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

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.

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

Main article: 1991 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1991 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 11 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys[A]
2 38 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys[A]
3 65 Carlos Jenkins Linebacker Michigan State
68 Jake Reed Wide receiver Grambling State from Cowboys[A]
4 92 Randy Baldwin Running back Mississippi
5 119 Chris Thome Center Minnesota
6 146 Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders[B]
163 Todd Scott Defensive back Louisiana from Raiders[B]
7 179 Scotty Reagan Defensive tackle Humboldt State
180 Tripp Welborne Defensive back Michigan from Cowboys via Raiders[B]
8 206 Reggie Johnson Defensive end Arizona
9 232 Gerald Hudson Running back Oklahoma State
10 259 Brady Pierce Offensive tackle Wisconsin
11 286 Ivan Caesar Linebacker Boston College
12 313 Darren Hughes Wide receiver Carson–Newman

Draft trades

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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

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

  • —- Scotty Reagan DE


Rookies in italics
 47 active, 7 inactive, 1 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2]
1 August 3 at New Orleans Saints L 21–24 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 58,953
2 August 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–24 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 44,959
3 August 17 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–27 (OT) 1–2 Riverfront Stadium 56,358
4 August 23 Cleveland Browns W 31–7 2–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 45,925

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 1 at Chicago Bears L 6–10 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 0–26 2–2 Louisiana Superdome 68,591
5 September 29 Denver Broncos L 6–13 2–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 55,031
6 October 6 at Detroit Lions L 20–24 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 23–26 (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 17–34 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 14–34 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 7–27 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 yards Rich Gannon 2,166
Passing touchdowns Rich Gannon 12
Rushing yards Herschel Walker 825
Rushing touchdowns Herschel Walker 10
Receiving yards Cris Carter 962
Receiving touchdowns Anthony Carter
Cris Carter		 5
Points Fuad Reveiz 85
Kickoff return yards Darrin Nelson 682
Punt return yards Leo Lewis 225
Tackles Chris Doleman 101
Sacks John Randle 9.5
Interceptions Joey Browner 5
Forced fumbles John Randle 2

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense 2,883 180.2 21st
Rushing offense 2,201 137.6 4th
Total offense 5,084 317.8 10th
Passing defense 3,179 198.7 13th
Rushing defense 1,837 114.8 20th
Total defense 5,016 313.5 14th

References

  1. ^ 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  2. ^ "1991 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".

External links

Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings seasons
1991 NFL season
Categories