1993 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1993 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL). The Vikings failed to match their 11–5 record from the previous season, finishing at 9–7. They finished in second place in the NFC Central to qualify for the playoffs, but lost 17–10 to the New York Giants in the wildcard round.

1993 Minnesota Vikings season
OwnerRoger Headrick
General managerJeff Diamond
Head coachDennis Green
Home fieldHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Giants) 10–17
Pro BowlersWR Cris Carter
DE Chris Doleman
G Randall McDaniel
DT John Randle
AP All-ProsG Randall McDaniel (1st team)
DT John Randle (1st team)
DE Chris Doleman (2nd team)
DT Henry Thomas (2nd team)
Uniform

Newly acquired Jim McMahon, who was known for helping the Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX in the 1985 season, was the Vikings starting quarterback for the season. He spent only one year with the team and after the season, the rebuilding Vikings decided not to renew McMahon's contract and he would go on to sign with other teams. The Vikings later acquired Warren Moon for next season.

Cris Carter and John Randle were named to play in the Pro Bowl after the season. It was the first Pro Bowl for both future Hall of Famers.

Terry Allen, who had a breakout season the previous year, missed the entire season after tearing his ACL in practice.

Offseason

edit
Additions Subtractions
QB Jim McMahon (Eagles) QB Rich Gannon (Redskins)
LB Fred Strickland (Rams) G Brian Habib (Broncos)
WR Hassan Jones (Chiefs)
C Kirk Lowdermilk (Colts)
LB Mike Merriweather (Jets)
RB Darrin Nelson (retirement)
DE Al Noga (Redskins)
T Gary Zimmerman (Broncos)
S Felix Wright (Chiefs)

1993 Draft

edit
=Pro Bowler
1993 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 21 Robert Smith Running back Ohio State
2 52 Qadry Ismail Wide receiver Syracuse
3 57 John Gerak Guard Penn State from Patriots via Raiders and Seahawks[a]
79 Gilbert Brown Defensive tackle Kansas
4 106 Ashley Sheppard Linebacker Clemson
5 133 Everett Lindsay Offensive tackle Mississippi
6 160 Traded to the Washington Redskins[b]
7 192 Gino Torretta Quarterback Miami
8 219 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[c]
^[a] The Vikings traded DT Keith Millard to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Seattle's third-round selection (57th overall) and 1992 second-round selection (39th overall).
^[b] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (160th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for DE George Hinkle and WR Joe Johnson.
^[c] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (219th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for RB Keith Henderson.

Undrafted free agents

edit
1993 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Ron Carpenter S Miami (OH)
Matt Eller DE Bethel (MN)
Eric Guliford WR Arizona State
Dave Garnett LB Stanford
Shawn Jones S Georgia Tech
Robert Staten FB Jackson State

Staff

edit
1993 Minnesota Vikings staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


[1]

Roster

edit
1993 Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 6 reserve, 3 practice squad

Preseason

edit
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2] Notes
1 August 1 at Dallas Cowboys W 13–7 1–0 Texas Stadium 60,010
2 August 7 Buffalo Bills W 20–6 2–0 Olympiastadion, Berlin 67,132 American Bowl
3 August 14 Seattle Seahawks W 23–10 3–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 42,240
4 August 21 at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–27 3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 73,080
5 August 26 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–13 4–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 41,512

Regular season

edit

Schedule

edit
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 5 at Los Angeles Raiders L 24–7 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 44,120
2 September 12 Chicago Bears W 10–7 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 57,921
3 Bye
4 September 26 Green Bay Packers W 15–13 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,746
5 October 3 at San Francisco 49ers L 38–19 2–2 Candlestick Park 63,071
6 October 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 15–0 3–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,215
7 Bye
8 October 25 at Chicago Bears W 19–12 4–2 Soldier Field 64,677
9 October 31 Detroit Lions L 30–27 4–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,428
10 November 7 San Diego Chargers L 30–17 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,527
11 November 14 at Denver Broncos W 26–23 5–4 Mile High Stadium 67,329
12 November 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 23–10 5–5 Tampa Stadium 40,848
13 November 28 New Orleans Saints L 17–14 5–6 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,030
14 December 5 at Detroit Lions W 13–0 6–6 Silverdome 63,216
15 December 12 Dallas Cowboys L 37–20 6–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 63,321
16 December 19 at Green Bay Packers W 21–17 7–7 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,773
17 December 26 Kansas City Chiefs W 30–10 8–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,236
18 December 31 at Washington Redskins W 14–9 9–7 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 42,836

Game summaries

edit

Week 4: vs Green Bay Packers

edit
Week 4: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 7 3 0313
Vikings 3 3 6315

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Standings

edit
NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Detroit Lions 10 6 0 .625 298 292 W2
(5) Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 277 290 W3
(6) Green Bay Packers 9 7 0 .563 340 282 L1
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 234 230 L4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 237 376 L1

Postseason

edit
Week Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Wild Card January 9 at New York Giants (#4) L 17–10 0–1 Giants Stadium 75,089

Statistics

edit

Team leaders

edit
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Jim McMahon 1,968
Passing touchdowns Jim McMahon
Sean Salisbury
9
Rushing yards Scottie Graham 488
Rushing touchdowns Scottie Graham 3
Receiving yards Cris Carter 1,071
Receiving touchdowns Cris Carter 9
Points Fuad Reveiz 105
Kickoff return yards Qadry Ismail 902
Punt return yards Eric Guliford 212
Tackles Fred Strickland 110
Sacks Chris Doleman
John Randle
12.5
Interceptions Vencie Glenn 5
Forced fumbles Roy Barker
Chris Doleman
Carlos Jenkins
John Randle
3

League rankings

edit
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense 3,200 200.0 14th
Rushing offense 1,624 101.5 21st
Total offense 4,824 301.5 17th
Passing defense 2,870 179.4 6th
Rushing defense 1,536 96.0 6th
Total defense 4,406 275.4 1st

References

edit
  1. ^ 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "1993 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".