1990 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season

1990 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Jerry Burns
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	S Joey Browner DE Chris Doleman TE Steve Jordan CB Carl Lee G Randall McDaniel
AP All-Pros	S Joey Browner (1st team) G Randall McDaniel (1st team)
Uniform

← 1989 Vikings seasons 1991 →

The 1990 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 30th in the National Football League. Under head coach Jerry Burns, they finished with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1986. The Vikings went 1–6 through their first seven games, including a five-game losing streak. They then won their next five (including a 41–13 win over the eventual NFC Central champion Chicago Bears in Week 12) to get back to 6–6 and give themselves a shot at a wild card spot in the playoffs; however, the Vikings lost their final four games to finish at 6–10. While their overall record was tied with three other teams in the division, the Vikings' 4–8 record against fellow NFC teams meant they finished bottom of the NFC Central. It was the first time since 1984 Minnesota finished last in the division, and the second since 1968.

Notable additions to the team this season were wide receiver Cris Carter, and undrafted defensive lineman John Randle, both of whom went on to have Hall of Fame careers.

Injuries to the defense and a lackluster season from Herschel Walker were the story of the team's season.

Offseason

1990 draft

Main article: 1990 NFL draft

Pro Bowler

1990 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	21	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
2	47	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
3	54	Mike Jones	Tight end	Texas A&M	From Cowboys
3	74	Marion Hobby	Defensive end	Tennessee
4	104	Alonzo Hampton	Defensive back	Pittsburgh
5	116	Reggie Thornton	Wide receiver	Bowling Green	From Chargers, via Cowboys
5	131	Cedric Smith	Fullback	Florida
6	158	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
7	188	John Levelis	Linebacker	C. W. Post
8	214	Craig Schlichting	Defensive end	Wyoming
9	241	Terry Allen	Running back	Clemson
10	249	Pat Newman	Wide receiver	Utah State	From Cowboys
10	271	Donald Smith	Defensive back	Liberty
11	298	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders
12	324	Ron Goetz	Linebacker	Minnesota

Notes:

^ These picks were involved in the Herschel Walker trade on October 12, 1989.
The Vikings traded their 11th-round selection (298th overall) to the Rams in exchange for a 1989 12th-round selection (335th overall).

Undrafted free agents

1990 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Pat Eilers	Safety	Notre Dame
Tim Peterson	Quarterback	Wisconsin–Stout
John Randle	Defensive tackle	Texas A&M–Kingsville

Staff

**1990 Minnesota Vikings staff**
	Front office President – Wheelock Whitney, Jr. General manager – Mike Lynn Administrative assistant to the head coach – Marc Trestman Head coaches Head coach – Jerry Burns Assistant head coach/offense – Tom Moore Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bob Schnelker Assistant offensive coordinator/passing game – Dick Rehbein Running backs – John Brunner Offensive line – John Michels			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Floyd Peters Defensive line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Maxie Baughan Defensive backs – Jerry Brown Special teams coaches Special teams/tight ends – Tom Batta

Roster

**1990 Minnesota Vikings roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Rich Gannon 12 Sean Salisbury Running backs (RB) 46 Alfred Anderson FB 42 D. J. Dozier 30 Cedric Smith FB 34 Herschel Walker KR Wide receivers (WR) 81 Anthony Carter 80 Cris Carter 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis PR 89 Pat Newman Tight ends (TE) 82 Mike Jones 83 Steve Jordan 85 Brent Novoselsky		Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Chris Foote C 74 Brian Habib G/T 77 Dave Huffman G 76 Tim Irwin T 69 Todd Kalis G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 73 Craig Wolfley G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen (DL) 71 Ken Clarke DT 56 Chris Doleman DE 99 Al Noga DE 93 John Randle DE 94 Thomas Strauthers DE 97 Henry Thomas DT		Linebackers (LB) 50 Ray Berry 59 Mark Dusbabek OLB 57 Mike Merriweather OLB 55 Scott Studwell MLB 58 Jimmy Williams OLB Defensive backs (DB) 44 Michael Brim FS 47 Joey Browner SS 24 Pat Eilers SS 29 Darrell Fullington FS 25 Alonzo Hampton CB 39 Carl Lee CB 26 Audray McMillian CB 48 Reggie Rutland CB 27 Ken Stills FS Special teams 18 Harry Newsome P 7 Fuad Reveiz K 60 Adam Schreiber LS		Practice squad -- Tony Moss WR Reserve 21 Terry Allen RB (IR) 31 Rick Fenney FB (IR) -- Chris Gaiters WR (IR) -- Jim Gustafson WR (IR) 75 Keith Millard DT (IR) 36 Allen Rice (IR) 11 Wade Wilson QB (IR) Rookies in italics 46 active, 7 reserve, 1 practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 11	New Orleans Saints	L 10–13	0–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	48,154
2	August 19	at Cleveland Browns	W 23–20	1–1	Cleveland Stadium	60,989
3	August 26	Houston Oilers	W 22–21	2–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	46,191
4	August 31	at Miami Dolphins	W 20–17	3–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	44,689

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 9	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–21	0–1	Arrowhead Stadium	68,363
2	September 16	New Orleans Saints	W 32–3	1–1	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,272
3	September 23	at Chicago Bears	L 19–16	1–2	Soldier Field	65,420
4	September 30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–20 (OT)	1–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	54,462
5	October 7	Detroit Lions	L 34–27	1–4	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,586
6	October 15	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 32–24	1–5	Veterans Stadium	66,296
7	Bye
8	October 28	at Green Bay Packers	L 24–10	1–6	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,125
9	November 4	Denver Broncos	W 27–22	2–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	57,331
10	November 11	at Detroit Lions	W 17–7	3–6	Silverdome	68,264
11	November 18	at Seattle Seahawks	W 24–21	4–6	Kingdome	59,735
12	November 25	Chicago Bears	W 41–13	5–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	58,866
13	December 2	Green Bay Packers	W 23–7	6–6	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	62,058
14	December 9	at New York Giants	L 23–15	6–7	Giants Stadium	76,121
15	December 16	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 26–13	6–8	Tampa Stadium	47,272
16	December 22	Los Angeles Raiders	L 28–24	6–9	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	53,899
17	December 30	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–17	6–10	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	51,590

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	348	280	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	5–3	6–8	264	367	L2
Detroit Lions	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–7	373	413	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–7	271	347	L5
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	351	326	L4

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Rich Gannon	2,278
Passing touchdowns	Rich Gannon	16
Rushing yards	Herschel Walker	770
Rushing touchdowns	Herschel Walker	5
Receiving yards	Anthony Carter	1,008
Receiving touchdowns	Anthony Carter	8
Points	Donald Igwebuike	61
Kickoff return yards	Herschel Walker	966
Punt return yards	Leo Lewis	180
Tackles	Henry Thomas	109
Sacks	Chris Doleman	11.0
Interceptions	Joey Browner	7
Forced fumbles	Chris Doleman	4

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,167	197.9	11th
Rushing offense	1,867	116.7	15th
Total offense	5,034	314.6	12th
Passing defense	2,643	165.2	3rd
Rushing defense	2,074	129.6	21st
Total defense	4,717	294.8	13th

Awards and honors

Randall McDaniel, NFC Pro Bowl selection
Randall McDaniel, All-Pro selection by Associated Press
Randall McDaniel, All-NFC selection by UPI

References

Tomasson, Chris (September 15, 2021). The Minnesota Vikings All-Time All-Stars: The Best Players at Each Position for the Purple and Gold. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-5226-4.
2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
"1990 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".

v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft All-time roster First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters Ownership Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders Alan Roach Truth Hurts (song) Quarterback "Higher" (Creed song)
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Herschel Walker trade Gary Anderson's missed field goal Love Boat scandal Minneapolis Miracle 33–0
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints
Division championships (21)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017 2022
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) appearance

1990 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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