1971 Minnesota Vikings season

1971 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Bud Grant
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Cowboys) 12–20
← 1970 Vikings seasons 1972 →

The 1971 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 11th in the National Football League. 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, "[c]onsidering 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 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 15 Gary Cuozzo 16 Norm Snead Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 26 Clinton Jones 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed Wide receivers 86 Al Denson 27 Bob Grim 84 Gene Washington Tight ends 87 John Beasley 89 83 Stu Voigt		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis T 68 Pete Perreault 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 72 John Ward G 62 Ed White G 73 Ron Yary T 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher C Defensive linemen 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 88 Alan Page DT 69 Doug Sutherland DT		Linebackers 58 Wally Hilgenberg 56 Carl Gersbach 52 Noel Jenke 36 Chuck Winfrey 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 20 Bobby Bryant CB 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West CB 23 Jeff Wright SS 43 Nate Wright CB Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 19 Bob Lee P/QB		Reserve lists 80 John Henderson WR (IR) 63 Jim Vellone G (IR) 59 Lonnie Warwick LB (IR) Practice squad 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[]

Playoffs[]

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

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	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.

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". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.