1970 Minnesota Vikings season

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL team season The 1970 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 10th in the National Football League and the first season following the AFL–NFL merger. In their fourth year under head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 12–2 record and won the first ever NFC Central title before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–14 at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff game. The Vikings' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.

Offseason

1970 draft

colspan="6" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 1970 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	25	John Ward	Offensive tackle	Oklahoma State
2	51	Bill Cappleman	Quarterback	Florida State
3	77	Chuck Burgoon	Linebacker	North Park
4	103	Traded to the New Orleans SaintsTemplate:Efn-ua
5	129	Greg Jones	Running back	UCLA
6	155	Traded to the Pittsburgh SteelersTemplate:Efn-ua
7	181	Hap Farber	Linebacker	Ole Miss
8	207	Mike Carroll	Guard	Missouri
9	233	George Morrow	Defensive end	Ole Miss
10	259	Stu Voigt	Tight end	Wisconsin
11	285	Godfrey Zaunbrecher	Center	LSU
12	311	James Holland	Defensive back	Jackson State
13	337	Robert Pearce	Defensive back	Stephen F. Austin
14	363	Tommy Spinks	Wide receiver	Louisiana Tech
15	389	Bennie Francis	Defensive end	Chadron State
16	415	Bruce Cerone	Wide receiver	Emporia State
17	441	Brian Healy	Defensive back	Michigan

Notes Template:Notelist-ua

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 8	New Orleans Saints	L 13–14	0–1	Fawcett Stadium (Canton, OH)	17,932
2	August 15	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–20	0–2	Metropolitan Stadium	45,591
3	August 22	at Houston Oilers	W 14–7	1–2	Astrodome	44,563
4	August 30	New York Jets	W 52–21	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
5	September 5	at Cleveland Browns	W 24–21	3–2	Cleveland Stadium	83,043
6	September 11	at Chicago Bears	W 31–30	4–2	Soldier Field	46,630

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–10	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
2	September 27	New Orleans Saints	W 26–0	2–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 4	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–13	2–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,967
4	October 11	at Chicago Bears	W 24–0	3–1	Wrigley Field	45,485
5	October 18	Dallas Cowboys	W 54–13	4–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
6	October 26	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–3	5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
7	November 1	at Detroit Lions	W 30–17	6–1	Tiger Stadium	58,210
8	November 8	at Washington Redskins	W 19–10	7–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	50,415
9	November 15	Detroit Lions	W 24–20	8–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
10	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	9–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
11	November 29	at New York Jets	L 10–20	9–2	Shea Stadium	62,333
12	December 5	Chicago Bears	W 16–13	10–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
13	December 13	at Boston Patriots	W 35–14	11–2	Harvard Stadium	37,819
14	December 20	at Atlanta Falcons	W 37–7	12–2	Atlanta Stadium	57,992

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	7	3	0	10
Vikings	0	17	0	10	27

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 47,900
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Fred Cox 20-yard field goal. Vikings 3–0. MIN – Roy Winston 36-yard fumble recovery (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 10–0. KC – Otis Taylor 59-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick). Vikings 10–7. MIN – Dave Osborn 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–7. Third quarter KC – Jan Stenerud 26-yard field goal. Vikings 17–10. Fourth quarter MIN – Oscar Reed 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–10. MIN – Fred Cox 40-yard field goal. Vikings 27–10. Top passers KC – Len Dawson – 18/27, 164 yards, TD, 2 INT MIN – Gary Cuozzo – 12/20, 100 yards, 2 INT Top rushers KC – Wendell Hayes – 7 rushes, 22 yards MIN – Bill Brown – 17 rushes, 55 yards Top receivers KC – Otis Taylor – 5 receptions, 100 yards, TD MIN – John Beasley – 3 receptions, 41 yards

Postseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 27	San Francisco 49ers	L 14–17	0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,050

Statistics

Team leaders

width=150px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Category	width=150px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Player(s)	width=75px style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Value
Passing yards	Gary Cuozzo	1,720
Passing touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	7
Rushing yards	Dave Osborn	681
Rushing touchdowns	Clint Jones	9
Receiving yards	Gene Washington	702
Receiving touchdowns	Gene Washington	4
Points	Fred Cox	125
Kickoff return yards	Clint Jones	452
Punt return yards	Charlie West	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	7

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 26)
Passing offense	2,181	155.8	14th
Rushing offense	1,634	116.7	14th
Total offense	3,815	272.5	19th
Passing defense	1,438	102.7	1st
Rushing defense	1,365	97.5	5th
Total defense	2,803	200.2	1st