# 1996 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1996 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 36th in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Dennis Green, they finished with a 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs after a one-year absence, starting a run of five consecutive playoff appearances.
They started the season with five wins in their first six games, before losing their next four. Starting quarterback Warren Moon suffered a broken collarbone during the season and missed the final six games, allowing fifth-year backup Brad Johnson to take his place. With Johnson under center, the Vikings won four of their remaining five games, including divisional victories on the road against the Detroit Lions and at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those wins proved pivotal in the Vikings qualification for the playoffs, as their superior intra-conference record (8–4) over the Washington Redskins rendered Minnesota's week 17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers irrelevant, despite the Redskins defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings entered the playoffs as the number 6 seed in the NFC, pitting them against the Cowboys in the wildcard round. The Cowboys put up 30 unanswered points in the first half and ultimately won the game 40–15, making it the fourth time in five seasons that the Vikings' season ended in the wildcard round.
For the season, the Vikings sported new uniforms, adding the team's logo to both sleeves of the jersey as well as adding yellow number and yellow name outlines. These uniforms would remain in use with the Minnesota Vikings until 2005.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| T Scott Dill (Buccaneers) | DE Roy Barker (49ers) |
| DE Robert Goff (Saints) | T Rick Cunningham (Raiders) |
| LB Dixon Edwards (Cowboys) | TE Adrian Cooper (49ers) |
| TE David Frisch (Patriots) | LB Jack Del Rio (Dolphins) |
| DB Anthony Prior (Jets) | S Charles Mincy (Buccaneers) |
| T Ariel Solomon (Steelers) | |
| LB Darryl Talley (Falcons) | |

### 1996 draft

1996 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 16 | Duane Clemons | Linebacker | California | |
| 2 | 45 | James Manley | Defensive tackle | Vanderbilt | |
| 3 | 75 | Moe Williams | Running back | Kentucky | |
| 4 | 97 | Hunter Goodwin | Tight end | Texas A&M | From Cardinals |
| 4 | 112 | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | |
| 5 | 137 | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | Traded to the Arizona Cardinals | From Giants |
| 5 | 148 | Sean Boyd | Defensive back | North Carolina | |
| 6 | 182 | Traded to the New York Giants | Traded to the New York Giants | Traded to the New York Giants | |
| 7 | 223 | Jon Merrill | Offensive tackle | Duke | |
Notes:
* 1 2 3 The Vikings traded their fourth- and fifth-round selections (112th and 137th overall) to the Cardinals in exchange for a fourth-round selection (97th overall).
* 1 2 The Vikings traded S Vencie Glenn and a sixth-round selection (182nd overall) to the Giants in exchange for a fifth-round selection (137th overall) and a 1995 sixth-round selection (189th overall).

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 3 | San Diego Chargers | W 23–20 (OT) | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 34,367 |
| 2 | August 8 | Buffalo Bills | L 12–35 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 36,297 |
| 3 | August 19 | at Miami Dolphins | L 17–24 | 1–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 55,598 |
| 4 | August 23 | at New Orleans Saints | L 13–16 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 35,728 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 1 | Detroit Lions | W 17–13 | 1–0 | Metrodome | 52,972 |
| 2 | September 8 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 23–17 | 2–0 | Georgia Dome | 42,688 |
| 3 | September 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–14 | 3–0 | Soldier Field | 61,301 |
| 4 | September 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 30–21 | 4–0 | Metrodome | 64,168 |
| 5 | September 29 | at New York Giants | L 15–10 | 4–1 | Giants Stadium | 70,970 |
| 6 | October 6 | Carolina Panthers | W 14–12 | 5–1 | Metrodome | 60,894 |
| 7 | October 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 24–13 | 5–2 | Houlihan's Stadium | 32,175 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | October 28 | Chicago Bears | L 15–13 | 5–3 | Metrodome | 58,143 |
| 10 | November 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–6 | 5–4 | Metrodome | 59,552 |
| 11 | November 10 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 42–23 | 5–5 | Kingdome | 50,794 |
| 12 | November 17 | at Oakland Raiders | W 16–13 (OT) | 6–5 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 41,183 |
| 13 | November 24 | Denver Broncos | L 21–17 | 6–6 | Metrodome | 59,142 |
| 14 | December 1 | Arizona Cardinals | W 41–17 | 7–6 | Metrodome | 45,767 |
| 15 | December 8 | at Detroit Lions | W 24–22 | 8–6 | Silverdome | 46,043 |
| 16 | December 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–10 | 9–6 | Metrodome | 49,202 |
| 17 | December 22 | at Green Bay Packers | L 38–10 | 9–7 | Lambeau Field | 59,306 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Green Bay Packers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 456 | 210 | W5 |
| $^{(6)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 298 | 315 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 283 | 305 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 221 | 293 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 302 | 368 | L5 |

## Postseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 28 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 40–15 | Texas Stadium | 64,682 |

## Statistics
### Team leaders

| Category | Player(s) | Value |
| Passing yards | Brad Johnson | 2,258 |
| Passing touchdowns | Brad Johnson | 17 |
| Rushing yards | Robert Smith | 692 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Leroy Hoard Robert Smith | 3 |
| Receiving yards | Jake Reed | 1,320 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cris Carter | 10 |
| Points | Scott Sisson | 96 |
| Kickoff return yards | Qadry Ismail | 527 |
| Punt return yards | David Palmer | 216 |
| Tackles | Jeff Brady | 101 |
| Sacks | John Randle | 11.5 |
| Interceptions | Orlando Thomas | 5 |
| Forced fumbles | John Randle | 4 |

### League rankings

| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 30) |
| Passing offense | 3,658 | 228.6 | 8th |
| Rushing offense | 1,546 | 96.6 | 24th |
| Total offense | 5,204 | 325.2 | 12th |
| Passing defense | 3,121 | 195.1 | 9th |
| Rushing defense | 1,966 | 122.9 | 24th |
| Total defense | 5,087 | 317.9 | 16th |