1971 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerJim Finks
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Cowboys) 12–20
Uniform

The 1971 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 11th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with an 11–3 record to win the NFC Central title and return to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season; however, they lost 20–12 at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.

In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1971 Vikings as the fourth-greatest defense in NFL history,[1] saying, "Considering that their motto was 'Meet at the quarterback,' it's no surprise that the Purple People Eaters held opposing QBs to a 40.4 rating, one of the lowest ever." ESPN also noted that the 1971 Vikings "shut out three opponents, and only one team scored more than 20 points against them. As a result, Alan Page became the first defensive player to ever be named NFL MVP. Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and safety Paul Krause joined Page on the All-Pro team."

Offseason

1971 Draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft
1971 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 24 Leo Hayden Running back Ohio State
2 50 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[a]
3 76 Eddie Hackett Wide receiver Alcorn A&M
4 102 Vince Clements Running back Connecticut
5 128 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers[b]
6 154 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[a]
7 180 Gene Mack Linebacker Texas–El Paso
8 208 John Farley Defensive end Johnson C. Smith originally Colts pick[c]
9 232 Tim Sullivan Running back Iowa
10 258 Chris Morris Guard Indiana
11 284 Mike Walker Linebacker Tulane
12 310 Reggie Holmes Defensive back Wisconsin–Stout
13 336 Benny Fry Center Houston
14 362 Jim Gallagher Linebacker Yale
15 388 Jeff Wright Defensive back Minnesota
16 413 Greg Edmonds Wide receiver Penn State originally 49ers pick[d]
17 439 Ken Duncan Punter Tulsa originally 49ers pick[e]
^[a] The Vikings traded their second- and sixth-round selections (50th and 154th overall), their 1972 third-round selection (76th overall) and OL Steve Smith to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for QB Norm Snead.
^[b] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (128th overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for QB Kent Nix.
^[c] The Vikings originally chose 206th overall, but passed, allowing Dallas and Baltimore to move up before the Vikings eventually took the 208th overall pick.
^[d] The Vikings originally chose 414th overall, but moved up to the 413th overall selection when San Francisco passed.
^[e] The Vikings originally chose 440th overall, but moved up to the 439th overall selection when Oakland passed on the 435th overall selection and allowed Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami, San Francisco, Minnesota, Dallas, and Baltimore to move up.

Roster

1971 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 54 active, 4 inactive, 0 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2]
1 August 8 New England Patriots W 17–10 1–0 Memorial Stadium (Minneapolis) 31,813
2 August 14 at San Diego Chargers W 34–7 2–0 San Diego Stadium 49,267
3 August 21 Chicago Bears W 34–14 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900
4 August 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–21 4–0 Three Rivers Stadium 46,276
5 September 4 at Denver Broncos L 7–14 4–1 Mile High Stadium 43,000
6 September 11 Miami Dolphins W 24–0 5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,990

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 20 at Detroit Lions W 16–13 1–0 Tiger Stadium 54,418
2 September 26 Chicago Bears L 17–20 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900
3 October 3 Buffalo Bills W 19–0 2–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900
4 October 10 at Philadelphia Eagles W 13–0 3–1 Veterans Stadium 65,358
5 October 17 at Green Bay Packers W 24–13 4–1 Lambeau Field 56,263
6 October 25 Baltimore Colts W 10–3 5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
7 October 31 at New York Giants W 17–10 6–1 Yankee Stadium 62,829
8 November 7 San Francisco 49ers L 9–13 6–2 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
9 November 14 Green Bay Packers W 3–0 7–2 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
10 November 21 at New Orleans Saints W 23–10 8–2 Tulane Stadium 83,130
11 November 28 Atlanta Falcons W 24–7 9–2 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
12 December 5 at San Diego Chargers L 14–30 9–3 San Diego Stadium 54,505
13 December 11 Detroit Lions W 29–10 10–3 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
14 December 19 at Chicago Bears W 27–10 11–3 Soldier Field 55,049

Game summaries

Week 6: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 6: Baltimore Colts at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts 0 0 033
Vikings 7 0 3010

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 11 3 0 .786 5–1 9–2 245 139 W2
Detroit Lions 7 6 1 .538 2–3–1 3–6–1 341 286 L2
Chicago Bears 6 8 0 .429 2–4 5–6 185 276 L5
Green Bay Packers 4 8 2 .333 2–3–1 2–7–2 274 298 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional December 25 Dallas Cowboys L 12–20 Metropolitan Stadium 47,307

Awards, records, and honors

All-Pros

First team

Pro Bowlers

League leaders

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Gary Cuozzo 842
Passing touchdowns Gary Cuozzo 6
Rushing yards Clint Jones 675
Rushing touchdowns Dave Osborn 5
Receiving yards Bob Grim 691
Receiving touchdowns Bob Grim 7
Points Fred Cox 91
Kickoff return yards Charlie West 556
Punt return yards Charlie West 94
Interceptions Charlie West 7

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 26)
Passing offense 1,655 118.2 25th
Rushing offense 1,695 121.1 17th
Total offense 3,350 239.3 23rd
Passing defense 1,806 129.0 3rd
Rushing defense 1,600 114.3 6th
Total defense 3,406 243.3 2nd

References

  1. ^ The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007
  2. ^ "1971 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
Categories