2019 Minnesota Vikings season


The [2019 National Football League|NFL season|2019 season] was the Minnesota Vikings' 59th in the National Football League, their fourth playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their sixth under head coach Mike Zimmer. They improved on their 8–7–1 campaign from 2018 with a Week 14 win over the [2019 2019 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions], and returned to the playoffs following a one-year absence after the Los Angeles Rams lost to the [2019 2019 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers] in Week 16. That week, the Vikings were eliminated from contention for the NFC North division title, losing 23–10 to the [2019 2019 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]. They defeated their Rival [2019 2019 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints] 26–20 in overtime in the Wild Card round but lost 27–10 to the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. As of the 2025 season, this remains the Vikings most recent season with a playoff victory.

Draft

NamePositionCollege
Micah AbernathySTennessee
Khari BlasingameFBVanderbilt
Jake BrowningQB[2018 2018 Washington Huskies football team|Washington Huskies football team|Washington]
Davion DavisWRSam Houston State
Brandon DillonTEMarian
Alexander HollinsWREastern Illinois
John KeenoyCWestern Michigan
Nate MeadorsCBUCLA
Tito OdenigboDTMiami (FL)
Anree Saint-AmourDEGeorgia Tech

Notes
'''Draft trades'''

Preseason

Schedule

The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 9, with exact dates and times finalized on April 17.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceNFL.com
recap
1at New Orleans SaintsW 34–251–0Mercedes-Benz Superdome73,018
2August 18[2019 2019 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]W 25–192–0U.S. Bank Stadium66,636
3Arizona CardinalsW 20–93–0U.S. Bank Stadium66,698
4at [2019 2019 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]L 23–273–1New Era Field57,765

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders

The Vikings defeated the Oakland Raiders for their 500th win as a franchise, with an overall record of 500-427-11 at that point.

Week 11: vs. Denver Broncos


Postseason

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) New Orleans Saints

With a 20-10 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Saints managed to tie the game, and send it into overtime, making it the first time since the 2009 NFC Championship Game that the Vikings played in a playoff game that went into overtime. Coincidentally it was also a road game against the Saints. It was also the second Wild Card game of the postseason to go into overtime. The Vikings got the ball first, and Kirk Cousins threw a pass to Adam Thielen for a 43-yard gain, which set them on the New Orleans 2-yard line. After losing two yards on the next two plays, Cousins found Kyle Rudolph at the back of the endzone for a 4-yard touchdown to win the game.
With this, the Vikings won their first playoff game on the road since their 31-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the 2004 Wild Card Round. As of 2025, this was the last time that the Vikings won a playoff game.

Statistics

Team leaders

Source: Minnesota Vikings' official website

League rankings

Source: NFL.com

Pro Bowl

Three Vikings players were selected for the 2020 Pro Bowl when the initial rosters were announced on December 18, 2019: running back Dalvin Cook, safety Harrison Smith and defensive end Danielle Hunter. It was Smith's fifth Pro Bowl and Hunter's second, while Cook made his Pro Bowl debut. With the withdrawal of several NFC players, including San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, defensive end Nick Bosa and cornerback Richard Sherman, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Chicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, several Vikings were added to the roster for the Pro Bowl: fullback C. J. Ham, defensive end Everson Griffen, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, quarterback Kirk Cousins and linebacker Eric Kendricks. It was a first Pro Bowl appearance for Ham and Kendricks, a second for Cousins, a third for Rhodes and a fourth for Griffen.