by Warren Moon – the last to Qadry Ismail following a 13-point fourth-quarter run by the Saints – were enough to upend New Orleans 21–20. The win came despite eleven Minnesota penalties for 90 yards.

Week 11 @ New England

  • Just under two seasons after his team's playoff meltdown in Buffalo, Warren Moon again had to witness a multi-score collapse to an AFC East opponent. Moon unloaded a 65-yard score to Qadry Ismail and led three other scoring drives for a 20–0 lead before halftime, but following a Matt Bahr field goal at the end of the half Moon was stymied and the Vikings saw their lead collapse; tied 20–20 the game went to overtime and the Patriots never let the Vikings get possession of the ball as Kevin Turner caught the winning touchdown and the 26–20 Vikings loss.

Week 12 vs. NY Jets

  • Minnesota hit the skids for the second week straight. Two touchdowns (one a Moon throw to Cris Carter) put the Vikings up 14–10 but from there Moon was intercepted four times and Boomer Esiason unloaded three consecutive touchdowns, offsetting 400 passing yards from Moon and a late Qadry Ismail score. It all ended a 31–21 Vikings loss; unknown to all it would be the final win that season for Esiason's team.

Week 13 vs. Tampa Bay

  • Looking for only their third win of the season, the Bucs held off the Vikings for a 17–9 lead in the fourth until Warren Moon once again found Qadry Ismail; a two-point conversion throw to Cris Carter forced overtime tied 17–17, but the Bucs drove downfield for Michael Husted's winning field goal and the 20–17 loss, the third loss in a row and second in overtime in that span.

Week 14 vs. Chicago

  • The Bears entered this rare Thursday night affair (broadcast on (ESPN) at 8–4 with the Vikings 7–5 and the Lions and Packers both 6–6; the NFC Central that season was closing on a rare four-team playoff scenario out of one division, and the race got even tighter in a battle of Fuad Reveiz and Kevin Butler field goals; Chicago led 24–16 after Greg McMurtry's touchdown from Steve Walsh in the third, but Reveiz and Warren Moon grabbed a 27–24 lead in the fourth; Butler's 33-yard field goal forced overtime, and in the fifth quarter Moon unleashed a 65-yard touchdown to Cris Carter and the stunning 33–27 Vikings win. Tom King watched at the Holiday Inn in Fort Myers waiting for brother Paul to arrive from MSP. Later spent much of the night in Ryan's driveway waiting for mark who was at a Howie Mandel show.

Week 15 @ Buffalo

  • Following two straight bitter losses with the Oilers, Warren Moon got a measure of revenge with his first win at Buffalo. Moon led two scoring drives led by his touchdown to Terry Allen and a subsequent Fuad Reveiz field goal; Reveiz set a club season record with five field goals in the game. Linebacker Jack Del Rio picked off Jim Kelly via a one-handed catch. The Vikings finished off the win 21–17.

Week 16 @ Detroit

  • The NFC Central race got even tighter as the Vikings were crushed 41–19 by the Lions and both teams were tied at 9–6 with the Bears. Barry Sanders erupted to 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns and Dave Krieg added two touchdown throws himself. John Randle was ejected in the fourth quarter for bumping an official after Krieg threw a touchdown pass to ex-Viking Anthony Carter for the final score.

Week 17 vs. San Francisco

  • Monday Night Football wrapped up the regular season with the 49ers the NFC #1 seed and the Cowboys the #2. San Francisco played Steve Young into the second quarter and a touchdown to Jerry Rice, and from there played backups led by Elvis Grbac; the Vikings, needing the win in a three-way tie for the division, nonetheless started Sean Salisbury and he raced the Vikings to a 21–7 lead by the fourth quarter. Grbac's touchdown to Ed McCaffrey ended the 21–14 Vikings win; with the Bears losing to the Patriots, the Packers beating the Bucs, and the Lions losing to the Dolphins, Minnesota had the NFC Central crown.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Minnesota Vikings 10 6 0 .625 356 314 W1
(4) Green Bay Packers 9 7 0 .563 382 287 W3
(5) Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 357 342 L1
(6) Chicago Bears 9 7 0 .563 271 307 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 251 351 L1

Postseason

NFC Wildcard Game

Chicago Bears 35, Minnesota Vikings 18
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 14 7 14 35
Vikings 3 6 3 6 18

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Bears picked off Warren Moon twice while Steve Walsh threw two touchdowns, backs Raymont Harris and Lewis Tillman added rushing scores, and Kevin Miniefield ran back a Vikings fumble for a touchdown.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing Yards Warren Moon 4,264
Passing Touchdowns Warren Moon 18
Rushing Yards Terry Allen 1,031
Rushing Touchdowns Terry Allen 8
Receptions Cris Carter 122 *
Receiving Yards Cris Carter 1,256
Receiving Touchdowns Cris Carter 7
Points Fuad Reveiz 132
Kickoff Return Yards Qadry Ismail 807
Punt Return Yards David Palmer 193
Tackles Jack Del Rio 128
Sacks John Randle 13.5
Interceptions Vencie Glenn
Anthony Parker
4
Forced Fumbles John Randle 3
  • Vikings single season record (tie).

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing Offense 4,324 Yards 270.2 YPG 3rd
Rushing Offense 1,524 Yards 95.2 YPG 20th
Total Offense 5,848 Yards 365.5 YPG 3rd
Passing Defense 3,652 Yards 228.2 YPG 21st
Rushing Defense 1,090 Yards 68.1 YPG 1st
Total Defense 4,742 Yards 296.4 YPG 5th

Personnel

Staff

1994 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front Office
  • Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
  • President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

 

Defensive Coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Tony Dungy
  • Defensive Line – John Teerlinck
  • Inside Linebackers – Monte Kiffin
  • Outside Linebackers – Trent Walters
  • Defensive Backs – Richard Solomon

Special Teams Coaches

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
  • Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Mike Wolf

[1]

Final roster

1994 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
52 Active, 3 Inactive, 2 Practice squad

Awards and honors

  • Cris Carter, Led NFL in receptions
  • Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
  • Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
  • Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection 1994
  • Warren Moon, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (4,264)

Milestones

  • Cris Carter, 100 reception season (Carter finished the season with 122 receptions) [2]
  • Warren Moon, 3rd 4,000 Yard Passing Season
  • Warren Moon, 5th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 6)
  • Warren Moon, 6th 400 Yard Passing Game (November 20)

References

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  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440