The 2018 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 58th in the National Football League (NFL), their third playing their home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their fifth under head coach Mike Zimmer.
Following a Week 8 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the team could no longer improve on their 13–3 record from the 2017 season, in which they won the NFC North division and reached the NFC Championship before losing to the eventual Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Vikings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in three years when they lost to the division rival Chicago Bears coupled with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Washington Redskins in the final week of the regular season.
Roster changes
2018 draft
+ 2018 Minnesota Vikings draft selections Round Selection Player name Position College Notes 1 30 Mike Hughes CB UCF 2 62 Brian O'Neill OT Pittsburgh 3 94 Traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 102 Jalyn Holmes DE Ohio State From Buccaneers 130 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles 5 157 Tyler Conklin TE Central Michigan From Jets 167 Daniel Carlson K Auburn From Vikings via Jets 6 180 Traded to the New York Jets From Buccaneers 204 Traded to the New York Jets 213 Colby Gossett G Appalachian State Compensatory pick 218 Ade Aruna DE Tulane Compensatory pick 7 225 Devante Downs LB California From Broncos via Vikings and Jets 248 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks
+ 2018 Minnesota Vikings undrafted free agents Name Position College Jeff Badet WR Oklahoma Mike Boone RB Cincinnati Curtis Cothran DT Penn State Garret Dooley LB Wisconsin Armanti Foreman WR Texas Chris Gonzalez G San José State Holton Hill CB Texas Tyler Hoppes TE Nebraska Hercules Mata'afa DE Washington State Trevon Mathis CB Toledo Tray Matthews DB Auburn Kamryn Pettway RB Auburn Peter Pujals QB Holy Cross Korey Robertson WR Southern Miss Roc Thomas RB Jacksonville State Jake Wieneke WR South Dakota State Jonathan Wynn LB Vanderbilt
Notes The Vikings were awarded two compensatory selections at the NFL's annual spring owners' meetings. They received two additional selections in the sixth round, compensating for the losses of Cordarrelle Patterson and Adrian Peterson.
Draft trades
Transactions
+ Re-signings Date Player name Position Contract terms March 12 Mack Brown RB 1 year / $630,000 Anthony Harris SS 1 year / $705,000 March 16 Dylan Bradley DT 1 year / $480,000 March 20 Kai Forbath K 1 year / $790,000 March 28 Marcus Sherels CB 1 year / $1.4 million April 30 Terence Newman CB 1 year / $1.105 million
+ Departures Date Player name Position Note New team March 14 Sam Bradford QB UFA Arizona Cardinals Tramaine Brock CB Denver Broncos Case Keenum QB Denver Broncos Jerick McKinnon RB San Francisco 49ers March 16 Jarius Wright WR Released Carolina Panthers March 18 Teddy Bridgewater QB UFA New York JetsMarch 21 Shaan Washington LB Waived Emmanuel Lamur OLB UFA Oakland Raiders March 22 Joe Berger G Retired March 23 Tom Johnson DT UFA Seattle Seahawks Jeremiah Sirles G Carolina Panthers March 24 Shamar Stephen DT Seattle Seahawks
+ Additions Date Player name Position Previous team Contract terms February 12 Josh Andrews G Philadelphia Eagles March 15 Kirk Cousins QB Washington Redskins 3 years / $84 million March 16 Sheldon Richardson DT Seattle Seahawks 1 year / $8 million March 19 Trevor Siemian QB Denver Broncos Trade March 20 Josiah Price TE Minnesota Vikings Nick Dooley LS March 22 Tom Compton G Chicago Bears 1 year / $900,000 March 29 Reshard Cliett LB Kansas City Chiefs March 30 Kendall Wright WR Chicago Bears 1 year / $1 million April 5 Tavarres King WR New York Giants August 22 George Iloka S Cincinnati Bengals 1 year / $790,000
Staff
Roster
Preseason The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 11.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 at Denver Broncos W 42–28 1–0 Broncos Stadium at Mile High 75,530 Recap 2 Jacksonville Jaguars L 10–14 1–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,637 Recap 3 Seattle Seahawks W 21–20 2–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,676 Recap 4 at Tennessee Titans W 13–3 3–1 Nissan Stadium 61,455 Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at Denver Broncos
Week 2: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 3: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 4: at Tennessee Titans
Regular season
Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 September 9 San Francisco 49ers W 24–16 1–0 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,673 Recap 2 September 16 at Green Bay Packers T 29–29 1–0–1 Lambeau Field 78,461 Recap 3 September 23 Buffalo Bills L 6–27 1–1–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,800 Recap 4 at Los Angeles Rams L 31–38 1–2–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 72,027 Recap 5 October 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 23–21 2–2–1 Lincoln Financial Field 69,696 Recap 6 October 14 Arizona Cardinals W 27–17 3–2–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,801 Recap 7 October 21 at New York Jets W 37–17 4–2–1 MetLife Stadium 77,982 Recap 8 October 28 New Orleans Saints L 20–30 4–3–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,801 Recap 9 November 4 Detroit Lions W 24–9 5–3–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,825 Recap 10 Bye 11 November 18 at Chicago Bears L 20–25 5–4–1 Soldier Field 61,651 Recap 12 November 25 Green Bay Packers W 24–17 6–4–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,872 Recap 13 December 2 at New England Patriots L 10–24 6–5–1 Gillette Stadium 65,878 Recap 14 at Seattle Seahawks L 7–21 6–6–1 CenturyLink Field 69,007 Recap 15 December 16 Miami Dolphins W 41–17 7–6–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,841 Recap 16 December 23 at Detroit Lions W 27–9 8–6–1 Ford Field 61,641 Recap 17 December 30 Chicago Bears L 10–24 8–7–1 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,878 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings began the 2018 season with a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, their first home game since the Minneapolis Miracle in the divisional round of the 2017–18 NFL playoffs. The game saw quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson make their regular season debuts for the Vikings, as well as the return of second-year running back Dalvin Cook, who had torn his ACL early in the 2017 season. The two teams traded punts to start the game, before the Vikings put a drive together on their second possession, culminating with a 48-yard field goal by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson. The 49ers then failed to pick up a first down on their next possession, giving the Vikings good field position on their own 47-yard line off the ensuing punt as the first quarter drew to a close. Runs by Latavius Murray and a 17-yard pass from Cousins to Cook gave the Vikings a third-and-3 situation on the San Francisco 22-yard-line, from where Cousins threw a 22-yard strike to Stefon Diggs, the 100th touchdown pass of his career. On the ensuing San Francisco possession, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo linked up with tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Trent Taylor to get them into Minnesota territory, before a pass interference penalty against Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes put the 49ers just outside the red zone; however, the Minnesota defense stood firm and allowed just a 42-yard Robbie Gould field goal; however, on the Vikings' next drive, Cook fumbled the ball at the end of a 15-yard run, allowing San Francisco to regain possession. They marched down to the Vikings' 1-yard line, only for defensive tackle Linval Joseph to force a fumble from running back Alfred Morris, which safety Harrison Smith subsequently recovered. The Vikings were able to get out from under the shadow of their own goalposts and closed out the half with a 10–3 lead.
The Vikings defense forced a three-and-out to begin the second half, but only managed one first down on their ensuing possession before having to punt; however, three plays later, with the 49ers at third-and-8 from their own 20-yard line, the Vikings' rookie cornerback Mike Hughes intercepted a pass from Garoppolo and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to put the Vikings up 17–3. Garoppolo responded immediately, however, completing a 56-yard pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to put the 49ers inside the Vikings' 20. As in the first half, though, the Minnesota defense held up and limited the 49ers to a 33-yard field goal. Cousins focused his attention on his wide receivers to begin the next Vikings possession, completing passes of 11 and 34 yards to Adam Thielen, the latter being the Vikings' longest completed pass of the day, to get into 49ers territory. Cook continued to run the ball, while Cousins' attention shifted to his tight ends, first completing a nine-yard pass to David Morgan II before an 11-yard completion to Kyle Rudolph for the Vikings' third touchdown of the day. A 36-yard completion from Garoppolo to Kittle was the highlight of the subsequent San Francisco drive, which culminated in a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis with 30 seconds left in the quarter. The Vikings went three-and-out on their next possession; they soon had the ball back, as cornerback Xavier Rhodes intercepted Garoppolo, only to again have to punt, giving San Francisco the ball back at their own 14-yard line. A 39-yard pass from Garoppolo to Pettis got the 49ers into the Vikings' half, but a tackle for a five-yard loss by Smith led to another third-down situation for San Francisco; Garoppolo's third-down pass was incomplete, which should have meant them having to punt, only for Richardson to be flagged for roughing the passer, giving the 49ers a 15-yard advantage and an automatic first down. They were able to get down to the Vikings' 4-yard line, but were unable to get the ball into the end zone and again had to settle for a field goal, reducing the margin to 8 points. The Vikings again had to punt on their next possession, but a 10-yard sack by Smith on the next series meant San Francisco had to do the same, giving the Vikings the ball back with six minutes left to play. A combination of runs from Murray and Cook allowed the Vikings to take three minutes off the clock, but a scramble run from Cousins came up just short of another first down; however, the Vikings were able to draw the 49ers' defense offside, giving them a free five yards and the first down. They were able to take another minute off the clock before punting, giving the 49ers the ball with 1:49 to play. Needing a touchdown to stand a chance of taking the game to overtime, Garoppolo had to go for it, but was intercepted by Smith on the second play of the drive, allowing the Vikings to run out the clock and claim their first win of the season.
Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Week 2 saw the Vikings travel to Lambeau Field to take on their archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, against whom Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr effectively ended Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' 2017 season with a hit that broke Rodgers' collarbone.
The Packers received the ball first and were forced to punt. On the ensuing drive, the Packers forced the Vikings to go three-and-out, but the punt from the Vikings' Matt Wile was blocked by Geronimo Allison and recovered by the Packers' Josh Jackson for a touchdown. On Minnesota's next drive, quarterback Kirk Cousins led the Vikings on an eight-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7–7, with the scoring pass going to Laquon Treadwell for 14 yards. Green Bay followed that with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams early in the second quarter, making the game 14–7. After trading punts and a missed 48-yard field goal for the Vikings by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson, the Packers' Mason Crosby made a 37-yard field goal at the end of the first half to send the Packers to the locker room leading 17–7.