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1966 Minnesota Vikings season
1966 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Division place	T-6th NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Mick Tingelhoff; T Grady Alderman; E Paul Flatley; G Milt Sunde
AP All-Pros	C Mick Tingelhoff (1st team)
Uniform
	← 1965; Vikings seasons; 1967 →;

The 1966 season was the Minnesota Vikings' sixth in the National Football League. Sixth-year head coach Norm Van Brocklin resigned at the end of the season, after the team finished with a 4–9–1 record.

Offseason

1966 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	6	Jerry Shay	Offensive tackle	Purdue
2	27	Jim Lindsey	Running back	Arkansas
3	42	Don Hansen	Linebacker	Illinois
4	57	Ron Acks	Safety	Illinois
5	72	Doug Davis	Offensive tackle	Kentucky
5	76	Bob Hall	Defensive back	Brown	from Bears^[A]
6	83	Wilbur Aylor	Offensive tackle	Southwest Texas State	from Steelers, via Giants^[B]
6	87	Traded to the Detroit Lions^[C]
7	106	Bob Meers	End	UMass
8	120	Traded to the Baltimore Colts^[D]
9	134	Ron Green	Wide receiver	North Dakota
10	148	Traded to the Detroit Lions^[E]
11	162	Stan Quintana	Defensive back	New Mexico
12	181	Bob Petrella	Defensive back	Tennessee
13	195	Larry Martin	Offensive tackle	San Diego State
14	209	Howard Twilley	Wide receiver	Tulsa
15	223	Hugh Wright	Running back	Adams State
16	237	Jim Williams	Defensive end	Arkansas
17	256	Monroe Beard	Running back	Virginia Union
18	270	Dale Greco	Defensive tackle	Illinois
19	284	Jesse Stokes	Running back	Corpus Christi
20	298	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles^[F]

Notes

^ The Vikings traded G Palmer Pyle to the Bears in exchange for a fifth-round selection (76th overall).
^ The Vikings trade LB Bill Swain to the Giants in exchange for a sixth-round selection (83rd overall).
^ The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (87th overall) and a 1965 seventh-round selection (92nd overall) to the Lions in exchange for DT Mike Bundra and end Larry Vargo.
^ The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (120th overall) and LB John Campbell to the Colts in exchange for OT Larry Kramer.
^ The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (148th overall) to the Lions in exchange for DB Gary Lowe.
^ The Vikings traded their 20th-round selection (298th overall) to the Eagles in exchange for HB Billy Ray Barnes.

**1966 Minnesota Vikings roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Bob Berry 10 Fran Tarkenton 15 Ron Vander Kelen Running backs (RB) 33 Billy Ray Barnes 30 Bill Brown FB 24 Phil King 21 Jim Lindsey 20 Tommy Mason 41 Dave Osborn Wide receivers (WR) 85 Paul Flatley 28 Tom Hall 82 Red Phillips 19 Lance Rentzel Tight ends (TE) 86 Hal Bedsole 40 Preston Carpenter 83 John Powers		Offensive linemen (OL) 67 Grady Alderman T 79 Chuck Arrobio T 61 Larry Bowie G 71 Doug Davis T 64 Milt Sunde G 72 Archie Sutton T 53 Mick Tingelhoff C Defensive linemen (DL) 76 Paul Dickson DT 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 73 Jerry Shay DT 74 Mike Tilleman DT		Linebackers (LB) 55 Don Hansen 36 John Kirby 54 Bob Schmitz 51 Dave Tobey 59 Lonnie Warwick 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs (DB) 37 Mike Fitzgerald CB 49 Dale Hackbart FS 22 Jeff Jordan 29 Karl Kassulke S 46 Earsell Mackbee CB 44 George Rose CB 45 Ed Sharockman CB Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 39 Bobby Walden P		Rookies in italics , 0 practice squad

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[1]
1	August 6	Detroit Lions	T 6–6	0–0–1	Tulane Stadium (New Orleans, LA)	38,229
2	August 13	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 35–6	1–0–1	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR)	21,228
3	August 20	Los Angeles Rams	W 24–10	2–0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	40,270
4	August 26	Washington Redskins	W 30–27	3–0–1	Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland, OH)	83,418
5	September 2	at Dallas Cowboys	L 24–28	3–1–1	Cotton Bowl	58,316

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	at San Francisco 49ers	T 20–20	0–0–1	Kezar Stadium	29,312
2	September 18	Baltimore Colts	L 23–38	0–1–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
3	September 25	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–28	0–2–1	Cotton Bowl	64,116
4	October 2	Chicago Bears	L 10–13	0–3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
5	Bye
6	October 16	Los Angeles Rams	W 35–7	1–3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
7	October 23	at Baltimore Colts	L 17–20	1–4–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
8	October 30	San Francisco 49ers	W 28–3	2–4–1	Metropolitan Stadium	45,077
9	November 6	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–17	3–4–1	Lambeau Field	50,861
10	November 13	Detroit Lions	L 31–32	3–5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	43,939
11	November 20	at Los Angeles Rams	L 6–21	3–6–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	38,775
12	November 27	Green Bay Packers	L 16–28	3–7–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
13	December 4	Atlanta Falcons	L 13–20	3–8–1	Metropolitan Stadium	37,117
14	December 11	at Detroit Lions	W 28–16	4–8–1	Tiger Stadium	43,022
15	December 18	at Chicago Bears	L 28–41	4–9–1	Wrigley Field	45,191

A bye week was necessary as the league had expanded to an odd number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

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

Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.^[2]

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 15)
Passing offense	2,548	182.0	7th
Rushing offense	2,091	149.4	3rd
Total offense	4,639	331.4	4th
Passing defense	2,236	159.7	2nd
Rushing defense	1,686	120.4	7th
Total defense	3,922	280.1	5th