1971 Minnesota Vikings season
1971 Minnesota Vikings season | |
---|---|
General manager | Jim Finks |
Head coach | Bud Grant |
Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 11–3 |
Division place | 1st NFC Central |
Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Cowboys) 12–20 |
Pro Bowlers | DE Carl Eller WR Bob Grim S Paul Krause DT Alan Page T Ron Yary |
AP All-Pros | DE Carl Eller (1st team) DT Alan Page (1st team) T Ron Yary (1st team) |
Uniform | |
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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
[edit]1971 Draft
[edit]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
[edit]Preseason
[edit]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
[edit]Schedule
[edit]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
[edit]Week 6: vs. Baltimore Colts
[edit]Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Vikings | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 8:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
- Game attendance: 49,784
- TV: ABC
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | ||
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Standings
[edit]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
[edit]Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divisional | December 25 | Dallas Cowboys | L 12–20 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,307 |
Awards, records, and honors
[edit]All-Pros
[edit]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
[edit]- WR Bob Grim
- OT Ron Yary
- DE Carl Eller
- DT Alan Page
- S Paul Krause
League leaders
[edit]- Bob Lee – Most punts (89), most punting yards (3515)
- Charlie West – Longest interception return (89 yards)
- Alan Page – Most safeties (2)
Statistics
[edit]Team leaders
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- "1971 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.