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Record: 15-1-0, Finished 1st in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 556 points (34.8/g), 1st of 30 in the NFL.
Allowed 296 points (18.5/g), 6th.
Differential of 260 points (16.2/g), 1st.
Expected W-L: 13.1-2.9.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +14 (0.9/g), 2nd.
Coached by Dennis Green (15-1-0)
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1998 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Randall Cunningham*+ | 35 | 13 | 14 | 259 for 425, 3,704 yards, 34 td, 10 int, & 32 rushes for 132 yards and 1 td | Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 37th pick / 1985 |
| RB | Robert Smith* | 26 | 5 | 14 | 249 rushes for 1,187 yards, 6 td, & 28 catches for 291 yards and 2 td | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 21st pick / 1993 |
| FB | Charles Evans | 31 | 5 | 8 | 23 rushes for 67 yards, 1 td, & 12 catches for 84 yards and 0 td | Minnesota Vikings / 11th / 295th pick / 1992 |
| WR | Cris Carter* | 33 | 11 | 16 | 78 catches for 1,011 yards, 12 td, & 1 rush for -1 yards and 0 td | Philadelphia Eagles / 4th / 3rd pick / 1987 Supp |
| WR | Randy Moss*+ | 21 | Rook | 11 | 69 catches for 1,313 yards, 17 td, & 1 rush for 4 yards and 0 td | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 21st pick / 1998 |
| WR | Jake Reed | 31 | 7 | 11 | 34 catches for 474 yards, 4 td | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 68th pick / 1991 |
| TE | Andrew Glover | 31 | 7 | 12 | 35 catches for 522 yards, 5 td | Los Angeles Raiders / 10th / 274th pick / 1991 |
| TE | Greg DeLong | 25 | 3 | 5 | 8 catches for 58 yards, 0 td | |
| LT | Todd Steussie* | 28 | 4 | 15 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 19th pick / 1994 |
|
| LG | Randall McDaniel*+ | 34 | 10 | 16 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 19th pick / 1988 |
|
| C | Jeff Christy* | 29 | 5 | 16 | Phoenix Cardinals / 4th / 91st pick / 1992 |
|
| RG | David Dixon | 29 | 4 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | New England Patriots / 9th / 232nd pick / 1992 |
| RT | Korey Stringer | 24 | 3 | 14 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 24th pick / 1995 |
|
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Derrick L. Alexander | 25 | 3 | 16 | 7.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 11th pick / 1995 |
| LDT | Jerry Ball | 34 | 11 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1987 |
| RDT | Tony Williams | 23 | 1 | 9 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 5th / 151st pick / 1997 |
| RDE | John Randle*+ | 31 | 8 | 16 | 10.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| LLB | Dixon Edwards | 30 | 7 | 14 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 37th pick / 1991 |
| MLB | Ed McDaniel* | 29 | 6 | 16 | 7.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 5th / 125th pick / 1992 |
| RLB | Dwayne Rudd | 22 | 1 | 15 | 2.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 20th pick / 1997 |
| LCB | Corey Fuller | 27 | 3 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 55th pick / 1995 |
| RCB | Jimmy Hitchcock | 28 | 3 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 7 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | New England Patriots / 3rd / 88th pick / 1995 |
| SS | Robert Griffith | 28 | 4 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| FS | Orlando Thomas | 26 | 3 | 16 | 0.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1995 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Gary Anderson*+ | 39 | 16 | 0 | 35 of 35 field goals & 59 of 59 extra points | Buffalo Bills / 7th / 171st pick / 1982 |
| P | Mitch Berger | 26 | 4 | 0 | 55 punts for a 44.7 average, 0 blocked | Philadelphia Eagles / 6th / 193rd pick / 1994 |
| PR | David Palmer | 26 | 4 | 0 | 28 punt returns for a 10.3 average and 0 td | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 40th pick / 1994 |
| KR | David Palmer | 26 | 4 | 0 | 50 kick returns for a 23.5 average and 1 td | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 40th pick / 1994 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Derrick L. Alexander | 25 | DE | 16 | 16 | 277 | 6-4 | Florida State | 11/13/1973 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 11th pick / 1995 |
| 1 | Gary Anderson*+ | 39 | K | 16 | 0 | 193 | 5-11 | Syracuse | 7/16/1959 | 16 | Buffalo Bills / 7th / 171st pick / 1982 |
| 49 | Obafemi Ayanbadejo | 23 | RB | 1 | 0 | 235 | 6-2 | San Diego State | 3/5/1975 | Rook | |
| 96 | Jerry Ball | 34 | NT-DT | 16 | 16 | 330 | 6-1 | SMU | 12/15/1964 | 11 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 63rd pick / 1987 |
| 30 | Antonio Banks | 25 | DB | 4 | 0 | 203 | 5-10 | Virginia Tech | 3/12/1973 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 4th / 113th pick / 1997 |
| 38 | Anthony Bass | 23 | DB | 3 | 0 | 192 | 6-1 | Bethune-Cookman | 3/27/1975 | Rook | |
| 56 | Pete Bercich | 27 | LB | 15 | 1 | 240 | 6-1 | Notre Dame | 12/23/1971 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 7th / 211th pick / 1994 |
| 17 | Mitch Berger | 26 | P | 16 | 0 | 220 | 6-4 | Colorado | 6/24/1972 | 4 | Philadelphia Eagles / 6th / 193rd pick / 1994 |
| 75 | Matt Birk | 22 | C | 7 | 0 | 300 | 6-4 | Harvard | 7/23/1976 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 6th / 173rd pick / 1998 |
| 18 | Tony Bland | 26 | WR | 1 | 0 | 213 | 6-3 | Florida A&M | 12/12/1972 | 1 | |
| 74 | Orlando Bobo | 24 | G | 4 | 0 | 320 | 6-3 | La-Monroe | 2/9/1974 | 1 | |
| 31 | Duane Butler | 25 | DB | 14 | 0 | 211 | 6-1 | Eastern Michigan,Illinois State | 11/29/1973 | 1 | |
| 80 | Cris Carter* | 33 | WR | 16 | 16 | 202 | 6-3 | Ohio State | 11/25/1965 | 11 | Philadelphia Eagles / 4th / 3rd pick / 1987 Supp |
| 62 | Jeff Christy* | 29 | C | 16 | 16 | 284 | 6-3 | Pittsburgh | 2/3/1969 | 5 | Phoenix Cardinals / 4th / 91st pick / 1992 |
| 92 | Duane Clemons | 24 | DE | 16 | 3 | 275 | 6-5 | California | 5/23/1974 | 2 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 16th pick / 1996 |
| 99 | Stalin Colinet | 24 | DT-DE | 11 | 3 | 281 | 6-6 | Boston College | 7/17/1974 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 78th pick / 1997 |
| 7 | Randall Cunningham*+ | 35 | QB | 15 | 14 | 212 | 6-4 | UNLV | 3/27/1963 | 13 | Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 37th pick / 1985 |
| 85 | Greg DeLong | 25 | TE | 15 | 5 | 250 | 6-4 | North Carolina | 4/3/1973 | 3 | |
| 71 | David Dixon | 29 | G | 16 | 16 | 343 | 6-5 | Arizona State | 1/5/1969 | 4 | New England Patriots / 9th / 232nd pick / 1992 |
| 59 | Dixon Edwards | 30 | LB | 15 | 14 | 230 | 6-1 | Michigan State | 3/25/1968 | 7 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 37th pick / 1991 |
| 29 | Charles Evans | 31 | RB | 16 | 8 | 240 | 6-1 | Clark (GA) | 4/16/1967 | 5 | Minnesota Vikings / 11th / 295th pick / 1992 |
| 11 | Jay Fiedler | 27 | QB | 5 | 0 | 225 | 6-2 | Dartmouth | 12/29/1971 | 3 | |
| 72 | Jason Fisk | 26 | DT-NT | 16 | 0 | 295 | 6-3 | Stanford | 9/4/1972 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 7th / 243rd pick / 1995 |
| 27 | Corey Fuller | 27 | DB | 16 | 16 | 220 | 5-10 | Florida State | 5/1/1971 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 55th pick / 1995 |
| 82 | Andrew Glover | 31 | TE | 16 | 12 | 250 | 6-6 | Grambling State | 8/12/1967 | 7 | Los Angeles Raiders / 10th / 274th pick / 1991 |
| 87 | Hunter Goodwin | 26 | TE | 15 | 0 | 268 | 6-5 | Texas A&M,Texas A&M-Kingsville | 10/10/1972 | 2 | Minnesota Vikings / 4th / 97th pick / 1996 |
| 23 | Torrian Gray | 24 | DB | 9 | 1 | 200 | 6-0 | Virginia Tech | 3/18/1974 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 49th pick / 1997 |
| 24 | Robert Griffith | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 197 | 5-11 | San Diego State | 11/30/1970 | 4 | |
| 89 | Matthew Hatchette | 24 | WR | 5 | 0 | 200 | 6-3 | Langston,Mercyhurst | 5/1/1974 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 7th / 235th pick / 1997 |
| 37 | Jimmy Hitchcock | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 5-10 | North Carolina | 11/9/1970 | 3 | New England Patriots / 3rd / 88th pick / 1995 |
| 44 | Leroy Hoard | 30 | RB | 16 | 1 | 225 | 5-11 | Michigan | 5/15/1968 | 8 | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 45th pick / 1990 |
| 55 | Bobby Houston | 31 | LB | 8 | 1 | 242 | 6-2 | North Carolina State | 10/26/1967 | 8 | Green Bay Packers / 3rd / 75th pick / 1990 |
| 14 | Brad Johnson | 30 | QB | 4 | 2 | 226 | 6-5 | Florida State | 9/13/1968 | 4 | Minnesota Vikings / 9th / 227th pick / 1992 |
| 61 | Everett Lindsay | 28 | T-G | 16 | 3 | 305 | 6-4 | Mississippi | 9/18/1970 | 5 | Minnesota Vikings / 5th / 133rd pick / 1993 |
| 76 | Chris Liwienski | 23 | G-T | 1 | 0 | 325 | 6-5 | Indiana | 8/2/1975 | Rook | Detroit Lions / 7th / 207th pick / 1998 |
| 53 | Kivuusama Mays | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 247 | 6-3 | North Carolina | 1/7/1975 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 4th / 110th pick / 1998 |
| 58 | Ed McDaniel* | 29 | LB | 16 | 16 | 230 | 5-11 | Clemson | 2/23/1969 | 6 | Minnesota Vikings / 5th / 125th pick / 1992 |
| 64 | Randall McDaniel*+ | 34 | G | 16 | 16 | 276 | 6-3 | Arizona State | 12/19/1964 | 10 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 19th pick / 1988 |
| 34 | Ramos McDonald | 22 | DB | 15 | 0 | 195 | 5-11 | New Mexico | 4/30/1976 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 80th pick / 1998 |
| 68 | Mike Morris | 37 | C-G | 16 | 0 | 276 | 6-5 | Truman State | 2/22/1961 | 11 | |
| 33 | Harold Morrow | 25 | FB | 11 | 0 | 232 | 5-11 | Auburn | 2/24/1973 | 2 | |
| 84 | Randy Moss*+ | 21 | WR | 16 | 11 | 215 | 6-4 | Marshall | 2/13/1977 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 21st pick / 1998 |
| 22 | David Palmer | 26 | WR | 16 | 0 | 173 | 5-8 | Alabama | 11/19/1972 | 4 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 40th pick / 1994 |
| 28 | Anthony Phillips | 28 | DB | 2 | 0 | 209 | 6-2 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 10/5/1970 | 4 | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 72nd pick / 1994 |
| 93 | John Randle*+ | 31 | DT-DE | 16 | 16 | 290 | 6-1 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 12/12/1967 | 8 | |
| 86 | Jake Reed | 31 | WR | 11 | 11 | 216 | 6-3 | Grambling State | 9/28/1967 | 7 | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 68th pick / 1991 |
| 57 | Dwayne Rudd | 22 | LB | 15 | 15 | 235 | 6-2 | Alabama | 2/3/1976 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 20th pick / 1997 |
| 26 | Robert Smith* | 26 | RB | 14 | 14 | 212 | 6-2 | Ohio State | 3/4/1972 | 5 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 21st pick / 1993 |
| 73 | Todd Steussie* | 28 | T | 15 | 15 | 320 | 6-6 | California | 12/1/1970 | 4 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 19th pick / 1994 |
| 77 | Korey Stringer | 24 | T | 14 | 14 | 350 | 6-4 | Ohio State | 5/8/1974 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 1st / 24th pick / 1995 |
| 83 | Robert Tate | 25 | DB | 15 | 1 | 188 | 5-10 | Cincinnati | 10/19/1973 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 6th / 183rd pick / 1997 |
| 42 | Orlando Thomas | 26 | DB | 16 | 16 | 222 | 6-1 | La-Lafayette | 10/21/1972 | 3 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1995 |
| 81 | Chris Walsh | 30 | WR | 15 | 0 | 194 | 6-1 | Stanford | 12/12/1968 | 6 | Buffalo Bills / 9th / 251st pick / 1992 |
| 98 | Ben Williams | 28 | DT | 1 | 0 | 275 | 6-2 | Minnesota | 5/28/1970 | Rook | |
| 21 | Moe Williams | 24 | RB | 12 | 1 | 205 | 6-1 | Kentucky | 7/26/1974 | 2 | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 75th pick / 1996 |
| 94 | Tony Williams | 23 | DT | 14 | 9 | 296 | 6-2 | Memphis | 7/9/1975 | 1 | Minnesota Vikings / 5th / 151st pick / 1997 |
| 52 | Kailee Wong | 22 | LB | 15 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | Stanford | 5/23/1976 | Rook | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 51st pick / 1998 |
| Team Total | 27.2 | 16 | 243.8 | 6-2.1 | 3.9 |