The 2002 season was the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' 42nd in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, and the first under head coach

Mike Tice Michael Peter Tice (born February 2, 1959) is a former American football tight end and coach. He played college football at the University of Maryland, College Park and spent 11 seasons playing in the National Football League (NFL) before spendin ...

. Tice was the third of the Vikings' six head coaches to be promoted from within the team's coaching ranks but the first to have actually played for the team. The Vikings lost their opening game in Chicago 27–23 after surrendering a 20–10 halftime lead, and ended up going 0–4 before their bye week. Results improved after the bye, but they ultimately went 6–6 in their remaining games, including a three-game winning streak to end the season. They finished the season with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. Second-year running back Michael Bennett enjoyed a successful year, rushing for 1,296 yards, resulting in a Pro Bowl selection at the end of the season. After losing

Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990� ...

to retirement, Randy Moss had a career-high 106 receptions, but only had 7 touchdowns.

Offseason

2002 Draft

: Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (141st overall) to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

for QB

Spergon Wynn Spergon Wynn III (born August 10, 1978) is a former gridiron football quarterback. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southwest Texas State. Wynn also played for the A ...

and RB

Travis Prentice Travis Jason Prentice (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football running back who played collegiately at Miami of Ohio. Prentice held the NCAA Division I-A record for career rushing touchdowns until it was broken by Wisconsin's Monte ...

Undrafted free agents

Preseason

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 2: at Buffalo Bills

Week 3: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 6: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 7: at New York Jets

Week 8: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 9: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 10: vs. New York Giants

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 12: at New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Week 15: at New Orleans Saints

Week 16: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 17: at Detroit Lions

Standings

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

Staff

Roster

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 Minnesota Vikings Season Minnesota Vikings seasons

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...