Week 16, 1984

played in Birmingham, AL

27 degrees, snow, 12 mph wind

Minnesota Vikings	6	7	0	7	-	20
Birmingham Texans	0	7	0	3	-	10

Scoring Summary
1Q: 12:11 MIN - Rich Karlis 43 field goal
1Q: 05:29 MIN - Rich Karlis 36 field goal
2Q: 07:36 MIN - Jimmie Giles 3 pass from Dan Marino (Rich Karlis extra point)
2Q: 02:27 BIR - Tommie Towns 7 pass from Lynn Dickey (Ali Haji-Sheikh extra point)
4Q: 15:00 MIN - Don Bass 12 pass from Dan Marino (Rich Karlis extra point)
4Q: 08:37 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 42 field goal

Scoring Summary
1Q: 12:11 MIN - Rich Karlis 43 field goal
1Q: 05:29 MIN - Rich Karlis 36 field goal
2Q: 07:36 MIN - Jimmie Giles 3 pass from Dan Marino (Rich Karlis extra point)
2Q: 02:27 BIR - Tommie Towns 7 pass from Lynn Dickey (Ali Haji-Sheikh extra point)
4Q: 15:00 MIN - Don Bass 12 pass from Dan Marino (Rich Karlis extra point)
4Q: 08:37 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 42 field goal

Team Statistics MIN BIR
Record 9-6 3-12
First Downs 21 14
- by Rushing 6 6
- by Passing 14 8
- by Penalty 1 0
Total Net Yards 338 268
- Offensive Plays 66 60
- Yards per Play 5.12 4.47
Net Rushing Yards 132 136
- Rushing Attempts 34 35
- Yards per Rush 3.88 3.89
Net Passing Yards 206 132
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt 29 - 18 - 0 24 - 13 - 1
- Gross Passing Yards 224 141
- Sacks/Yards Lost 3/18 1/9
- Yards per Pass Play 6.44 5.28
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 0/0
3rd Down Conversions 5/14 3/13
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down 7.6 7.3
4th Down Conversions 0/0 0/1
Penalties/Yards 4/30 10/85
Punt Returns/Yards 1/13 2/16
Kick Returns/Yards 2/35 2/30
Interception Ret./Yards 1/0 0/0
2pt Conversions 0/0 0/0
Red Zone Visits 3 3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs 2/1 1/0
Avg. Drive Start OWN 29 OWN 29
Time of Possession 32:13 27:47

Team Statistics	MIN	BIR
Record	9-6	3-12
First Downs	21	14
- by Rushing	6	6
- by Passing	14	8
- by Penalty	1	0
Total Net Yards	338	268
- Offensive Plays	66	60
- Yards per Play	5.12	4.47
Net Rushing Yards	132	136
- Rushing Attempts	34	35
- Yards per Rush	3.88	3.89
Net Passing Yards	206	132
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt	29 - 18 - 0	24 - 13 - 1
- Gross Passing Yards	224	141
- Sacks/Yards Lost	3/18	1/9
- Yards per Pass Play	6.44	5.28
Fumbles/Lost	2/1	0/0
3rd Down Conversions	5/14	3/13
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down	7.6	7.3
4th Down Conversions	0/0	0/1
Penalties/Yards	4/30	10/85
Punt Returns/Yards	1/13	2/16
Kick Returns/Yards	2/35	2/30
Interception Ret./Yards	1/0	0/0
2pt Conversions	0/0	0/0
Red Zone Visits	3	3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs	2/1	1/0
Avg. Drive Start	OWN 29	OWN 29
Time of Possession	32:13	27:47

Drive Charts

Minnesota Vikings
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	15:00	2:56	OWN 20	5	54	Field Goal
1	9:44	4:22	OWN 33	9	48	Field Goal
1	3:51	1:48	OWN 22	3	8	Punt
2	12:25	4:58	OWN 37	11	63	Touchdown
2	3:13	0:06	OWN 22	1	5	Fumble
2	2:16	2:12	OWN 16	6	31	Punt
3	11:52	0:54	OWN 39	3	-2	Punt
3	9:28	1:55	OPP 49	4	12	Punt
3	4:37	4:48	OWN 22	9	78	Touchdown
4	11:28	1:36	OWN 14	3	-4	Punt
4	8:31	3:04	OWN 22	6	38	Punt
4	3:33	1:21	OWN 45	4	14	Punt
4	1:32	1:32	OWN 42	2	-2	Game

Birmingham Texans
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	12:04	2:20	OWN 11	3	8	Punt
1	5:22	1:31	OWN 18	3	-7	Punt
1	2:03	4:38	OWN 39	10	31	Missed FG
2	7:27	4:14	OWN 20	8	73	Missed FG
2	3:07	0:51	OPP 18	4	18	Touchdown
2	0:04	0:04	OWN 13	1	0	Half
3	15:00	3:08	OWN 20	5	5	Punt
3	10:58	1:30	OWN 30	3	-3	Punt
3	7:33	2:56	OWN 20	6	14	Punt
4	14:49	3:21	OWN 24	5	19	Punt
4	9:52	1:21	OPP 31	3	6	Field Goal
4	5:27	1:54	OWN 20	6	35	Downs
4	2:12	0:40	OWN 20	4	24	Interception

Game MVP: Dan Marino, Minnesota Vikings

Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+
Sammy Winder	23	78	3.39	26	3
Ray Crouse	9	54	6.00	12	3
Dan Marino	2	0	0.00	2	0

Birmingham	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+
Earl Campbell	25	112	4.48	24	3
Barty Smith	5	15	3.00	5	0
Lynn Dickey	3	5	1.67	3	0
Will Scarpitto	2	4	2.00	2	0

Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Dan Marino	29	18	224	3/18	2	44	0	108.9

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Lynn Dickey	24	13	141	1/9	1	40	1	68.2

Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG	TD
WR Don Bass	6	9	83	13.83	3	26	1
WR Steve Largent	4	5	74	18.50	0	44	0
TE Jimmie Giles	4	7	31	7.75	0	16	1
WR Wilbert Montgomery	2	5	12	6.00	0	7	0
WR Steve Watson	1	1	11	11.00	5	11	0
WR Paul Skansi	1	1	13	13.00	0	13	0
RB Ray Crouse	0	1	0	0.00	0	0	0

Birmingham	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG	TD
WR Morris Owens	3	4	24	8.00	0	10	0
TE Loaird McCreary	3	5	17	5.67	0	12	0
WR Tommie Towns	2	2	41	20.50	11	34	1
RB Earl Campbell	2	5	24	12.00	3	12	0
FB Boobie Clark	1	1	-1	-1.00	0	-1	0
WR Terry Metcalf	1	3	-4	-4.00	0	-4	0
WR Doug Donley	1	3	40	40.00	22	40	0
FB Barty Smith	0	1	0	0.00	0	0	0

Interception Statistics

Minnesota	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD
S Gary Fencik	1	0	0.00	0

Birmingham	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD

Fumble Statistics

Minnesota	Fumb	Recov
Sammy Winder	1	0
Ray Crouse	1	0
Jimmie Giles	0	1

Birmingham	Recov	Force
Jack Mildren	1	0
Ed Galigher	0	1
David Martin	0	1

Punting Statistics

Minnesota	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Rohn Stark	7	260	37.1	26.3	41	1

Birmingham	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Jim Arnold	6	264	44.0	41.8	58	1

Kicking Statistics

Minnesota	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Rich Karlis	2/2	1/1	0/0	43	2/2

Birmingham	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Ali Haji-Sheikh	1/3	1/2	0/0	42	1/1

Punt Return Statistics

Minnesota	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Keith Moody	1	13	13.0	0

Birmingham	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Terry Metcalf	2	16	8.0	0

Kick Return Statistics

Minnesota	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Keith Moody	1	20	20.0	0
Wilbert Montgomery	1	15	15.0	0

Birmingham	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Terry Metcalf	2	30	15.0	0

Defensive Statistics

Minnesota	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
S Gary Fencik	10	2	0.0	31	22
OLB Rickey Jackson	7	2	1.0	33	23
CB Mossy Cade	4	0	0.0	22	20
ILB Eddie Johnson	3	2	0.0	15	8
OLB Thomas Henderson	3	1	0.0	28	12
S Roland Solomon	3	1	0.0	6	13
CB Keith Moody	3	0	0.0	15	13
CB John Turner	3	0	0.0	26	14
ILB Ken Fantetti	2	3	0.0	28	22
S Vince Newsome	2	1	0.0	26	20
DE Mark Gastineau	2	0	0.0	26	24
CB Frank Minnifield	1	2	0.0	25	20
DT Floyd Tongue	1	1	0.0	15	6
DE Leonard Marshall	1	1	0.0	28	17
TE Jimmie Giles	1	0	---	---	---
OLB Dave Frye	1	0	0.0	6	5
S Vince Albritton	1	0	0.0	9	4
ILB James Harrell	0	1	0.0	2	0

Birmingham	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
CB Steve Haworth	8	0	0.0	21	24
ILB Bob Pifferini	6	2	0.5	19	23
OLB Jim Merlo	6	0	0.0	32	28
CB Jerry Holmes	6	0	0.0	24	17
S Mike Burns	4	0	1.0	24	27
ILB Jerry Robinson	4	1	0.0	15	11
S Jack Mildren	3	0	0.0	11	5
CB David Martin	3	0	0.0	26	22
S Jimmy Allen	2	4	0.0	28	23
DE Lee Roy Selmon	2	2	0.0	24	16
ILB Robert Jackson	2	0	0.0	15	11
DE Fletcher Jenkins	1	1	1.0	20	19
DE Bruce Clark	1	2	0.0	20	27
OLB Sam Merriman	1	1	0.0	25	29
DT Ed Galigher	1	0	0.0	21	20
CB Skip Thomas	1	0	0.0	13	18
TE Loaird McCreary	1	0	---	---	---
CB Bobby Watkins	1	0	0.0	13	13
DT Rickey McBeal	0	1	0.5	17	14
ILB Jim Fahnhorst	0	1	0.0	4	5

Pass Rush Statistics

Minnesota	Sack	Block	Hurry	Knock	PPlay
OLB Rickey Jackson	1.0	1	0	0	23
DE Leonard Marshall	0.0	1	2	2	17
OLB Thomas Henderson	0.0	0	1	0	12

Birmingham	Sack	Hurry	PPlay
DE Fletcher Jenkins	1.0	1	19
S Mike Burns	1.0	0	27
ILB Bob Pifferini	0.5	0	23
DT Rickey McBeal	0.5	0	14
DT Ed Galigher	0.0	1	20
OLB Jim Merlo	0.0	1	28

Pass Defense Statistics

Minnesota	Caught	Defnsd	Intrcp	PPlay
CB Mossy Cade	3	0	0	20
S Gary Fencik	2	1	1	22
ILB Ken Fantetti	2	1	0	22
CB Keith Moody	2	0	0	13
S Roland Solomon	2	0	0	13
CB John Turner	1	0	0	14
CB Frank Minnifield	1	0	0	20
ILB Eddie Johnson	0	1	0	8

Birmingham	Caught	Defnsd	PPlay
CB Steve Haworth	5	0	24
CB Jerry Holmes	2	2	17
CB Skip Thomas	2	1	18
S Jimmy Allen	2	0	23
CB David Martin	2	0	22
ILB Bob Pifferini	1	1	23
OLB Jim Merlo	1	0	28
ILB Robert Jackson	1	0	11
ILB Jerry Robinson	1	0	11
CB Bobby Watkins	1	0	13
OLB Sam Merriman	0	1	29

Blocking Statistics

Minnesota	KeyBl	BlOpp	Panc	RPly	SckA	PPly
Mike Munchak	2	7	0	33	0	30
Tim Irwin	2	4	1	30	1	31
Doug Smith	1	8	0	32	1	30
Steve Courson	1	4	0	27	1	26
Jimmie Giles	1	3	1	26	0	20
Franky Smith	1	2	0	9	0	4
Curtis Dickey	0	2	0	17	0	9
Marvin Powell	0	1	0	28	0	29
Brian Blados	0	1	0	8	0	8

Birmingham	KeyBl	BlOpp	Panc	RPly	SckA	PPly
Stan Walters	4	10	1	34	0	25
Jim Sexton	2	6	0	22	1	20
Kris Wheeler	1	4	0	30	0	21
Ron Baker	1	4	0	13	0	5
Carlton Malone	1	3	0	32	0	21
Billy Ard	1	2	0	27	0	22
Alan Willis	0	2	0	13	0	7
Loaird McCreary	0	1	0	15	0	12

Special Teams Tackles

Minnesota	Tackles	STPlays
Pete Metzelaars	2	16
Steve Watson	1	13
Ray Crouse	1	13

Birmingham	Tackles	STPlays
Terry Metcalf	1	18
Barty Smith	1	10
Aaron Meyer	1	9

Participation

Minnesota	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Doug Smith	32	30	---	---	6	68
Dan Marino	34	32	---	---	---	66
Mike Munchak	33	30	---	---	---	63
Steve Courson	27	26	---	---	9	62
Tim Irwin	30	31	---	---	---	61
Rickey Jackson	---	---	33	23	4	60
Marvin Powell	28	29	---	---	2	59
Mark Gastineau	---	---	26	24	8	58
Gary Fencik	---	---	31	22	3	56
Ken Fantetti	---	---	28	22	6	56
Jimmie Giles	26	20	---	---	8	54
Don Bass	26	26	---	---	---	52
Frank Minnifield	---	---	25	20	7	52
Sammy Winder	24	25	---	---	---	49
Vince Newsome	---	---	26	20	3	49
Wilbert Montgomery	26	19	---	---	3	48
Leonard Marshall	---	---	28	17	3	48
Mossy Cade	---	---	22	20	4	46
Keith Moody	---	---	15	13	17	45
John Turner	---	---	26	14	5	45
Thomas Henderson	---	---	28	12	4	44
Steve Largent	15	18	---	---	10	43
Leo Wisniewski	---	---	21	20	1	42
Pete Metzelaars	7	12	---	---	16	35
Curtis Dickey	17	9	---	---	3	29
Eddie Johnson	---	---	15	8	6	29
Ray Crouse	10	6	---	---	13	29
Dave Frye	---	---	6	5	17	28
Paul Skansi	13	15	---	---	---	28
Floyd Tongue	---	---	15	6	5	26
Larry Kinnebrew	4	8	---	---	14	26
Lee Williams	---	---	16	9	1	26
Brian Blados	8	8	---	---	9	25
Louie Giammona	0	1	---	---	22	23
Franky Smith	9	4	---	---	9	22
Roland Solomon	---	---	6	13	2	21
Vince Albritton	---	---	9	4	8	21
James Harrell	---	---	2	0	15	17
Steve Watson	2	1	---	---	13	16
Shelton Robinson	---	---	7	3	5	15
Dave Rimington	3	2	---	---	9	14
Rich Karlis	0	0	---	---	7	7
Rohn Stark	0	0	---	---	7	7
Tony Adams	0	0	---	---	2	2
Keith Simpson	---	---	0	0	---	0
Mike Loyd	0	0	---	---	---	0

Birmingham	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Jim Merlo	---	---	32	28	12	72
Stan Walters	34	25	---	---	9	68
John Tice	31	17	---	---	15	63
David Martin	---	---	26	22	14	62
Bob Pifferini	---	---	19	23	19	61
Lynn Dickey	35	25	---	---	---	60
Billy Ard	27	22	---	---	8	57
Kris Wheeler	30	21	---	---	4	55
Sam Merriman	---	---	25	29	1	55
Mike Burns	---	---	24	27	3	54
Jimmy Allen	---	---	28	23	2	53
Boobie Clark	30	16	---	---	7	53
Carlton Malone	32	21	---	---	---	53
Bruce Clark	---	---	20	27	1	48
Fletcher Jenkins	---	---	20	19	8	47
Steve Haworth	---	---	21	24	2	47
Morris Owens	21	13	---	---	12	46
Barty Smith	20	15	---	---	10	45
Loaird McCreary	15	12	---	---	17	44
Earl Campbell	26	18	---	---	---	44
Jerry Holmes	---	---	24	17	3	44
Ed Galigher	---	---	21	20	1	42
Jim Sexton	22	20	---	---	---	42
Lee Roy Selmon	---	---	24	16	2	42
Terry Metcalf	8	9	---	---	18	35
Skip Thomas	---	---	13	18	2	33
Jerry Robinson	---	---	15	11	7	33
Bobby Watkins	---	---	13	13	7	33
Rickey McBeal	---	---	17	14	1	32
Robert Jackson	---	---	15	11	6	32
Tommie Towns	10	11	---	---	8	29
Ron Baker	13	5	---	---	9	27
Alan Willis	13	7	---	---	5	25
Jim Fahnhorst	---	---	4	5	16	25
Will Scarpitto	3	2	---	---	17	22
Doug Donley	10	9	---	---	---	19
Aaron Meyer	4	4	---	---	9	17
Jack Mildren	---	---	11	5	---	16
Mark Arneson	---	---	2	0	9	11
Charley Young	1	3	---	---	5	9
Jim Arnold	0	0	---	---	9	9
Steve Mike-Mayer	0	0	---	---	3	3
Ali Haji-Sheikh	0	0	---	---	3	3
Tom De Paso	---	---	0	0	2	2
J.J. Jones	0	0	---	---	---	0
Charles Buchanan	0	0	---	---	---	0

Directional Rushing Statistics

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	10	82	8.2
Middle	10	12	1.2
Right	13	40	3.1
None	1	-2	-2.0

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	13	72	5.5
Middle	21	64	3.0
Right	0	0	0.0
None	1	0	0.0

Detailed Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Dan Marino	29	18	3	0	3	5	3	0	0

Birmingham	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Lynn Dickey	24	13	2	1	1	3	3	2	1

Directional Passing Statistics

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	0	0	0	0.0
Short (0-8 Yds)	12	9	57	4.8
Medium (9-18 Yds)	9	5	62	6.9
Long (19+ Yds)	8	4	105	13.1

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	5	2	2	0.4
Short (0-8 Yds)	4	3	10	2.5
Medium (9-18 Yds)	11	7	95	8.6
Long (19+ Yds)	4	1	34	8.5

Detailed Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Don Bass	9	6	1	83	2	26
TE Jimmie Giles	7	4	0	31	0	20
WR Steve Largent	5	4	0	74	1	18
WR Wilbert Montgomery	5	2	1	12	0	19
WR Steve Watson	1	1	0	11	0	1
WR Paul Skansi	1	1	0	13	0	15
RB Ray Crouse	1	0	1	0	0	6

Birmingham	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
TE Loaird McCreary	5	3	1	17	0	12
RB Earl Campbell	5	2	0	24	0	18
WR Morris Owens	4	3	0	24	0	13
WR Terry Metcalf	3	1	0	-4	0	9
WR Doug Donley	3	1	0	40	1	9
WR Tommie Towns	2	2	0	41	1	11
FB Boobie Clark	1	1	0	-1	0	16
FB Barty Smith	1	0	0	0	0	15

Red-Zone Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Sammy Winder	1	0	0.00	3.39

Birmingham	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Will Scarpitto	1	2	2.00	2.00

Red-Zone Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Dan Marino	3	2	15	5.00	7.72

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Lynn Dickey	7	5	20	2.86	5.88

Red-Zone Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
TE Jimmie Giles	2	1	3	1.50	4.43
WR Don Bass	1	1	12	12.00	9.22

Birmingham	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
WR Morris Owens	2	1	6	3.00	6.00
RB Earl Campbell	2	1	12	6.00	4.80
WR Terry Metcalf	1	1	-4	-4.00	-1.33
WR Tommie Towns	1	1	7	7.00	20.50
TE Loaird McCreary	1	1	-1	-1.00	3.40

Third Down Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Rushes	Conversions
Sammy Winder	2	1
Dan Marino	1	0
Ray Crouse	1	1

Birmingham	Rushes	Conversions
Lynn Dickey	2	0
Earl Campbell	1	0

Third Down Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Conversions
Dan Marino	8	4	3

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Conversions
Lynn Dickey	9	4	3

Third Down Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR Steve Largent	2	2	1
TE Jimmie Giles	2	1	1
WR Wilbert Montgomery	2	0	0
WR Don Bass	2	1	1

Birmingham	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR Terry Metcalf	2	1	0
WR Morris Owens	2	2	2
WR Doug Donley	2	0	0
FB Barty Smith	1	0	0
WR Tommie Towns	1	1	1
RB Earl Campbell	1	0	0

Section Attendance
Stadium 57,000 (70,000 capacity)
Upper Deck 17,500 (21,400)
End Zone 12,600 (15,400)
Mezzanine 7,200 (8,900)
Sideline Seats 11,100 (13,600)
Club Seats 5,700 (7,400)
Luxury Boxes 2,900 (3,300)

Section	Attendance
Stadium	57,000 (70,000 capacity)
Upper Deck	17,500 (21,400)
End Zone	12,600 (15,400)
Mezzanine	7,200 (8,900)
Sideline Seats	11,100 (13,600)
Club Seats	5,700 (7,400)
Luxury Boxes	2,900 (3,300)