Wild Card Round: Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun January 9, 1983 at 4:00pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Atlanta Falcons versus Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Atlanta Falcons-Minnesota Vikings cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-2 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-3 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-5 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1-8 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 7-2 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 6-3 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-4 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-5 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 0-8-1 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8-1 | W5 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6-3 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-5 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3-6 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 2-7 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-4 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-5 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3-6 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2-7 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 5-3-1 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-4 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-4 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-5 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-6 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 8-1 | W4 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-3 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 4-5 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-6 | L1 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Doug Rogers blocked punt recovery in end zone (Mick Luckhurst kick) | 7-0 |
| Vikings | Rick Danmeier 33 yard field goal | 7-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Sammy White 36 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) | 7-10 |
| Vikings | Rick Danmeier 30 yard field goal | 7-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Mick Luckhurst 17 yard rush (Mick Luckhurst kick) | 14-13 |
| Falcons | Bob Glazebrook 35 yard interception return (Mick Luckhurst kick) | 21-13 |
| Vikings | Rick Danmeier 39 yard field goal | 21-16 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Sam McCullum 11 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) | 21-23 |
| Falcons | Mick Luckhurst 41 yard field goal | 24-23 |
| Vikings | Ted Brown 5 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick) | 24-30 |
Minnesota Vikings defeated Atlanta Falcons 30-24 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Vikings: Ted Brown 5 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick). Top line of the day: Tommy Kramer: 253 pass yards on 20-of-34, 2 TD, 1 INT. Minnesota Vikings advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Minnesota Vikings walked out of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Atlanta Falcons will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 30-24. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Vikings: Ted Brown 5 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Minnesota Vikings advance to the divisional round.
Minnesota Vikings 30, Atlanta Falcons 24.
Round: Wild Card Round.
Q1: 2 scoring plays.
Q2: 2 scoring plays.
Q3: 3 scoring plays.
Q4: 3 scoring plays.
Top performers:
- Tommy Kramer: 253 pass yards on 20-of-34, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Ted Brown: 81 rush yards on 23 carries
- Joe Senser: 6 catches for 81 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Final: Atlanta Falcons 24, Minnesota Vikings 30, with Minnesota Vikings taking the result by 6.
First quarter
- Falcons: Doug Rogers blocked punt recovery in end zone (Mick Luckhurst kick)
- Vikings: Rick Danmeier 33 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Vikings: Sammy White 36 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick)
- Vikings: Rick Danmeier 30 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Falcons: Mick Luckhurst 17 yard rush (Mick Luckhurst kick)
- Falcons: Bob Glazebrook 35 yard interception return (Mick Luckhurst kick)
- Vikings: Rick Danmeier 39 yard field goal
Fourth quarter
- Vikings: Sam McCullum 11 yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick)
- Falcons: Mick Luckhurst 41 yard field goal
- Vikings: Ted Brown 5 yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick)
Top performers
- Tommy Kramer: 253 pass yards on 20-of-34, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Ted Brown: 81 rush yards on 23 carries
- Joe Senser: 6 catches for 81 yards
| Falcons | Vikings | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 24 | 30 |
| Total Yards | 235 | 378 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 9/23 | 20/34 |
| Pass yards | 134 | 253 |
| Pass TD | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 19 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 115 | 253 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 24 | 42 |
| Rush yards | 120 | 125 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 4 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 7 | 10 |
| Penalty yards | 98 | 84 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | |||||
| Steve Bartkowski | 9/23 | 134 | 0 | 2 | 22.7 |
| MIN | |||||
| Tommy Kramer | 20/34 | 253 | 2 | 1 | 89.5 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | ||||
| William Andrews | 11 | 48 | 0 | 15 |
| Gerald Riggs | 9 | 38 | 0 | 16 |
| Lynn Cain | 3 | 17 | 0 | 13 |
| Mick Luckhurst | 1 | 17 | 1 | 17 |
| MIN | ||||
| Ted Brown | 23 | 81 | 1 | 14 |
| Darrin Nelson | 4 | 24 | 0 | 14 |
| Tommy Kramer | 8 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| Tony Galbreath | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Sammy White | 1 | -3 | 0 | -3 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | ||||
| Alfred Jenkins | 2 | 52 | 0 | 30 |
| Floyd Hodge | 2 | 29 | 0 | 25 |
| Keith Krepfle | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Gerald Riggs | 2 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Lynn Cain | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Alfred Jackson | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| MIN | ||||
| Joe Senser | 6 | 81 | 0 | 25 |
| Sammy White | 2 | 61 | 1 | 36 |
| Sam McCullum | 4 | 51 | 1 | 15 |
| Terry LeCount | 2 | 24 | 0 | 19 |
| Tony Galbreath | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 |
| Rickey Young | 2 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| Ted Brown | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
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