History of The Minnesota Vikings - 2006: Brad Childress Is Hired

2006: Brad Childress Is Hired

Prior to the 2006 season, the Vikings hired Brad Childress as the 7th head coach in Vikings history. The Vikings started their season with two narrow victories.They edged the Washington Redskins in Washington by a field goal, 19–16, and beat the Carolina Panthers at home, 16–13, to earn Childress a place in the record books by starting 2-0 as the head coach of the Vikings. They lost their next two games, each by close margins, one to the Chicago Bears (16–19) and the other to the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo (12–17).

In week five of the season, the Vikings relied on points scored late in the game to win against the Detroit Lions. While down 17–3 going into the fourth quarter, the Vikings scored 23 unanswered points, including two defensive touchdowns, resulting in a final score of 26–17.

After a bye in week six, the Vikings won easily over the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, 31–13. Chester Taylor scored the longest touchdown in Vikings history in the win, running 95 yards for the score. A four-week losing streak ensued. The first loss was to the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. The Vikings had won their last four home games on Monday Night Football, but the Patriots ended the streak when they blew out the Vikings at home, 31–7. Minnesota's only score came off Mewelde Moore's 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. The following week saw a 9–3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The loss was especially crushing after a touchdown pass was called back because of a block in the back penalty against Travis Taylor. In week ten, the Vikings lost again as they were outscored 23–17 at home by their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

The following week, fans had anticipated a match up between the Vikings and their former quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, who was acquired by the Miami Dolphins in the offseason for a second round draft pick, but Culpepper had been benched in favor of Joey Harrington three weeks earlier. The Vikings lost their fourth straight game to Miami, 24–20. The game was out of reach after Jason Taylor returned a 51 yard interception for a touchdown. The Vikings defense set a team record by limiting the Dolphins to −3 yards rushing on 14 carries in the loss. The losing streak finally ended with the Arizona Cardinals and former Head Coach Dennis Green in town. The Vikings pulled off a 31–26 win, capped by a Vikings interception in the end zone to end the game. The Cardinals took a 7–0 lead on the first play of the game with a kickoff return touchdown by J. J. Arrington. Following the win over Arizona, the Vikings played the Chicago Bears closely, until the Bears' special teams (a Devin Hester punt return touchdown) as well as their defense (an interception return touchdown) put the game out of reach; the Vikings lost 23–13. Tarvaris Jackson made his NFL debut, completing the first pass of his career and finishing the day having completed 3 of 4 passes for 35 yards, with one fumble.

In Week 14, the Vikings pulled off their second win in three weeks, beating the Detroit Lions, 30–20. The Vikings' top running back, Chester Taylor, was out with bruised ribs, but backup Artose Pinner had the game of his life against a team that cut him a mere three months ago. He gained 125 yards and had three touchdowns, leading the Vikings to victory. Once again, the Vikings run defense matched a team record set only three weeks earlier by holding the Lions to −3 yards on 10 carries. The Vikings forced six turnovers, and only had two themselves.

Two losses followed—one to the New York Jets (26–13) and another to the Green Bay Packers (9–7). The game against Green Bay marked Tarvaris Jackson’s first NFL start, as well as the elimination of any playoff possibilities for the Vikings. The Vikings ended the season by getting blown out by the St. Louis Rams, 41–21. The game saw Tarvaris Jackson make his second career start. The Vikings' defense was attempting to set a new NFL record (since the NFL-AFL merger) of giving up the fewest rushing yards per game in one season. This attempt was thwarted by the Rams' rushing attack, led by Stephen Jackson's 142 yards, which accumulated 168 yards on the ground. The Vikings ended the season giving up an average of 61.6 rushing yards per game, which fell behind the record of 60.6 rushing yards per game held by the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Their 6–10 record served to solidify a third place finish in the NFC North, as well as the number 7 overall draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.