Position breakdown (thru week 16) Quarterback

Including the 144 touchdowns he threw in the Canadian Football League, Warren Moon is two scoring tosses shy of becoming the first person with 400 touchdown passes as a professional. He is fourth in NFL history in career passing yards (43,787) and completions (3,514). Moon also is tied with Dan Fouts for seventh all-time in touchdown tosses with 254. Brad Johnson relieved Moon in the Detroit (9/1), Green Bay (9/22), Chicago (10/28) and Seattle (11/10) games. He started the past five, as well as vs. Atlanta (9/8) and Kansas City (11/3). He led Minnesota to come-from-behind wins over the Lions (9/1) and Falcons (9/8). His 82-yard completion to Jake Reed at Oakland is the fifth longest in team history and the longest in the NFC this season. In his first NFL start at Atlanta, Johnson earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for a career-high 275 yards, which he matched in Oakland. He also earned the honor after hitting a career-high four touchdown passes against Arizona. Against Detroit (9/1) he threw the game-winning 31-yard scoring toss to Cris Carter with 1:06 left in regulation. That was Johnson’s first NFL TD pass. He scored his first NFL TD vs. Seattle on a 1-yard run. Jay Walker made his NFL debut late in the fourth quarter vs. Arizona, completing his only two pass attempts for 31 yards. Running backs

Leroy Hoard’s 37-yard catch vs. Arizona was the longest by a Vikings running back since Rick Fenney caught a 42-yarder against the Colts on Nov. 20, 1988. At Oakland Hoard became only the second Vikings player to rush for over 100 yards in the first game he played with the team. Herschel Walker rushed for 148 yards vs. Green Bay in his first game with Minnesota on Oct. 15, 1989. The Raiders game was Hoard’s best rushing performance since he gained a career-high 123 yards vs. New England on Nov. 6, 1994. Amp Lee has 13 catches on third down for a first down this year. He is tied for fifth in the NFL in catches among running backs (52). Charles Evans is the Vikings top fullback. Four-of-his-16 catches have gone for a first down on third down. Scottie Graham has rushed for 949 of his 1,266 career yards in December. He has carried a team-record 348 times without a fumble. He also has the most current chances from scrimmage (377) without a fumble in the NFL. Against Denver (11/24) he caught a career-long 18-yard pass. Tight end

Rookie Hunter Goodwin has started the past five games -- his first in the NFL. The Vikings are 4-1 in those starts. His 24-yard catch vs. Arizona (12/1) was the first of his NFL career and the longest by a Vikings tight end since Adrian Cooper caught a 41-yarder at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1995. Ironically the Vikings scored over 40 points in each game. Andrew Jordan leads this unit in catches (19) and receiving yards (128). Greg DeLong works with Goodwin in two-tight end formations. DeLong has started 9-of-the-17 NFL games he’s played. David Frisch is the most experienced of this group. His game-winning touchdown catch in Atlanta (9/8) was his first NFL score and his first reception with Minnesota. Wide Receivers

A team-high 50.0% (11-of-22) of Qadry Ismail’s catches have gone for a first-down on third down this year. He is averaging 37.8 yards per touchdown catch for his career, with eight scores of 20-or-more yards. Both of David Palmer’s catches in Detroit (12/8) went for a first down on third down. They were his first receptions since the Seattle game (11/10). Chris Walsh caught a 17-yard pass on 3rd-and-5 at the Bucs’ 39-yard line in the third quarter last week. Hoard scored the game-winning 22-yard touchdown on the next play. Walsh had his first NFL touchdown pass against Denver (11/24). He scored his first NFL points on a catch for a two-point conversion at Seattle (11/10). Walsh has played some with the regular offense the past five weeks. Offensive line

David Dixon has started at right guard the past five weeks, replacing John Gerak, who had started the previous 16 games in that spot. Dixon started six games at right guard in ‘95, before he was replaced by Gerak, who added 20 pounds in the offseason to play full-time at guard after splitting time between tight end and guard last year. The other four positions have started 29-of-the-last-30 games together. Seven-time All-Pro Randall McDaniel is the only one of the starters who has played more than four years in the NFL. He has started a team-high 125 consecutive games, including playoffs. Last week he was named to start in his eighth consecutive Pro Bowl. Vs. Arizona (12/1) he carried the ball from the fullback spot in goalline offense for the first time in his career. Todd Steussie has started 105 straight games, dating back to his junior year in high school. Jeff Christy has started 48 consecutive games at center. Korey Stringer has started 29-of-his-31 NFL games. Scott Dill started at right tackle against Denver (11/24) in place of injured Stringer. It was Dill’s first start with Minnesota. Defensive line

John Randle was named to start in his fourth straight Pro Bowl, matching Hall-of-Famer Alan Page for the longest such streak by a Vikings defensive tackle. Randle has started 71 straight games, the most on the defense. He leads the team in forced fumbles (4). Esera Tuaolo started the first nine games of ‘96 despite rupturing his Achilles in the final regular-season game of ‘95. He had a sack in the fourth quarter vs. Arizona (12/1). Despite missing four games, Derrick Alexander leads this unit in tackles for a loss (7). Fernando Smith is tied for the team lead in fumble recoveries (2) and leads this unit in tackles (76) and passes batted down (6). He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for the Detroit game (12/8) when he recorded two sacks. Martin Harrison has started seven games, including the past six, at right end. His first NFL start came at Atlanta (9/8). In the past 21 games, he has 11 sacks. Jason Fisk had six tackles and his first career sack in his first NFL start at Oakland (11/17). He has started five straight games. Duane Clemons was in on two tackles for a loss at Detroit (12/8). He recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown in Seattle (11/17). Alexander and Tuaolo played some in place of starters Harrison and Fisk the past two weeks. Linebackers

Jeff Brady has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice in his 22 NFL starts. He is the only linebacker to start every game this year. He is tied for the NFC lead among linebackers in interceptions (3). Brady leads the team in tackles (143), is tied for the team lead in fumbles recovered (2) and leads this unit in passes defensed (9). He had a single-game career-high 16 tackles against Kansas City (11/3). Dixon Edwards returned after missing two games due to injury with 4 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a shared sack last week. He has been to postseason each of the past 10 years, dating back to his freshman campaign at Michigan State. He leads the team in tackles for a loss (8.5) and tops this unit in sacks with a career-high 3.5, which are more sacks than his previous five NFL seasons combined (2.5). He already has surpassed his career-high of 109 tackles in ‘95. Darryl Talley started his first game with Minnesota at Chicago (9/15). Dave Garnett started @ Atlanta (9/8) and @ Detroit (12/8) in place of Talley and vs. Arizona (12/1) in place of Edwards. The Falcons’ start was the first of Garnett’s career. Pete Bercich made his first NFL start in place of Edwards at Detroit (12/8). Ben Hanks played in passing situations before suffering the ankle injury in Detroit. Defensive backs

The secondary is almost the same unit that started most of ‘95. The starting group features two second-year players (Orlando Thomas, Corey Fuller) and two third-year players (Dewayne Washington, Robert Griffith). Washington shares the team record for career touchdowns on interception returns (3). He had a career-high two interceptions vs. Carolina (10/6). He leads the team in passes defensed with 19, which exceeds his previous career high of 12 in ‘94. A knee injury kept Fuller out of the starting lineup at Atlanta (9/8) and Seattle (11/20). He still is second on the team in passes defensed (16). Despite missing two starts, Griffith leads this unit in tackles (95), tackles for a loss (6.5) and sacks (2). Barnett had 8 tackles and a sack, his first with Minnesota, at Detroit (12/8). He plays in passing situations. This week will be his 100th NFL game. He had 14 tackles and 2 passes defensed while starting in place of injured Griffith. Alfred Jackson plays in some passing situations. He started at Atlanta (9/8) and at Seattle (11/10). He has two interceptions and a forced fumble in his four starts with the Vikings. Chris Johnson was signed from the practice squad on November 15. Anthony Prior, who played three seasons for the Jets, was signed December 4. Special teams

Minnesota has two blocked field goals (Alexander and Washington), both in the fourth quarter, this year. Palmer and Ismail returned kickoffs the past two weeks. Scott Sisson made a career-long 44-yard field goal against Green Bay (9/22). He is 15-of-17 in the NFL in the 4th quarter, including 4-of-4 in the last 2 minutes or overtime. Mitch Berger is tied for 3rd in the NFL in touchbacks on kickoffs (17) and punts inside the 20 (25). He had a career-long 63-yard punt last week. Mike Morris has played in 109 straight games. Walsh and Pete Bercich lead the Vikings in special teams tackles with 16. Harold Morrow has 14 special teams tackles in seven games. NFL.COM | News | Stats | Fans | Index © 1996, NFL Enterprises, L.P. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.

The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated.