1965 Minnesota Vikings season

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL team 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

colspan="6" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|1965 Minnesota Vikings Draft
colspan="2" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Draft order	rowspan="2" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Player name	rowspan="2" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Position	rowspan="2" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|College	rowspan="2" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Notes
style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Round	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"|Selection
1	8	Jack Snow	Wide receiver	Notre Dame
2	15	Archie Sutton	Offensive tackle	Illinois	from GiantsTemplate:Efn-ua
	23	Lance Rentzel	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
3	36	Traded to the Pittsburgh SteelersTemplate:Efn-ua
4	51	Jim Whalen	Wide receiver	Boston College
	55	Jim Harris	Offensive tackle	Utah State	from BrownsTemplate:Efn-ua
5	64	Traded to the Detroit LionsTemplate:Efn-ua
6	79	Jim Grisham	Running back	Oklahoma
7	92	Traded to the Detroit LionsTemplate:Efn-ua
8	100	John Hankinson	Quarterback	Minnesota	from 49ersTemplate:Efn-ua
	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 Template:Notelist-ua

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.

Statistics

Team leaders

width=150px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Category	width=150px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Player(s)	width=75px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 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

width=150px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Category	width=100px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Total yards	width=110px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Yards per game	width=80px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 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