# 1992 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1992 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 32nd in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with an 11–5 record to claim the NFC Central division title and returned to the playoffs after a two-year absence. They met the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in the wildcard round, the teams' first playoff meeting since victory for the Redskins in the 1987 NFC Championship game; the Redskins won again this time, 24–7.
Minnesota's starting quarterbacks were Rich Gannon, who went 8–4 in 12 starts, and Sean Salisbury, who won three of his four starts. The team's leading rusher was Terry Allen, who ran for 1,201 yards. Receivers Cris Carter and Anthony Carter led the team with 681 and 580 receiving yards, respectively.

## Offseason

On January 10, 1992, Dennis Green was named the fifth head coach in franchise history.
| Additions | Subtractions |
| RB Roger Craig (Raiders) | RB Herschel Walker (Eagles) |
| LB Jack Del Rio (Cowboys) | QB Wade Wilson (Falcons) |
| | S Joey Browner (Buccaneers) |
| | LB Jimmy Williams (Buccaneers) |

### 1992 draft

* Pro Bowler
1992 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 13 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys |
| 2 | 39 | Robert Harris | Defensive end | Southern | From Seahawks |
| 2 | 40 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys |
| 3 | 71 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys |
| 4 | 98 | Roy Barker | Defensive tackle | North Carolina | |
| 5 | 125 | Ed McDaniel | Linebacker | Clemson | |
| 6 | 152 | Mike Gaddis | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 7 | 183 | David Wilson | Defensive back | California | |
| 8 | 210 | Luke Fisher | Tight end | East Carolina | |
| 9 | 227 | Brad Johnson | Quarterback | Florida State | From Buccaneers |
| 9 | 237 | Ronnie West | Wide receiver | Pittsburg State | |
| 10 | 264 | Brad Culpepper | Defensive tackle | Florida | |
| 11 | 295 | Chuck Evans | Running back | Clark Atlanta | |
| 12 | 322 | Joe Randolph | Wide receiver | Elon | |
Notes:
* 1 2 3 These picks were involved in the Herschel Walker trade on October 12, 1989.
* ↑ The Vikings traded DT Keith Millard to the Seahawks in exchange for a second-round selection (39th overall) and a 1993 third-round selection (57th overall).
* ↑ The Vikings traded LB Jimmy Williams to the Buccaneers in exchange for a ninth-round selection (227th overall).

### Undrafted free agents

1992 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Brian Dahl | Linebacker | Morehead State (MN) |
| Ed Sutter | Linebacker | Northwestern |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 8 | Buffalo Bills | W 24–3 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 36,603 |
| 2 | August 15 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 30–0 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 38,132 |
| 3 | August 24 | at Cleveland Browns | W 56–3 | 3–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 35,755 |
| 4 | August 29 | at Washington Redskins | W 30–0 | 4–0 | RFK Stadium | 55,855 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 6 | at Green Bay Packers | W 23–20 (OT) | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | 58,617 |
| 2 | September 13 | at Detroit Lions | L 31–17 | 1–1 | Silverdome | 57,519 |
| 3 | September 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–20 | 2–1 | Metrodome | 48,113 |
| 4 | September 27 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 42–7 | 3–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,847 |
| 5 | October 4 | Chicago Bears | W 21–20 | 4–1 | Metrodome | 60,992 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 15 | Detroit Lions | W 31–14 | 5–1 | Metrodome | 52,816 |
| 8 | October 25 | Washington Redskins | L 15–13 | 5–2 | Metrodome | 59,098 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Chicago Bears | W 38–10 | 6–2 | Soldier Field | 61,257 |
| 10 | November 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 35–7 | 7–2 | Tampa Stadium | 49,095 |
| 11 | November 15 | Houston Oilers | L 17–13 | 7–3 | Metrodome | 56,726 |
| 12 | November 22 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–13 | 8–3 | Metrodome | 53,323 |
| 13 | November 29 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 31–17 | 9–3 | Anaheim Stadium | 54,831 |
| 14 | December 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 28–17 | 9–4 | Veterans Stadium | 65,280 |
| 15 | December 13 | San Francisco 49ers | L 20–17 | 9–5 | Metrodome | 60,685 |
| 16 | December 20 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 6–3 | 10–5 | Three Rivers Stadium | 53,613 |
| 17 | December 27 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–7 | 11–5 | Metrodome | 61,461 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 374 | 249 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 276 | 296 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 5–9 | 267 | 365 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 295 | 361 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 3–9 | 273 | 332 | L1 |

## Postseason
### Game summaries
#### NFC Wild Card Round: vs (#6) Washington Redskins

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Vikings | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Date: January 2
* Game time: 11:30 a.m. CST/12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 57,353
* Referee: Gordon McCarter
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
MIN – Terry Allen 1-yard run (Fuad Reveiz kick), 10:05. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 4:55.
WAS – Chip Lohmiller 44-yard field goal, 0:53. Vikings 7–3. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:29.
Second quarter
WAS – Earnest Byner 3-yard run (Chip Lohmiller kick), 9:23. Redskins 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 1:42.
WAS – Brian Mitchell 8-yard run (Chip Lohmiller kick), 1:56. Redskins 17–7. Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 5:07.
Third quarter
WAS – Gary Clark 24-yard pass from Mark Rypien (Chip Lohmiller kick), 0:17. Redskins 24–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 6:12.
Fourth quarter
No scoring plays.
Top passers
WAS – Mark Rypien – 16/24, 172 yards, TD, INT
MIN – Sean Salisbury – 6/20, 113 yards, 2 INT
Top rushers
WAS – Brian Mitchell – 16 rushes, 109 yards, TD
MIN – Terry Allen – 10 rushes, 48 yards, TD
Top receivers
WAS – Gary Clark – 6 receptions, 91 yards, TD
MIN – Cris Carter – 3 receptions, 77 yards :

## Statistics
### Team leaders

| Category | Player(s) | Value |
| Passing yards | Rich Gannon | 1,905 |
| Passing touchdowns | Rich Gannon | 12 |
| Rushing yards | Terry Allen | 1,201 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Terry Allen | 13 |
| Receiving yards | Cris Carter | 681 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cris Carter | 6 |
| Points | Fuad Reveiz | 102 |
| Kickoff return yards | Darrin Nelson | 626 |
| Punt return yards | Anthony Parker | 336 |
| Tackles | Jack Del Rio | 153 |
| Sacks | Chris Doleman | 14.5 |
| Interceptions | Audray McMillian | 8 |
| Forced fumbles | Chris Doleman | 6 |

### League rankings

| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
| Passing offense | 2,869 | 179.3 | 18th |
| Rushing offense | 2,030 | 126.9 | 7th |
| Total offense | 4,899 | 306.2 | 11th |
| Passing defense | 2,782 | 173.9 | 7th |
| Rushing defense | 1,733 | 108.3 | 14th |
| Total defense | 4,515 | 282.2 | 8th |

## Awards and records

* Audrey MacMillan, NFL leader, interceptions (8)