| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1985 |
| Record: | 7–9 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC Central |
| Coach: | Bud Grant |
| General Manager: | Mike Lynn |
| Owner: | Max Winter |
| Stadium: | Metrodome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | S Joey Browner |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1985 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 25th in the National Football League. Under returning head coach Bud Grant, they finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs for a third season in a row. At the end of the season, Grant retired for good after 18 years with the franchise.
See main article: 1985 NFL draft.
| Pro Bowler |
| 1985 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 2 | Traded to the Atlanta Falcons | from Oilers | ||||
| 3 | Traded to the Houston Oilers | |||||
| 4 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | from Falcons | ||||
| 2 | 30 | Provisional trade but was not exercise | ||||
| 3 | 59 | |||||
| 60 | from Falcons | |||||
| 66 | from Chargers | |||||
| 4 | 85 | |||||
| 106 | from Rams | |||||
| 5 | 115 | |||||
| 6 | 142 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | ||||
| 164 | from Raiders | |||||
| 7 | 171 | Traded to the Green Bay Packers | ||||
| 8 | 198 | Nikita Blair | ||||
| 9 | 227 | Jamie Covington | ||||
| 10 | 254 | Juan Johnson | ||||
| 11 | 283 | Tim Williams | ||||
| 12 | 310 | Byron Jones | ||||
Notes
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10 | at Miami Dolphins | W 16–13 | 1–0 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,129 | |
| 2 | August 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–34 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,887 | |
| 3 | August 24 | Seattle Seahawks | L 10–27 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,562 | |
| 4 | August 30 | at Denver Broncos | W 13–9 | 3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 69,373 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–21 | 1–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 57,375 | |
| 2 | September 15 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–16 | 2–0 | Tampa Stadium | 46,188 | |
| 3 | September 19 | Chicago Bears | L 24–33 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,242 | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bills | W 27–20 | 3–1 | Rich Stadium | 45,667 | |
| 5 | October 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–13 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 61,139 | |
| 6 | October 13 | L 17–20 | 3–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,674 | ||
| 7 | October 20 | W 21–17 | 4–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,670 | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–27 | 4–4 | Soldier Field | 63,815 | |
| 9 | November 3 | Detroit Lions | W 16–13 | 5–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 58,012 | |
| 10 | November 10 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–27 | 5–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,970 | |
| 11 | November 17 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–41 | 5–6 | Silverdome | 54,647 | |
| 12 | November 24 | New Orleans Saints | L 23–30 | 5–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,117 | |
| 13 | December 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–23 | 6–7 | Veterans Stadium | 54,688 | |
| 14 | December 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–7 | 7–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,593 | |
| 15 | December 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 13–14 | 7–8 | Atlanta Fulton County Stadium | 14,167 | |
| 16 | December 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 35–37 | 7–9 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 49,722 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 3,522 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 19 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 893 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 7 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 821 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 8 | ||||
| Points | 86 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 1,345 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 133 | ||||
| Tackles | 113 | ||||
| Sacks | 11.0 | ||||
| Interceptions | 5 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 3,635 | 227.2 | 7th | ||||
| Rushing offense | 1,516 | 94.8 | 27th | ||||
| Total offense | 5,151 | 321.9 | 16th | ||||
| Passing defense | 3,241 | 202.6 | 15th | ||||
| Rushing defense | 2,223 | 138.9 | 22nd | ||||
| Total defense | 5,464 | 341.5 | 16th |
The team recognized an all-time team in 1985 as part of the celebration of the 25th season.
| Position | Player | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| QB | Fran Tarkenton | 1961–1966, 1972–1978 | |
| RB | Bill Brown | 1962–1974 | |
| Chuck Foreman | 1973–1979 | ||
| WR | Ahmad Rashad | 1976–1982 | |
| Sammy White | 1976–1985 | ||
| TE | Stu Voigt | 1970–1980 | |
| OT | Ron Yary | 1968–1981 | |
| Grady Alderman | 1961–1975 | ||
| G | Ed White | 1969–1977 | |
| Milt Sunde | 1964–1974 | ||
| C | Mick Tingelhoff | 1962–1978 | |
| Defense | |||
| DE | Jim Marshall | 1961–1979 | |
| Carl Eller | 1964–1978 | ||
| DT | Alan Page | 1967–1978 | |
| Gary Larsen | 1965–1974 | ||
| OLB | Matt Blair | 1974–1985 | |
| Roy Winston | 1962–1976 | ||
| MLB | Jeff Siemon | 1972–1982 | |
| Scott Studwell | 1977–1990 | ||
| CB | Bobby Bryant | 1968–1980 | |
| Ed Sharockman | 1961–1972 | ||
| S | Paul Krause | 1968–1979 | |
| Karl Kassulke | 1963–1972 | ||
| Special teams | |||
| K | Fred Cox | 1963–1977 | |
| P | Greg Coleman | 1978–1987 | |
| Coach | |||
| HC | Bud Grant | 1967–1983, 1985 | |
| Source:[3] | |||