The 2007 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 47th in the National Football League. The Vikings' 8–8 record under second-year head coach Brad Childress was an improvement on their 6–10 record in 2006; nonetheless, for the third straight year, the Vikings failed to make the playoffs. Although they had the worst pass defense in the NFL in 2007, surrendering 4,225 passing yards, the Vikings finished the season with the league's best defense against the run, allowing only 74.1 rushing yards per game, as well as the best rushing offense with running backs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Peterson was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2007. Offseason The Vikings began the 2007 offseason by losing their defensive coordinator, Mike Tomlin, who was hired to be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 21, 2007. Coach Brad Childress waited until after the Super Bowl to hire Leslie Frazier, who served as special assistant to the head coach/defensive backs coach under Tony Dungy at the Indianapolis Colts. Frazier became the Vikings' new defensive coordinator on February 8. Frazier played cornerback for the 1985 Chicago Bears, and had just won Super Bowl XLI over his former Bears team when he was hired by the Vikings. Draft The Vikings traded their second-round selection (41st overall) to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Atlanta's second- and fourth-round selections (44th and 121st overall, respectively). The Vikings traded a fourth-round selection (106th overall) and a sixth-round selection (182nd overall) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tampa Bay's fourth-round selection (102nd overall). The Vikings traded a fourth-round selection (121st overall) to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Denver's sixth- and seventh-round selections (176th and 233rd overall), and a third-round selection in the 2008 Draft. Transactions Preseason Schedule Game summaries Week 1: vs. St. Louis Rams Week 2: at New York Jets Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys Regular season Schedule Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons The Vikings began their 2007 campaign at home against the Atlanta Falcons. In the first quarter, Minnesota scored first with defensive tackle Kevin Williams returning an interception 54 yards for a touchdown. It was the only score of the first half. In the third quarter, kicker Ryan Longwell kicked a 49-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons got their only score of the