2015 Minnesota Vikings season
The 2015 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 55th season in the National Football League and their second under head coach Mike Zimmer. It marked the last season in which the Vikings played their home games at the University of Minnesota's on-campus TCF Bank Stadium, before moving into U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened in July 2016, located on the site of the now-demolished Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
The Vikings improved on their 7–9 record from 2014 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012. They also won their first NFC North title since 2009 with a Week 17 victory at the [2015 2014 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers season|Packers]. As a result, they hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round of the 2015–16 NFL playoffs, but lost 10–9 after kicker Blair Walsh missed a potential game-winning 27-yard field goal in the final seconds.
Offseason
2015 draft
| Pro Bowler |
Roster changes
| Date | Player name | Position | Note | New team |
| February 27, 2015 | Charlie Johnson | G | Released | |
| March 10, 2015 | Matt Cassel | QB | Traded | Buffalo Bills |
| March 10, 2015 | Jerome Felton | FB | UFA | Buffalo Bills |
| March 13, 2015 | Christian Ponder | QB | UFA | [2015 2015 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders] |
| March 14, 2015 | Jasper Brinkley | ILB | UFA | [2015 2015 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys] |
| March 14, 2015 | Greg Jennings | WR | Released | Miami Dolphins |
| March 16, 2015 | Vladimir Ducasse | G | UFA | [2015 2015 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears] |
| March 26, 2015 | Justin Anderson | LB | Released | Dallas Cowboys |
| March 26, 2015 | Jordan McCray | G | Released | |
| April 2, 2015 | Pat Devlin | QB | Released | Chicago Bears |
| August 24, 2015 | Cullen Loeffler | LS | Released | |
| August 30, 2015 | Joe Banyard | RB | Released | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| August 30, 2015 | Brandon Bostick | TE | Released | Arizona Cardinals |
| August 30, 2015 | Jalil Carter | CB | Released | |
| August 30, 2015 | Justin Coleman | CB | Released | New England Patriots |
| August 30, 2015 | DaVaris Daniels | WR | Released | New England Patriots |
| August 30, 2015 | Stephen Goodin | OT | Released | Brooklyn Bolts |
| August 30, 2015 | Josh Kaddu | LB | Released | |
| August 30, 2015 | Jordan Leslie | WR | Released | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| August 30, 2015 | Caesar Rayford | DE | Released | Los Angeles Kiss |
| August 30, 2015 | Chrishon Rose | DT | Released | |
| August 30, 2015 | DeMarcus Van Dyke | CB | Released | [2016 2016 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons] |
| September 5, 2015 | Babatunde Aiyegbusi | OT | Waived | |
| October 6, 2015 | Gerald Hodges | MLB | Traded | [2015 2015 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers] |
| November 17, 2015 | Chase Ford | TE | Signed off Practice Squad | Baltimore Ravens |
| Date | Player name | Position | Previous team | Contract terms |
| February 18, 2015 | Brandon Bostick | TE | [2014 Green Bay 2015 Green Bay Packers season|Packers season|Green Bay Packers] | Claimed off waivers |
| March 11, 2015 | Shaun Hill | QB | St. Louis Rams | 2 years / $6.5 million |
| March 13, 2015 | Mike Wallace | WR | Miami Dolphins | Acquired in trade |
| March 19, 2015 | DuJuan Harris | RB | Green Bay Packers | 1 year / $660,000 |
| March 24, 2015 | Casey Matthews | LB | Philadelphia Eagles | 1 years / $825,000 |
| March 24, 2015 | Taylor Mays | S | Cincinnati Bengals | 1 year / $795,000 |
| March 26, 2015 | Babatunde Aiyegbusi | OL | Dresden Monarchs | 3 years / $1.575 million |
| March 27, 2015 | Terence Newman | CB | Cincinnati Bengals | 1 year / $2.25 million |
| April 2, 2015 | Mike Kafka | QB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 year / $660,000 |
| April 2, 2015 | Caesar Rayford | DE | Montreal Alouettes | 1 year / $660,000 |
| April 6, 2015 | Kevin McDermott | LS | Baltimore Ravens | 2 years / $1.26 million |
| May 11, 2015 | Isaac Fruechte | WR | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 3 years / $1.575 million |
| June 9, 2015 | Chrishon Rose | DT | East Carolina Pirates | |
| July 24, 2015 | Josh Thomas | CB | [2014 2014 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions] | |
| August 1, 2015 | Ryan Whalen | WR | Cincinnati Bengals | |
| August 14, 2015 | Greg Hickman | DT | Detroit Lions | |
| October 6, 2015 | Nick Easton | C | San Francisco 49ers | Acquired in trade |
Preseason
Schedule
On February 11, 2015, the National Football League announced that the Vikings would play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. The game was played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday, August 9. The remainder of the Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 9. The Vikings first hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders before road games against the Dallas Cowboys and the [2015 2015 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans], making this the third consecutive year in which the Vikings face the Titans in the preseason.| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | NFL.com recap |
| HOF | August 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 14–3 | 1–0 | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium | 22,364 | |
| 1 | August 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–16 | 2–0 | TCF Bank Stadium | 50,610 | |
| 2 | August 22 | Oakland Raiders | W 20–12 | 3–0 | TCF Bank Stadium | 50,656 | |
| 3 | August 29 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 28–14 | 4–0 | AT&T Stadium | 86,082 | |
| 4 | September 3 | at Tennessee Titans | L 17–24 | 4–1 | Nissan Stadium | 61,294 |
Regular season
Schedule
The Vikings' 2015 schedule was announced on April 21.Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings opened their 2015 season on the road against the San Francisco 49ers. Despite allowing San Francisco to start with the ball, the Vikings made a positive start, as Andrew Sendejo blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt from Phil Dawson, which Marcus Sherels returned 44 yards to the San Francisco 26-yard line. Minnesota QB Teddy Bridgewater was unable to complete a single pass on the next drive, forcing Blair Walsh to attempt a 44-yard field goal; however, he pushed it wide right. After forcing the 49ers to punt on the next series, the Vikings were themselves forced to punt immediately afterwards, only for the 49ers' rookie former rugby league star Jarryd Hayne to muff the catch, allowing the Vikings to recover the ball. The next drive saw the Vikings attempt to convert on 4th-and-3, but Bridgewater's completed pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph fell a yard short of a fresh set of downs.Both sides exchanged punts at the start of the second quarter, with the 49ers eventually returning one 85 yards for a touchdown, only for it to be called back for an illegal block by a San Francisco player. However, the ensuing possession ended with a 49ers touchdown, as they drove 93 yards in just under 5 minutes, before Carlos Hyde finished the series with a 10-yard touchdown run; after finding nowhere to go on his initial run to the right, he beat a Minnesota defender with a spin move and ran back to the left side of the field, where quarterback Colin Kaepernick led him into the end zone. With the Vikings unable to score in the remaining 47 seconds, the first half ended 7–0 to San Francisco.
Minnesota started the third quarter with the ball, but they were unable to make it out of their half before being forced to punt. The 49ers then extended their lead on the ensuing possession, driving 73 yards to the Minnesota 11-yard line to set up a 30-yard field goal attempt for Dawson. The Vikings finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, as Walsh finished off a 66-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal, but the 49ers pulled further ahead with a second touchdown for Hyde on a 17-yard run. Bridgewater attempted to spark the Vikings back into the game, but a deep pass intended for Rudolph was intercepted by Tramaine Brock, setting up a 25-yard field goal for Dawson. The next drive saw the Vikings go for it again on 4th-and-8, but Bridgewater was sacked for a loss of 14 yards, allowing the 49ers to kneel out the game.