1965 Minnesota Vikings season

1965 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Norm Van Brocklin
General manager Jim Finks
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 7–7
Division place 5th NFL Western
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1964 1966 >

The 1965 Minnesota Vikings season was the fifth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 46th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and seven losses under head coach Norm Van Brocklin.

Offseason

1965 Draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
1 8 8 Jack Snow Wide Receiver Notre Dame
2 1 15 Archie Sutton Tackle Illinois from Giants[a]
9 23 Lance Rentzel Wide Receiver Oklahoma
3 8 36 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[b]
4 9 51 Jim Whalen Wide Receiver Boston College
13 55 Jim Harris Tackle Utah State from Browns[c]
5 8 64 Traded to the Detroit Lions[d]
6 9 79 Jim Grisham Running Back Oklahoma
7 8 92 Traded to the Detroit Lions[e]
8 2 100 John Hankinson Quarterback Minnesota from 49ers[f]
9 107 Jeff Jordon Running Back Tulsa
9 8 120 Frank McClendon Tackle Alabama
10 9 135 Jerald Schweiger Tackle Wisconsin–Superior
11 8 148 John Thomas Wide Receiver USC
12 9 163 Mike Tilleman Defensive Tackle Montana
13 8 176 Dave Osborn Running Back North Dakota
14 9 191 Max Leetzow Wide Receiver Idaho
15 8 204 Phillip Morgan Running Back East Tennessee State
16 9 219 Paul Labinski Tackle St. John's (Minnesota)
17 8 232 Veran Smith Running Back Utah State
18 9 247 Rich Kotite Wide Receiver Wagner
19 8 260 Ellis Johnson Running Back Southeastern Louisiana
20 9 271 Cosmo Iacavazzi Running Back Princeton
^[a] The New York Giants traded their 2nd round selection (15th overall) and 1964 4th round selection (53rd overall) to Minnesota for RB Hugh McElhenny.
^[b] Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (36th overall) to Pittsburgh for RB Bob Ferguson.
^[c] Cleveland traded their 4th round selection (55th overall) (and by some reports their 1966 6th round selection (90th overall)) to Minnesota for DT Mike Bundra.
^[d] Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (64th overall) to Detroit for WR Tom Hall and HB Bruce Zellmer.
^[e] Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (92nd overall) and 1966 6th round selection (87th overall) to Detroit for DT Mike Bundra and End Larry Vargo.
^[f] San Francisco traded their 8th round selection (100th overall) to Minnesota for DT Roy Williams.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Record
1 1965-09-19 at Baltimore Colts L 16-35 Memorial Stadium 56,562 0–1
2 1965-09-26 Detroit Lions L 29-31 Metropolitan Stadium 46,826[1] 0–2
3 1965-10-03 at Los Angeles Rams W 38–35 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 36,755 1–2
4 1965-10-09 New York Giants W 40–14 Metropolitan Stadium 44,283 2–2
5 1965-10-17 Chicago Bears L 37-45 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426 2–3
6 1965-10-24 at San Francisco 49ers W 42–41 Kezar Stadium 42,680 3–3
7 1965-10-31 at Cleveland Browns W 27–17 Cleveland Stadium 83,505 4–3
8 1965-11-07 Los Angeles Rams W 24–13 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426 5–3
9 1965-11-14 Baltimore Colts L 21-41 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426 5–4
10 1965-11-21 Green Bay Packers L 13-38 Metropolitan Stadium 47,426 5–5
11 1965-11-28 San Francisco 49ers L 24-45 Metropolitan Stadium 40,306 5–6
12 1965-12-05 at Green Bay Packers L 19-24 Lambeau Field 50,852 5–7
13 1965-12-12 at Detroit Lions W 29–7 Tiger Stadium 45,420 6–7
14 1965-12-19 at Chicago Bears W 24–17 Wrigley Field 46,604 7–7

Note: The game against the Giants, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 10, was pushed up to Saturday night because of the World Series.

  1. ↑ This is an opening game attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 316 224 T1
Baltimore Colts 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 389 284 W1
Chicago Bears 9 5 0 .643 7–5 409 275 L1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 421 402 T1
Minnesota Vikings 7 7 0 .500 5–7 383 403 W2
Detroit Lions 6 7 1 .462 4–7–1 257 295 W1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 2–10 269 328 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) 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

League rankings

Category Total Yards Yards Per Game NFL Rank
(out of 14)
Passing Offense 2,546 Yards 181.9 YPG 8th
Rushing Offense 2,278 Yards 162.7 YPG 2nd
Total Offense 4,824 Yards 344.6 YPG 4th
Passing Defense 2,493 Yards 178.1 YPG 6th
Rushing Defense 1,755 Yards 125.4 YPG 9th
Total Defense 4,248 Yards 303.4 YPG 7th

References