# 1965 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1965 season was the Minnesota Vikings' fifth in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Norm Van Brocklin, the team finished with a 7–7 record.

## Offseason
### 1965 draft

* Pro Bowler
1965 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Jack Snow | Wide receiver | Notre Dame | |
| 2 | 15 | Archie Sutton | Offensive tackle | Illinois | from Giants |
| 2 | 23 | Lance Rentzel | Wide receiver | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 36 | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| 4 | 51 | Jim Whalen | Wide receiver | Boston College | |
| 4 | 55 | Jim Harris | Offensive tackle | Utah State | from Browns |
| 5 | 64 | Traded to the Detroit Lions | Traded to the Detroit Lions | Traded to the Detroit Lions | |
| 6 | 79 | Jim Grisham | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 7 | 92 | Traded to the Detroit Lions | Traded to the Detroit Lions | Traded to the Detroit Lions | |
| 8 | 100 | John Hankinson | Quarterback | Minnesota | from 49ers |
| 8 | 107 | Jeff Jordan | Defensive back | Tulsa | |
| 9 | 120 | Frank McClendon | Offensive tackle | Alabama | |
| 10 | 135 | Jerald Schweiger | Offensive tackle | Superior State | |
| 11 | 148 | John Thomas | Wide receiver | USC | |
| 12 | 163 | Mike Tilleman | Defensive tackle | Montana | |
| 13 | 176 | Dave Osborn | Running back | North Dakota | |
| 14 | 191 | Max Leetzow | Defensive end | Idaho | |
| 15 | 204 | Phillip Morgan | Running back | East Tennessee State | |
| 16 | 219 | Paul Labinski | Offensive tackle | St. John's (MN) | |
| 17 | 232 | Veran Smith | Running back | Utah State | |
| 18 | 247 | Rich Kotite | Wide receiver | Wagner | |
| 19 | 260 | Ellis Johnson | Running back | Southeastern Louisiana | |
| 20 | 271 | Cosmo Iacavazzi | Running back | Princeton | |
Notes
* ↑ The Vikings traded RB Hugh McElhenny to the Giants in exchange for a second-round selection (15th overall) and a 1964 fourth-round selection (53rd overall).
* ↑ The Vikings traded their third-round selection (36th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for RB Bob Ferguson.
* ↑ The Vikings traded DT Mike Bundra to the Browns in exchange for a fourth-round selection (55th overall), and by some reports, they also traded their 1966 sixth-round selection (90th overall).
* ↑ The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (64th overall) to the Lions in exchange for WR Tom Hall and HB Bruce Zellmer.
* ↑ The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (92nd overall) and a 1966 sixth-round selection (87th overall) to the Lions in exchange for DT Mike Bundra and end Larry Vargo.
* ↑ The Vikings traded DT Roy Williams to the 49ers in exchange for an eighth-round selection (100th overall).

## Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 31–21 | 1–0 | Atlanta Stadium (Atlanta, GA) | 39,240 |
| 2 | August 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 35–21 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,125 |
| 3 | August 28 | Washington Redskins | W 20–16 | 3–0 | American Legion Memorial Stadium (Charlotte, NC) | 20,426 |
| 4 | September 3 | Dallas Cowboys | W 57–17 | 4–0 | Legion Field (Birmingham, AL) | 41,500 |
| 5 | September 11 | New York Giants | W 24–9 | 5–0 | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium (Omaha, NE) | 14,250 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 19 | at Baltimore Colts | L 16–35 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 56,562 |
| 2 | September 26 | Detroit Lions | L 29–31 | 0–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,826 |
| 3 | October 3 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 38–35 | 1–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 36,755 |
| 4 | October 9 | New York Giants | W 40–14 | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 44,283 |
| 5 | October 17 | Chicago Bears | L 37–45 | 2–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,426 |
| 6 | October 24 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 42–41 | 3–3 | Kezar Stadium | 42,680 |
| 7 | October 31 | at Cleveland Browns | W 27–17 | 4–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 83,505 |
| 8 | November 7 | Los Angeles Rams | W 24–13 | 5–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,426 |
| 9 | November 14 | Baltimore Colts | L 21–41 | 5–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,426 |
| 10 | November 21 | Green Bay Packers | L 13–38 | 5–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,426 |
| 11 | November 28 | San Francisco 49ers | L 24–45 | 5–6 | Metropolitan Stadium | 40,306 |
| 12 | December 5 | at Green Bay Packers | L 19–24 | 5–7 | Lambeau Field | 50,852 |
| 13 | December 12 | at Detroit Lions | W 29–7 | 6–7 | Tiger Stadium | 45,420 |
| 14 | December 19 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–17 | 7–7 | Wrigley Field | 46,604 |
Note: The game against the Giants, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 10, was brought forward to Saturday night because of the World Series.

## Standings

NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 8–3–1 | 316 | 224 | T1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 8–3–1 | 389 | 284 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 7–5 | 409 | 275 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 6–5–1 | 421 | 402 | T1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5–7 | 383 | 403 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 4–7–1 | 257 | 295 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–10 | 269 | 328 | L1 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Statistics
### Team leaders

| Category | Player(s) | Value |
| Passing yards | Fran Tarkenton | 2,609 |
| Passing touchdowns | Fran Tarkenton | 19 |
| Rushing yards | Bill Brown | 699 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tommy Mason | 10 |
| Receiving yards | Paul Flatley | 896 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Paul Flatley | 7 |
| Points | Fred Cox | 113 |
| Kickoff return yards | Lance Rentzel | 602 |
| Punt return yards | Tommy Mason | 63 |
| Interceptions | Ed Sharockman | 6 |
| Sacks | Jim Marshall | 7.5 |
Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.

### League rankings

| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 14) |
| Passing offense | 2,546 | 181.9 | 8th |
| Rushing offense | 2,278 | 162.7 | 2nd |
| Total offense | 4,824 | 344.6 | 4th |
| Passing defense | 2,493 | 178.1 | 6th |
| Rushing defense | 1,755 | 125.4 | 9th |
| Total defense | 4,248 | 303.4 | 7th |