1995 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1995 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 35th in the National Football League. Under head coach Dennis Green, they finished with an 8–8 record and still had a chance to make the playoffs entering Week 17 at Cincinnati; however, victories for the Bears and the Falcons in their final games rendered the Vikings' defeat to the Bengals inconsequential, and Minnesota missed the playoffs for the first time under Green. Despite the team's poor play, rookie safety Orlando Thomas recorded a league-leading 9 interceptions of the season.

1995 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachDennis Green
Home fieldHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record8–8
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

Offseason
AdditionsSubtractions
LB Jeff Brady (Buccaneers)DT Henry Thomas (Lions)
DB Donald Frank (Raiders)FS Vencie Glenn (Giants)

1995 Expansion Draft
Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft
Minnesota Vikings selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Overall Name Position Expansion team
1122 Dave GarnettLinebackerCarolina Panthers
2652 William SimsLinebackerCarolina Panthers
3263 Eric GulifordWide receiverCarolina Panthers

1995 Draft
Main article: 1995 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1995 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
111 Derrick AlexanderDefensive endFlorida Statefrom Broncos via Falcons[a]
24 Korey StringerOffensive tackleOhio State
242 Orlando ThomasSafetyLouisiana-Lafayettefrom Broncos[b]
55 Corey FullerCornerbackFlorida State
389 Traded to the Houston Oilers[c]
4111 Chad MayQuarterbackKansas Statefrom Broncos[d]
121Traded to the Denver Broncos[d]
5157 James StewartRunning backMiami
6189 John SolomonDefensive endSam Houston Statefrom Giants[e]
196 Traded to the Denver Broncos[d]
7232 Jose WhiteDefensive tackleHoward
243 Jason FiskDefensive tackleStanfordCompensatory pick
^[a] Atlanta traded their 1994 2nd round selection (40th overall – David Palmer) and 1995 1st round selection (11th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1994 2nd round selection (45th overall – Bert Emanuel) and DE Chris Doleman on April 24, 1994.
^[b] Denver traded their 1994 1st round selection (18th overall – Dewayne Washington), 1994 6th round selection (179th overall – Andrew Jordan, and 1995 2nd round selection (42nd overall) to Minnesota in exchange for OT Gary Zimmerman on August 23, 1993.
^[c] Houston traded their 3rd round selection (89th overall) and 1994 4th round selection (119th overall – Michael Davis) to Minnesota for QB Warren Moon.
^[d] Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (121st overall) and 6th round selection (196th overall) to Denver to move up 10 spots to the 111th overall selection and make this pick.
^[e] The Giants traded their 6th round selection (189th overall) and 1996 5th round selection (137th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for their 1996 6th round selection (182nd overall) and Safety Vencie Glenn.

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 7at San Diego ChargersW 23-191-0Jack Murphy Stadium47,934
2August 12at New England PatriotsL 14-211-1Foxboro Stadium56,241
3August 18Oakland RaidersW 20-172-1Metrodome45,306
4August 26Kansas City ChiefsL 13-172-2Metrodome39,349

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 3 at Chicago Bears L 14–31 0–1 Soldier Field 63,036
2 September 10 Detroit Lions W 20–10 1–1 Metrodome 52,234
3 September 17 Dallas Cowboys L 17–23 (OT) 1–2 Metrodome 60,088
4 September 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 44–24 2–2 Three Rivers Stadium 57,853
5 Bye
6 October 8 Houston Oilers W 23–17 (OT) 3–2 Metrodome 56,430
7 October 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–20 (OT) 3–3 Tampa Stadium 55,703
8 October 22 at Green Bay Packers L 21–38 3–4 Lambeau Field 60,332
9 October 30 Chicago Bears L 6–14 3–5 Metrodome 61,238
10 November 5 Green Bay Packers W 27–24 4–5 Metrodome 62,839
11 November 12 at Arizona Cardinals W 30–24 (OT) 5–5 Sun Devil Stadium 51,342
12 November 19 New Orleans Saints W 43–24 6–5 Metrodome 58,108
13 November 23 at Detroit Lions L 38–44 6–6 Silverdome 74,559
14 December 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–17 7–6 Metrodome 52,879
15 December 9 Cleveland Browns W 27–11 8–6 Metrodome 47,984
16 December 18 at San Francisco 49ers L 30–37 8–7 Candlestick Park 64,975
17 December 24 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–27 8–8 Riverfront Stadium 34,568

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Green Bay Packers 11 5 0 .688 404 314 W2
(5) Detroit Lions 10 6 0 .625 436 336 W7
Chicago Bears 9 7 0 .563 392 360 W2
Minnesota Vikings 8 8 0 .500 412 385 L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7 9 0 .438 238 335 L2

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsWarren Moon4,228
Passing touchdownsWarren Moon33
Rushing yardsRobert Smith632
Rushing touchdownsRobert Smith5
Receiving yardsCris Carter1,371
Receiving touchdownsCris Carter17
PointsFuad Reveiz122
Kickoff return yardsQadry Ismail1,037
Punt return yardsDavid Palmer342
TacklesEd McDaniel115
SacksJohn Randle10.5
InterceptionsOrlando Thomas9
Forced fumblesEd McDaniel6

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 30)
Passing offense4,205262.85th
Rushing offense1,733108.316th
Total offense5,938371.14th
Passing defense4,122257.628th
Rushing defense1,32983.14th
Total defense5,451340.720th

Staff
Front Office
  • Chairman of the Board – John Skoglund
  • President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

  

Defensive Coaches

Special Teams Coaches

Strength and Conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Steve Wetzel
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Mark Asanovich

[1]

Roster
1995 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 51 active, 2 inactive, 2 practice squad

Awards and records
  • Cris Carter, led NFL in receiving touchdowns
  • Cris Carter, All-Pro selection
  • Cris Carter, Pro Bowl selection
  • Orlando Thomas, NFL interceptions leader (9)

Milestones
  • Cris Carter, 100 reception season [2]
  • Warren Moon, 4th 4,000-yard passing season

References
  1. 2009 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 251. Archived from the original on 2010-12-24. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
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