Record 12–2 | Start date 1975 | |
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The 1975 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League.
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The Vikings began with ten wins before losing by one point to the Washington Redskins, though there was generally very little expectation they would equal the 1972 Dolphins’ perfect season. The 1975 Vikings had an even easier schedule than the often-criticised schedule of the unbeaten Dolphin team, with their fourteen opponents having a weighted average winning percentage of .332 and nine being 4–10 or worse. Football journalists noted during their streak how the Vikings had been playing very weak schedules for several years and flattered thereby. Their 10–0 start was not subsequently equalled until the 1984 Miami Dolphins began 11–0. Only the Super Bowl-winning 1999 Rams had since, according to Pro Football Reference, a weaker schedule than the 1975 Vikings, playing only one opponent with a winning record during the regular season.
They sealed their third straight NFC Central title on Thanksgiving Day in this same week when the Detroit Lions lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Vikings finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, before losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 17–14 in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at home due to a play known as the “Hail Mary”. Earlier in the season, the New York Jets made their first appearance in Minnesota in a much-anticipated match between Super Bowl quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Joe Namath, in what was the first regular season game sold out during the summer.