NFL team season
The 1981 season was the Minnesota Vikings ' 21st in the National Football League , their 15th under head coach Bud Grant , and their final season at Metropolitan Stadium . They finished with a 7–9 record, and missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
The Vikings attempted 709 passes in 1981 (44.3 per game), a league record that stood for 30 years until it was broken by the 2012 Detroit Lions .[ 1]
Notes
^ a b c d The Vikings traded their first-round selection (18th overall) to the Colts in exchange for two second-round (39th and 52nd overall) and a fifth-round selections (123rd overall). ^ a b The Vikings traded their third- and fifth-round selections (71st and 128th overall) to the Saints in exchange for OT Steve Riley . ^ The Vikings traded RB Chuck Foreman to the Patriots in exchange for the a third-round selection (74th overall). ^ The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (154th overall) and a 1982 fifth-round selection (120th overall) to the Dolphins in exchange for C Jim Langer . ^ The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (236th overall) to the Seahawks in exchange for OT Nick Bebout . After opening the season with back-to-back losses, the Vikings ran off five straight wins and sat near the top of the NFC at midseason. After splitting their next four games, the Vikings were 7–4 and poised for a playoff run—however, they lost their last five games to close out the year.
The Vikings were led by quarterback Tommy Kramer , who enjoyed the most productive season of his career, throwing for 3,912 yards and 26 touchdowns. However, Kramer also threw 24 interceptions in 1981. The Vikings set an NFL record for pass attempts with 709.
A trio of offensive standouts paced the Vikings in 1981 at the skill positions. Running back Ted Brown was the team's main ball carrier, rushing for 1,063 yards, and also came in third in the NFL with 83 pass receptions; he scored eight touchdowns . Veteran wide receiver Sammy White also eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career (1,001) and tight end Joe Senser , who would later become a color analyst on radio for the Vikings, logged 1,004 yards receiving with eight touchdowns; Senser went to the Pro Bowl for the 1981 season.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–21 0–1 Tampa Stadium 66,287 2 September 14 Oakland Raiders L 10–36 0–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,186 3 September 20 Detroit Lions W 26–24 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,350 4 September 27 at Green Bay Packers W 30–13 2–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 55,012 5 October 4 Chicago Bears W 24–21 3–2 Metropolitan Stadium 43,827 6 October 11 at San Diego Chargers W 33–31 4–2 San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium 50,708 7 October 18 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–23 5–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,459 8 October 25 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–30 5–3 Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039 9 November 2 at Denver Broncos L 17–19 5–4 Mile High Stadium 74,834 10 November 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 25–10 6–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,038 11 November 15 New Orleans Saints W 20–10 7–4 Metropolitan Stadium 45,215 12 November 23 at Atlanta Falcons L 30–31 7–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 54,086 13 November 29 Green Bay Packers L 23–35 7–6 Metropolitan Stadium 46,025 14 December 6 at Chicago Bears L 9–10 7–7 Soldier Field 50,766 15 December 12 at Detroit Lions L 7–45 7–8 Pontiac Silverdome 79,428 16 December 20 Kansas City Chiefs L 6–10 7–9 Metropolitan Stadium 41,110
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers [ edit ] Week 1: Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 0 0 6 7 13 Buccaneers 7 0 0 14 21
at Tampa Stadium , Tampa, Florida
Date : September 5Game time : 8:05 p.m. EDTGame weather : Partly cloudy, showers, 80 °F (27 °C)Game attendance : 66,287Referee : Fred Silva (7)Recap , Game Book
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 45-yard field goal, 10:41. Buccaneers 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 39 yards, 2:36. MIN – Rick Danmeier 25-yard field goal, 0:33. Buccaneers 7–6. Drive: 17 plays, 75 yards, 8:12. Fourth quarter
TB – Doug Williams 10-yard run (Garo Yepremian kick), 13:17. Buccaneers 14–6. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 2:03. MIN – Joe Senser 4-yard pass from Steve Dils (Rick Danmeier kick), 2:29. Buccaneers 14–13. Drive: 14 plays, 72 yards, 2:39. TB – Neal Colzie 82-yard interception return (Garo Yepremian kick), 0:21. Buccaneers 21–13. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 2: vs Oakland Raiders [ edit ] Game information First quarter
OAK – Chris Bahr 21-yard field goal, 1:59. Raiders 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:35. Second quarter
Third quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 37-yard field goal, 13:00. Raiders 16–10. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 2:00. OAK – Morris Bradshaw 12-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick), 8:54. Raiders 23–10. Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:06. Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 3: vs Detroit Lions [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
MIN – Joe Senser 4-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 11:56. Vikings 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, 1:25. DET – Billy Sims 2-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 7:28. Vikings 14–7. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:28. DET – Billy Sims 3-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 1:13. Tied 14–14. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:41. MIN – Rick Danmeier 39-yard field goal, 0:00. Vikings 17–14. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 1:13. Third quarter
MIN – Ted Brown 41-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick blocked), 8:12. Vikings 23–14. Drive: 5 plays, 98 yards, 2:22. DET – Gary Danielson 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 2:21. Vikings 23–21. Drive: 5 plays, 12 yards, 3:35. Fourth quarter
DET – Eddie Murray 25-yard field goal, 10:30. Lions 24–23. Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 5:08. MIN – Rick Danmeier 20-yard field goal, 0:04. Vikings 26–24. Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 1:52. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
DET – Freddie Scott – 5 receptions, 113 yards MIN – Ted Brown – 9 receptions, 115 yards, TD
Week 6: at San Diego Chargers [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
MIN – Rickey Young 15-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 14:47. Tied 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:24. MIN – Ted Brown 4-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 9:00. Vikings 14–7. Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 5:10. SD – Dwight Scales 60-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick), 6:45. Tied 14–14. Drive: 4 plays, 73 yards, 2:15. Third quarter
SD – Rolf Benirschke 39-yard field goal, 9:43. Chargers 17–14. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 3:32. MIN – Terry LeCount 26-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 6:28. Vikings 21–17. Drive: 7 plays, 92 yards, 3:15. SD – Charlie Joiner 38-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick), 4:32. Chargers 24–21. Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards, 1:56. MIN – Rick Danmeier 28-yard field goal, 2:35. Tied 24–24. Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards, 1:57. Fourth quarter
SD – Chuck Muncie 1-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick), 10:47. Chargers 31–24. Drive: 15 plays, 74 yards, 6:48. MIN – Terry LeCount 43-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed), 1:51. Chargers 31–30. Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 0:35. MIN – Rick Danmeier 38-yard field goal, 0:00. Vikings 33–31. Drive: 5 plays, 22 yards, 1:45. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 7: vs Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Game information First quarter
PHI – Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard run (kick blocked), 1:55. Eagles 6–0. Drive: 5 plays, 59 yards, 2:45. Second quarter
MIN – Joe Senser 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 11:42. Vikings 7–6. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:04. PHI – Tony Franklin 30-yard field goal, 3:48. Eagles 9–7. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 4:00. MIN – Sammy White 50-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 1:54. Vikings 14–9. Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 1:44. MIN – Bob Bruer 1-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 0:00. Vikings 21–9. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 1:06. Third quarter
MIN – Ahmad Rashad 5-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 5:32. Vikings 28–9. Drive: 8 plays, 29 yards, 2:41. Fourth quarter
PHI – Wilbert Montgomery 25-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick), 12:44. Vikings 28–16. Drive: 7 plays, 86 yards, 2:51. MIN – Ted Brown 1-yard run (Rick Danmeier kick), 5:20. Vikings 35–16. Drive: 4 plays, 44 yards, 1:48. PHI – Harold Carmichael 21-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick), 2:47. Vikings 35–23. Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards, 2:24. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
PHI – Wilbert Montgomery – 10 receptions, 143 yards, TD MIN – Joe Senser – 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD
Week 9: at Denver Broncos [ edit ] Week 9: Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 0 3 0 14 17 Broncos 0 3 3 13 19
at Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Date : November 2Game time : 7:00 p.m. MSTGame weather : Mostly fair, 48 °F (9 °C)Game attendance : 74,834Referee : Fred Wyant (11)Recap , Game Book
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
DEN – Fred Steinfort 42-yard field goal, 4:06. Broncos 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 3:00. MIN – Rick Danmeier 32-yard field goal, 0:18. Tied 3–3. Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 3:48. Third quarter
DEN – Fred Steinfort 49-yard field goal, 7:29. Broncos 6–3. Drive: 11 plays, 48 yards, 4:39. Fourth quarter
DEN – Rob Lytle 5-yard run (kick failed), 10:16. Broncos 12–3. Drive: 12 plays, 94 yards, 5:52. DEN – Steve Watson 15-yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick), 8:32. Broncos 19–3. Drive: 2 plays, 18 yards, 0:36. MIN – Tony Galbreath 1-yard run (Rick Danmeier kick), 5:07. Broncos 19–10. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:25. MIN – Tony Galbreath 1-yard run (Rick Danmeier kick), 2:40. Broncos 19–17. Drive: 2 plays, 39 yards, 0:15. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 10: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers [ edit ] Game information First quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 33-yard field goal, 4:47. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 23 yards, 3:05. Second quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 38-yard field goal, 13:33. Vikings 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 0:19. MIN – Ted Brown 2-yard run (Rick Danmeier kick), 1:09. Vikings 13–0. Drive: 17 plays, 95 yards, 9:04. MIN – Rick Danmeier 41-yard field goal, 0:00. Vikings 16–0. Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 0:40. Third quarter
MIN – Rickey Young 1-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 11:35. Vikings 23–0. Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 3:25. TB – Bill Capece 27-yard field goal, 3:17. Vikings 23–3. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 2:15. Fourth quarter
MIN – Doug Williams sacked in the end zone by Mark Mullaney and James White for a safety, 13:08. Vikings 25–3. TB – Jimmie Giles 1-yard pass from Doug Williams (Bill Capece kick), 9:28. Vikings 25–10. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 1:54. Top passers
Top rushers
TB – Doug Williams – 3 rushes, 20 yards MIN – Ted Brown – 31 rushes, 129 yards, TD Top receivers
Week 11: vs New Orleans Saints [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 35-yard field goal, 9:35. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 3:32. NO – Benny Ricardo 24-yard field goal, 4:26. Tied 3–3. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 5:09. MIN – Joe Senser 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick), 0:19. Vikings 10–3. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 3:12. Third quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 19-yard field goal, 8:29. Vikings 13–3. Drive: 15 plays, 78 yards, 6:31. MIN – Ted Brown 9-yard run (Rick Danmeier kick), 5:36. Vikings 20–3. Drive: 4 plays, 62 yards, 1:45. Fourth quarter
NO – George Rogers 1-yard run (Benny Ricardo kick), 6:59. Vikings 20–10. Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 4:54. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 16: vs Kansas City Chiefs [ edit ] Game information First quarter
MIN – Rick Danmeier 43-yard field goal, 10:33. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 50 yards, 4:27. KC – Nick Lowery 30-yard field goal, 1:12. Tied 3–3. Drive: 4 plays, 9 yards, 1:41. Second quarter
Third quarter
KC – Stan Rome 15-yard pass from Steve Fuller (Nick Lowery kick), 10:03. Chiefs 10–3. Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 4:57. MIN – Rick Danmeier 33-yard field goal, 4:30. Chiefs 10–6. Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 1:15. Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
KC – Carlos Carson – 3 receptions, 78 yards MIN – Tony Galbreath – 7 receptions, 60 yards
Vikings single season record although tackles were not official until 2001. Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 28) Passing offense 4,333 270.8 2nd Rushing offense 1,512 94.5 28th Total offense 5,845 365.3 6th Passing defense 3,328 208.0 18th Rushing defense 2,045 127.8 15th Total defense 5,373 335.8 17th
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (1) Retired numbers Current league affiliations