# 1989 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1989 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 29th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with a 10–6 record to win the NFC Central Division. This title was secured during one of what is considered by many to be among the most exciting Monday Night Football contests ever: a Christmas Day victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was the de facto first playoff game of the year. The Vikings were beaten 41–13 in the divisional round of the playoffs by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
This season was also notable for the number of sacks the defense recorded: 71 overall, with 39 coming from only two players (Chris Doleman and Keith Millard). Millard was named the Defensive Player of the Year after putting up record numbers by a defensive tackle.

## Offseason
### 1989 draft

1989 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 24 | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| 2 | 52 | David Braxton | Linebacker | Wake Forest | |
| 3 | 80 | John Hunter | Offensive tackle | BYU | |
| 4 | 108 | Darryl Ingram | Tight end | California | |
| 5 | 136 | Pick forfeited during 1988 supplemental draft | Pick forfeited during 1988 supplemental draft | Pick forfeited during 1988 supplemental draft | |
| 6 | 163 | Jeff Mickel | Offensive tackle | Eastern Washington | |
| 7 | 191 | Benji Roland | Defensive end | Auburn | |
| 8 | 219 | Alex Stewart | Defensive end | Cal State Fullerton | |
| 9 | 247 | Traded to the New England Patriots | Traded to the New England Patriots | Traded to the New England Patriots | |
| 10 | 275 | Traded to the Miami Dolphins | Traded to the Miami Dolphins | Traded to the Miami Dolphins | |
| 11 | 303 | Brad Baxter | Running back | Alabama State | |
| 12 | 331 | Shawn Woodson | Linebacker | James Madison | |
| 12 | 335 | Everett Ross | Wide receiver | Ohio State | From 49ers, via Raiders |
Notes:
* ↑ The Vikings traded their first-round selection (24th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for LB Mike Merriweather.
* ↑ The Vikings forfeited their fifth-round selection (136th overall) after selecting DB Ryan Bethea in the fifth round of the 1988 NFL supplemental draft.
* ↑ The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (247th overall) to the Patriots in exchange for a 1988 11th-round selection (296th overall).
* ↑ The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (275th overall) to the Dolphins in exchange for OT Greg Koch.
* ↑ The Vikings traded their 1990 11th-round selection to the Raiders in exchange for the 12th-round selection the Raiders received from the 49ers.

### Undrafted free agents

1989 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Pat Beaty | Kicker | North Dakota |
| Robert Carter | Running back | Troy State |
| Jarrod Delaney | Wide receiver | TCU |
| Darrell Ellison | Linebacker | Tulsa |
| Devin Harberts | Wide receiver | Iowa |
| Ken Johnson | Defensive back | Florida A&M |
| Andy Keeler | Guard | Nebraska |
| Tony Peterson | Quarterback | Marshall |
| Everett Ross | Wide receiver | Ohio State |
| Pat Thompson | Punter | BYU |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 12 | vs Kansas City Chiefs | W 23–13 | 1–0 | Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) | 63,528 |
| 2 | August 21 | Washington Redskins | W 24–13 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 50,213 |
| 3 | August 26 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 14–24 | 2–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 45,087 |
| 4 | September 1 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17–10 | 3–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 49,867 |

## Regular season

The defensive line of Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, Al Noga and Henry Thomas were key contributors in helping the Vikings rank number one in the NFL in total defense. In addition, the Vikings set a franchise record with 71 sacks in one season. Chris Doleman had 21 sacks and was one shy of tying the NFL record.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 10 | Houston Oilers | W 38–7 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,015 |
| 2 | September 17 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–38 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 66,475 |
| 3 | September 24 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–27 | 1–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 50,744 |
| 4 | October 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–3 | 2–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,817 |
| 5 | October 8 | Detroit Lions | W 24–17 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 55,380 |
| 6 | October 15 | Green Bay Packers | W 26–14 | 4–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 62,075 |
| 7 | October 22 | at Detroit Lions | W 20–7 | 5–2 | Silverdome | 51,579 |
| 8 | October 30 | at New York Giants | L 14–24 | 5–3 | Giants Stadium | 76,041 |
| 9 | November 5 | Los Angeles Rams | W 23–21 (OT) | 6–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,600 |
| 10 | November 12 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–10 | 7–3 | Tampa Stadium | 56,271 |
| 11 | November 19 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 9–10 | 7–4 | Veterans Stadium | 65,944 |
| 12 | November 26 | at Green Bay Packers | L 19–20 | 7–5 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 55,592 |
| 13 | December 3 | Chicago Bears | W 27–16 | 8–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,664 |
| 14 | December 10 | Atlanta Falcons | W 43–17 | 9–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,116 |
| 15 | December 17 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–23 (OT) | 9–6 | Cleveland Stadium | 70,777 |
| 16 | December 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 29–21 | 10–6 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,829 |

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 362 | 356 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 10–4 | 362 | 275 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 312 | 364 | W5 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 358 | 377 | L6 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 320 | 419 | L4 |

## Postseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| Divisional | January 6 | at San Francisco 49ers (1) | L 13–41 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park | 64,585 |

## Herschel Walker trade

In 1989, at the height of his NFL career, the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (LB Jesse Solomon, DB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, DE Alex Stewart) and six draft picks (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson). This was judged to be one of the turning points in the rise of the Cowboys to the top echelon of the NFL. Walker's trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him, and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of the team's history. The Vikings coaches reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never totally used the tool they had been given. Scout.com says, "Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust (a total oxymoron in this case)".

## Statistics
### Team leaders

| Category | Player(s) | Value |
| Passing yards | Wade Wilson | 2,543 |
| Passing touchdowns | Wade Wilson | 9 |
| Rushing yards | Herschel Walker | 669 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Herschel Walker | 5 |
| Receiving yards | Anthony Carter | 1,066 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Anthony Carter | 4 |
| Points | Rich Karlis | 120 |
| Kickoff return yards | Herschel Walker | 374 |
| Punt return yards | Leo Lewis | 446 |
| Tackles | Chris Doleman Henry Thomas | 94 |
| Sacks | Chris Doleman | 21.0 |
| Interceptions | Joey Browner | 5 |
| Forced fumbles | Chris Doleman | 5 |

### League rankings

| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
| Passing offense | 3,189 | 199.3 | 17th |
| Rushing offense | 2,066 | 129.1 | 7th |
| Total offense | 5,255 | 328.4 | 14th |
| Passing defense | 2,501 | 156.3 | 1st |
| Rushing defense | 1,683 | 105.2 | 11th |
| Total defense | 4,184 | 261.5 | 1st |

## Awards and records

* Keith Millard – NFL Defensive Player of the Year (AP, UPI, PFWA)
* Chris Doleman – NFL sacks leader (21.0)
* Randall McDaniel – NFC Pro Bowl selection

### Milestones

* Chris Doleman, third player in NFL history to reach 20 sacks in a season
* Chris Doleman, franchise record, 21 sacks