# 1997 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1997 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 37th in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth under head coach Dennis Green. Despite an 8–2 start, the Vikings would go on to lose five consecutive matches, finishing fourth in the division. The team ultimately won their final game of the regular season, matching their 9–7 record from 1996 and claiming the 6th seed in the playoffs for a second consecutive year. In the wild card round against the New York Giants, the Vikings came back from a 22–13 deficit with 90 seconds to play to win 23–22, their first playoff victory since 1988. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated 38–22 by the San Francisco 49ers.
Vikings defensive tackle John Randle led the league in sacks with 15.5. Wide receiver Cris Carter's 13 touchdown receptions also were most in the league.
Before the season, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham after a year out of the game, a move that reunited Cunningham with his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Cris Carter.

## Offseason
### 1997 draft

1997 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 20 | Dwayne Rudd | Linebacker | Alabama | |
| 2 | 49 | Torrian Gray | Safety | Virginia Tech | |
| 3 | 78 | Stalin Colinet | Defensive end | Boston College | |
| 4 | 113 | Antonio Banks | Defensive back | Virginia Tech | |
| 5 | 151 | Tony Williams | Defensive tackle | Memphis | |
| 6 | 183 | Robert Tate | Wide receiver | Cincinnati | |
| 7 | 220 | Artie Ulmer | Linebacker | Valdosta State | |
| 7 | 235 | Matthew Hatchette | Wide receiver | Langston | Compensatory pick |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Notes |
| 1 | July 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 28–26 | 1–0 | Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH) | 23,846 | Hall of Fame Game |
| 2 | August 2 | St. Louis Rams | W 26–6 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 36,971 | |
| 3 | August 8 | at Buffalo Bills | L 3–19 | 2–1 | Rich Stadium | 32,559 | |
| 4 | August 16 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–37 | 2–2 | Cinergy Field | 44,316 | |
| 5 | August 22 | San Diego Chargers | W 28–22 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 44,300 | |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 31 | at Buffalo Bills | W 34–13 | 1–0 | Rich Stadium | 79,139 |
| 2 | September 7 | at Chicago Bears | W 27–24 | 2–0 | Soldier Field | 59,263 |
| 3 | September 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 28–14 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,697 |
| 4 | September 21 | at Green Bay Packers | L 38–32 | 2–2 | Lambeau Field | 60,115 |
| 5 | September 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–19 | 3–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 55,149 |
| 6 | October 5 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 20–19 | 4–2 | Sun Devil Stadium | 45,550 |
| 7 | October 12 | Carolina Panthers | W 21–14 | 5–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 62,625 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | October 26 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 10–6 | 6–2 | Houlihan's Stadium | 66,815 |
| 10 | November 2 | New England Patriots | W 23–18 | 7–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 62,917 |
| 11 | November 9 | Chicago Bears | W 29–22 | 8–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,443 |
| 12 | November 16 | at Detroit Lions | L 38–15 | 8–3 | Silverdome | 68,910 |
| 13 | November 23 | at New York Jets | L 23–21 | 8–4 | Giants Stadium | 70,131 |
| 14 | December 1 | Green Bay Packers | L 27–11 | 8–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,001 |
| 15 | December 7 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 28–17 | 8–6 | 3Com Park | 55,761 |
| 16 | December 14 | Detroit Lions | L 14–13 | 8–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,982 |
| 17 | December 21 | Indianapolis Colts | W 39–28 | 9–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,107 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Green Bay Packers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 422 | 282 | W5 |
| $^{(4)}$ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 299 | 263 | W1 |
| $^{(5)}$ Detroit Lions | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 379 | 306 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 354 | 359 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 263 | 421 | L1 |

## Postseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 27 | at New York Giants | W 23–22 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 77,497 |
| Division | January 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 38–22 | 1–1 | 3Com Park | 65,018 |

## Statistics
### Team leaders

| Category | Player(s) | Value |
| Passing yards | Brad Johnson | 3,036 |
| Passing touchdowns | Brad Johnson | 20 |
| Rushing yards | Robert Smith | 1,266 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Robert Smith | 6 |
| Receiving yards | Jake Reed | 1,138 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cris Carter | 13 |
| Points | Cris Carter | 84 |
| Kickoff return yards | David Palmer | 711 |
| Punt return yards | David Palmer | 444 |
| Tackles | Robert Griffith | 114 |
| Sacks | John Randle | 15.5 |
| Interceptions | Dewayne Washington | 4 |
| Forced fumbles | Derrick Alexander | 3 |

### League rankings

| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 30) |
| Passing offense | 3,313 | 207.1 | 14th |
| Rushing offense | 2,041 | 127.6 | 6th |
| Total offense | 5,354 | 334.6 | 8th |
| Passing defense | 3,704 | 231.5 | 29th |
| Rushing defense | 1,983 | 123.9 | 23rd |
| Total defense | 5,687 | 355.4 | 29th |