The
2012 season was the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
' 52nd in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL), as well as their second full season under head coach
Leslie Frazier. They looked to improve upon their 3–13 season the year before, and did so after defeating the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
in Week 5; their win over the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
in Week 16 made this their first winning season since
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
. The Vikings also made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 with a Week 17 win over the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
to give them a 10–6 regular season record, but were defeated by the same opponents in the Wild Card playoff round the following week.
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson (; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football hist ...
was named the league's
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
after rushing for 2,097 yards, just nine yards short of breaking the single-season record held by
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous ...
since
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
.
On May 10, 2012, the
Minnesota State Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenni ...
approved a bill for a new stadium for the team that would see a new facility (later named
U.S. Bank Stadium
U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Footbal ...
) constructed by 2016 and ensure the Vikings' presence in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
through the year 2046. The bill was signed by Governor
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...
on May 14, and approved by the
Minneapolis City Council
The Minneapolis City Council is the Legislature, legislative branch of the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States. Comprising 13 members, the council holds the authority to create and modify laws, policies, and ordinances that govern the ...
by a vote of 7–6 on May 25.
Offseason
Pre-draft transactions
The first major transactions of the 2012 offseason were the releases of veteran guards
Steve Hutchinson and
Anthony Herrera, and CB
Cedric Griffin
Cedric Leonard Griffin (born November 11, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft. H ...
on March 10, as the Vikings began rebuilding their offensive line and secondary. Three days later, the team re-signed perennial backup QB
Sage Rosenfels and DT
Letroy Guion off their unrestricted free agents list. This was followed up with the signing of the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
' unrestricted free agent TE
John Carlson on a five-year contract.
The next week, the team brought in FB
Jerome Felton, also an unrestricted free agent, from the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
. They then released DT
Remi Ayodele
Remilekun Ayodele (born April 22, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and Minnesota Vikings. He played college foot ...
on March 21, but re-signed DT
Fred Evans. March 26 was a big day for signings by the Vikings, with the re-signings of WR
Devin Aromashodu and LB
Erin Henderson
Erin Henderson (born July 1, 1986) is a former American football linebacker who played in National Football League (NFL). He is currently an assistant linebackers coach at Avila University. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...
, as well as the free agent acquisitions of CB
Zack Bowman from the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
and T
Geoff Schwartz
Geoffrey Isaiah Schwartz (born July 11, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draf ...
from the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
.
April saw very few transactions go through in anticipation of the
2012 NFL draft
The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...
at the end of the month. Nevertheless, the Vikings signed LB
Marvin Mitchell and WR
Jerome Simpson, despite the fact that Simpson would miss the first three games of the season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.
2012 draft

Notes:
Post-draft transactions
With the 2012 Draft over, the Vikings resumed their transactions in May, signing a number of undrafted free agents to their roster, and releasing RB
Caleb King, following a short jail term. With the drafting of
Blair Walsh, veteran kicker
found himself surplus to requirements for the Vikings and he was released on May 7. By the start of June, all of the Vikings draft selections (with the exception of T
Matt Kalil
Matthew Francis Kalil (born July 6, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Minnesota Vik ...
) had been signed to long-term contracts.
Preseason
Schedule
This was the first year the Vikings used a TV/radio simulcast for their preseason games.
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 3: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 4: at Houston Texans
Regular season
Schedule
:Team names in bold indicate Vikings' home games.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 4: at Detroit Lions
Week 5: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 6: at Washington Redskins
Week 7: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 12: at Chicago Bears
Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 15: at St. Louis Rams
Week 16: at Houston Texans
Week 17: vs. Green Bay Packers
Adrian Peterson rushed for 199 yards, coming up nine yards short of breaking the single season record by
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous ...
. This included five rushes for 36 yards on the final drive to set up the winning field goal by Blair Walsh. This game was rated #3 on the Top 20 NFL Games of 2012 on NFL.com as AP2K.
Standings
Postseason
Schedule
Game summaries
NFC Wild Card Round: at Green Bay Packers
Having secured the NFC's #6 seed, the Vikings traveled to Lambeau Field for a rematch with the Packers, with the two teams meeting in the playoffs for only the second time ever. Despite not starting a game all season, the Vikings started
Joe Webb over
Christian Ponder due to the latter having an elbow injury. Blair Walsh capped the game's opening drive with a field goal to put the Vikings 3–0 up. However, the Packers then scored 24 unanswered points to take a 24–3 lead in the 3rd quarter. The Vikings tried to rally a comeback with a touchdown to make it 24–10, but it was too little, too late as time ran out for Minnesota.
Statistics
Team leaders
*Vikings single season
record.
League rankings
Pro Bowl
Four Minnesota Vikings players were selected for the
2013 Pro Bowl
The 2013 Pro Bowl was the National Football League (NFL)'s sixty-third annual all-star game which featured players from the 2012 season. It took place at 2:30 pm Hawaii–Aleutian Time ( UTC−10:00; 7:30 pm Eastern Time) on Sunday, Ja ...
: two on offense (running back partners Adrian Peterson and Jerome Felton), one on defense (DE Jared Allen) and one special teamer (K Blair Walsh). Of these, Peterson, Felton and Walsh were selected as starters, with Allen going as a reserve.
With the withdrawal of
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
LB
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy State Trojans and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys ...
on January 10 because of a shoulder injury, Vikings LB
Chad Greenway was called up to the NFC roster as a replacement. TE
Kyle Rudolph was also added to the NFC roster for his first Pro Bowl two weeks later after
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
TE
Tony Gonzalez dropped out due to injury. Rookie
Matt Kalil
Matthew Francis Kalil (born July 6, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Minnesota Vik ...
was also added later as a replacement for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
' tackle,
Trent Williams
Trent Williams (born July 19, 1988) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was recognized as an All-A ...
, yet another casualty of injury.
Rudolph was named the game's MVP.
Staff
Roster
Notes and references
External links
Minnesota Vikings official website2012 Minnesota Vikings at ''ESPN''
{{2012 NFL season by team
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
Minnesota Vikings seasons
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...