1971 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Minnesota Vikings 1971 11–3 1st NFC Central Bud Grant Jim Finks Metropolitan Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(vs. Cowboys) 12–20 DE Carl EllerWR Bob GrimS Paul KrauseDT Alan PageT Ron Yary DE Carl Eller (1st team)DT Alan Page (1st team)T Ron Yary (1st team) File:Vikings1970-74.png Vikings seasons 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,The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007 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 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 EaglesEagles The Vikings traded their second- and sixth-round selections (50th and 154th overall), a 1972 third-round selection (76th overall) and OT Steve Smith to the Eagles in exchange for QB Norm Snead. 3 76 Eddie Hackett Wide receiver Alcorn A&M 4 102 Vince Clements Running back Connecticut 5 128 Traded to the Pittsburgh SteelersThe Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (128th overall) to the Steelers in exchange for QB Kent Nix. 6 154 Traded to the Philadelphia EaglesEagles 7 180 Gene Mack Linebacker UTEP 8 208 John Farley Defensive end Johnson C. Smith Originally Colts pickThe Vikings originally had 206th overall but passed, allowing the Cowboys and Colts to move up before the Vikings eventually selected in the 208th overall pick. 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 Stout State 13 336 Benny Fry Center Houston 14 362 Jim Gallagher Linebacker Yale 15 388 Jeff Wright Safety Minnesota 16 413 Greg Edmonds Wide receiver Penn State Originally 49ers pickThe Vikings originally had 414th overall, but moved up to the 413th overall selection when the 49ers passed. 17 439 Ken Duncan Punter Tulsa Originally 49ers pickThe Vikings originally had 440th overall, but moved up to the 439th overall selection when the Raiders passed on the 435th overall pick and allowed several teams to move up. Notes Roster 1971 Minnesota Vikings 40 10 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Bob Lee quarterback P 16 Norm Snead 30 Bill Brown American football 26 Clinton Jones American football 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed 27 Bob Grim American football 80 John Henderson wide receiver 84 Gene Washington American football, born 1944 89 Robert Brown tight end 83 Stu Voigt 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis American football T 68 Roy Schmidt American football G 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 62 Ed White American football G 73 Ron Yary T 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher C 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall defensive end DE 88 Alan Page DT 69 Doug Sutherland American football DT 72 John Ward American football, born 1948 DE 58 Wally Hilgenberg OLB 56 Carl Gersbach MLB 52 Noel Jenke y OLB 59 Lonnie Warwick MLB 36 Chuck Winfrey y OLB 60 Roy Winston OLB 20 Bobby Bryant CB 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West American football CB/SS 23 Jeff Wright defensive back y FS 14 Fred Cox K 87 John Beasley American football TE IR -- Vince Clements y RB IR 63 Jim Vellone G IR -- David Chapple y P 86 Al Denson American football WR 44 Leo Hayden y RB -- Tom Lorenz y no TE 75 Bob Lurtsema DT 78 Jerry Patton DT 43 Nate Wright CB Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendancehttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1971nflmin.html 1971 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives 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 Minnesota Vikings 1971 2;text-align:center collapsed Week 6: Baltimore Colts at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary October 25 8:00 p.m. Colts 0 0 0 3 Vikings 7 0 3 0 Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota 49,784 53 F C ABC Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter MIN – Dave Osborn 2-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 7–0. Second quarter No scoring plays. Third quarter MIN – Fred Cox 32-yard field goal. Vikings 10–0. Fourth quarter BAL – Jim O'Brien 40-yard field goal. Vikings 10–3. Top passers BAL – Earl Morrall – 16/27, 148 yards, 3 INT MIN – Gary Cuozzo – 7/15, 110 yards, INT Top rushers BAL – Norm Bulaich – 18 rushes, 83 yards MIN – Dave Osborn – 13 rushes, 42 yards, TD Top receivers BAL – Norm Bulaich – 6 receptions, 62 yards MIN – Stu Voigt – 3 receptions, 60 yards Standings 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 OT Ron Yary (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) DE Carl Eller (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) DT Alan Page (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) S Paul Krause (NEA) Pro Bowlers WR Bob Grim OT Ron Yary DE Carl Eller DT Alan Page S Paul Krause League leaders Bob Lee – Most punts (89), most punting yards (3515) Charlie West – Longest interception return (89 yards) Alan Page – Most safeties (2) 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 1971 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/min/1971.htm pro-football-reference.com Sports Reference January 13, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100210140610/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/min/1971.htm 10 February 2010 live Category:Minnesota Vikings seasons Minnesota Category:NFC Central championship seasons Minnesota Vikings