The

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

was the Minnesota Vikings' 43rd in the National Football League. They finished second in the NFC North with a 9–7 record, but missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Despite gaining 6,294 yards of offense over their 16 games, by far the most in the league, the team managed just 416 points, the sixth-most in the NFL. The Vikings won their first six games of the 2003 season, then lost their next four games, after which they alternated wins and losses for the remainder of the season. Despite their 9–7 record, they finished second in the division behind the 10–6

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. The Vikings were officially eliminated from postseason contention with a loss to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

on the last play of their final game. Wide receiver Randy Moss led the NFL with 17 touchdown receptions, the third time in his career that he led the league in that category. After two seasons of inconsistency, rejuvenated quarterback

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...

was voted to play in the second Pro Bowl of his career at the end of the season.

Offseason

2003 Draft

: While attempting to agree a trade, the Vikings' time elapsed, allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up and select QB Byron Leftwich. The Carolina Panthers were also able to select OT Jordan Gross before the Vikings ultimately selected DT Kevin Williams. : The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (142nd overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Cleveland's

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

seventh-round selection and defensive lineman

Stalin Colinet Stalin D. Colinet ( ; born July 17, 1974) is a former defensive tackle and defensive end in the NFL. Early years Colinet was born in New York, to a Dominican mother, and a Haitian father. Colinet attended Cardinal Hayes High School where h ...

. : The Vikings traded quarterback Todd Bouman to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for New Orleans' sixth-round selection (190th overall).

Preseason

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 3: at Oakland Raiders

Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at Green Bay Packers

Week 2: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 3: at Detroit Lions

Week 4: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 8: vs. New York Giants

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 10: at San Diego Chargers

Week 11: at Oakland Raiders

Week 12: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 13: at St. Louis Rams

Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 15: at Chicago Bears

Week 16: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 17: at Arizona Cardinals

Despite still having a chance to make the playoffs by winning the NFC North, the Vikings squandered a 17–6 fourth-quarter lead in the final two minutes and lost to the 3–12

after

Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorabl ...

threw a 28-yard pass to

Nate Poole Nathan Poole (born February 1, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Marshall. Poo ...

for the game-winning touchdown with no time left, and with the Packers' win over the Broncos, giving them the NFC North title, and ending the Vikings season.

Standings

Statistics

Team leaders

* Vikings single season

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

League rankings

Staff

Roster

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Minnesota Vikings Season Minnesota Vikings seasons Minnesota Minnesota