2017 Minnesota Vikings season

The 2017 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 57th in the National Football League (NFL), and their fourth under head coach Mike Zimmer. With the team's home stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, scheduled to host Super Bowl LII at the end of the season, the Vikings attempted to make history as the first team to play the Super Bowl on their home field; in recording their best regular season record since 1998, they clinched a first-round bye for the first time since 2009 and became the eighth team in the Super Bowl era to qualify for the playoffs in a season in which their stadium hosted the Super Bowl. They defeated the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round 29–24 on a walk-off play referred to as the "Minneapolis Miracle", but lost 38–7 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, preventing them from becoming the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

This was the first season since 2006 without star running back Adrian Peterson on the roster, as the team declined his contract option in February.

Draft trades

Owner/chairman – Zygi Wilf Owner/president – Mark Wilf Owner/vice chairman – Leonard Wilf General manager – Rick Spielman Executive vice president – Football Operations – Rob Brzezinski Chief operating officer – Kevin Warren Assistant general manager – George Paton Director of college scouting – Jamaal Stephenson Director of pro scouting – Ryan Monnens Head coaches

Head coach – Mike Zimmer Offensive coaches

Offensive coordinator – Pat Shurmur Quarterbacks – Kevin Stefanski Running backs – Kennedy Polamalu Wide receivers – Darrell Hazell Assistant wide receivers – Drew Petzing Tight ends – Clancy Barone Offensive line – Tony Sparano Assistant offensive line – Andrew Janocko | | | Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – George Edwards Defensive line – Andre Patterson Assistant defensive line – Robert Rodriguez Linebackers – Adam Zimmer Defensive backs – Jerry Gray Defensive quality control/assistant defensive backs – Jonathan Gannon Defensive assistant – Jeff Howard Special teams coaches

Special teams coordinator – Mike Priefer Assistant special teams – Ryan Ficken Strength and conditioning

Head athletic trainer – Eric Sugarman Head strength and conditioning – Mark Uyeyama Assistant strength and conditioning – Derik Keyes Assistant strength and conditioning – Reshard Langford Assistant strength and conditioning – Chaz Mahle |

31 Mack Brown 30 C. J. Ham FB 21 Jerick McKinnon 25 Latavius Murray Wide receivers (WR)

13 Stacy Coley 14 Stefon Diggs 18 Michael Floyd 19 Adam Thielen 11 Laquon Treadwell 17 Jarius Wright Tight ends (TE)

86 Kyle Carter 89 David Morgan 82 Kyle Rudolph | | Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Joe Berger G/C 76 Aviante Collins T 67 Cornelius Edison C 65 Pat Elflein C 69 Rashod Hill T 63 Danny Isidora G 71 Riley Reiff T 74 Mike Remmers T/G 75 Jeremiah Sirles G Defensive linemen (DL)

90 Tashawn Bower DE 97 Everson Griffen DE 99 Danielle Hunter DE 94 Jaleel Johnson DT 92 Tom Johnson DT 98 Linval Joseph DT 96 Brian Robison DE 93 Shamar Stephen DT 91 Stephen Weatherly DE | | Linebackers (LB) 55 Anthony Barr OLB 40 Kentrell Brothers MLB 42 Ben Gedeon OLB 54 Eric Kendricks MLB 59 Emmanuel Lamur OLB 50 Eric Wilson OLB Defensive backs (DB)

20 Mackensie Alexander CB 24 Tramaine Brock CB 41 Anthony Harris SS 27 Jayron Kearse FS 23 Terence Newman CB 29 Xavier Rhodes CB 34 Andrew Sendejo SS 35 Marcus Sherels CB 22 Harrison Smith FS 26 Trae Waynes CB Special teams (ST)

 2 Kai Forbath K 44 Jeff Overbaugh LS  4 Ryan Quigley P | | Practice squad 12 Rodney Adams WR 79 Dylan Bradley DT 16 Cayleb Jones WR 68 Cedrick Lang T 72 Storm Norton T 95 Ifeadi Odenigbo DE 38 Horace Richardson CB 39 Jack Tocho SS 56 Antwione Williams OLB Reserve

81 Blake Bell TE (IR)  8 Sam Bradford QB (IR) 33 Dalvin Cook RB (IR) 62 Nick Easton G/C (IR) 73 Sharrif Floyd DT (NF-Inj.) 47 Kevin McDermott LS (IR) 43 Bishop Sankey RB (IR) 57 Shaan Washington OLB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 reserve, 9 practice squad |

The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 10.

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

NFL London Games

NFL on Thanksgiving Day

With their win against the Saints in the NFC Divisional Round, Minnesota became the first team in the Super Bowl era to advance to the conference championship game the same year they hosted the Super Bowl. Despite going to Lincoln Financial Field as three-point favorites, primarily due to a general lack of confidence in Eagles second-string quarterback Nick Foles, the Vikings lost in a massive upset to the number 1 seeded Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 38–7. Although the Vikings took an early lead on their opening drive via a pass from Case Keenum to Kyle Rudolph, the Eagles leveled the scores on a 50-yard Patrick Robinson interception return before scoring a further 31 unanswered points over the final three-quarters. This loss extended the Vikings' NFC title drought to 41 seasons, second only to the Detroit Lions' 48.

Four Vikings players were elected to the Pro Bowl when the rosters were announced on December 19, 2017, with three-time selection Everson Griffen, two-time selection Xavier Rhodes and first-timer Adam Thielen all named as starters, while Griffen's fellow third-timer Anthony Barr was named on the bench at outside linebacker behind the Cardinals' Chandler Jones and the Redskins' Ryan Kerrigan. Safety Harrison Smith was rated as the best safety in the league by Pro Football Focus over the course of the season, but was not included in the roster for the Pro Bowl, leading to some considering him to be one of the biggest snubs of the season.

Smith was eventually named to the NFC's Pro Bowl roster on January 22, after New York Giants safety Landon Collins withdrew due to injury. Kyle Rudolph was also included after Jimmy Graham pulled out with an injury, while Linval Joseph took the place of the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles' Fletcher Cox. Smith will be appearing in his third straight Pro Bowl, while Rudolph and Joseph are appearing in their second career Pro Bowls. Barr and Griffen also pulled out of the Pro Bowl due to injury, replaced by Thomas Davis and Michael Bennett respectively.

Source: Minnesota Vikings' official website

Source: NFL.com

• Official website