1991 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1991 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 31st in the National Football League. They finished with an 8–8 record, improving on their 6–10 record from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Head coach Jerry Burns retired at the end of the season.

1991 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachJerry Burns
Home fieldHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Herschel Walker, going into his third year with Minnesota, went through another season of frustration and he was released following the season. In his two-and-a-half seasons with the Vikings, he failed to record a 1,000-yard season. The infamous trade that brought Walker to Minnesota never lived up to expectations and allowed the Dallas Cowboys to use two of the draft picks they received in the trade on Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, who became part of a dominant team that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Offseason

1991 Draft

Pro Bowler
1991 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
111 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys[upper-alpha 1]
238 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys[upper-alpha 1]
365 Carlos JenkinsLinebackerMichigan State
68 Jake ReedWide receiverGrambling Statefrom Cowboys[upper-alpha 1]
492 Randy BaldwinRunning backMississippi
5119 Chris ThomeCenterMinnesota
6146 Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders[upper-alpha 2]
163 Todd ScottDefensive backLouisianafrom Raiders[upper-alpha 2]
7179 Scotty ReaganDefensive tackleHumboldt State
180 Tripp WelborneDefensive backMichiganfrom Cowboys via Raiders[upper-alpha 2]
8206 Reggie JohnsonDefensive endArizona
9232 Gerald HudsonRunning backOklahoma State
10259 Brady PierceOffensive tackleWisconsin
11286 Ivan CaesarLinebackerBoston College
12313 Darren HughesWide receiverCarson–Newman

Draft trades

  1. The Vikings traded their first- and second-round selections (11th and 38th overall) and 1990 first-, second- and sixth-round selections (21st, 47th and 158th overall) to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for the Cowboys' third-round selection (68th overall), 1990 third- and tenth-round selections (54th and 249th overall), the 1990 fifth-round selection they received from the San Diego Chargers (116th overall) and running back Herschel Walker.
  2. The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (146th overall) to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' sixth- and seventh-round selections (163rd and 180th overall).

Staff

1991 Minnesota Vikings staff
Front office
  • President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams/Tight Ends– Tom Batta

[1]

Roster

1991 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • —- Scott Reagan DE


Rookies in italics
47 active, 6 inactive, 0 practice squad

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[2]
1August 3at New Orleans SaintsL 21–240–1Louisiana Superdome58,953
2August 10Pittsburgh SteelersW 34–241–1Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome44,959
3August 17at Cincinnati BengalsL 24–27 (OT)1–2Riverfront Stadium56,358
4August 23Cleveland BrownsW 31–72–2Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome45,925

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 1 at Chicago Bears L 10–6 0–1 Soldier Field 64,112
2 September 8 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–19 1–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 50,936
3 September 15 San Francisco 49ers W 17–14 2–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,148
4 September 22 at New Orleans Saints L 26–0 2–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,591
5 September 29 Denver Broncos L 13–6 2–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,031
6 October 6 at Detroit Lions L 24–20 2–4 Pontiac Silverdome 63,423
7 October 13 Phoenix Cardinals W 34–7 3–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,209
8 October 20 at New England Patriots L 26–23 (OT) 3–5 Foxboro Stadium 45,367
9 October 27 at Phoenix Cardinals W 28–0 4–5 Sun Devil Stadium 45,447
10 November 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–13 5–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 35,737
11 November 11 Chicago Bears L 34–17 5–6 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,001
12 November 17 at Green Bay Packers W 35–21 6–6 Lambeau Field 57,614
13 November 24 Detroit Lions L 34–14 6–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 51,644
14 Bye
15 December 8 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–24 7–7 Tampa Stadium 41,091
16 December 15 Los Angeles Rams W 20–14 8–7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,518
17 December 21 Green Bay Packers L 27–7 8–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 52,860

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Detroit Lions 12 4 0 .750 6–2 8–4 339 295 W6
(4) Chicago Bears 11 5 0 .688 7–1 9–3 299 269 L1
Minnesota Vikings 8 8 0 .500 3–5 8–6 301 306 L1
Green Bay Packers 4 12 0 .250 3–5 3–9 273 313 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 13 0 .188 1–7 2–10 199 365 W1

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsRich Gannon2,166
Passing touchdownsRich Gannon12
Rushing yardsHerschel Walker825
Rushing touchdownsHerschel Walker10
Receiving yardsCris Carter962
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Carter
Cris Carter
5
PointsFuad Reveiz85
Kickoff return yardsDarrin Nelson682
Punt return yardsLeo Lewis225
TacklesChris Doleman101
SacksJohn Randle9.5
InterceptionsJoey Browner5
Forced fumblesJohn Randle2

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense2,883180.221st
Rushing offense2,201137.64th
Total offense5,084317.810th
Passing defense3,179198.713th
Rushing defense1,837114.820th
Total defense5,016313.514th

References

  1. 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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