Minnesota Vikings Trivia
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107 free Minnesota Vikings trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
51 free Minnesota Vikings trivia questions with answers. The Minnesota Vikings have the best winning percentage of any NFL team that has never won a Super Bowl, which tells you everything about being a fan: brilliant defenses, four trips to the big game, a 15-1 season that ended on a missed kick, and a walk-off playoff touchdown that still does not feel real. This quiz covers the whole story from the 1961 expansion season at the Met to U.S. Bank Stadium. The early questions suit anyone who has ever done the Skol chant: who the Purple People Eaters were, who caught the Minneapolis Miracle, which running back ran for 2,097 yards. The later ones are for people who know Bud Grant's Grey Cups, Ole Haugsrud's ten percent, and how many sacks John Randle got as an undrafted rookie. Every answer has been checked against the published record and carries a linked source, so you can settle a tailgate argument on the spot.
30 of 107 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year did the Vikings play their first NFL season?
1961
The Vikings debuted in 1961 as the NFL's 14th franchise after their owners abandoned a plan to join the rival AFL; they beat the Bears 37-13 in their first game.
Q 02Which team beat the heavily favoured Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV?
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the 12-point-favourite Vikings 23-7 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on January 11, 1970, the last Super Bowl before the AFL-NFL merger.
Q 03Which team beat the Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI in January 1977?
Oakland Raiders
It was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on January 9, 1977, and gave the Raiders their first title.
Q 04Which four linemen made up the core of the 'Purple People Eaters' defense?
Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen
Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen formed the original Purple People Eaters front four; Doug Sutherland took over Larsen's tackle spot in 1974.
Q 05Who was the Vikings' first head coach, hired in January 1961?
Norm Van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin, fresh from quarterbacking the Eagles to the 1960 NFL title, was hired in January 1961; Bud Grant declined the job and stayed in the CFL until 1967.
Q 06Before coaching the Vikings, Bud Grant won how many Grey Cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?
Four
Bud Grant coached Winnipeg to four Grey Cup wins, in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962; earlier he had won the 1950 NBA title as a Minneapolis Laker.
Q 07How many seasons did Bud Grant coach the Vikings across his two stints?
18
Bud Grant coached 18 seasons: 1967 through 1983, then a single comeback year in 1985, winning 11 division titles and reaching four Super Bowls.
Q 08Fran Tarkenton played college football for which school?
Georgia
Fran Tarkenton quarterbacked Georgia from 1958 to 1960, winning the 1959 SEC title, before the Vikings drafted him in the third round in 1961.
Q 09Which team did the Vikings trade Fran Tarkenton to in 1967, before getting him back in 1972?
New York Giants
He returned for his last seven seasons and retired holding the career records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
Q 10In which season did Fran Tarkenton win the NFL MVP award?
1975
Fran Tarkenton was the 1975 NFL MVP, throwing 25 touchdown passes for a Vikings team that went 12-2 before losing its divisional playoff to Dallas.
Q 11The 1975 Vikings were knocked out of the playoffs by which famous play?
The Hail Mary
Roger Staubach's 50-yard desperation pass to Drew Pearson on December 28, 1975 beat the Vikings 17-14 and gave the 'Hail Mary' its name, from Staubach's post-game remark.
Q 12Which Vikings receiver caught Tommy Kramer's 'Miracle at the Met' heave against Cleveland in 1980?
Ahmad Rashad
Ahmad Rashad, born Bobby Moore, tipped and caught Tommy Kramer's 46-yard heave as time expired to beat Cleveland 28-23 on December 14, 1980, clinching the NFC Central.
Q 13Which Vikings safety set the NFL career record with 81 interceptions?
Paul Krause
Q 21Which cartoonist designed the Vikings' horned helmet and purple-and-gold uniforms?
Karl Hubenthal
Karl Hubenthal, a Los Angeles Examiner sports cartoonist, drew the blond Norseman logo and the white helmet horn for the expansion team in 1961.
Q 22On what date was the team officially named the Minnesota Vikings?
September 27, 1960
The Minnesota Vikings name was adopted on September 27, 1960, eight months after the NFL awarded the franchise; general manager Bert Rose proposed it to honour the state's Scandinavian heritage.
Q 23The 1989 Herschel Walker trade sent the running back to Minnesota from which team, in exchange for players and draft picks?
Dallas Cowboys
Paul Krause finished with 81 career interceptions; he led the NFL with 12 as a Washington rookie in 1964, joined the Vikings in 1968 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Q 14Which player did the Vikings take first overall in the 1968 draft?
Ron Yary
Ron Yary, a USC tackle and 1967 Outland Trophy winner, went first overall in 1968 with the Giants' pick from the Tarkenton trade; he entered the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Q 15Which Vikings running back was the 1973 Offensive Rookie of the Year and started three Super Bowls?
Chuck Foreman
Chuck Foreman, picked 12th overall out of Miami in 1973, made the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons and started Super Bowls VIII, IX and XI.
Q 16Where did the Vikings play their home games from 1961 to 1981?
Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington
Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, shared with the Twins, hosted the Vikings for 21 seasons from 1961 to 1981 before the team moved indoors to the Metrodome.
Q 17What opened in 1992 on the site of the old Met, the team's first home?
The Mall of America
The Mall of America opened in August 1992 on the Bloomington site of Metropolitan Stadium, which had been demolished in 1985.
Q 18The Metrodome's fabric roof was held up by what?
Air pressure
Air pressure from electric fans kept the Metrodome's Teflon-coated fiberglass roof inflated; heavy snow deflated it four times, most famously on December 12, 2010.
Q 19In which years did the Vikings play at the Metrodome?
1982-2013
The Vikings played at the Metrodome from 1982 to 2013, beating the Lions 14-13 in the final game there on December 29, 2013.
Q 20In which section of Minneapolis is U.S. Bank Stadium?
Downtown East
U.S. Bank Stadium, opened in 2016, stands in Minneapolis's Downtown East neighbourhood on essentially the same site as the Metrodome it replaced.
The Dallas Cowboys' Jimmy Johnson planned all along to cut the players he received and keep the draft picks, which built Dallas's 1990s dynasty.
Q 24What was the Vikings' record in the 1998 regular season?
15-1
The 1998 Vikings went 15-1, their only loss a 27-24 defeat at Tampa Bay in Week 9, and scored a then-record 556 points.
Q 25Which kicker, perfect all season in 1998, missed a 38-yard field goal late in the NFC Championship Game?
Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson had gone 35-for-35 on field goals and 59-for-59 on extra points in 1998, the first perfect regular season by an NFL kicker, before the miss that let Atlanta tie and win 30-27 in overtime.
Q 26How many touchdown catches did Randy Moss make as a rookie in 1998?
17
Randy Moss caught 17 touchdown passes in 1998, a rookie record; he had slipped to the 21st pick over off-field concerns, and later set the single-season mark of 23 with New England in 2007.
Q 27Which college did Randy Moss play for?
Marshall
Randy Moss starred at Marshall, winning the 1997 Biletnikoff Award as a unanimous All-American for the Thundering Herd.
Q 28Which team did Cris Carter play for before joining the Vikings in 1990?
Philadelphia Eagles
Cris Carter spent 1987 to 1989 with the Philadelphia Eagles, who took him in the 1987 supplemental draft; Buddy Ryan released him in 1990 and the Vikings claimed him on waivers for $100.
Q 29Which undrafted defensive tackle piled up 137.5 career sacks for the Vikings and Seahawks?
John Randle
John Randle, undrafted out of Texas A&I in 1990, finished with 137.5 sacks, the most by a defensive tackle at his 2003 retirement; he entered the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Q 30Which Vikings coach, hired in 1992, was the second Black head coach in modern NFL history?
Dennis Green
Dennis Green, hired from Stanford in January 1992, followed Art Shell as the modern NFL's second Black head coach; he reached the playoffs eight times in ten seasons before being let go with one game left in 2001.